Ancient Greek Architecture

Temple of Athena Nike

Designed by the architect of Parthenon Kallikrates, it was probably build at 427 BC in pure Ionic style from Pentelic marble. Due to the of lack of money, the Peloponnesian war and internal political strife's the temple was not build at once. The thorakion with the victories was constructed around 410 BC, after the war victories of Alkibiades. It was damaged in the explosion of 1645 AD, and the columns were restored, as close as possible, to the originals.

Ancient Agora with Acropolis on top.

The theater of Dionysus, under the south side of the Acropolis. 

The remains from the Theater of Sparta.

The temple of Zeus, 470 - 456 BC

The Palaestra, 3rd century BC

The official entrance to the Stadium, for the judges and the athletes.

The Stadium, as it is today, dates to the 4th century BC.It is the third in succession. The first belonged to the Archaic period and in the 5th century BC, it was moved to the east.The stadium, where the athletes competed naked, has length 192 meters and 30 meters wide. According to the tradition, Herakles himself measured the dimensions.

Pediment-The pediment is the triangular place under the roof of a Greek temple

Frieze-A frieze (pronounced FREEZE) is a long narrow band of sculpture that runs along a Greek temple or another building.

The Orders of Greek Architecture Doric Ionic Corinthian

There are many examples of ancient Doric buildings. Perhaps the most famous one is the Parthenon in Athens, which is probably the most famous and most studied building on Earth. Buildings built even now borrow some parts of the Doric order.

Doric DESCRIPTION:Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric

columns are the simplest. They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square. The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides. There is no base in the Doric order. The Doric order is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design.

Ionic

DESCRIPTION:Ionic columns were taller than Doric ones. This makes them look more slender. They also had flutes, which are lines carved into them from top to bottom.. The bases were large and looked like a set of stacked rings. Ionic capitals consist of a scrolls at the top. The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.

The Temple of Athena Nike in Athens, shown here, is one of the most famous Ionic buildings in the world. It is located on the Acropolis, very close to the Parthenon

Corinthian

DESCRIPTION:The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best. The Corinthian capitals have flowers, leaves, and other designs below a small scroll.

The Temple of the Sybil in Rome is a good example of the Corinthian order. The Romans used the Corinthian order much more than did the Greeks.