Greek Life Was Dominated by Religion and So It Is Not Surprising That the Temples of Ancient

Architecture

Greek life was dominated by religion and so it is not surprising that the temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful. They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war.

The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

During the Classical Greek architecture period, it was made up of three different orders that are most commonly seen in their temples. These three orders were the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The orders are also known for their columns style. The Corinthian order was not used as widely as the Doric of Ionic. The reason being, is that the Corinthian order was fancier than the others, and had a lot more detail. Thus, information dealing with this order is very little, and some is not worth putting up.

The most basic order for their temples would be the Doric order. Doric architecture was known for being used by the Spartans. Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric columns are the simplest. They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square. The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides. There is no base in the Doric order. The Doric order is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design. Doric, like most Greek styles, works well horizontally on buildings, that's why it was so good with the long rectangular buildings made by the Greeks. There are many examples of ancient Doric buildings. Perhaps the most famous one is the Parthenon in Athens, which is probably the most famous and most studied building on Earth. Buildings built even now borrow some parts of the Doric order. The of Doric temples were similar to those of the Ionic order in lay out and design.

The final order would be the Ionic order. Their columns were more slender than those of the Doric order. Ionic shafts were taller than Doric ones. Their dimensions were eight to nine meters high, instead of four to five. The shafts also had a special characteristic: entasis, which is a little bulge in the columns make the columns look straight, even at a distance [because since you would see the building from eye level, the shafts would appear to get narrower as they rise, so this bulge makes up for that - so it looks straight to your eye but it really isn't !] .The columns had a molded base which was placed under them and then sculpted figures on the lower part of the shaft were added. They also had flutes, which are lines carved into them from top to bottom. At the top of these shafts, were rectangular blocks of stone, which were carved in the shape of hair or other wave and line shapes. The frieze is plain. The bases were large and looked like a set of stacked rings. Ionic capitals consist of scrolls above the shaft. The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.