Greek Architecture

Introduction• Classical art is considered the formal

and aesthetic basis of Occidental Art.• This art was born in Greece and continued during the Roman Empire.• The chronology of Greek Art is:

– Archaic period: 8th to 6th century bc– Classical period: 5th to 4th century bc– Hellenistic period: 4th to 2nd century bc

Introduction• Archaic period:

– It is the time of formation– To the local basis are added other

influences:•Crete civilization•Mycenaean civilization•Oriental influences, above all, Egyptian

– Art evolved from abstraction to expressive naturalism.

Introduction• Classical period:

– It is the peak of this art– Every art manifestation reached its zenith – It is the period of political, economic and

cultural expansion of the polis, mainly Athens.

– It is the period of the Democracy– This situation lasted until the political

decay of the polis with the Peloponnesus Wars.

Introduction• Hellenistic period:

– Greek culture suffered a deep transformation

– Alexander the Great expanded Greek culture

– With culture, Art expanded too:• The artistic forms• Technical solutions

– Greece became the artistic reference in the whole Mediterranean area.

Geographical space• Even when the basic nucleus is

Greece, this civilization expanded to other regions due to:– Greek colonization (forced by the inner

difficulties for communication –difficult relieve, politically divided into polis)• South of Italy and Sicily (Magna Greece) • Easter Mediterranean coasts (Turkey, Middle

East)• Rest of Mediterranean coasts.

– Hellenistic expansion (Alexander).

Greek civilization• Ideologically:

– Freedom and individual independence– Isodomia: equal right among free men

• Human being is the centre of their culture: everything is done at man’s measure

• Rich mythology and religion: gods were used to express beauty ideal.

• Reason, observation and experience are the basis for the reality: Philosophy and Sciences developed

Architecture: Basis• Greek created equilibrate and

proportional works• It is an architecture to be seen

(temple)– Sculptural values, volumes– Building is conceived as an sculpture

• Beauty= proportion and measure: – it is conceived from the human point of

view – it is anti-colossal

Architecture: Basis• The organization of the polis did not help

the development of the palace.• Temple is the essential building,

residence of the god, not a place for people

• Other constructions combined beauty with practical solutions:– Theatres– Sanctuaries– Gymnasiums

• Importance of urbanism: Hipodamus from Mileto created the orthogonal planning

Building systems• It has lintels, and it is apparently serene

and equilibrate• Dominant lines are horizontal and vertical• The column is the essential element• Building materials limestone and white

marble• Walls are made of regular ashlars, without

mortar (stretcher and header bond= soga y tizón)

• Buildings were polychrome • There are not fixed measures, this is why

there are different orders

Orders• Doric:

– Columns• Without basis• Sharp-edged shaft• Simple capital, without decoration

– Tablature• Frieze divided

– Metopes– Triglyphs

– Cornice– Triangular pediment

• 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. The area above the column, called the frieze [pronounced "freeze"], had simple patterns. Above the columns are the metopes and triglyphs. The metope [pronounced "met-o-pee"] 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. 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.

Orders• Ionic:

– Columns:•With basis•Blunt-edged shaft•Capital with volutes

– Tablature•Three bands, without decoration•Continues frieze (decorated)

– Cornice– Triangular pediment

• 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 [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 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.

Orders• Corinthian:

– Columns:• With basis• High blunt-edged shaft• Capital decorated with acantus leaves and

small volutes– Tablature:

• Three bands without decoration• Continuous frieze

– Cornice– Triangular pediment

• The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best. Corinthian also uses entasis to make the shafts look straight. The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves below a small scroll. The shaft has flutes and the base is like the Ionian. Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are at a slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat.

Finding for idealism• Greek aimed at creating visually perfect

buildings• To correct optical distortions they used several resources:

– Curved tablature and stilobatus– Columns inclined towards the inside– Entasis: columns are wider in the middle

– Corner columns are wider than the rest

– Different distances between columns• All these deformation corrected optical errors

and buildings seemed to be perfect.

Greek temple• It is based on the pre-Hellenic megaron• Structure:

– Rectangular plan– Longitudinal axes

• Circular temples existed too: Tholos• Internal distribution:

– One to three naves– Pronaos : Open entrance– Naos or cella: chapel for God’s image– Opistodomos: room for holding the

treasure of the temple

Greek temple• Location: in isolated or holy places• Ceremonies were celebrated in the

outside, in front of the porticos.• It was built on a basis with stairs,

called crepis in order to avoid humidity. The last stair is called stillobatus.

• The façade is the main area for developing architectonical orders (they may appear inside too).

Temple typology • Depending on the disposition of the

columns in the portico:– In antis: the pillars of the side exceed

the wall– Prostyle: columns only in one façade– Anphiprostyle: columns in both façades– Peripteral: columns around the building– Dipteral: double columns around the building– Monopteral: circular

Temple typology• Depending on the number of

columns in the portico it can be:– Tetrastile: four columns– Hexastile: six columns– Octastile: eight columns– Tholos: circular temple

The majority of the religious buildings were concentrated in the Acropolis, or fortified city built on a mountain near the city. (This is Athens’ Acropolis)

Public architecture• Propylaea or porch was a monumental

entrance to a temenos or holy area• Fountain houses• Stoa: long narrow hall with an open

colonnade that was used as exhibition room

• Agora: commercial centre of the city• Palestra or gymnasium, the social

centre for male citizens• Bouleterion or council chamber

egend:

•1: NE Propylon •2: Prytaneion •3: Philippeion •4: Heraion •5: Pelopion •6: Nympheum of Herodes Atticus •7: Metroon •8: Zanes •9: Crypt (arched way to the stadium) •10: Stadium •11: Echo stoa •12: Building of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe •13: Hestia stoa •14: Hellenistic building •15: Temple of Zeus •16: Altar of Zeus

•17: Ex-voto of Achaeans •18: Ex-voto of Mikythos •19: Nike of Paionios •20: Gymnasion •21: Palaestra •22: Theokoleon •23: Heroon •24: Phidias' workshop and paleochristian basilica •25: Baths of Kladeos •26: Greek baths •27 and 28: Hostels •29: Leonidaion •30: South baths •31: Bouleuterion •32: South stoa •33: Villa of Nero

Public buildings• Theatre:

– It was used for meeting and dramatic performances

– It consisted of several parts:• Skene: place for the performance, it was circular• Orchestra: first line of seats, for the chorus• Seats: divided in areas to made it possible the

movement• Storage rooms (behind the skene)

– There were built on a hill– They have perfect acoustic due to their location– There were small theatres for reading poetry,

they were called odeon.