historical perspective of greek building
GREEK
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF GREEK BUILDING The history of art and architecture in Ancient Greece is divided into three basic eras: the Archaic Period (c.600-500 BCE), the Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE) and the Hellenistic Period (c.323-27 BCE). There were three orders in early Greek architecture: the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Doric style was common in mainland Greece and later spread to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style was employed in the cities of Ionia along the west coast of Turkey and other islands in the Aegean. Where the Doric style was formal and austere, the Ionic was less restrained and more decorative. The third style, Corinthian, came later and represented a more ornate development of the Ionic order. The differences between these styles is most plainly visible in the ratio between the base diameter and height of their columns. Doric architecture (exemplified by most surviving Greek structures, like the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens) was more popular during the Classical age, while the Ionic style gained the upper hand during the more relaxed Hellenistic period. About 600 BCE, inspired by the theory and practice of earlier Egyptian stone masons and builders, the Greeks set about replacing the wooden structures of their public buildings with stone structures - a process known as 'PETRIFICATION'. Limestone and marble was employed for columns and walls, while terracotta was used for roof tiles and ornaments. Decoration was done in metal, like bronze. Like painters and sculptors, Greek architects enjoyed none of the enhanced status accorded to their successors. They were not seen as artists but as tradesmen. Thus no names of architects are known before about the 5th century BCE. The most common types of public buildings were temples, municipal structures, theatres and sports stadiums. In the late 4th and 5th centuries BCE, Greek architects began to depart from the strictly rectangular plan of traditional
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF GREEK BUILDING The history of art and architecture in Ancient Greece is divided into three basic eras: the Archaic Period (c.600-500 BCE), the Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE) and the Hellenistic Period (c.323-27 BCE). There were three orders in early Greek architecture: the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Doric style was common in mainland Greece and later spread to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style was employed in the cities of Ionia along the west coast of Turkey and other islands in the Aegean. Where the Doric style was formal and austere, the Ionic was less restrained and more decorative. The third style, Corinthian, came later and represented a more ornate development of the Ionic order. The differences between these styles is most plainly visible in the ratio between the base diameter and height of their columns. Doric architecture (exemplified by most surviving Greek structures, like the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens) was more popular during the Classical age, while the Ionic style gained the upper hand during the more relaxed Hellenistic period. About 600 BCE, inspired by the theory and practice of earlier Egyptian stone masons and builders, the Greeks set about replacing the wooden structures of their public buildings with stone structures - a process known as 'PETRIFICATION'. Limestone and marble was employed for columns and walls, while terracotta was used for roof tiles and ornaments. Decoration was done in metal, like bronze. Like painters and sculptors, Greek architects enjoyed none of the enhanced status accorded to their successors. They were not seen as artists but as tradesmen. Thus no names of architects are known before about the 5th century BCE. The most common types of public buildings were temples, municipal structures, theatres and sports stadiums. In the late 4th and 5th centuries BCE, Greek architects began to depart from the strictly rectangular plan of traditional