MODULE-1

GREEK ARCHITECTURE

18ARC24
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE-II

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M.ARCH (LANDSCAPE)
 SYLLABUS

MODULE 1
1. Classical Greek Architecture 1: Critical appreciation of works and synoptic study of architectural characteristic
features from the Greek early periods.

2. Classical Greek Architecture 2: Critical appreciation of works and synoptic study of architectural characteristic
features from the Greek later periods, Doric, ionic and Corinthian orders and optical correction.

3. Greek architecture Typologies: Study of principles of design of Greek buildings through study of three kinds of
Architecture: a) Monumental (Built to impress and Last) ex. Parthenon, Theatre at Epidauros. b) Domestic (Built to
inhabit): House of Colline, House of Masks, etc. and c) Civic space: The Agora and Acropolis.

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HISTORICAL TIMELINE

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 INFLUENCES
GEOGRAPHY CLIMATE
The climate of Greece is moderate, neither too cold, nor hot. This led
to a lifestyle where many activities took place outdoors. Hence
temples were placed on hilltops, their exteriors designed as a visual
focus of gatherings and processions, while theatres were often an
enhancement of a naturally occurring sloping site where people
could sit, rather than a containing structure. Colonnades encircling
buildings, or surrounding courtyards provided shelter.

GEOLOGY
• The most freely available building material is stone. Limestone and
marble were readily available.
• High quality potter's clay were found throughout Greece and the
islands. It was used for pottery vessels, roof tiles and
The mainland and islands of Greece are rocky, architectural decoration.
coastline, rugged mountain ranges and
substantial forests.

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 INFLUENCES
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
• Columnar and trabeated
• Roof truss appeared,
enabling large spaces to
be unhindered by
columns

MATERIALS
• Limestone
• Marble
• Timber
• Terra cotta

CHRONOLOGY OF PERIODS IN GREECE SOCIETY

1. HELLADIC PERIOD
• EARLY PERIOD 3000 – 2000 BC
• MIDDLE / MINOAN PERIOD 2000 – 1125 BC
• LATE/ MYCENAEAN PERIOD 1600 – 1050 BC

2. HELLENIC PERIOD
• THE DARK AGE 1000-750 BC
• ARCHAIC PERIOD 750 – 479 BC
• CLASSICAL PERIOD 479 – 336 BC
• HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323 – 30 BC

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 GREEK ORDERS
• A classical order is one of the ancient styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and
characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column used.

• There are three different distinct ancient orders, these being Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

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 DORIC ORDER
DORIC

• The Doric order originated on the mainland and western Greece.

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 is plain and has 20 sides.
• There is no base in the Doric order. The area above the column,
called the frieze, had simple patterns.
• Above the columns are the metopes and triglyphs. The metope
is a plain, smooth stone section between triglyphs. Sometimes
the metopes had statues of heroes or gods on them.
• The triglyphs are a pattern of 3 vertical lines between the
metopes.
• There are many examples of ancient Doric buildings, the most
famous being the Parthenon in Athens.

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 IONIC ORDER

IONIC
• The Ionic order came from eastern Greece.
• Ionic shafts were taller than Doric ones. This makes the
columns look slender.
• They also had flutes, which are lines carved into them from
top to bottom.
• 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. The frieze is plain. The bases
were large and looked like a set of stacked rings.
• Ionic capitals consist of a scrolls above the shaft.
• The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.

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 CORINTHIAN ORDER
CORINTHIAN

• The Corinthian order is the most ornate of the Greek

orders, characterized by a slender fluted column
having an ornate capital decorated with two rows of
acanthus leaves and four scrolls.
• It is commonly regarded as the most elegant of the
three orders. The shaft of the Corinthian order has 24
flutes.
• The column is commonly ten diameters high.
• According to Vitruvius, the capital was invented by a
bronze founder, Callimarchus of Corinth, who took his
inspiration from a basket of offerings that had been
placed on a grave, with a flat tile on top to protect the
goods. The basket had been placed on the root of an
acanthus plant which had grown up around it.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DORIC, IONIC & CORINTHIAN ORDERS

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 ENTASIS
CERTAIN REFINEMENTS USED TO CORRECT
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS:

•Horizontal lines built convex to correct sagging

•Vertical features inclined inwards to correct

appearance of falling outwards

•On columns, entasis was used, swelling

outwards to correct appearance of curving
inwards

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 GREEK TEMPLE CHARACTERISTICS

• Greek temples were not very big. To support the

roofs, columns were used.
• Roofs were constructed of timber members
boarded and covered with Terra-cotta or marble
tiles.

• The entrance doors were tall. When the doors were

opened they would let enough light in to illuminate
the statue in the naos.
• Windows were rare in the temple buildings.
• At one time it was thought that quite a few
temples must have been "hypaethral"
meaning partially open to the sky.

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 MONUMENTAL : PARTHENON

• The Parthenon was built in the simple and powerful

Doric order, with 8 columns along each end and 17
columns along each side.

• Through careful adjustments to the design and location

of the Parthenon’s columns and floor platform, the
architects counteracted optical illusions that could have
distorted the building’s appearance from a distance.

• Without such adjustments, the platform might seem to

sag in the middle, for example, and the columns might
appear to have a slight curve in profile.

• The ninety-two metopes were carved in high relief.

• The most characteristic feature in the architecture

and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze
running around the exterior walls of the cella.

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 MONUMENTAL : PARTHENON

• Measured at the top step, the dimensions of the base of the

Parthenon are 69.5 metres by 30.9 metres (228.0 x 101.4 ft).

• The cella was 29.8 metres long by 19.2 metres wide (97.8 x 63.0
ft), with internal Doric colonnades in two tiers, structurally
necessary to support the roof.

• On the exterior, the Doric columns measure 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in
diameter and are 10.4 metres (34.1 ft) high.
• The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter.
• The Parthenon had 46 outer pillars and 19 inner pillars in total.

• The stylobate has an upward curvature towards its centre of 60

millimetres (2.36 in) on the east and west ends, and of 110
millimetres (4.33 in) on the sides.
• The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as
imbrices and tegulae.

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MONUMENTAL : PARTHENON

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 MONUMENTAL : PARTHENON
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom
the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction of the temple began in 447 BC when the Athenian
Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC. It is the most important surviving building of
Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered
some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece,
Athenian democracy and western civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.

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MONUMENTAL : PARTHENON

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MONUMENTAL : THEATRE OF EPIDAUROS

THEATER or ODEION
•Carved or hollowed out of the
hillside
•Acoustically-efficient

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 MONUMENTAL : THEATRE OF EPIDAUROS
• Because the theatre, rightfully is considered one of the
purest masterpieces of Greek architecture for its unique
acoustics and because of its famous festival. Thanks to this
festival the Epidaurus theatre has seen the rebirth of
ancient drama more than half a century ago.

• The theatre was built by the architect Polykleitos the

Younger in 340-330 B.C. and restored in 1954. It can set up
to about 13,000 people. The seating section consists of 55
rows of seats divided into two by a gangway or
promenade / diazoma.

• In front of the theatre is the central area, or • Between the edge of this and the first row of seats is a
orchestra. This is a circular area where the shallow channel for rain water. Between the stage
chorus performed. buildings and the supporting walls of the theatre
seats are two impressive gateways.

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 DOMESTIC BUILDINGS

• Greek houses usually consisted of two or more rooms and an

open air courtyard.

• Wealthier families with larger homes might also have a kitchen

a bathroom and various sitting rooms.

• Houses were built out of stone, clay bricks or wood.

• The Greek people were incredibly talented builders and created

wondrous public structures such as bath houses, temples,
market places and open air theaters.

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 DOMESTIC BUILDINGS

• The Greek word for the family or household, oikos, is also the name for the house.
• Houses followed several different types. It is probable that many of the earliest houses were simple structures of
two rooms, with an open porch.

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 DOMESTIC BUILDINGS
• The construction of many houses employed walls of sun dried clay bricks or wooden framework

• The roofs were probably of thatch

• Many larger houses, such as those at Delos, were built of stone and plastered.

• The roofing material for substantial house was tile.

• Houses of the wealthy had mosaic floors

• Many houses centred on a wide passage which ran the length of the house and opened at one side onto a
small courtyard which admitted light and air.

• Larger houses had a fully developed peristyle courtyard at the centre, with the rooms arranged around it.
Some houses had an upper floor which appears to have been reserved for the use of the women of the
family.

• City houses were built with adjoining walls and were divided into small blocks by narrow streets.

• City houses were inward-facing, with major openings looking onto the central courtyard, rather than the
street.

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CIVIC SPACE : AGORA

The agora was a central spot

in ancient Greece. The literal
meaning of the word is
"gathering place" or
"assembly".

The agora was the center of

athletic, artistic, spiritual and
political life of the city.

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CIVIC SPACE : AGORA

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 CIVIC SPACE : AGORA

• The Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social
activity, the religious and cultural centre, and the seat of justice. It was a large open area surrounded by
buildings of various functions.

• The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city's history. It was used as a residential and
burial area as early as the Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century, the Agora became a public
area.

• Greece has seen a series of repairs and remodellings, and extensive building activity after the serious damage
made by the Persians, Romans.

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 CIVIC SPACE : BUILDINGS OF AGORA
1. TEMPLES - TEMPLE OF HEPAISTEION

2. STOAS – a portico
• These provided shelter and were multifunctional
• They were separate self contained rectangular buildings which formed a
colonnaded backdrop for agora
Temple of hephaisteion
STOA OF ZEUS –
• Doric stoa on west
• Late 5th century building
• 2 aisles with projecting wings
• Inner ionic colonnade

STOA OF ATTALUS –
• Addition during Hellenistic period Stoa of zeus
• Marble structure
• 2 storied 116m x 19.4 m
• A row of rooms on both floors
• Doric in ground floor
• Ionic in upper floor

Stoa of Attalus

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 CIVIC SPACE : BUILDINGS OF AGORA
ROYAL STOA –
• It served as headquarters of the archon basileus (king archon)
• The building is 18 meters long
• Eight Doric columns

SOUTH STOA –
• 80.5m x 14.9m
Royal stoa
• Mud brick structure
• Doric colonnade
• Inner ionic colonnade

MIDDLE STOA –
• 150 meters long
• largest building in the Agora
• Function: Commercial purpose
South stoa

3. ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS –
Enclosed space for administrative activities
• Bouleuterion – council house
Held 500 people
Square building with windows and pyramidal roof
Includes auditorium

• Tholos - circular hall for dining by the council Middle stoa

Unbaked mud brick structure
Conical roof with tiles
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 CIVIC SPACE : BUILDINGS OF AGORA
4. HELIAEA – Courtyard structure
5. SHRINE OF THESEUS – Walled enclosure containing famous paintings
6. FOUNTAIN HOUSES – Colonnaded structure with a portico
7. MINT – Bronze & silver coins minting
8. ALTAR – Dedicated to 12 Olympian gods
9. GYMNASIAS, STADIAS – For public

Bouleuterion

Shrine of theseus heliaea

Tholos

Fountain houses Mint altar gymnasium stadias

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 CIVIC SPACE : ACROPOLIS
• Polis means city in greek. It can also mean a body of citizens. In modern historiography, polis is normally used to
indicate the ancient greek city states, like classical Athens and its contemporaries and thus is often translated as
“city- state”.

• By 750 BCE, greek polis were the center of civilian life

• The acropolis is the general term for the original defensive hilltop fortification of the older Greek cities.

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 CIVIC SPACE : ACROPOLIS

• The included the city and surrounding countryside and perhaps a

few towns.

• The city served as the center of the polis.

• Here people met for political, social and religious activities.

• The main gathering placed on a fortified hill. Called an acropolis,

which also had public buildings and temples.

• It is the location where all the major temples of a city are located.

• It was built to glorify the gods.

• The acropolis were usually located on the highest ground.

• Greek considered high placed to be important and sacred.

• Other public buildings such as gymnasia stadia and theaters were

usually regarded as part of religious rituals.

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