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Questions and Answers
What was the primary function of the extensive basement storage areas in the palaces?
What was the primary function of the extensive basement storage areas in the palaces?
Which civilization was led by King Minos of Knossos?
Which civilization was led by King Minos of Knossos?
Which architectural feature signifies the Lion Gate at Mycenae?
Which architectural feature signifies the Lion Gate at Mycenae?
What is the significance of the Pentelic marble in Greek architecture?
What is the significance of the Pentelic marble in Greek architecture?
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What type of masonry is used in the Palace of Tiryns?
What type of masonry is used in the Palace of Tiryns?
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What describes the layout of Greek cities during the Hellenistic period?
What describes the layout of Greek cities during the Hellenistic period?
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Which period is characterized by defense architecture such as the fortifications of Mycenae?
Which period is characterized by defense architecture such as the fortifications of Mycenae?
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Who is considered the supreme lord of the gods in Greek mythology?
Who is considered the supreme lord of the gods in Greek mythology?
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What architectural style was still commonly used during the Hellenistic period?
What architectural style was still commonly used during the Hellenistic period?
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Which god is known as the messenger of the gods and also associated with business?
Which god is known as the messenger of the gods and also associated with business?
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Which of the following best describes the term 'temenos'?
Which of the following best describes the term 'temenos'?
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Which goddess is symbolized by the hearth in Greek mythology?
Which goddess is symbolized by the hearth in Greek mythology?
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What was a characteristic feature of the tomb architecture mentioned in the content?
What was a characteristic feature of the tomb architecture mentioned in the content?
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What was the purpose of the Propylaea in the Acropolis?
What was the purpose of the Propylaea in the Acropolis?
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What distinguishes Hades from the twelve Olympians?
What distinguishes Hades from the twelve Olympians?
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Which ancient temple is noted as the most beautifully preserved in Greece?
Which ancient temple is noted as the most beautifully preserved in Greece?
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What is a defining characteristic of the Doric order?
What is a defining characteristic of the Doric order?
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Which temple is recognized as a supreme example of Classical Greece?
Which temple is recognized as a supreme example of Classical Greece?
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What does the term 'peripteral' refer to in ancient Greek architecture?
What does the term 'peripteral' refer to in ancient Greek architecture?
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What is the unique feature of Pseudo-dipteral temples?
What is the unique feature of Pseudo-dipteral temples?
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Who were the primary architects of the Parthenon?
Who were the primary architects of the Parthenon?
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What was the seating capacity of the theater mentioned in the content?
What was the seating capacity of the theater mentioned in the content?
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Which ornament is usually painted in the corona?
Which ornament is usually painted in the corona?
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What was the purpose of the theater in relation to Asklepius?
What was the purpose of the theater in relation to Asklepius?
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What is the function of a stoa in Greek architecture?
What is the function of a stoa in Greek architecture?
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Which element separates other mouldings in Greek architecture?
Which element separates other mouldings in Greek architecture?
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Who were the architects involved in designing the Telesterion, Eleusis?
Who were the architects involved in designing the Telesterion, Eleusis?
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What is the main characteristic of Greek theaters?
What is the main characteristic of Greek theaters?
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What type of blocks are dentils in Greek architecture?
What type of blocks are dentils in Greek architecture?
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What defines a caryatid?
What defines a caryatid?
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Who is credited with the invention of the acanthus leaf ornamentation in Greek architecture?
Who is credited with the invention of the acanthus leaf ornamentation in Greek architecture?
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What is the height-to-base ratio of Corinthian columns?
What is the height-to-base ratio of Corinthian columns?
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What is a tholos?
What is a tholos?
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Which Greek temple is renowned as the largest in Greece?
Which Greek temple is renowned as the largest in Greece?
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What architectural order is characterized by slender fluted columns and a plain frieze?
What architectural order is characterized by slender fluted columns and a plain frieze?
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Which part of a Greek theater is referred to as the space for the audience?
Which part of a Greek theater is referred to as the space for the audience?
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What does the term 'Canephora' refer to?
What does the term 'Canephora' refer to?
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Study Notes
General Influences
- The first great sea-power of the Mediterranean, Crete, developed into the civilization of Classical Greece.
- The region was home to two crucial Bronze Age civilizations: the Minoans and Mycenaeans.
- The Mycenaeans were the first Greek Civilization to write and speak the Greek language.
Geological Influences
- Marble played a major role in Greek architecture, facilitating precise lines and refined details.
- Pentelic marble, prominently found in the quarries of Mount Penteli, was a key material.
Mycenaean Palaces
- Rooms were organized around a large central court.
- Palaces had extensive basement storage areas, artists’ workshops, dining halls, and luxurious living quarters for ruling families.
- Mycenaean structures were lightweight and flexible, not monumental.
The Palace of Tiryns
- A hilltop citadel surrounded by defensive walls featuring cyclopean masonry and short stretches of ashlar.
- The Lion Gate is its most famous feature.
The Lion Gate of Mycenae
- Above the lintel, corbelled stones form an arch, creating a triangle filled with two lions carved in relief on either side of a sacred Minoan column.
- The lions’ heads, now lost, were made of separate pieces of metal or stone.
Tomb Architecture
- Types of Aegean tombs:
- Rock-cut or chamber tombs cut into hillsides with a passageway open to the sky called the dromos.
Historical and Social Influences
- Greek history comprises three distinct periods: Mycenaean or Helladic Greece, the Archaic period, and the Classical period.
- Mycenaean or Helladic Greece focused on defensive architecture like the fortifications of Mycenae and Tiryns. Citadel palaces were also built.
- Columns were usually constructed in "drums" and flutes were carved after the shafts were positioned.
- Sectioned columns were carved with a center hole or depression for pegging using stone or metal pins.
The Hellenistic Period
- Public buildings multiplied and became permanent structures.
- Civic design developed, with building groups arranged symmetrically, linked by colonnaded porticoes known as ‘stoas’.
- Town planning became a new development.
- Trabeated architecture remained common, but arches started appearing over wall openings.
- Greek cities, like the Acropolis, were located on the highest parts for dignity, enclosed within a ‘temenos’ or sacred enclosure.
- The Acropolis of Athens is the most famous acropolis, housing important and sacred buildings.
The Acropolis, Athens
- Propylaea - forms the impressive entrance to the Acropolis.
- Pinacotheca - houses painted pictures.
Temple Architecture
- The Greek temple is a rectangle with a roof supported by columns.
- The three main Greek orders are:
- Doric - masculine in quality, has no base, height is 4-6 1/2x the diameter of the base, with 20 flutes.
- Ionic - more graceful and delicate, has a base, height is 8-9x the diameter of the base, with 24 flutes.
- Corinthian - the most ornate, has slender fluted columns, a plain frieze, a base similar to the Ionic, and a height of 9-10x the diameter of the base.
- Peripteral - single line of columns at the front and rear.
- Pseudo-peripteral - flank of columns attached to the naos wall.
- Dipteral - double line of columns surrounding the naos.
- Pseudo-dipteral - like dipteral but the inner range of columns is omitted.
- A Caryatid is a sculpted female figure supporting an entablature on her head.
- A Canephora is a caryatid with a basket on her head.
- An Atlantes, a decorative column in the figure or half figure of a man.
Temples of the Doric Order
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The Parthenon, Athens
- An ambitious plan realized by Pericles, a Greek statesman.
- A supreme example of Classical Greece, upheld as a symbol of democracy.
- Dedicated to Athena Parthenos, whose 12.8-meter-high statue was a masterpiece by Phidias, crafted from ivory and gold with precious stones.
- Designed by Ictinus and Callicrates, with Phidias as the master sculptor.
- Peripteral octastyle in plan, with the naos known as ‘hecatompedon’, measuring 100 feet long.
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The Temple of Zeus, Olympia
- Built by Libon of Elis, a temple of the Doric order with 6 x 13 columns.
- The temple was a marvel of design and construction, with intricate carvings and decorations.
- It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century AD, but its ruins are still visible today.
Temples of the Corinthian Order
-
Temple of Artemis, Ephesus
- Designed by Demetrius, Paeonius, and Deinocrates, one of the most impressive of Greek temples, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
- Dipteral octastyle at the front and enneastyle at the rear.
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Tholos Philippeion, Olympia
- Begun by Philip of Macedonia and completed by Alexander.
- A tholos is a circular temple (this word is also used for a Mycenaean circular subterranean tomb).
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Tholos, Epidaurus
- Built by Polykleitos, an astronomical monument, perystyle in plan with 14 internal Corinthian columns and 26 external Doric order columns, floor in black and white marble.
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Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
- Built by Cossutius and completed by Roman Emperor Hadrian, renowned as the largest temple in Greece.
- Has 55 semi-circular rows, with a seating capacity of 12,000-14,000.
Greek Theatre
- Open-air structures usually hollowed out of a hillside slope.
- Orchestra - space between the audience and the stage.
- Theatron or Cavea - the audience seating space.
- The theater at Epidaurus is famous for its acoustics and its relationship with the god Asklepius.
Greek Theatre and Asklepius
- Asklepius, the god of medicine, is said to have prescribed writing songs and "comical mimes" as treatments.
- This practice is based on the idea that a patient's emotional state is as important as their physical one.
- The theater, therefore, was seen as a part of the cure, suggesting "Theater as Medicine."
Public Buildings
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Agora
- An open place of assembly and a center of social and business life.
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Stoa
- Long, colonnaded covered walkways used around public places.
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Stoa of Attalos
- A museum of Ancient Agora with walls made of limestone and Pentelic marble.
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Assembly Halls
- For public assemblies.
- Telesterion, Eleusis by Ictinus was an assembly hall large enough to hold thousands of people.
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Bouleuterion (Council House)
- A meeting place for democratically-elected councils.
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Tower of the Winds, Athens
- Made of Pentelic marble by the Greek astronomer Andronicus of Cyrrhus, a unique octagonal structure with a sundial and weather vanes indicating the wind direction.
Entablature Features
- Astragal or bead: bead and reel
- Torus: the guilloche or plait ornament, or with bundles of leaves tied by bands.
- Corona: usually painted with the fret ornament (also called key pattern)
- The fillet is a small plain face to separate other moldings.
- The scotia is a deep hollow molding.
- The cavetto is a simple hollow molding.
- Dentils are a series of small projecting rectangular blocks under a cornice.
- Bird’s beak has a section resembling a beak.
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