GREEK

ARCHITECTURE…….
12 bc – 9bc

2 SEM HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

 GREEK ARCHITECTURE
. Geographical.—
•Greece is surrounded on three sides
by the sea, and her many natural
harbours made it easy for those early
traders, the Phoenicians, to carry on
extensive commerce with the
country.
• Ancient Greece, however, extended
geographically far beyond the
mainland and adjacent islands, and
thus ruins of Greek buildings are
found in the Dorian colonies of Sicily
and South Italy, and in the Ionian
colonies of Asia Minor. The
mountainous nature of the country
separated the inhabitants into groups
or clans, and was thus responsible for
that rivalry which characterised the
old Greek states, both in peace and
war.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
 GREEK ARCHITECTURE

2. Geological.—The chief mineral wealth of Greece was in her unrivalled marble, the
most beautiful and monumental of all building materials, and one which facilitates
exactness of line and refinement of detail. This marble is found in abundance,
notably in the mountains of Hymettus and Pentelicus near Athens, and in the islands
of Paros and Naxos. The Greeks attached so much importance to the quality of fine-
grained marble for producing exact outlines and smooth surfaces that, as in the
Temples at Paestum, they even coated coarse-grained limestone with a layer of
marble " stucco " in order to secure this effect, which is the great characteristic of
their architecture.
3.Climatic.—The climate was intermediate between rigorous cold and relaxing heat ;
hence the Greek character, combining the energy of the north with the lethargy of
the south, produced a unique civilisation. The clear atmosphere, largely resulting
from the rocky nature of the country and the absence of forests, was conducive to
the development of that love of precise and exact forms which are special attributes
of Greek architecture. The climate favoured an outdoor life, and consequently the
administration of justice, dramatic representations, and most public ceremonies took
place in the open air, and to this is largely due the limited variety of public buildings
other than temples. The hot sun and sudden showers were probably answerable for
the porticoes and colonnades which were such important features.
 GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Religious: The Greek religion was in the main a worship of natural phenomena, of which the gods were
personifications, and each town or district had its own divinities, ceremonies, and traditions. There are
also traces of other primitive forms of religion, such as the worship of ancestors and deified heroes. The
priests who carried out the appointed rites, in which both men and women officiated, were not an
exclusive class, and often served for a period only, retiring afterwards into private life.
Greek. Roman.
Zeus Chief of the gods and supreme ruler Jupiter ( Jove)
Hera Wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage Juno
Apollo Son of Zeus and father of AEsculapius. Theg God who punishes, heals, and helps.Also the god of
the sun, of
song and music, and founder of cities Apollo
Hestia Goddess of the hearth (sacred fire) Vesta
Heracles God of strength and power . Hercules
Athena Goddess of wisdom, power, peace, Minerva
and prosperity.
Poseidon The sea god Neptune
Dionysos God of wine, feasting, and revelry Bacchus
Demeter Goddess of earth and agriculture Ceres
Artemis Goddess of the chase Diana
Hermes Messenger of the gods, with winged feet Mercury
;therefore god of eloquence
Aphrodite Goddess of love and beauty Venus
Nike Goddess of victory Victoria
 GREEK ARCHITECTURE

SOCIAL CONDITION:
The people of the various Greek states were united by devotion to their religion, and
by religious festivals, as well as by their love of music, the drama, and the fine arts,
and also by national games and by emulation in those manly sports and contests for
which they were so distinguished. The Greeks were great colonists, and emigration,
especially to Asia Minor, South Italy, Sicily, and the coasts of the Mediterranean, was
directed by government as early as B.C. 700, not only to develop trade, but also to
provide an outlet for the superfluous population, and so reduce internal party strife.
Thus the colonies, as usually happens, were often peopled by citizens of a more
energetic and go-ahead character than those on the mainland ; and therefore some
of the most important Greek architecture in the Doric style is in South Italy and Sicily,
and in the Ionic style in Asia Minor.
 GREEK ARCHITECTURE

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD:

The principal orders of Classical Greek
Architecture:

•THE DORIC ORDER

•THE IONIC ORDER
•THE CORINTHIAN ORDER (MADE APPEARANCE IN 5 TH
CENTURY)
CLASSICAL ORDERS IN GREEK ARCHITECTURE:
base
DETAILS OF DORIC ORDER

ENTABLATURE 2D
Cornice 1/2D
metope
Frieze 3/4D

3/4D

Capital 1/2D
3/4D to 2/3D

Shaft 6.5D-7D
Arises
Flutes

COLUMN
Max.Entasis
At 7/3D.
D
D/4
Crepidoma D/4
3/4D D/4
 THE DORIC ORDER:
Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric columns are
the simplest.
•They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle
topped by a square.
•The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20
sides.
•There is no base in the Doric order. The Doric order is very
plain, but powerful-looking in its design.
•Doric, like most Greek styles, works well horizontally on
buildings, that's why it was so good with the long
rectangular buildings made by the Greeks.
•The area above the column, called the frieze, had simple
patterns. Above the columns are the metopes and
triglyphs.
•The metope is a plain, smooth stone section between
triglyphs. Sometimes the metopes had statues of heroes or
gods on them. The triglyphs are a pattern of 3 vertical lines
between the metopes.
 THE DORIC ORDER:
•The circular shaft, diminishing at the top to between ¾
and 2/3 of the dia.
•The shaft is usually divide in to 24 flutes separated by
arrises.
•The Shaft has normally a slightly convex profile called
entasis, to counteract the concave appearance produced
by straight-sided columns.
•The Doric Entablature has 3 main divisions 1)The
Architrave, 2)The Frieze, 3) The Cornice.
•The Doric Entablature must end with Triglyph.
•There are many examples of ancient Doric buildings. Perhaps
the most famous one is the Parthenon in Athens.
 •OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Fig. a represents the front of a temple as it
should appear; b represents its appearance
(exaggerated) if it were actually built like a
without compensations for optical illusions; c
represents it as built and showing the physical
corrections (exaggerated) in order that it may
appear to the eye as a does.

•Tall columns if they are actually straight are

likely to appear somewhat shrunken in the
middle; therefore they are sometimes made
slightly swollen in order to appear straight.
•This outward curvature of the profile is
termed an entasis.
 •OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
One of the conditions which is responsible
for certain optical illusions and has been
compensated for on occasions is
represented On the left are a series of
squares of equal size placed in a vertical
row. If these are large so that they might
represent stories in a building they will
appear to decrease in size from the
bottom upward, because of the
decreasing projection at the eye. This is It is stated that an inscription on an ancient
obvious if the eye is considered to be at temple was written in letters arranged
the point where the inclined lines meet. In vertically, and in order to make them appear of
order to compensate for the variation in equal size they were actually increased in size
visual angle, there must be a series of toward the top according to the law
rectangles increasing considerably in represented in Fig. 86. Obviously a given
height toward the top. The correction is correction would be correct only for one
shown in the illustration distance in a given plane.
•OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
•OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

Columns viewed against a background of white sky appear of smaller

diameter than when they are viewed against a dark background, where
the white and the black columns are supposed to be equal in diameter.
 •OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

This optical illusion makes the parallel straight horizontal lines appear to be bent. To construct the
illusion, alternating light and dark “bricks” are laid in staggered rows. It is essential for the illusion
that each “brick” is surrounded by a layer of “mortar” (the grey in the image). This should ideally b
of a color in between the dark and light color of the bricks……….
 •OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

The Ebbinghaus illusion is an optical illusion of relative size perception. In

the best-known version of the illusion, two circles of identical size are
placed near to each other and one is surrounded by large circles while
the other is surrounded by small circles; the first central circle then
appears smaller than the second central circle.
•OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
The Hermann grid illusion is an
optical illusion reported by
Ludimar Hermann in 1870 while,
incidentally, reading John
Tyndall’s Sound. The illusion is
characterised by “ghostlike” grey
blobs perceived at the
intersections of a white (or light-
colored) grid on a black
background. The grey blobs
disappear when looking directly
at an intersection.
•OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

The Hering illusion is an optical illusion

discovered by the German physiologist
Ewald Hering in 1861. The two vertical
lines are both straight, but they look as if
they were bowed outwards. The
distortion is produced by the lined pattern
on the background, that simulates a
perspective design, and creates a false
impression of depth.
•OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
•THE IONIC ORDER
•Ionic columns, including capital and base, are
usually about nine times their lower diameter
in height.
dentil
•They have twenty-four flutes separated by
TRIPLE FASCIA
flattened arrises.
2/3d •The capital consists of a pair of volutes or
spirals, about two-thirds the diameter in
Echinus height, on the front and back of the column,
connected at the sides by the cushion,
sometimes plain and sometimes ornamented,
and on the front and back by an echinus
COLUMN moulding carved with the egg and dart, and a
9d bead moulding.
•The Ionic entablature varies in height, but is
usually about one-fifth of the whole Order.
•It consists of (a) architrave, usually formed as
a triple fascia, in three planes like
superimposed beams ; (b) frieze, sometimes
plain, but often ornamented by a band of
continuous sculpture; (c) cornice, with no
mutules, but usually with dentil ornament,
reminiscent of squared timbers, surmounted
d by the corona and cyma recta moulding.
•THE IONIC ORDER
 •THE IONIC ORDER

MUTULES

FLATTEN ARRISES ECHINUS

FLATTEN ARRISES
(EGG AND DART)
Examples where Ionic columns were used:
UPPER TORUS •Erectheion and Temple of Athena Nike, Athens.
SCOTIA
•Archaic Temple of Artemis: Ephesus.
LOWER TORUS
•Temple of Apollo Epicurus: Bassae.
•THE BASE OF IONIC ORDER •Temple of Athena Polias:Priene
Cornice •THE CORINTHIAN ORDER
Frieze Entablature
Architrave 1/5 d
TRIPLE FASCIA

COLUMN
10d

•Made its first appearance in 5th century B.C.

d
•THE CORINTHIAN ORDER
A Corinthian maiden of marriageable age
died suddenly from a violent disorder.
•After her funeral, her nurse collected her
favourite cups and placed them within a
vase upon her grave, covering the vase
with a tile for the longer preservation of its
contents.
•Inadvertently, however, the vase was
placed upon the root of an acanthus, which
come spring-time shot forth stems and
large leaves. But pressed by the weight of
the vase and tile, the stems turned into
volutes at the extremities of the tile.
 THE FIVE PERIODS OF ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE:

DARK AGES. This Period was related to Pre-historic ages.

Archaic period, Greek artists try to achieve realistic likeness in picturing

ARCHAIC
the human figure, The archaic smile, outstretched palm, clenched fist,
800-500 B.C. and wooden posture of a striding figure are all stylistic devices .

GR Greece reaches the height of economic success, cultural and artistic

CLASSICAL splendor triggers revolts throughout the Hellenic world and rivalry with
EE 500-323 B.C. Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Syracuse leads to much fighting and
bloodshed. Gone is the dreamy Archaic smile from the sculptures.
K
All Temples and Monuments were erected in this period.
HELLINIC Due to Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. many Greek cities were erected
700-146 B.C. upon hill known as ACROPOLIS or UPPER CITY and this formed the
citadel for safety of temples and houses.

Occurred from the 3rd to the 1st centuries B.C.

HELLENISTIC Period of eclecticism.(elements borrowed from diferent periods.)
3rd -1st B.C. Artists expand their work with dramatic poses and emotions, sweeping
lines, and high contrasts of light and shadow
ARCHAIC Period : 800-500 B.C.

•Sculpture almost began to emerge in the Archaic period.

•Sculptural forms such as the kouros, a statue of a male youth ,
and its female equivalent the kore originated in this period.
• These kouroi were inspired by Egyptian sculpture of the time,
following a set pattern of artistic devices, the figures were
formulaic and although admirable, they were unrealistic and
severe.
•It was development of these original statues that lead to the
artistic peak of classical sculpture. Black figure painting of the
later Archaic, and the red figure painting of the 6th century
found in Corinth and Argos, shows the development of a culture
becoming more and more advanced at ease with itself.
CLASSICAL PERIOD : 500 - 323 B.C.

The few examples of Classical period are :

1.The principal Orders of Classical Greek Architecture,

• The Doric order
•The Ionic order
•The Corinthian Order

2.The Acropolis at Athens.

3.The Parthenon Temple.

4.The Erechtheion Temple at Athens.

HELLENIC PERIOD : 700 - 146 B.C.

The example of period are :

1. The Agora of Athens.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD : 3RD B.C – 1ST B.C.

The example of period are :

1. The Theatre “Epidaurus”

CLASSICAL PERIOD:500-323 B.C.
THE ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS:
CLASSICAL PERIOD:500-323 B.C.
THE ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS:
•During the Classical period (450-330 B.C.) three important temples were erected on the
ruins of the buildings in the Dark Age.
• The Temples were The Parthenon, The Erechtheion, and The Temple of Nike,
dedicated to Athena Parthenos, Athena Polias, and Athena-Apteros Nike, respectively.
• The Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the sacred area was also constructed in
the same period.
•Later on some of the monuments were converted into Churches
Assignment and PPT to be given by Students:

•1.Write about Greek Architectural Characteristic features.

•2. Write about the Conditions like, Geological, Geographical,
Social,Historical,Climatic Conditions of Greek Architecture.
•3. Write about the examples of Greek Classical Period.
•4. Write about the examples of Greek Hellinic Period.
•5. Write about the examples of Greek Hellenistic Period.
•6. Write about the Optical Illusion in the Greek Architecture.