Ancient Greek architecture developed between 900 BC to 1st century AD and was influenced by earlier civilizations like Egypt. The Greeks used post-lintel construction and three classical orders - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Temples were the main buildings and were used for religious purposes to show power. Other structures included houses, theaters, and markets. Materials included bricks, stone, wood and marble. Architecture progressed through Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, with innovations like stone temples and complex theater designs in the Archaic and Classical eras.

1. Ancient Greek
Architecture
By: Lucylle Bianca Cawaling, Alina Bianca Arellano, Sofia
Valera, Rheana Gabriel, Dominique Avanzando

2. Introduction
• Architecture made by the Greek-speaking Hellenic people
• Built around 900 BC until the 1st century AD
• Post-lintel system
• Greek Architectural order
• Doric- sturdy and thick columns with a plain capital top
• Ionic- thinner columns with scroll-like capitals
• Corinthian- very elaborate capital and decorated with leaves

5. Purpose
• For religious temples because religion is a big part of Greek Life
• To show power and authority of their leaders
• For habitation
• Big venues for entertainment
• Bouleterion(Council building)
• Palaestra (gymnasium)
• Hippodrome (horse racing)
• Propylon (monumental gateway)

6. Kinds
• Houses
• Stadiums
• Aroga (Market Place)
• Sanctuaries
• Open Air theaters
• Tholos (smaller circular temples)
• Mausoleum (monumental tomb)

7. Materials
• Sun dried clay bricks
• Limestone
• Terracotta
• Marble
• Wood
• Plaster
• bronze

8. Geometric and Orientalizing Periods

9. Temple A, Prinias
625 BCE
Stone temple inspired from east, a typical
Mycenean megaron
Learnt to build, because of trading with
Egypt
Built to honor an unknown deity
Earliest known example of Greek temple
with sculptured decoration

10. ARCHAIC PERIOD
(C. 800 - 479 BCE)

11. In the Archaic period there were vast
changes in Greek language, society, art,
architecture and politics.
These changes bore a new age of intellectual
ideas, of which the most important is
Democracy.
Structural revolution
Intellectual revolution of classical Greece

12. Definition of Terms
Archaic
- means describing things belonging to ancient times
- derived from the Greek word archaikos which means
"primitive"
- period takes its name from what is considered old-
fashioned style of sculpture characteristic of that time as
opposed to the more natural look made in the following
period.

13. Notable distinctions to determine a piece from the
Archaic period
 Egyptian-like art/poses,
left foot forward
Achilles and Ajax Gaming, artist: Exekias

14. • 530 B.C.
• Archaic
• red-figure
• Signed by Andokides, as potter
• Attributed to the Andokides Painter
(red-figure decoration)

15. Archaic smile
Archaic smile, detail of a
kouros (statue of a young
man) from Tenea,
Greece, c. 575–550 bc

16.  "Helmet" hair
- very patterned and
conventionalized hair
Kroisos Anavysos,
Greece ca. 530 BCE

17. TEMPLES IN THE ARCHAIC PERIOD
 Temples in the archaic period were the first stone temples
built in Greece and demonstrate a developing knowledge of
stone building. Before this, they were constructed out of
mud-brick and wood--simple structures that were
rectangular or semi-circular in shape--which may have been
enhanced with a few columns and a porch.
 The Doric order was the oldest Greek classification of
architecture. It is identified by its columns and its frieze. The
columns had no base, a bulge in the middle of their shaft,
and squashed, flared capitals.

18. Temple of Hera II and Temple of Hera I Paestum, Italy.
Source: Boundless. “Temple Architecture.” Boundless Art History. Boundless, 03 Jul. 2014. Retrieved 22 Jan. 2015 from
https://www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/ancient-greece-6/the-archaic-period-64/temple-architecture-332-10516/

19. Early and High Classical Periods
Classical age is marked by the defeat of the Persian invaders of Greece
by the allied Hellenic city-state. The removal of the Persian threat
considered the high point of Greek civilization.

20. Temple of Zeus Olympia by the architect Libon of Elis. Construction started 470 BCE and finished 457
BCE. It has 6 columns in 2 short ends, 2 columns in antis, and 2 rows of colums in 2 stories inside the cella.
(artist reconstruction)

21. The Athenian Acropolis
• War damaged from the Persian, Athens were reconstructed under the
leadership of Pericles
• Funds for reconstruction was from corruption
• The temples in Athens were not a glorious fruits of Athenian democracy but
are instead the by-products of tyranny and the abuse of power

22. The Periclean
Acropolis
• Center of the building program:
Parthenon or the Temple of
Athena Pathenos
• 447-438 BCE
• Converted to Byzantine, then to
Roman Catholic church, and after
the Ottoman conquest of Greece,
to a mosque

23. The Periclean Acropolis
• 4 important buildings:
• Parthenon
• Propylaia – the gateway to the Acropolis
• Erechtheion
• Temple of Athena Nike

24. • Observes strict symmetry, and can be expressed algebraically as x=2y+1
• Temple’s short ends have 8 columns and 17 long sides because 17=(2x8)+1
• The Stylobate’s ratio of length to width is 9:4, because 9=(2x4)+1
• The distance between two adjacent column drums/points is called interaxial

25. • Strictly symmetrical Doric
• Irregular in shape
• Horizontal and vertical lines assumed to be the basis of all Greek post-lintel structures
• Stylobate curves upward, because if laid on a level surface it will appear to sag at the center
• Corner columns of a building should be thicker because they are surrounded by light and would be otherwise
appear thinner than their neighbors.

26. Propylaia
• The architect entrusted with this important commission was Mnesikles
• Splits the eastern and western façade= resembles a Doric temple façade
• Enlarged space between central pair of columns indicated path made for chariots
and animals of the Panathnaic Festival procession
• Exterior= Doric order
• Interior= Ionic order
• Only the northwest wing was completed because of change of fortunes of Athens

28. Erechtheion
• 421 BCE
• To replace Archaic Athena temple the Persians have destroyed
• North of old temple’s remain became a multiple shrine
• The very spot where the contest between Athena and Poseidon occurred
• Poseidon-> Acropolis Rock+trident=salt water spring
• Athena-> olive tree
• Asymmetrical plan
• Has four sides of very different character, and each side rests on a different ground level
• Have many decorative details

31. Late Classical Period
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, WHICH BEGAN IN 431 BCE, ENDED IN 404 BCE
WITH THE COMPLETE DEFEAT OF A PLAQUE-WEAKEND ATHENS. THE VICTOR,
SPARTA, AND THEN THEBES UNDERTOOK THE LEADERSHIP OF GREECE, BOTH
UNSUCCESSFULLY.

32. Late Classical Art:
Architecture
Time of innovation
and experimentation
The period closed
with Alexander the
Great that led the
new artistic age
Model of the Mausoleum, Halikarnassos, ca.
353–340 BCE.

33. The Epidauros theater is the finest in Greece The auditorium is 387 feet in diameter, and its 55 rows of
seats accommodated about 12,000 spectators
THEATER OF EPIDAUROS, Greece
Polykleitos the Younger (ca. 350 bce.)

34. Late Classical Art: Architecture
Orchestra literally means “dancing place.”
The theatron, or “place for seeing” – the spectators sat on a slope
overlooking.
The Greeks always situated their theaters on hillsides, which
supported the cavea (Latin for “hollow place, cavity”) of stone seats
overlooking the circular orchestra.
The cavea at Epidauros, composed of wedge-shaped sections (cunei,
singular cuneus) of stone benches separated by stairs, is somewhat
greater than a semicircle in plan.

35. Late Classical Art: Architecture
Skene – the scene building, which housed dressing rooms for
the actorsand also formed a backdrop for the plays.
Renown for the harmony of its proportions.
All had unobstructed views of the orchestra and because the
open-air cavea’s excellent acoustics, everyone could hear the
actors and chorus.
The Greeks always situated their theaters on hillsides, which
supported the cavea of stone seats overlooking the circular
orchestra.

37. CORINTHIAN CAPITALS
or Corinthian order

38. Late Classical
Art: Architecture
Last developed of the three
principal classical orders of
ancient Greek and Roman
architecture.
Theodoros of Phokaia, Tholos, Delphi, Greece, ca. 375 bce.
Theodoros of Phokaia’s tholos at Delphi, although in ruins, is the
bestpreserved example of a round temple of the Classical period. It
had Doric columns on the exterior and Corinthian columns inside.

39. Late Classical Art: Architecture
CORINTHIAN CAPITALS
It is named from the Greek city-state of Corinth.
It consists of a double row of acanthus leaves, from
which tendrils and flowers emerge, wrapped around
abell-shaped echinus.
The ornate Corinthian capital became increasingly
popular, breaking the monopoly of the Doric and
Ionic orders.

40. Corinthian capital
Polykleitos the Younger
Corinthian capital, fromthe
tholos, Epidauros,Greece
(ca. 350 bce.)
Archaeological Museum,
Epidauros.
Corinthian capitals, invented in
the fifth century BCE by the
sculptor Kallimachos, are more
ornate than Doric and Ionic
capitals. They feature a double
row of acanthus leaves with
tendrils and flowers.

41. Late Classical Art: Architecture
CORINTHIAN CAPITALS
Later architects favored the Corinthian
capital because of its ornate character and
because it eliminated certain problems of
both the Doric and Ionic orders.

42. Late Classical Art: Architecture
CORINTHIAN CAPITALS
Doric design rules also presented problems for Greek
architects at the corners of buildings:
Triglyph must be exactly over the center of each column.
A triglyph must be over the center of each intercolumniation (the
space between two columns).
Triglyphs at the corners of the frieze must meet so that no space is
left over.
If the corner triglyphs must meet, then they cannot be placed over
the center of the corner column.

43. Late Classical Art: Architecture
CORINTHIAN CAPITALS
Ionic design rules also presented problems for
Greek architects:
It has two distinct profiles— the front and back (with the
volutes) and the sides.
The volutes always faced outward on a Greek temple, but
architects met with a vexing problem at the corners of
their buildings, which had two adjacent “fronts.”

45. Choragic
Monument of
Lysikrates, Athens,
Greece (334 bce.)
The first known instance of the use
of the Corinthian capital on the
exterior of a building is the
monument Lysikrates erected in
Athens to commemorate the victory
his chorus won in a theatrical
contest.

46. HELLENISTIC
PERIOD
• the period when Greek culture spread
in the non-Greek world after
Alexander’s conquest.
• At this time, Greek cultural influence
and power was at its peak
in Europe, Africa and Asia,
experiencing prosperity and progress
in
the arts, exploration, literature, theatr
e, architecture, music,
mathematics, philosophy, and science.
It is often considered a period of
transition, sometimes even
of decadence or degeneration,
compared to the brilliance of the
Greek Classical era.

47. HELLENISTIC
PERIOD• In the architectural field, this resulted in vast urban
plans and large complexes which had mostly
disappeared from city-states by the 5th century BC.
• This city planning was quite innovative for the Greek
world; rather than manipulating space by correcting
its faults, building plans conformed to the natural
setting.
• The Hellenistic monarchies were advantaged in this
regard in that they often had vast spaces where they
could build large cities: such as Antioch, Pergamon,
and Seleucia on the Tigris.
• The greater variety, complexity, and sophistication of
Hellenistic culture called for an architecture on an
imperial scale and of wide diversity, something
beyond the requirements of the Classical polis, even
beyond that of the Athens at the height of its power.

48. PERGAMON IN PARTICULAR IS A
CHARACTERISTIC EXAMPLE OF
HELLENISTIC ARCHITECTURE.

49. • Great scale
• Theatrical
Element of
Surprise
• Willingness to
break the rules
of Canonical
temple design
• One of the most
ambitious
temple projects
of the Hellenistic
Period
• Hypaethral (open
to the sky)
• Dipteral (double
peripheral
colonnade)

50. HIPPODAMOS OF MILETOS
•Hippodamos of Miletos= father of rational city planning
•He imposed a strict grid plan on the site regardless of terrain, so that
all streets met at right angles
•Hippodamian plan- designated separate quarters for public, private
and religious functions
•Hippodamian city” was logically and regularly planned.
•This desire to impose order on nature and to assign a proper place in
the whole to each of the city’s constituent parts was very much in
keeping wuth the philosophical tenets of the 5th century BCE.

51. STOA
An ancient Greek portico usually walled at the back with a front colonnade
designed to afford a sheltered promenade (or pillar)
Also called porticos, often housed shops and civic offices, were ideal
vehicles for shaping urban spaces.