SACRED GREEK ARCHITECTURE

ROBYN MARBIL

GREEK ARCHITECTURE

• refers to the architecture of Greek-speaking people aka Hellenic People

• stretches from c. 900 B.C.E. to the first century C.E.

• best known for its temples, ruins and open-air theatre

• distinguished by its highly formalised characteristics -structure -decoration

TEMPLE

• Greeks referred to temples with the term ὁ ναός (ho naós) meaning “dwelling"

• Temple derives from the Latin term, templum

• Earliest shrines were built to honor divinities and were made from materials such as a wood and mud brick

NAOS

• basic form emerged in the 10th century B.C.E.

• rectangular room with projecting walls (antae) that created a shallow porch

• This basic form remained unchanged in its concept for centuries

• In the 8th century B.C.E. Greek architecture begins to make the move from ephemeral materials (wood, mud brick, thatch) to permanent materials (namely, stone).

MONUMENTAL TEMPLE

• 6th and 5th centuries B.C.E.

• Greek city-states invested substantial resources in temple building - they competed with each other not just in strategic and economic terms, but also in their architecture - Athens devoted enormous resources to the construction of the acropolis in the 5th century B.C.E.—in part so that Athenians could be confident that the temples built to honor their gods surpassed anything that their rival states could offer.

DIVISIONS OF STYLE

1. Doric Order

2. Ionic Order

3. Corinthian Order

• Recognised by its capital, of which the echinus is like a circular cushion rising from the top of the column to the square abacus on which rest the lintels

• The echinus appears flat and splayed in early examples, deeper and with greater curve in later, more refined examples, and smaller and straight-sided

DORIC ORDER

• A refinement of the Doric column is the entasis, a gentle convex swelling to the profile of the column, which prevents an optical illusion of concavity

• Doric columns are almost always cut with grooves, known as "fluting", which run the length of the column and are usually 20 in number, sometimes fewer

• Doric columns have no base

DORIC ORDER

IONIC ORDER

• Recognised by its voluted capital

• A curved echinus of similar shape to that of the Doric Order, but decorated with stylised ornament

• Like the Doric Order, the Ionic Order retains signs of having its origins in wooden architecture

IONIC ORDER

• The Ionic Order is altogether lighter in appearance than the Doric

• Its columns, including base and capital, having a 9:1 ratio with the diameter

• The whole entablature was also much narrower and less heavy than the Doric entablature

• These Ionic-style friezes around the naos are sometimes found on Doric buildings, notably the Parthenon.

CORINTHIAN ORDER

• Distinguished by its more ornate capitals

• Does not have its origin in wooden architecture

• The capital was very much deeper than either the Doric or the Ionic capital

• Capital shaped like a large krater, a bell-shaped mixing bowl, and ornamented with a double row of acanthus leaves

CORINTHIAN ORDER

• The ratio of the column height to diameter is generally 10:1

• The capital taking up more than 1/10 of the height, the ratio of capital height to diameter is generally about 1.16:1

• Corinthian columns were sometimes built without fluting

PEDIMENT

https://houseappeal.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/pediments-classical-elements-of-ancient-architecture/

PEDIMENT

• Found in classical Greek temples, renaissance, and neoclassical architecture

• Pediments were celebratory embellishments that were both structural (supported by columns) and decorative with sculpture reliefs

• A prominent example is the Parthenon in Athens, Greece

• The pediment is supported by columns and decorated with sculptural reliefs illustrating scenes from a Greek mythology

PEDIMENT

• The space inside the pediment is referred to as the Tympanum.

• The Tympanum is typically filled with sculptural reliefs or painted, decorative elements

• The pediment was used as a non-structural element over windows, doors and aedicules

SACRED GREEK

PARTHENON

source: http://www.ancient.eu/parthenon/

• Temple on the Acropolis of Athens, aka the Parthenon

• Located in Athens, Greece

• Built between 447 and 432 B.C.E. in the Age of Pericles, and it was dedicated to the city’s patron deity and Greek goddess, Athena.

• The temple was constructed to house the new cult statue of the goddess by Pheidias and to proclaim to the world the success of Athens as leader of the coalition of Greek forces which had defeated the invading Persian armies of Darius and Xerxes.

PARTHENON

PARTHENON

• The name Parthenon derives from one of Athena’s many epithets: Athena Parthenos, meaning Virgin

• Parthenon means ‘house of Parthenos’ which was the name given in the 5th century BCE to the chamber inside the temple which housed the cult statue

• The temple itself was known as the mega neos or ‘large temple’ or alternatively as Hekatompedos neos, which referred to the length of the inner cella: 100 ancient feet

PARTHENON

• The Parthenon would become the largest Doric Greek temple

• Although, mixed the two architectural styles of Doric and the newer Ionic

• The temple measured 30.88 m by 69.5 m

• Was constructed using a 4:9 ratio in several aspects: - the diameter of the columns in relation to the space between columns - the height of the building in relation to its width - the width of the inner cella in relation to its length

PARTHENON

• Other sophisticated architectural techniques were used to combat the problem that anything on that scale of size when perfectly straight seems from a distance to be curved.

• To give the illusion of true straight lines, the columns lean ever so slightly inwards, a feature which also gives a lifting effect to the building making it appear lighter than its construction material would suggest.

• The stylobate (floor) of the temple is not exactly flat but rises slightly in the centre.

• The columns also have entasis, that is, a slight fattening in their middle

• The four corner columns are unnoticeably fatter than the other columns.

• The combination of these refinements makes the temple seem perfectly straight, symmetrically in harmony, and gives the entire building a certain vibrancy.

PARTHENON

• 8 columns seen from the front, 17 seen from the sides

• This was in contrast to the normal 6x13 Doric arrangement, they were also slimmer and closer together than usual

• It was entered through large wooden doors embellished with decorations in bronze, ivory, and gold.

• The cella consisted of 2 separated rooms.

• The roof was constructed using cedar wood beams & marble tiles, would have been decorated with akroteria (of palms or figures) at the corners and central apexes.

• The roof corners also carried lion-headed spouts to drain away water.

- Smaller room - contained four Ionic columns to support the roof section and was used as the city’s treasury.

- Larger room - housed the cult statue and was surrounded by a Doric colonnade on three sides.

PARTHENON DECORATIVE SCULPTURE

• Monumental sculptures around all 4 sides of the frieze and pediments

• Subjects of the sculpture reflected the turbulent times that Athens had faced

• Parthenon was symbolic of the superiority of Greek culture against ‘barbarian’ foreign forces

• Depicted the Olympian gods fighting the giants

PARTHENON PEDIMENT• The East Pediment

- Represented the birth of Athena - According to Greek mythology Zeus gave birth to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him to summon Hephaestus’ assistance - The sculptural arrangement depicts the moment of Athena

• The West Pediment - Faced the Propylaea - Depicted the contest between Athena and Poseidon during their competition for the honor of becoming the city’s patron - The overall character of the pediment sculptures was very energetic as the figures were placed in a dense arrangement with many overlapping bodies and limbs

• The most important sculpture of the Parthenon though was not outside but inside.

• This was a gigantic statue over 12 m high and made of carved ivory for flesh parts and gold

• The statue must have sent a very clear message of the wealth and power of the city that could produce such a tribute to their patron god

PARTHENON DECORATIVE SCULPTURE

ACROPOLIS

http://www.ancient.eu/Acropolis/

ACROPOLIS

• An `acropolis’ is any citadel or complex built on a high hill

• From the Greek Akro - high or extreme/extremity or edge Polis, city - 'High City’, 'City on the Edge’ or 'City in the Air’

• The most famous being the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, built in the 5th century BCE

• Though the word is Greek in origin, it has come to designate any such structure built on a high elevation anywhere in the world

• In modern times the word 'acropolis’ is synonymous with the ancient site at Athens

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

• Construction begun, under the guidance of the great general and statesman Pericles of Athens

• Over 2 years of detailed planning went into the specifications and contracting the labour for the Parthenon alone, and the first stone was laid on 28 July 447 BCE, during the Panathenaic festival

• Pericles spared no expense in the construction of the Acropolis, especially, the Parthenon -he hired skilled architects Callicrates, Mnesikles, and Iktinos and the sculptor Phidias (recognized as the finest sculptor in the ancient world who created the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) to work on the project

• Hundreds of artisans, metal workers, craftspeople, painters, woodcarvers, and literally thousands of unskilled labourers worked on the Acropolis.

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS• The Acropolis rises 490 feet (150 metres)

into the sky above the city of Athens and has a surface area of approximately 7 acres (3 hectares)

• Inhabited at least as early as the Mycenaean Period in Greece

• There was already a complex built on the hill, and a temple to Athena in progress, but was destroyed by the Persians under Xerxes.

• The later structures were built as a testament to the resilience of the Athenians following the defeat of Xerxes’ forces and to exemplify the glory of the city

• The most important monuments were built during that time: the Parthenon, the Erechtheon, the Propylaea, and the small temple Athena Nike.

CHANGES TO THE ACROPOLIS

• Other buildings were added as the Acropolis was in use, and the Roman Emperor Hadrian added his own flourishes to the city, and the Acropolis

• With the rise of Christianity after Constantine the Great (272-337 CE) the Parthenon became a church and the Acropolis a center of Christian devotion

• In keeping with the church’s common practice, all pagan images were destroyed and modifications made to the temples to bring them into alignment with Christian sensibilities

• After the fall of Rome in the West (476 CE) and then that of the Byzantine Empire in the East (1453 CE) to the Turks, the Acropolis was transformed into a Muslim place of worship and the Parthenon became a mosque

• Further, the damage to much of the Acropolis, after years of occupation and neglect, seemed irreparable. Only in the latter part of the 20th century CE was serious restoration and preservation work initiated on the Acropolis site.

ERECHTHEION

http://www.ancient.eu/Erechtheion/

• Ancient Greek temple constructed on the acropolis of Athens between 421 and 406 BCE in the Golden Age of the city

• Built in order to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena and generally glorify the great city at the height of its power and influence

• The Erechtheion has suffered a troubled history of misuse and neglect, but with its prominent position above the city and porch of six Caryatids, it remains one of the most distinctive buildings from antiquity

ERECHTHEION

• The Erechtheion, named after the demi-god Erechtheus, the mythical Athenian king

• Maintained its religious significance despite the arrival of the gigantic chryselephantine statue within the nearby Parthenon

• The building also had other functions, though, notably as the shrine centre for other more ancient cults: - to Erechtheus - his brother Boutes - the Ploughman, Pandrosos, the mythical first Athenian king Kekrops (or Cecrops) - half-man, half-snake - the gods Hephaistos and Poseidon.

ERECHTHEION

ERECHTHEION

• Was built from Pentelic marble which came from the nearby Mt. Pentelicus

• Was celebrated for its pure white appearance and fine grain

• Also contained traces of iron which over time have oxidised, giving the marble a soft honey colour, a quality particularly evident at sunrise and sunset

ERECHTHEION

• The asymmetrical nature of the building presents a rather confused architectural assembly in stark contrast to the precise symmetry of its neighbour the Parthenon

• The cella is divided into 4 chambers

• The other chambers of the building housed various religious and historical paraphernalia

• Pediment roofs of wood and tiles protected the cella and north porch, while the south Caryatid porch had a flat roof

• The whole building was originally surrounded by a 63 cm high Ionic frieze

• But this was badly damaged, it became impossible to determine the general theme of the piece

• It was carved from Paros marble and attached to a dark blue (or grey) background of Eleusinian marble

• To the south-west of the building stood the sacred olive tree, a gift from Athena, for which she became the patron deity of the city

ERECHTHEION

• The Caryatids or korai as they were known to the ancient Greeks

• Clinging Doric clothes (peplos and himation) and intricately plaited hair are rendered in fine detail

• Their bold stance and the firm set of the straight standing leg gave the impression that the task of bearing the weight of the porch entablature and roof is effortless

• The straight leg also creates folds in their clothing remarkably similar to the flutes on an ordinary Ionic column

• The figures raised slightly their robe with one hand and held shallow libation vessels (phialai) with the other

• It was believed that the tomb of the mythical King Kekrops lay under the building, and the libations poured by the Caryatids replicate the practice of pouring libations into the ground as an offering to the dead.

ERECHTHEION

OTHER SACRED STRUCTURES

TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS

• Aka Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus

• It is a colossal ruined temple in the centre of Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods.

• The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged in a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD

PROPYLAEA

• Located in Athens, Greece

• The monumental gateway to the Acropolis

• Built under the general direction of the Athenian leader Pericles.

• Was designed by the architect Mnesicles. Construction began in 437 BC and was terminated in 432, when the building was still unfinished

SANCTUARY OF POSEIDON AND ATHENA

• Located in Sounion, 69 kilometres southeast of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece

• The building was never completed, though, as both the temple and the offerings were destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C.

TEMPLE OF HEPHAISTOS

• Located in Central Athens, Greece

• It is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple in the world

• Unlike the Parthenon, the temple has all its columns and pediments intact, and even has most of its original roof

STOA OF ZEUS ELEUTHERIOS

• Located in Athens

• The stoa was erected at the end of the 5th century B.C. in honor of those who fought for the freedom and security of the city. Socrates is said to have met his friends in this stoa.

MONUMENT OF THE EPONYMOUS HEROES

• Located in the Ancient Agora of Athens, Greece

• Remains of an oblong pedestal enclosed by a fence. It supported the bronze statues of the legendary heroes who gave their names to the ten tribes of Attica. In addition to its honorary function, the monument served as the official notice board of the city. It is dated to the second half of the 4th century B.C.

http://www.crystalinks.com/greeksacredsites.html