Classical Greek Architecture: Temples, Orders, and Urban Design
Greek Architecture: Policy and Political Expression
The greatest monuments and major creative activities are related to prominent figures of politics, indicating that architecture reflected the vicissitudes of political history and became an expression of it. The great building activity of Greek civilization responded to:
- The existence of powerful material resources provided by mobility, trade, and migration.
- The political will of its leaders, reflecting the conception of life.
Urbanism and the Greek Conception of Life
Greeks lived outside their homes in the streets and squares, due to the Mediterranean climate and their political organization. This led to the development of an urbanism characterized by:
The House: Until the fifth century BC, houses were modest, built with perishable materials (adobe), serving primarily as a place of residence for women and a place to eat and sleep. They were usually organized around a square courtyard and portico, which provided illumination and cooling for the inner chambers, lacking luxury or imposing appearance.
Civic Areas: These areas included both religious public monuments (temples, shrines, and the Acropolis) and civilian structures (agora, theater, bouleuterion, gymnasiums, arenas, Odeon). These buildings were generally designed to project the image of Greece.
Technical Objectives of Greek Architecture
Throughout its evolution, Greek architecture pursued three main objectives:
- The mastery of materials.
- The match between architectural form and function.
- The creation of a city adapted to the lifestyle.
The Greek Temple: Scale and Visual Harmony
According to convention, all buildings had to be commensurate with human scale and seek visual harmony. This harmony was systematized into morphological adjustments, such as:
- Bending (Curvature of horizontal lines).
- Inclination of columns inward (to prevent the sensation of falling).
- Entasis (The slight swelling of the column shaft).
- Unequal distance of intercolumniation.
This pursuit led to the creation of the architectural orders, reflected in Greece’s most important buildings.
Key Components of the Temple Plan
The temple plan is generally rectangular and composed of:
- Pronaos:
- The entrance porch, located in front of the naos walls, often topped by two pillars (antae).
- Naos or Cella:
- The principal and central rectangular space housing the statue of the god.
- Opisthodomos:
- A storage or treasury space built on the side opposite the entrance in some temples, not connected to the naos.
Temple Classification by Column Arrangement
According to the distribution of the columns, the temple is classified as:
- In Antis: Has columns between the two pilasters (antae).
- Prostyle: Has columns only on the facade, usually four or six.
- Amphiprostyle: Has columns on both the facade and the opisthodomos.
- Peripteral: Has a single row of columns surrounding all four sides.
- Dipteral: Similar to peripteral, but with a double row of columns.
- Pseudodipteral: Usually an octastyle temple with a single row of columns around, but with the distance of two intercolumns between the columns and the cella wall.
Temple Classification by Facade Columns
According to the number of columns on the facade, the temple is named:
- Distyle (two columns)
- Tetrastyle (four columns)
- Hexastyle (six columns)
- Octastyle (eight columns)
The Greek Architectural Orders
The Doric Order
The Doric Order is a robust and clear style that originated in the area of the Peloponnese. Its columns are sturdy, tending to develop a height of four to six times their diameter.
Key Features:
- Capital: The capital crowning the column consists of a cushion-shaped element (the echinus), topped with an unadorned square piece (the abacus).
- Architrave: Undivided, resting directly on the abacus.
- Entablature: Composed of the frieze, which is a horizontal beam divided alternately into triglyphs and metopes.
- Cornice: Features a prominent cornice.