Architecture from ancient Greek till Gothic

7/29/2019 Architecture from ancient Greek till Gothic

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Andrzej akowski, IDII

Religious- Mythological Affect on Built Environment

Ancient Greek

Architecture of Ancient Greece is above all a number of temples built in

honor of different deities. Although the temples were large and

impressive, however, Celli, the ritual spaces were very narrow. This

justifies the fact that the temple deity fulfill the role of the house of Gods,

not like in Christianity where the faithful gathered to participate in worship. The temples were places of

worship where sacrifices (material goods, food, animals, and sometimes the victim became a man).

Sacrificed on the altar before the temple. When the gifts were more costly to them hung on the walls

Celli, or surrender them to the treasury.

The classic ancient Greek temples were built in accordance with the belief that certain shapes and

proportions are pleasing to the gods. There are three main ancient orders of architecture, which differ

forms and proportions of columns, capitals

and the entablature, the design based on the

print heads. Magnificence of Greekarchitecture is not high art or technology, but

for a brilliant sense of proportion and a heightened awareness of perspective. An example might be

the habit of thickening the middle of the

column so that when viewed from a distance

not to appear hollow. Often used to celebrate

religious ceremonies theaters.

The oldest is the Doric order, which was in the seventh century BC and

occurred mainly in western Greece and the colonies, for example, in

Sicily and southern Italy. The Doric style is rather sturdy and its top (the

capital), is plain its head was a simple geometric form.

About one hundred years later, in the Aegean islands evolved into a more decorative-Ionic order. Its

characteristic features were the volute (worm) on the heads. Ionic Columns Doric differed from those

that were more slender and had a profiled base.

Thermos, Megaron and TempleA: Mycenaean period-Megaron with the apse,B: The period of the geometric-Megaron the (late) a

wreath of wooden poles, around the tenthcentury BC,

C: The Archaic period to VII century BC Temple of Apollo with an extended cell, a number of internal columns and possibly a sloping roof


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Another order, the Corinthian was founded in Athens in the fifth century BC

Corinthian columns were the most slender and characterized by a richly decorated capitals. An

important heads were the pride of the Corinthian acanthus leaves (plants growing in Mediterranean

countries)

The Acropolis in Athens, reconstruction

The Acropolis in Athens (sacred place): The Acropolis of Athens, Athens, towering above the

limestone hill oval shaped. In antiquity, religious center. The settlement on the Acropolis of Athens is

attested from the Stone Age, the Mycenaean culture period the remains of walls, the so-called.

pelasgikon. In the sixth century BC Solon and Pizystrat initiated a broader construction here: erected

the temple of Athena (called Hekatompedon), and the site of an older temple (Naos Archajos) -

Temple of Athena Polias, the patron saint of the city.


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Ornaments

Roofing Tiles

Capital

Doric Ionic Corinthian

Archaic 540BC Archaic sixth

century BC

ApolloTemple540

BC

Early classic 480 BC

Archaic 550 BC313 BC

Classic 430 BC

350- 330 BC

First century BC


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Ancient Rome

Architecture facet of Greek life that the Romans borrowed various aspects of. The simple but

exquisitedly executed Hellenic style had captivated the Romans as much as other perspectives of

Greece had. From the Greeks they took the three basic orders of architecture; Doric, Ionic, and

Corinthian, based on different forms of column and foundation, and added to them a hybrid of their

own, known as Composite.

Architecture became a common

denominator in the religious lives

of Rome and Greece. During the

last century of the Republic the

attachment of the old indigenous

form of worship was more and

more supplanted by the influence

of modern Greek civilization. This

admixture of Greek mythology

and Greek scepticism soon

tended to abolish the deep religious feeling characteristic of the old Romans. The religious indifference

of the upper classes grew into a decided aversion to religion itslef, and many of the old temples fell

into disarray. When finally repaired, the old Roman temples took on a decidedly Greek flavor.

With the influence of the Sibylline books, a great influx of Greek gods and Greek rites took place in the

early centuries of the Republic. In the fifth century BCE the practice developed of consulting the Greek

oracle of the Sibyl at Cumae. The first Greek gods had entered the Roman pantheon in the fifth

century, but with the entry of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine in 293 BCE, many more were

imported, until by the end of the third century the amalgamation of Greek and Roman religion was

completed.

Rome, Roman forum. Reconstruction


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Within the scope of religion, and as Rome became the dominant factor

in Hellenistic politics, the Greek cities began to transfer to her the

phenomenon of king-worship. With the expansion of the Empire, Rome

came to rule eastern nations that were accustomed to worshipping

their kings as gods and readily transferred their worship to Roman

rulers.

Augustus and his successor, Tiberius, allowed the habit to continue in

the eastern provinces during their reigns, however in the west it was

discouraged. Rather than fostering the idea of divinity upon himself,

Augustus encouraged the worship of Roma , the divine spirit of Rome.

In the east teh emperor himself was a god, but his cult had less personal character than that of the

Hellenistic monarchs. He was a god so long as he governed the State and because he governed the

State. The sanctity of the State was embodied in the Emperor's person.

Religious belief once revered in Rome was shattered by the economic and social unrest of the second

and first centuries BCE. The seemingly unlimited population of landless masses in Rome and the rapid

individualization of Roman society under the impact of Hellenism, created an emptiness that the

educated tried to fill through Greek philosophy, and the lower classes in Hellenic and Oriental mystery

cults.

The number and architecture of Roman temples also reflects the openness of Rome toward all

religions. The oldest Roman temples resemble the Etruscan temples, such as the great temple on the

hill Capitoline, dedicated in 509 BC Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva). Like the Etruscan

prototypes, the temple was built on a high podium, and the entrance to it was only possible through

the front stairs, otherwise than in the Greek temples, where the stairs surrounded by temples from all

sides. The facade also differed from the patterns of Greek - pillared portico was up 6 rows of columns

and it was only from the front. The interior was divided into a series of rooms for the cult statues.

Temple of Isis and Serapes in the Field of Mars, built of Egyptian materials and in the Egyptian style,

in order to have Hellenist Egyptian worship of the goddess Isis, is typical of the diversity of late Roman

churches. The most notable temples in Rome were the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol and the

Pantheon. The Pantheon was built by Emperor Hadrian between 117 and 138 years and is dedicated

Greek and Roman scheme of temples.

A- GreekB- Roman


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to all the gods, this building replaced a smaller temple built by General Marcus Agrippa. In 607 years

the Pantheon was converted into a Christian church and is now the Italian national monument, was

buried there, Rafael, and several kings of united Italy.


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The order of the Roman-

Doric and Tuscan


Ionic


Corinthian

Composite Capital


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Temples on a rectangular

plan


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The temples on round plan


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Medieval

One of the characteristics of medieval Europe is a huge role of the Christian religion and the

Church. Christianity has been present and shaped almost every area of life of states,

societies and individuals. It was steeped in politics, culture, education , daily life, ideology.

With regard to the Middle Ages, the term is often used Theocentricism. Theocentricism this

belief, according to which human life and all its activities should be focused around God

and faith. God must be a reference point for human activity in the arts, daily life , literature,

science, thinking , etc. The result of this outlook was a huge influence of religion on all

aspects of human life and the medieval belief that in control and God guides all things .

The Romanesque style was built many buildings especially the sacral. Erected the Cistercian and

Benedictine orders, together with the formation of the next followed the development of the

construction industry. In Romanesque architecture it is dominated by the other arts. It had a dual

role of religion and defense, because the churches built of stone had thick walls, which in case of

emergency has been used by the population. Churches built in the Romanesque style gives the

impression as if they were built of bricks. The building is in fact a compact composition, which is

composed of basic geometric figures - mainly from cuboids, pyramids, cylinders, cones, which

are connected together with a perfect proportionally.

The very body of the Romanesque church was simple, heavy and raw, and this feeling was

further compounded by the use of only one building material - stone. Inside the church was also

preserved the simplicity. In the middle of practically not place any ornaments. The pillars are very

economical and simple, there are arches, undeveloped horizontal cornices and walls. Sight

person entering immediately move towards the altar, which was located in the center of the

temple. Small windows that let in little light into the interior, made the interior of the church was

very dark. The very design of the Romanesque church is very simple. The temple was built

mostly on the Latin cross plan. The chancel was completed in the shape of a semicircle apse.

The building was divided into three aisles - the main and two side, which were separated by

columns or pillars. One of the characteristics of the Romanesque style were the towers, which


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were placed in the facade or on both sides of the chancel. The basic structural element of a

semicircular arc. Used barrel vault or cross or barrel - cross that strengthened the construction of

the temple. Interestingly, the nave (main and side) were divided into squares, each square on the

nave had its counterpart in the form of two smaller half-squares in the aisles. Area of the square

was surrounded by four pillars, which were to support the vault. These were the correspond two

in the aisles, is span. This technique, where one square in the nave called a linked system.

For all the Gothic hall of the nave are of equal height. With regard to the vault in the Romanesque

buildings, it is supported by columns or were pillars. Capitals and had the shape of an inverted

pyramid without the top or the shape of the ankle. Database was fragmented and based on a flat

ankle. The heads were decorated with statues, which presented very different motives. The

churches erected during the Roman had directed the choir at the east side of the world. Inside the

temple built on the wall above the pillars, which separate the nave were the cloisters and galleries

and the galleries. They were separated by the arcades. To the interior of the church from getting

in more daylight, a small window placed in the jambs, which was parted to the side. While the

window in the tower construction was divided into small columns. Interestingly, most of the

entrance to the Romanesque church was located on the side, which resulted from reasons of

defense, which played the churches. So there was no front, the facade of the church. Used while

the doors, which were very rich border. Such a portal called the doors. Portal to mostly step, as a

result of fragmentation reveals. Semi-circular space, which was created between the door and

squarely tipped the last arc was called a tympanum. The tympanum was always decorated with

statues.


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Floors of temples were made of ceramic plates, which were arranged in the patterns. Next to the altar,

hung the precious fabric and the walls of the church was decorated with frescoes. Later on,

inserted in the windows of colored glass, which gave an interesting lighting effect.

Decoration inside the church was supposed to revive the hard rock mass. However, even the

wealth of decoration was not able to change the essential character of the building.

Gothic style.

Gothic style is fashioned after the Roman style. Cities built in this style were created based on the

way to build cities in Rome. The central point of the city was so market and the streets intersect at

an angle of 90 degrees. Fortifications erected around the city, which were supposed to protect

access to the city. At the same time they were an obstacle to its further development. City streets

were very narrow, the buildings were built very close together. In the center stood the market hall,

which had established the city council. However, since the twelfth century, the most impressive

building in town was the cathedral, the central church.

This is reflected the Gothic churches of medieval religious ideology. It was then that religion has

become an important part of human life. It organized crusades in defense of the faith, and people

want to approach as much as possible to God.

The Gothic church was a huge building that exceeded all other buildings in the city including City

Hall. Usually in such a church could gather all the faithful living in the city. The construction of

such a huge church was also associated with the ambitions of the city authorities, which led a

passionate rivalry in the fact that the city will have a grander temple.

The modest temples rose new orders: the Dominicans and Franciscans. The priests belonging to

religious orders preached the need for modesty and mendicant orders were cultivating poverty.


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Gothic cathedrals were characterized by a so huge in size, who developed a closeness to God.

The structures of these were used a lot of vertical lines and small decorative items. It gave the

impression that the churches seemed to became obvious. The whole body of the church was

alive, light, restless, organic and dismembered.

The vault seemed very distant, when looked at them from inside, but always looked after the

entry was directed upwards. Inside the church there were a few sculptural decoration, which only

emphasized the method of construction of the temple, but not dominate it. Intensified the

atmosphere of spirituality colored light coming into the church through large windows.

This way of building was made possible through solutions are used in the Romanesque style,

which were refined used in Gothic buildings. Characteristic of the Gothic arch was sharp at the

end of the Romanesque period, when the semicircular arches are slightly bent.

The Gothic buildings there was less force in the direction slit sides, which meant that eliminates

the dependence between the height and width of the building. It was an obstacle to date in

building high and soaring churches. This allows the height of the arc can be virtually any position.

As for decorations, they function just meet structural elements, or pillars, arches, rib vaults,

moldings.

The great cathedrals of the attention they deserved the facade, which were characterized by a

constant principle of division. The facade was divided into three strips arranged horizontally,

which were separated from each other cornices, friezes or arcades figural sculptures.


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Analysis of the Domestic House

Ancient Greece

A distinctive type of building , residential

megaron educated by the Greeks. It

became the basic form in architecture

from the period of Mycenaean Greek by

Hellenism . It is known that had a gable

roof, rafter construction we also know

(entablature). Thanks to archaeological

finds , we know that the houses were built

with a flat roof , and sometimes also used

barrel vault (Ceos). The shape of the dwelling house of the Greek finally formed in the

archaic period . They were built mostly of

brick or wood on a stone foundation ,

rarely entire structure erected of stone. As a rule , these were one-story buildings ,

sometimes two tiers . They

had one entrance ,

through which one

entered the hall to the

courtyard surrounded by

a portico. From the

courtyard entrance led to

all the major rooms of a

home , and thus to the

male ( Andron), oikosu , this is the room most of the hearth in the fireplace, where the focus

of family life , and to

talasiurgei , which is the room for the work. From the courtyard entrance to lead the storage

A- Courtyard, B- Bedroom, C- Andrion, D-Andrion, E- Oikos, F- Gyneceum

Fifth century BC, apartment building, reconstruction


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rooms and businesses. Bedrooms were usually on the first floor. Floors, particularly in

representative rooms ( Andron), decorated with mosaics , and wall paintings. In the

Hellenistic period , especially in wealthy urban homes , expanded peristyle , and the

courtyard was added Exedra. Sometimes in the middle of the courtyard swimming pool

built . Construction lay in the classical period can be considered on the basis of two

houses : the average house , not a wealthy Greek ( city Dystos ) and the residence of a

wealthy aristocrat (City of Athens). The main difference between the two buildings

concerned the dimensions of space: an ordinary house was about six feet square , while

the area of residence was almost 25 square meters.

Ancient Rome

Home in Rome is a specific type of residential building,

which differs greatly from the typical home in ancient

Greece. The oldest writings, paintings on the walls of the

houses come from about the fifth century BC (Period of the

early Republic). Used if significant improvements in the

material intended to erect the structure. There was a

characteristic Roman stone and brick (fired in a specific

way, brick cast, resistant to compression than a brick

today), and wood. The simple stone foundations (using

cement-mortar only possible to use in the construction of foundations) were constructed buildings with

rectangular projections and stromal walls and characteristic wood bindings, which laid terracotta tile or

brick. The interior consisted of several rooms with rectangular projections. The walls inside the house

covered with stucco. The main character in the atrium (the

largest, most well-maintained, central room of the Roman house, opening with an outdoor roof for

fresh air). Vitruvius (one of the greatest theorists, not only of the Roman architecture) has

distinguished several basic types of atria (depending on the building roof). One of the described type-a

Tuscan atrium with a roof sloping inwards, the middle of which there were compluvium (hole in the

roof), which led light into the whole house, it is also discharged water from the roof rainwater to

impluvium (it was centrally located reservoir, pond, swimming pool). In our kind of atrium, there were

A-garden; B-tablinum; C-compluvium D-atrium


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no columns, but only the weight of the structure was moved to the wall. The next type is a Roman

atrium displuvium - this differs from the previous you, which is almost completely covered by a flat

central room (there is no compluvium here). The fourth type is tetrastylon atrium, where the roof is

supported on four columns, is also here and impluvium compluvium. Fifth, the last type of atrium,

which is Corinthian (corinthium), the roof supported on multi-column structure. Were placed around the

room Bedroom, warehouses and rooms for servants. Bedrooms landlord (so-called tablinum) placed

behind the atrium. When tablinum placed another important room as dining room (triclinium). After the

second century BC following the example of Greek architecture was added peristyles (from now on it

is here transferred to family life). Originally, the atrium was a central part of the house and most

representative of his room. However, during the Republic, it was along with the adjacent room of the

official, while impluvium turned into a fountain, like the fountains of the known sites of Islam. During

the later Republic and early Empire, the atrium has been amended by the hallway, which were

covered with a roof, it also changed the portico courtyard, but the most important room mansion and

the house became a tablinum. The inner walls were decorated with stucco and paintings here (often

very realistic, which were designed to transfer parts of nature into the house), the floor is usually

arranged in colorful stone mosaics. Material that were used to decorate house in ancient Rome:

Bronze Wood Concrete Glass Golden and silver treat Marble Alabaster Crystals of Selenity (a kind of gypsum) Mica (once called muscovy glass) Specular stones Obsidian Malachite Lime stone Silver Mosaic Paintings Furniture made of bronze, marble and wood


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Medieval

Medieval houses had a timber frame. Panels that did

not carry loads were filled with wattle and daub. Wattle

was made by weaving twigs in and out of uprights.

Hazel twigs were the most popular with Medieval

builders. After the wattle had been made it was daubed

with a mixture of clay, straw, cow dung and mutton fat.

When it had dried, a mixture of lime plaster and cow

hair was used to cover the surface and to seal the

cracks.

The shaping of stone was difficult and expensive.

Stones were therefore used sparingly. Stones were

sometimes placed at the corners of buildings and

around windows and door openings. Bricks were also very costly and in the Middle Ages they were

only used to build houses for the very rich.

In the early Middle Ages most roofs were thatched. Fires were a constant problem and in 1221 a law

was passed prohibiting the use of thatch. This new law stated that the roofs of new buildings had to be

covered with wooden shingles, stone slabs or clay tiles. Shingles were cut by hand from local oak

trees. Craftsmen travelled throughout Sussex making tiles from local clay. Shingles and tiles werefixed to oak or elm timbers by wooden pegs and were overlapped to prevent water getting into the

buildings.

Houses usually had very small frontages and were sometimes only 3.6 metres wide. In the 14th

century jetties became very popular. A jetty is where the upper floor sticks out over the one below. The

overhang provided a larger room in the upper story. It also helped to protect the lower story from the

weather. Traders who made a success of their business were able to build more substantial houses on


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the edge of the town. These houses become known as Wealden houses. Most of these houses were

large with a floor area of 15 by 6 metres.

Contrast of the Romanesque and Gothic Period

Ornaments

Vault

Romanesque

Gothic


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Articulation

of the

interior

walls

Types of

plans


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The heads

of columns


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Portals

Windows


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Bibliography

Wilfried Koch Styles in Architecture (1991)

George Savage A Concise History Of Interior Decoration (1966)

www.wikipedia.org

H. P. R. Finberg , Joan Thirsk , Stuart Piggott , H. E. Hallam , EdwardMiller , G. E. Mingay , Edward John T. Collins , Edith Holt Whetham

The agrarian history of England and Wales (1967)
http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22H.+P.+R.+Finberg%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Joan+Thirsk%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Stuart+Piggott%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22H.+E.+Hallam%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+Miller%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+Miller%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22G.+E.+Mingay%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+John+T.+Collins%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edith+Holt+Whetham%22http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22H.+P.+R.+Finberg%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Joan+Thirsk%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Stuart+Piggott%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22H.+E.+Hallam%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+Miller%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+Miller%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22G.+E.+Mingay%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edward+John+T.+Collins%22http://www.google.ie/search?hl=pl&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Edith+Holt+Whetham%22

Architecture from ancient Greek till Gothic

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