CLASSICAL GREEK ARCHITECTURE

GREEK (CLASSICAL)ARCHITECTURE
900 BC(BCE) -1ST CENTURY AD(CE
INTRODUCTION
• Greek architecture refers to the architecture of the Greek-speaking people (Hellenic people)
who inhabited the Greek mainland, the islands of the Aegean Sea and colonies in Asia Minor
and Italy.

• Greek architecture stretches from c. 900 B.C.E. to the 1st century AD. (with the earliest extant
stone architecture dating to the 7th century B.C.E.).

• The Greeks perceived Mount Olympus as the dwelling place of their arch deity Zeus, and strove to
emulate the gods by constructing temples on top of mountains.

• Greek architecture is driven by religion, mainly resulting in the desire to construct the “perfect temple”.

• Contrary to their Minoan and Mycenean ancestors, the Ancient Greeks did not have royalty, something
reflected in the absence of palaces. Instead their architecture was devoted to public buildings.
• Their structures; temples, theatres, and stadia became staple features of
towns and cities from antiquity onwards.

• Ancient Greeks were concerned with creating buildings that possessed qualities of simplicity,
proportion, perspective and harmony.

• This focus influenced the architects in the Roman world and provided the foundation for the
classical architectural orders which dominated the Western World from the Renaissance to
the present day.

• Greeks had profound respect for tradition which made them generally conservative. The Greek
temples were built with wood until 650BC when they started using stone.

• Greek decorative details of metopes and triyglphs were an outcome of the functional aspects of
their wooden structures; the ends of cross-beams and spaces between them that existed in the very
first temple structures made with wood.
• These later set the prototype decoration for the frieze in stone and marble
buildings.

• The stone and marble buildings became replicas of their wooden

predecessors.

• Their buildings were based on the post and lintel, making the arch and
vault irrelevant to the Greeks, much like it was with their predecessors.

• Greek architecture celebrated the straight lines (rectilinear) unlike the

Roman architecture which celebrated the curve(curvilinear).

• Chief structural elements in Greek architecture became merely decorative

in Roman architecture
Capitals
• In architecture, a capital forms the topmost member of a
column.
Pediments
Entablature
• An entablature is the superstructure of moldings and bands
that lay horizontally above columns and rest on capitals.
Pediment
• A pediment is an element in classical, neoclassical, and
baroque architecture that is placed above the horizontal
structure of an entablature, and is typically supported by
columns.
Stylobate
• In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate is the top step of a
stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns
are placed. In other words, the stylobate comprises the
temple flooring.
Frieze
• A long and narrow sculptural band that runs along the
middle of an entablature, used for decorative purposes.
 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

• Greek architecture began with the use of wood and culminated into great public
buildingsof stone and marble.

• The Greeks had a distinct preference for marble, at least for their public buildings.

• Initially,wood would had been used for not only such basic architectural elements
ascolumns but the entire buildings themselves, as in the case of the early 8th
century BCtemples. The roofs were finished in thatch.

• From the late 7th century BC, temples, in particular, slowly began to be converted into
more durable stone structures.
⚫ The stone of choice was either limestone protected by a layer of
marble dust stucco or pure white marble.

⚫ Also,carved stone was often polished with chamois to provide resistance to water and give a
bright finish. The best marble came from Naxos, Paros, and Mt. Pentelicon nearAthens

⚫ The building materials ⚫ Architectural features

the Greeks used: they constructed were:
⚫ Wood and sun baked clay ⚫ Walls andWindows
bricks ⚫ doorways, gateways
⚫ Concrete and Stucco ⚫ Post and Lintel, Columns
⚫ Stone and Marble ⚫ Entablatures &Pediments
⚫ Metal and glass ⚫ Ceilings and roofs
 THE STRUCTURE OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE

• Post and lintel - Their structures comprised of upright beams (posts) supporting
horizontal beams (lintels)

• Entablature and pediment -The columns of atemple support a structure that rises in
two main stages, the entablature and the pediment. The entablature is the major horizontal
structural element supporting the roof and encircling the entire building. It is composed of
three parts; architrave, frieze and cornice.

• Base - Every temple rested on amasonry base called the crepidoma, generally of three
steps, of which the upper one which carried the columns was the stylobate.
 • Masonry - masonry of all types was used for ancient Greek buildings, including rubble, but the
finest ashlar masonry was usually employed for temple walls, in regular courses and large sizes to
minimize the joints.
• The blocks were rough hewn and hauled from quarries to be cut and bedded very precisely.
Blocks, particularly those of columns and parts of the building bearing loads were sometimes
fixed in place or reinforced with iron clamps, rods of wood, bronze or iron fixed in lead.

• Openings - Door and window openings were spanned with alintel, which in a stone building limited the
possible width of the opening. The distance between columns was similarly affected by the nature of the
lintel, columns on the exterior of buildings and carrying stone lintels being closer together than those on
the interior, which carried wooden lintels. Door and window openings narrowed towards the top.
• Temples were constructed without windows, the light to the naos entering through the door. It has been
suggested that some temples were lit from openings in the roof.
• Roof- the widest span of atemple roof wasacross the cella (inner chamber), In a large
building, this space contained columns to support the roof, the architectural form being
known as hypostyle.

• This is evidenced by the nature of temple construction in the 6th century BC, where the rows of
columns supporting the roof the cella rise higher than the outer walls, unnecessary if roof
trusses are employed as an integral part of the wooden roof.

• Roofing material was thatch or fire burned clay tiles.

 CLASSICAL GREEK ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY ( BUILDING TYPES)
⚫ Greek architecture categories: Public and Domestic.
1. Temple
2. Classical Orders
3. Stadium/ Stadia
4. Amphitheatre
5. Propylon
6. Stoa
7. Bibliotheca /Library
8. Mausoleum
9. Spa
10. Bouleuterion
11. Tholos
 GREEK TEMPLE
• The most recognizably “Greek” structure is the temple (even though the architecture of Greek
temples is actually quite diverse).

• The Greeks referred to temples with the term ὁ ναός (ho naós) meaning "dwelling;" temple derives
from the Latin term, templum.

• The earliest shrines were built to honor divinities (god or goddess)and were made from materials
such as a wood and mud brick materials that typically don't survive very long.

• The basic form of the temples emerges as early as the tenth century B.C.E. as a simple, rectangular
room with projecting walls (antae) that created a shallow porch. This basic form remained
unchanged in its concept for centuries.

• In the eighth century B.C.E. Greek architecture begins to make the move from ephemeral materials
(wood, mud brick, thatch) to permanent materials (namely, stone).
 GREEK TEMPLE PLANS

• Greek temples are often categorized in terms of their ground plan and the way
in which the columns are arranged.
• A prostyle temple is a temple that has columns only at the front,
• An amphiprostyle temple has columns at the front and the rear.
• Temples with a peripteral arrangement have a single line of columns arranged
all around the exterior of the temple building.
• Dipteral temples simply have a double row of columns surrounding the
building.
• One of the more unusual plans is the tholos, a temple with a circular ground
plan; famous examples are attested at the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi and the
sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidauros.
GREEK TEMPLE
PLAN TYPOLOGY
PROPORTION AND OPTICAL ILLUSION- The ideal of proportion that was used by
ancient Greek architects in designing temples wasnot asimple mathematical progression
using asquare module. It involved amore complex geometrical progression, called the
golden mean.

Temple plans- Most ancient Greek temples were rectangular, and were approximately
twice as long as they were wide, with some notable exceptions such as the enormous
Temple of Olympian Zeus,Athens with a length of nearly 2½ times its width.Anumber
of surviving temple-like structures are circular, and are referred to as tholos. The temple
rises from astepped base or stylobate, which elevates the structure above the ground on
which it stand.
 THE TEMPLE
• It is distinguished by its highly formalised characteristics, both of structure and decoration best
observed in itsTEMPLES

• These temples distributed throughout the region some in ruins yet some remain substantially in tact

• The temples appear as a sculptural entity carved from 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.

• They adopted the slight curve of the columns – Entasis

• The temples in Greek colonies did not strictly follow the architectural convention of those in Greek
cities.Their craftsmanship was less refined and occasionally combined orders.
 TheTemple of Hephaestos - Athens, Greece
Designed by Ictinus in 449- 415 BC, Classical architecture of the Doric order. It was
later converted into a Christian church. Dedicated to St. George.
 The Parthenon
Designed by Ictinus, it was built by the Athenians for their patron goddess, Athena. It shows the common structural features
of Ancient Greek architecture: columns, entablature, pediment. It represents the climax of the Doric Order.The temple
stands on the highest point in theAcropolis. It is constructed from the whitest marble- Pentelic Marble.
The
Parthenon,
Athens,
447 – 432
B.C.E.
 Erechtheion,Athens- 421-406 BC
Greek temple to Athena, Hephaestos and Poseidon is the finest Greek representation of the Ionic Order.
It was built during the reconstruction of theAcropolis , commissioned by Pericles after the Persian wars. It
was built with marble. The caryatids were in honour ofAthena.
 ERECHTHEION, ATHENS- 421-
406 BC
MORE THAN DECORATION

"Porch of the Maidens"

(Caryatids)
• The Peloponnesian city of Caryae had sided with the enemy,
Persia, against Greece. Subsequently, the Greeks, gloriously
delivered from war by their victory, by common agreement
declared war on the Caryates.
• when they had captured the town, slaughtered the men, and
laid a curse on the inhabitants, they led its noble matrons off
into captivity.
• Nor would they allow these women to put away their stolae
and matronly dress; this was done so that they should not
simply be exhibited in a single triumphal procession, but To this end, the architects active at the time incorporated
should instead be weighted down forever by the burden of images of these women in public buildings as weight-
shame, forced to pay the price for such grave disloyalty on bearing structures; thus the notorious punishment of the
behalf of their whole city. Caryate women would be recalled to future generations.
 THE THOLOS

• Even though the Greeks were not attracted to the

curvilinear lines, theTholos (a small circular
temple not to be confused with tomb from
Aegean architecture) made it to their list of
architectural building types.The Tholos at
Athens, a building which housed the Prytaneion,
or seat of government, in ancientAthens.

• The Tholos at Delphi, a circular building located

approximately 800 metres from the main site of
the ruinedTemple ofApollo.

• TheTholos at Epidaurus, a circular building with

an ornate astronomical floor design.
 THE AMPHI-THEATRE

⚫ The second important type of building that survives all over the Hellenic world is the open-air
theatre, with the earliest dating from around 350 BC.

⚫ The open-air theatre (amphitheatre ) is adistinctive Greek contribution to world culture that
can still be seen in architecture globally.

⚫ The oldest certain archaeological evidence of theatres dates from the late 6 BCbut we mayassume that
Greeks gathered in specified public places much earlier.

⚫ Indeed, Bronze Age Minoan sites such as Phaistos had large stepped- courts which are thought to
have been used for spectacles such as religious processions and bull-leaping sports.
 THE AMPHI-THEATRE

• The Greek theater was a large, open-air structure used for dramatic performance.

• Theaters often took advantage of hillsides and naturally sloping terrain and, in
general, utilized the panoramic landscape as the backdrop to the stage itself.

• The Greek theater is composed of the seating area (theatron), a circular space for
the chorus to perform (orchestra), and the stage (skene).

• Tiered seats in the theatron provided space for spectators.

• Two side aisles (parados) provided access to the orchestra (group of musicians)

• Monumental arches often provided the entrances (paradoi) on either side of the stage.
THEATRE OF DIONYSUS
ELEUTHERIUS
⚫ Examples abound throughout the Greek world and many theatres have survived remarkably
well. One of the most celebrated and important theatre is the theatre of Dionysus
Eleutherius on the southern slope of Athens’acropolis where the great plays of Sophocles,
Euripedes, Aeschylus, andAristophanes were first performed.

⚫ One of the largest is the theatre of Argos which had acapacity for 20,000 spectators, and
one of the best preserved is the theatre of Epidaurus which continues every summer to host
major dramatic performances.

⚫ Theatres were used not only for the presentation of plays but also hosted poetry recitals and
musical competitions.
 TheAncientTheatre of Delphi
by theTemple ofApollo

The theatre of Delphi and the temple ofApollo (4th century BCE).The capacity of the theatre
was around 5,000 spectators.
 Panoramic view of the theatre at Epidaurus
The audience sat in the theatron, the “seeing place,” on semi- circular
terraced rows of benches
 ATHENIAN AGORA
• Agora, in ancient Greek cities, an
open space that served as a meeting
ground for various activities of the
citizens
• Early in Greek history (18th century–8th
century BC), free-born citizens would
gather in the agora for military duty or to
hear statements of the ruling king or
council.
• Later, the agora also served as a marketplace
where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell
their goods amid colonnades.

• From this twin function of the agora as a

political and commercial space came the
two Greek verbs "I shop", and "I speak in
public".
Artistic impression of the Agora and its buildings
 STOA
• Stoa (στοά) is a Greek architectural
term that describes a covered
walkway or colonnade that was
usually designed for public use.

• Early stoas were open at the entrance

with columns, usually of the Doric order,
lining the side of the building; they
created a safe, enveloping, protective
atmosphere.
The Stoa of the Agora- Tyre
 PROPYLON -THE PROCESSIONAL GATEWAY
• Propylaea is the name given to
monumental gates or entrance
ways to a specific space, usually
to a temple or religious
complex and as such they acted
as a symbolic partition between
the secular and religious parts
of a city.The single and less
complex entrance are known as
a propylon.
• They were an inherited feature
of Minoan architecture in 17th
century BCE Crete and
In Classical Greece a monumental Propylon provided the entrance to the sanctuary
Mycenaean architecture in the at Olympia but the most famous and best preserved example of this type of
14th century BCE. structure is the magnificent Propylaea of the acropolis ofAthens.
 Acropolis,Athens - 19th Century BC
An 'acropolis' is any citadel or complex built on a high hill.The name derives from the Greek
akro, high or extreme/extremity or edge, and polis, city, translated as 'high city', 'city on the edge' or
'city in the air', the most famous being the Acropolis ofAthens, Greece, built in the 5th century BCE.
Acropolis,Athens - 19th Century BC
 STADIUM/STADIA

Pompeii stadium
The Stadium,
the Charioteer -Delphi
 BOULEUTERION
• The Bouleuterion was an important
civic building in a Greek city,
• it was the meeting place of the boule
(citizen council) of the city.
• These select representatives
assembled to handle public affairs and
represent the citizenry of the polis (in
ancient Athens the boule was
comprised of 500 members).
• The bouleuterion generally was a
covered, rectilinear building with
stepped seating surrounding a central
speaker’s well in which an altar was
placed.
• The city of Priène has a particularly
well-preserved example of this civic
structure as does the city of Miletus.
Bouleuterion, Priène, c. 200 B.C.E
 Plan, Olynthus (Greece), House A vii 4, built after 432, before 348 B.C.E.,

• Greek houses of the Classical periods were relatively simple in design.

• Houses usually were centered on a courtyard
• The courtyard also provided natural light for the often small houses.
• The ground floor rooms would have included kitchen and storage rooms, perhaps an animal pen and a latrine; the chief
room for the male-dominated drinking party (symposion).
• The quarters for women and children could be located on the second level (if present) and were, in any case, segregated
from the mens’ area.
Library (Biblotheca) of
Celsus, Ephesus.
 GREEK (CLASSICAL)ARCHITECTURAL SPACES

⚫ Ancient Greeks spent more time in leisure pursuits than warfare in the later part of the empire.They
were a very spiritual people.

1. spaces for worship- ; temples,

2. spaces for leisure; open air theatres, public baths (spa), sports arenas (stadia) for
athletics
3. Spaces for knowledge-library(Bibliotheca) Town building
for civil debates
4. Spaces for political purpose- public Monuments (Tholos), town hall (Bouleuterion)
5. Spaces for trade and interaction-central Market/public
square/place (Agora)
6. the gymnasium (palestra)
7. Spaces for horse racing ( hippodrome)
8. and the monumental tomb (mausoleum)
 FACTORS INFLUENCING CLASSICAL GREEK
ARCHITECTURE

• Geography- Greeks liked their structures to be in harmony with the context.

They tended to build along the gradient of slope or on top of a plateau.

• History- Largely influenced by the Egyptians andAegean Civilizations.

• Art- they liked to create visually perfect structures.

• Religion and philosophy-their religion influenced every facet of their lifestyle. The
search for the perfect temple lead to philosophizing, mathematics and the study of
nature.
 REFERENCES
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_architecture
2. https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Architecture/
3. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/greek.htm
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon
5. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parthenon
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_architecture#Influences
7. https://www.britannica.com/technology/order-architecture
8. https://usa.greekreporter.com/2018/07/04/five-beautiful-american-buildings-based-
on-classical-greek-architecture/
9. https://www.ancient.eu/Acropolis/
10. https://www.ancient.eu/Propylaea/
 PRESENTATION 4
Find examples of modern Greek Architectural style in this 21st Century and prepare a
presentation with the use of PICTURES, DIAGRAMS and SKETCHES. Highlighting the
 Location
 The architectural characteristics
 Construction system
 Relief/Murals Art

Presentation Guidelines
 Maximum 10 Slides per person
 Each person will have 7 mins to present
 You are to write a summary of your presentation (I page), to be submitted as print out
in the class.