Greekarch cooking show

GreekGreekarchitecturearchitecture

c. 750 – 80 BCEc. 750 – 80 BCE

Early Greek Temples• In the Geometric period (c. 750 BCE) Greeks worshiped at outdoor altars within walled sanctuaries; their temples sheltered a statue of a god.• Few remain today, and those are mostly just foundations and fallen columns (mud brick and wood walls and roofs are gone).• Fortunately, a ceramic model of a temple (from about 750 BCE) survived, decorated with the geometric designs characteristic of the period.• Early temples followed the style of the Mycenaean megaron, with an inner cella (or naos) that housed the statue.• The structure also features a rectangular base, with a projecting porch supported on two sturdy posts. • The steeply pitched roof forms a triangular area, or gable, in the façade, or front wall.

Model of a TempleFound in the Sanctuary of Hera,

Argos (Greece)c. 750 BCE. Terra cotta.

Typical Greek Temple• During the Archaic period, Greeks began enlarging their temples and making them out of stone.• At right is a typical Greek temple plan. The smaller three plans show the same basic temple, but with differing outer colonnades. • Greek temples were typically a little over twice as long as they were wide.• Temples were thought of as a “house” for the deity being honored, and a statue of the deity was placed in the naos. However, worship happened outside of the temple.

Peristyle (peripteral)

amphiprostyle prostylePeristyle (dipteral)

Architectural Orders• During the Archaic period, two standardized elevation designs emerged: the Doric order and the Ionic order (the Corinthian order is a variant of the Ionic order developed during the Hellenistic period). • The level of ornate decoration on the columns increases, as the proportional width of the column decreases, from Doric to Ionic to Corinthian.

Architectural Orders

Temple of Artemis at Corfu• An early example of Doric architecture is the Temple of Artemis on the island of Korkyra (present day Corfu).• Columns are fluted with no base resting directly on the stylobate. Capitals are made up of 3 distinct parts: the necking that makes the transition from the shaft, the round echinus, and the square abacus.• Doric columns are proportionally the widest of the three styles (height = 4x width), giving a sense of stability and permanence. They swell towards the middle, then taper towards the top (called entasis), giving a sense of upward lift.• The three part entablature consists of a plain flat band called the architrave, topped by a decorative and called the frieze, and capped with a cornice.• In the Doric frieze, flat areas called metopes alternate with projecting blocks with 3 vertical grooves called triglyphs.

Gorgon MedusaWest pediment of the

Temple of Artemis, Korkyra (present day Corfu)

Archaic Period (c. 600 BCE)Pediment relief 9’ 2” tall

Scale of humans on end of pediment reduced to fit them into the smaller space.

Temple of Artemis at Corfu• The relief of the Gorgon Medusa in the pediment was carved on a separate slab of limestone, then installed on the temple.• The figures are high relief, and actually break into the architectural frame above.• Medusa had snakes for hair and could turn humans to stone by looking at them.• She was beheaded by the legendary hero Perseus, and from her blood rose Pegasus (the winged horse, visible on the left) and the giant Chrysaor (on the right). • Flanking Pegasus and Chrysaor are felines, and past them are dying humans, tucked into the corners of the pediment.Gorgon Medusa

West pediment of theTemple of Artemis, Korkyra

(present day Corfu)Archaic Period (c. 600 BCE)

Pediment relief 9’ 2” tall

Temple of Hera I• Another early example of Doric architecture is the Temple of Hera I, in Paestum, Italy (a Greek settlement).• This temple is unusual because its short side has an odd number of columns (9), as well as a second chamber behind the naos (which contained the statue of Hera), called the adyton, which may have held a second statue of a god (possibly Zeus).• Another unusual feature is the row of columns down the center of the naos, which helped support the roof.• Proportionately wide columns that were closely spaced held up what was probably once a very heavy roof.• No entablature sculpture has been found, but small pieces of painted terra cotta have been found, which probably were once part of the decoration.

Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy

c. 550 BCEArchaic Period

Adyton Naos (cella) Porch (portico)

Temple of Aphaia• The Temple of Aphaia (dedicated to a local nymph named Aphaia) • The cella was raised one step higher than outer porch.• Columns more widely spaced and more slender.• Six columns (an even number) on short side, twelve on long side.• Cella had a double colonnade (one down each side) instead of one central one like the Temple of Hera I. The cella columns were two-stories.• Use of an even number of columns on the front and the double colonnade in the cella allowed the statue to be placed on the central axis, and provided a clear view of it from the pronaos.

The Temple of AphaiaAegina, Greece, c. 500.

Marble. Transition to Severe (Early Classical)

(model)

Temple of Hera II• Similar to plan of Aphaia: 6 columns in front (though 14 down side), 2 columns in antis, and 2 rows of columns in 2 stories inside cella. • Echinuses are more tapered, form a smoother transition to the entablature than on Hera I.

Temple of Hera IIPaestum, Italy, c. 460.Severe (Early Classical)

Temple of Hera I

Hippodamos of Miletos• After the Persian invasion, the Greeks had to rebuild their cities. Instead of building them irregularly (as dictated by the geography of the site), they began using a grid system.• The first Greek to do this was Hippodamos, who planned a rigidly gridded system for the rebuilding of his town Miletos. All streets, regardless of terrain, met at right angles. • This came to be known as a Hippodamian plan (also known as an orthogonal plan).• Also, the city itself was divided into separate quarters for public, private, and religious functions.• This desire to impose order on nature and to assign an proper place in the whole to each of the city’s constituent parts was very much in keeping with the philosophical tenets of the fifth century BCE. Miletos City Plan

The Acropolis• Under the leadership of Pericles (an elected official), Athens began rebuilding the Acropolis after the defeat of the Persians in 480 BCE. • The Athenians built four new buildings under Pericles’ leadership (in chronological order): -The Parthenon (447-438)-The Propylaia (437-431, left unfinished due to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War)-The Temple of Athena Nike (427-424)-The Erechtheion (421-405)• A civic center and marketplace calledthe Agora was located at the base of the Acropolis.

The Acropolis of AthensClassical Period (c. 480 – 400 BCE)

minaret

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Parthenon• The first major Acropolis building constructed under Pericles’ program was the Parthenon.• The architect of the Parthenon was Iktinos, assisted, it is believed, by Kallicrates. • Phidias was the head sculptor of the artworks decorating the Parthenon, and was noted by the writer Plutarch to be the overseer of the whole project.• Iktinos attempted to make the “perfect” temple, based on Pythagoras’ theories about harmonic ratios.• Most of the building is based on the equation x = 2y + 1 (such as the proportion of the short side to the long side, or the distance between two columns vs. the distance between the center of two columns).• The façade is approximately the samedimensions as the “Golden Rectangle”

The Parthenon Iktinos & KallicratesAcropolis, Athens, GreeceClassical period (438 BCE)

Parthenon• Although the Parthenon was highly symmetrical and followed a strict set of mathematical rules, the designers did make some adjustments to counter-act optical illusions:-The stylobate (floor) and subsequently the roof are slightly higher in the middle (domed), because a perfectly level floor and roof would appear to sag in the middle.-The pillars in the four outer corners are two inches wider, because the sunlight surrounding them when viewed from a distance would make them appear thinner than the others.-The four corner pillars are slightly tilted inward.• Although it is a mostly Doric temple, it does have some Ionic elements (such as the inner Ionic frieze, and the four Ionic columns in the back room/treasury). Use of both styles may have symbolized that Athens was the leader of all the Greeks.

Parthenon• The Parthenon symbolized:-Athenian wealth (through its use of costly materials and extensive decoration)-Athenian victory against Persians (in its sculptures and reliefs)-Athenian values of rationality and logic (in its use of Pythagorian harmonic ratios to determine proportions as well as balanced symmetry)-Athenian belief in ideal beauty and perfection-Athenians themselves (depicted in the ionic frieze showing the Panathenaic procession)

The Parthenon Iktinos & KallicratesAcropolis, Athens, GreeceClassical period (438 BCE)

Propylaea• The Propylaea was intended to be a grandiose entrance-way to the top of the Acropolis. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, it was left unfinished.• The two central columns were spaced farther apart, to allow horses and chariots to go through during processions.• The site was difficult due to the steep slope, but the architect Mnesikles resolved the problem by creating an eastern and western sections (front and back), each one resembling the façade to a Doric temple.• The exterior columns were Doric; interior were Ionic.• Two side-wings were planned, but only the northwest one was completed. In Roman times, it housed paintings by the most popular artists of the day. If that was its original purpose, it would be the first public art museum (“home for the muses”).

PropylaeaMnesiklesAcropolis, Athens, GreeceClassical period (431 BCE)

Temple of Athena Nike• Another building in the Acropolis complex is the Ionic, amphiprostyle Temple of Athena Nike (Athena as goddess of victory in war) • Stands on what used to be a Mycenaean bastion next to the Propylaea.• The frieze depicts the battle of Marathon, an important victory against the Persians (a human, and specific, event).

Temple of Athena NikeKallicratesAcropolis, Athens, GreeceClassical period (424 BCE)

Erechtheion• Replaced the Archaic Athena temple that the Persians destroyed.• The Erechtheion honored multiple persons, including:-Athena (housed the wooden statue used in the festival)-Erechtheus (an ancient king of Athens)-Kekrops (the legendary half-man, half-serpent original king of Athens who judged the contest between Poseidon and Athena)• The contest between Athena and Poseidon was said to have been done on that spot, and the temple houses a mark that bears the marks of Poseidon’s trident, as well as the nearby olive-tree of Athena.

ErechtheionMnesiklesAcropolis, AthensClassical period (405 BCE)

caryatid

Erechtheion• • The layout of the temple is irregular, to accommodate the uneven landscape (which could not be leveled out due to sacred sites in the area), and to incorporate the existing tomb of Kekrops, Athena’s olive tree, and Poseidon’s rock.• Each side of the temple is on a different ground level, and bears different ornamentation.• The south porch contains six caryatids, known as the Porch of the Maidens.• The caryatids all stand in contrapposto poses, with one leg bent forward as if relaxed. The caryatids on the left stand on their left legs, and the caryatids on the right stand on their right legs, creating a sense of balance and symmetry.• The folds of their dresses resemble the flutes of a column.• Their hair falls next to their neck in a thick braid, helping to subtly thicken and reinforce the weakest part of the column.

ErechtheionMnesiklesAcropolis, AthensClassical period (405 BCE)

The Theater at Epidauros• Architect was Polykleitos the Younger, possibly the nephew of the sculptor Polykleitos.• Greek dramas were closely associated with religious rites, and would be performed during certain yearly festivals.• The shape of the amphitheater (amphi = both sides, theater = place to see) enabled everyone to have a good view of the actors. The shape also provided good acoustics so that everyone could hear the actors.

The Theater at Epidauros Epidauros, GreecePolykleitos the Younger4th Century (Late Classical) c. 350 BCE

Mausoleum at Hallicarnassos• Tomb for Mausolos (from whom we derive the word “mausoleum”), prince of Karia and Persian governor of the region, at Halikarnassos in Asia Minor.• Mausolos admired Greek culture and brought to his court Greek writers, entertainers, and artists, as well as the greatest sculptors to decorate his tomb. • One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was destroyed in the Middle Ages.• The building featured over 250 life-size or larger statues of people and lions, as well as several friezes, all of which were originally brightly painted.

Mausoleum at Hallicarnassos4th Century (Late Classical) c. 350 BCE, appx. 150’ tall

Mausoleum at Hallicarnassos• Built in 3 sections: 1.a plain surfaced podium, decorated with friezes depicting battle scenes of the Greeks vs. the Amazons, and the Lapiths (legendary pre-Hellenic warriors from Thessaly) vs. the centaurs. 2.an Ionic colonnaded section. Between each column was a statue of one of Mausolos’ relatives and ancestors.3.a stepped roof, topped with marble statues of a chariot and horses.• Bottom row of free-standing statuary depicts battle between Greeks and Persians, second row depicts unknown standing figures, third row depicts hunters killing boar, lions, and deer.

Mausoleum at Hallicarnassos

4th Century (Late Classical) c. 350 BCE

appx. 150’ tall

Altar of Zeus at Pergamon• The spread of Greek culture during the Macedonian Empire remained strong in the regions outside of mainland Greece even after the death of Alexander. The architecture reflected the valuing of a more worldly, sophisticated, varied, and complex style.• The original altar complex was a single-story structure with an Ionic colonnade raised on a high podium reached by a monumental staircase (68’ wide). • The frieze surrounding the temple broke the conventions of sculpture by having the figures reach out into the space of the spectator, in a theatrical and complex interaction of space and form.

The reconstructed west front of the Altar of Zeus

Hellenistic period (c. 150 BCE)