4. GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
LOCATION & CLIMATE
• From Central Asia to the western end
of the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Greek Culture followed the
Minoan Civilization of Crete and the
Mycenaean Civilization of Athens,
eventually developing into the
Classical Greek culture.
• Civilization that thrived around the
Mediterranean Sea from the 3000BC
to the 146 BC .
• Known for advances in philosophy,
architecture, drama, government,
and science.
• The climate of Greece is maritime,
with sea breeze tempering down the
coldness of winter and the heat of
summer.
5. SOCIETY AND CULTURE
• Ancient Greece consisted of several hundred
more or less independent city-states called
Polis.
• Society was mainly broken up between Free
people and Slaves, who were owned by the
free people.
• The social classes applied to men only, as
women all took their social and legal status
from their husband or their male partner.
• Majority of Greek states were governed by
groups of rich landowners, called Aristocrats.
• The civilization of ancient Greece has been
immensely influential on language, politics,
educational systems, philosophy, science, and
the arts till date.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
6. SOCIETY AND CULTURE
• Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the
role of reason and inquiry. Some well known
philosophers of Ancient Greece were Plato
and Socrates.
• Ancient Greek society placed considerable
emphasis upon literature and theatre,
including tragedies and comedies.
• Greek mythology consists of stories
belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning
their gods and heroes, the nature of the
world and the origins and significance of
their religious practices. The main Greek
gods were the twelve Olympians, Zeus, his
wife Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, etc.
• It was predictably in Greece that sports were
first instituted formally, with the first
Olympic Games recorded in 776 BC in
Olympia.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
7. ARCHITECTURE - MATERIAL
• The mainland and islands of Greece are
rocky, with deeply indented coastline, and
rugged mountain ranges with few substantial
forests.
• The most freely available building material is
stone. Limestone was readily available and
can be easily worked.
• Abundance of high quality white marble
both on the mainland and islands.
• This finely grained material was a major
contributing factor to precision of detail,
both architectural and sculptural, that
adorned Ancient Greek architecture.
• Moreover, Deposits of high quality clay were
found throughout Greece which could be used
not only for pottery vessels, but also roof tiles
and architectural decoration.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
8. • The temperate climate led to a lifestyle
where many activities could take place
outdoors.
• Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished
its highly formalised characteristics, both of
structure and decoration, particularly in the
case of temples where each building appears
to have been conceived as a sculptural entity
within the landscape, most often raised on
high ground so that the elegance of its
proportions and the effects of light on its
surfaces might be viewed from all angles.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
• Ancient Greeks had very strong
foundations of architecture, following the
Minoans, known for their elaborate and
richly decorated palaces. The Mycenaean
had built citadels, fortifications and tombs
rather than palaces.
ARCHITECTURE - CHARACTERISTICS
9. • Hence important buildings were placed on
hilltops, with their exteriors designed as a
visual focus for gatherings, while the
naturally occurring sloping site could be
used as seating areas.
• Need for protection from the sun and
sudden winter storms led to the
development of Colonnades encircling the
buildings or surrounding courtyards.
• Ancient Greek architecture responded very
sharply to the availability of clear light,
constructing buildings that were marked by
precision of detail.
• Beauty = Proportion and Measure.
• Building conceived as a Sculpture.
• Dominant lines are horizontal and vertical.
ARCHITECTURE - CHARACTERISTICS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
10. • The marble surfaces were smooth, curved,
fluted, or ornately sculpted to reflect the
sun, and cast shadows and change in colour
with the ever-changing light of day.
• The architecture of Ancient Greece is of a
trabeated or "post and lintel" form,
composed of upright columns (posts)
supporting horizontal beams (lintels).
• There were three schools of Grecian
architecture based on the column details.
1. Doric
2. Ionic
3. Corinthian
• The Golden Section (the ratio of 1 to
1.618) : basis for the proportions of the
human figure. Every part of their major
buildings, down to the smallest detail of
decoration, was constructed upon this
proportion.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
ARCHITECTURE - CHARACTERISTICS
11. GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT
Archaic Age, 800-480 B.C.
• Means primitive.
• Defined as the "structural revolution",
meaning a sudden upsurge of population
and material goods with the "intellectual
revolution" of classical Greece.
• There were no more kings, so no more
palaces or fancy tombs. Instead, people
began to build big temples for the Gods.
• The first Greek temples, built around
800 BC, were made of wood, which was
easier to build in than stone.
• They were long rectangular buildings
with a porch supported by columns
and thatched or tiled roofs.
12. GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT
Hellenic Age, 480-325 B.C.
• The Hellenic Period is the "classic"
period of Greek culture.
• In this period of the conquests of
Alexander the Great, Greece enjoyed a
cultural flowering and economic prosperity.
• Drama, philosophy and sculpture all began
or underwent significant refinement in this
period.
• Cities now dominated politics, society and
economy.
• More refined and elegant buildings
emphasizing grandeur and luxury.
• A notable achievement is the rise in
architecture of the Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian columns. Eg. Citadel of
Alexandria.
13. GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT
Hellenistic Age, 323-146 B.C.
• The Greeks continued to build temples,
but they also began to build vast urban
plans and large complexes.
• They built many more theaters, and also
gymnasia and, because this was a time
with a lot of fighting, also a lot of forts
were built.
• Ornate buildings.
• Rather than manipulating space,
building plans conformed to the natural
setting.
• Pergamon is a characteristic example of
Hellenistic architecture, starting from a
simple fortress located on the Acropolis,
as a colossal architectural complex.
14. TYPOLOGY
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
Palaces
Most known to us are the palaces of Minoan
Crete, the Mycenaean palaces of
Peloponnese, and the Macedonian Palaces of
northern Greece. As Greek society developed
to be democratic during Classical times, there
was no need to build palaces for the leaders.
Greek Temple
The Acropolis of Athens
Greek Theater
Central place of formal gatherings in
ancient Greece. Not only did the structure
serve as the stage for Tragedies and
Comedies, but it also provided a forum for
poetry and musical events.
Greek Stadiums
Athletic events provided the opportunity for
all the city-states of Greece to gather and to
strengthen their common bonds through
competition.
15. PLAN FORMS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
Temples
• Celebrated life on earth rather than afterlife Shrines for gods
• Depositories of civic and religious treasure.
16. ELEMENTS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
1. Tympanum : semi-circular or triangular decorative wall
surface over an entrance. It often contains sculpture or
other imagery or ornaments.
2. Acroterium : architectural ornament placed on a flat
base called the acroter, and mounted at the apex of
the pediment of a building in the Classical style.
3. Sima : upturned edge of a roof which acts as a gutter
and runs around all four sides of a building.
4. Cornice : horizontal decorative moulding that crowns
any building. The function of the projecting cornice is
to throw rainwater free of the building’s walls.
7. Frieze : is the wide central section part of an
entablature and may be decorated with bas-reliefs.
8. Triglyph : is an architectural term for the vertically
channelled tablets of the Doric frieze.
9. Metopes : The rectangular recessed spaces between
the triglyphs on a Doric frieze.
17. ELEMENTS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
11. Gutta : is a small water-repelling, cone-shaped
projection used in the architrave of the Doric order.
12. Taenia : "band" or "ribbon", is the Latin word for a
small "fillet" molding near the top of the architrave in a
Doric column.
13. Architrave : also called an epistyle; is the lintel or
beam that rests on the capitals of the columns.
14. Capital : forms the topmost member of a column (or
pilaster). It mediates between the column and the load
thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the
column's supporting surface.
15. Abacus : is a flat slab forming the uppermost member
of the capital of a column. Its chief function is to
provide a large supporting surface to receive the
weight of the arch or the architrave above.
18. ELEMENTS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
17. Column or pillar : is an structural element that
transmits, through compression, the weight of the
structure above to other structural elements below in,
other word column is a compression member.
18. Fluting : refers to the shallow grooves running
vertically along a surface.
19. Stylobate : a continuous base supporting a row of
columns in classical Greek architecture.
Entablature : refers to the superstructure of mouldings
and bands which lie horizontally above columns,
resting on their capitals. Entablatures are commonly
divided into the architrave , the frieze and the cornice.
19. ORDERS
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE – I
24-09-2012
Ionic
feminine, light, delicate and
elegant.
Corinthian
grandiose
Doric
masculine, serious, and
dignified
In classical architecture, the parts of a building that stand in fixed and constant relation to
each other; distinguishable by the capital.
• The top of the columns
are a square block.
• Under the block is a
rounded piece.
• The columns are thick.
• The base is a square block.
• The Ionic capital looks like
a scroll.
• The Ionic column is
skinnier.
• The base has a rounded
and a square section.
• Corinthian columns were
the most decorative.
• The capitals were carved
to look like leaves.
• The columns were the
thinnest.
