THE 3 BASIC GREEK CLASSICAL ORDERS ARE:
-THE DORIC ORDER (7th century BCE – Peloponnese - mainland Greece)
-THE IONIC ORDER (6 th century BCE – Ionia)
-THE CORINTHIAN ORDER (5 th century BCE – Corinth)
• They are the building blocks of Western architecture.
• They have been used for 2500 years.
• Greeks developed them mostly to build their temples, which used to be colourful, indeed,
Greeks painted their temples/buildings/statues.
• The temples were not meant to be worshipped in. They were houses for gods (with their cult
statue inside). The altar was outside the temple. Temples were designed to be looked at from
the outside so they were elegant and imposing.
• The construction of a temple could take over a decade and columns could be 15 to 20 m
height.
• The temple was entered through a ceremonial ramp, to approach the portico (entrance
door/gate). It was annexed by official offices and storerooms (in some cases the treasury was
held there). At its heart was the cella: the home of the cult statue.
The Doric order
The Doric order is the earliest and the simplest of the three Classical orders of architecture.
Construction of monuments go from WOOD to STONE.
The Doric order emerged on the Greek mainland (in the Peloponnese) in the 7th century BCE and
remained the predominant order for Greek temple construction through the early 5th century BCE.
It was associated with a masculine form as it is broad and feels heavy. It is not tall.
It is characterized by:
- a heavy column (= shaft) that rests directly on the stylobate (= foundation stone) of the temple (it
means that they have no base/no decorative foot)
- it is usually decorated with 20 flutes* (shallow vertical lines running along the surface of the column)
- it has plain capitals
The entablature includes a frieze composed of:
-triglyphs—vertical plaques with three lines
-metopes—square spaces between triglyphs for either painted or sculpted decoration
NOTES:
* Fluting promotes a play of light on a column which helps the column appear more perfectly round
than a smooth column.
As a strong vertical element, it also has the visual effect of minimizing any horizontal joints.
Greek architects viewed rhythm as an important design element.
Pediment: triangular space at the very top of a temple
Entablature(1): area right under the pediment and above the columns.
It is composed of the cornice, the frieze and the architrave.
In the Doric order the frieze was decorated in a specific way:
- with triglyphs (it literally means “3 marks”)
- and in between the triglyphs are spaces called metopes, which were often filled with
Sculptures
(1) Illustration of entablature
1 entablature, 2 cornice, 3 frieze, 4 architrave
Entasis: in Doric temples, the shafts swell a little bit toward the centre. Columns have a curved
outline.
It gives a sense of liveliness, elasticity and verticality (a column looks taller that it really is)
This was expensive to make: every drum that makes up a column had to be an individual, unique
piece (no mass production). Indeed, a column was not carved from a single piece of stone. In the
centre of each drum there would be a hole to put a piece of wood to string them together (almost
like beads on a necklace)
The most famous DORIC temple on the Acropolis (*) (set 150 m above the city of Athens) is THE
PARTHENON, dedicated to the goddess ATHENA.
The original Acropolis buildings were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE, the new buildings were built in
the second half of the 5th century BCE.
It was built under the reign of PERICLES. HE WANTED TO CREATE A LASTING MONUMENT WHICH WOULD
BOTH HONOUR THE GODDESS ATHENA AND PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF THE CITY OF ATHENS TO THE
WORLD.
The project was under the supervision of PHIDIAS – the finest sculptor in the ancient world. (Among other
things, he created the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He was
also an architect and a painter) with the architects CALLICRATES, MNESIKLES and IKTINOS.
It was built entirely from marble (22 000 tons of it)
The four main buildings in the original plan for the Acropolis were:
-the Propylaia (=monumental gateway) It was the ornate entrance way into the temple complex)
-the Parthenon (dedicated to the goddess Athena)
-the Erechtheion (dedicated to Athena and Poseidon)
- the Temple of Athena Nike
(*)Acropolis: it is a citadel or complex built on a high hill.
The name derives from the Greek “akro”, which means high, extremity or edge,
and polis, which means “city”. Thus, it is translated as “high city”, “city on the edge”
or even “city in the air”.
The Ionic order
The Ionic order originated in Ionia where a number of ancient Greek settlements were located.
The Ionic order developed during the mid-6th century BCE and had been transmitted to mainland
Greece by the 5th century BCE.
It is characterised by:
-its graceful and more feminine proportions (thinner and taller columns than the Doric order)
-its 24 flutes
- its volutes = large scroll-like shapes
-a base which supports the column (unlike the Doric order)
-a running frieze of continuous sculptural relief (as opposed to the Doric frieze composed of triglyphs
and metopes)
In Athens, the Ionic order influenced some elements of the Parthenon, 447-432 BCE, notably the Ionic
frieze that encircles the cella of the temple.
Ionic columns are also employed in the interior of the monumental gateway to the Acropolis, known
as the Propylaia.
The Erechtheion, 5th century BCE, Athens, dedicated to Athena
and Poseidon
The Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is the latest and the most elaborate/decorative of the Classical orders of
architecture.
This order was employed in Greek and mostly Roman architecture with minor variations.
It gave rise, in turn, to the Composite order.
The defining element of the Corinthian order is its elaborate, carved capital, with scrolls and stylized,
carved acanthus leaves – which symbolise immortality - around the capital.
The columns are also tall and slim, with 24 flutes.
