History of Architecture 1 Report by: Marbil DLS -College of St. Benilde School of Architecture 1st Term S.Y. 2016-17 October 2016

1. SACRED GREEK
ARCHITECTURE
ROBYN MARBIL

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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).

6. 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.

7. DIVISIONS OF STYLE
1. Doric Order
2. Ionic Order
3. Corinthian Order

8. • 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

9. • 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

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. SACRED GREEK

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

20. • 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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

27. • 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

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

29. 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

30. 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.

31. ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

32. 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.

33. 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.

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

35. • 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

36. • 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. • 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

40. • 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

41. OTHER SACRED STRUCTURES

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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.

45. 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

46. 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.

47. 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