Greek Architecture

Reconstruction of the Agora of Athens
Image source: http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/A/agora.htm
The focal point of the Greek city-state was the Agora – a large open space surrounded by
buildings

Image source: http://plurdledgabbleblotchits.tumblr.com/post/120075838869/cindywest-reconstrucci%C3%B3n-del-%C3%A1gora-de-atenas
The is where Greek citizens would come to shop, worship, and participate in government

The agora was like your local “downtown,” where people go to to do whatever it is we do
when we go “downtown”

The Stoa was a common architectural feature of the Agora
Stoa

The stoa consisted of a double row of columns topped by a roof, and offered shade from the sun

Vendors would sell their wares here, and philosophers would meet their students here as well

The agora also included temples, but each city had an Acropolis – which means “High City” –
and this is where the most important temples dedicated to the city’s gods were located
Acropolis = “High
City”

Temple of Poseidon, c. 440 BCE
Image source: http://www.ancient.eu/image/250/
Greek temples were built with stone and used the post and lintel system of architecture, where
columns hold up the roof
P
O
S
T
P
O
S
T
LINTEL
P
O
S
T
P
O
S
T
LINTEL
P
O
S
T
P
O
S
T
LINTEL

There are a variety of types of Greek temples, most of them rectangular in shape (with the
exception of the round tholos-type temple), with columns on the outside

This plan shows a typical peripteral (or peristyle) temple

The black circles refer to columns, and the thick black lines refer to walls
Columns
Walls

The building was raised on a platform called the stylobate, and approached by a ramp
Stylobate

The sloping roof was made of timber, and covered with tile

Columns were actually carved in separate pieces (or drums), and stacked vertically on a wooden
core

The temple was entered through a porch, called the Pronaos

And the main part of the temple is called the Naos (or cella)

This is where a cult statue of the god was held – but people didn’t go inside the building to
worship

Sacrifice scene. Attic red-figure krater, ca. 430 BC–420 BCE, Louvre
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacrifice_Pothos_Painter_Louvre_G496.jpg
Greek religious rituals took place at an altar outside the temple, rather than inside –and as a
result, Greek architects were much more concerned with how the building looked on the
outside, rather than the inside

Greek architects developed a “grammar” of column elements called the “orders”

Each order had its own specific characteristics, and architects rarely mixed elements from one
order with another

There are hundreds of elements proper to each of the orders — you need to know only those
that are easiest to recognize

The Doric order has a massive column
shaft, a cushion-shaped capital, and
alternating triglyphs and metopes along
the frieze
Massive
column
shaft
Cushion capital
Triglyph Metope Triglyph

This is an example of a Doric temple

The triangular area on top is called the pediment

And here is another example of a Doric temple

The Ionic order has a slender column
shaft, a volute capital, and instead of
triglyphs and metopes, it has a smooth
continuous frieze
Slender
column
shaft
Volute capital
Frieze

This is an example of an Ionic temple

Temple of Hera, Paestum, c. 550 BCE
Just like sculpture and vase painting, Greek architecture evolved over time

This temple was erected in the Greek colony of Paestum (in Italy) in the 6th century (during the
Archaic period)

It is a Doric order temple, and was dedicated to Hera, wife of Zeus -- one of the 12 Olympian
deities

The building has suffered considerable damage over the years – the roof and interior walls are
no longer standing

So we have to use our imagination to reconstruct what it would have originally looked like

The columns are massive, and seem to swell in their mid-section

This swelling is called “entasis”

It gives the columns a more elastic appearance, and reveals their weight-bearing function

About a century after the temple of Hera was completed, a second temple dedicated to
Poseidon was built right next to it
Temple of Hera
c. 550 BCE
Temple of
Poseidon
c. 460 BCE

It is also a Doric Temple, with massive column shafts, cushion capitals, and alternating triglyphs
and metopes
Massive
column
shaft
Cushion
capital
Triglyph
Metope

It also still has its triangular shaped pediment

The main difference between the two buildings is in their proportions
Temple of Hera
c. 550 BCE
Temple of
Poseidon
c. 460 BCE

The columns of the newer temple, for example, are taller
Temple of Hera
c. 550 BCE
Temple of
Poseidon
c. 460 BCE

They still have “entasis,” but they are less chunky, and more refined

And there are 6 columns across the front, rather than 9 -- resulting in different proportions

While the Temple of Hera is “squat,” the Temple of Poseidon is taller, more lofty, and more
graceful in its proportions
Temple of Hera
c. 550 BCE
Temple of
Poseidon
c. 460 BCE

Basically, this is what Greek architects did: they tweaked the proportions of their buildings in
order to achieve the most visually “perfect” building possible

The Temple of Athena Parthenos (the Parthenon), located on the acropolis above Athens, is
widely regarded as the most “perfect” Greek temple

The original temple had been destroyed by the Persians during the Persian wars

But during the 5th century the buildings of the sanctuary were rebuilt, under the leadership
of the democratically elected leader Pericles

The most important building was the Temple of Athena Parthenos – known today as the
Parthenon
The Parthenon

It was dedicated to Athena, patron goddess of the city

The Parthenon is a Doric temple (though we will see later that it also has some Ionic
elements)

The building has suffered considerable damage over the centuries

The roof and inner walls are no longer standing

Some of the worse damage was done in 1687, when it was being used to store ammunition,
and was bombed by Venetian shells

There is a full-scale replica of the building in Nashville Tennessee, which give us some idea of
the grandeur of the original building

The architects of the Parthenon were Iktinos and Callikrates, and they perfected the formula
for constructing the most visually “perfect” temple ever to have been built in the Greek
world

The secret is in the math: the controlling ratio for the building is X = 2y + 1, which governs
every aspect of the building

For example, there are 8 columns along the front, and 17 along the side:
2 x 8 + 1 = 17, thus conforming to the formula X = 2y + 1
X = 2y + 1

This ratio is also related to the Golden Section, a mathematical proportion based on pi, and is
believed to be the basis of all natural beauty

Yet, despite the sophisticated mathematics that went into the design of the Parthenon, there
is not a straight line in the building!

The stylobate and entablature, for example, are curved rather than straight

This was to make the building appear perfect: without this subtle curve, the building would
appear to sag in the middle

And the columns are not exactly straight either: they tilt just a tiny bit inward

Its difficult to see with the naked eye, but if we frame the building with a perfect square you
can see that the outer columns tilt just a little bit inwards

If the columns were perfectly straight, they would appear to tilt outwards – so the
adjustment was, again, to make the building appear perfectly geometrical

So Greek architects strove to make their buildings appear perfect to the human eye, as if to
illustrate Protagoras’ famous claim that “Man is the measure of all things”

The human eye alone can determine what is perfect and right

I highly recommend this short video from NOVA that goes into more detail about the optical
refinements of the Parthenon

Greek Architecture

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