ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE- HISTORICAL IDEAS CONSTRUCTING A NEW FUTURE

No discussion of art history will be complete without the discussion of Ancient Greek architecture. Greek architecture has been influencing the world throughout history with its precision and brilliance. The craftsmanship of the architect and the formulas they applied, act as a layout for all architecture. They put their minds and efforts to build things that are not just aesthetically pleasing but also sturdy and long-standing.?

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman military engineer and architect who lived from approximately 90 to 20 BCE. He is best known for his treatise De Architectura (On Architecture), which combines the history of ancient engineering and architecture with the author's insights and recommendations. De Architectura's contents reveal the ancients' much broader definition of what exactly constitutes "architecture," and it discusses subjects like science, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, astrology, medicine, meteorology, philosophy, and the significance of how architecture affects people's daily lives in both aesthetic and practical ways. The effective architect and engineer, in short, should have both theoretical and practical knowledge based on a wide and profound comprehension of all the sciences, arts, and even nature. More importantly, Vitruvius believed that a structure should always be three things: attractive, sturdy, and functional.

Well-known Greek structures were designed by architects who demonstrated a mastery of architectural principles, including the use of intricate geometry. Some structural optical phenomena were employed that can only be detected with the use of highly accurate modern technology and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Ancient Greek architects also demonstrated a profound understanding of how to construct buildings that can endure the corrosive effects of nature. The temples were constructed on solid foundations that had numerous material layers and were well-drained. These ancient Greek buildings have proven to be incredibly well constructed, lasting throughout the centuries largely intact.

Materials used by Greek architects went through a lot of change from initial stages to a later-stages. To begin with, relatively basic and widely accessible materials like wood and mud clay were employed in ancient architecture. The columns and the entire structure were once composed of wood. In the ancient world, both technology and architectural features and materials advanced. Marble was the material of choice for ancient Greek architects, especially when it came to the construction of public structures. The temples were made of wood and had thatch roofs in the early eighth century BCE, but starting in the seventh century, they began to use more lasting materials like stone, or a combination of stone and wood. Pure white marble was the material of preference for ancient Greek architects. If it wasn't an option, they preferred limestone that was coated with marble dust. The carved stone was frequently polished with chamois, giving it a brighter surface and increasing its water resistance. Mount Pentelikon, Paros, and Naxos were used as the sources of the best marble.

Earlier Egyptian architects had a significant effect on Greek architecture. The column's basic architectural features were developed by the Egyptians. One of the most significant contributions of Egyptian architecture to Greek architecture was this. The pedestal column, the main column, and the capital column are the three fundamental parts of the column's basic design, which was developed by the Egyptians. Greek architects based their Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian architectural styles on this fundamental foundation.?

When discussing Ancient Greek, it is important to understand Architectural order. The ancient Greeks created two key ideas for building their temples: the architectural order and the temple scheme. A building's style is described by an architectural order. Each order in classical architecture can be easily recognized by its proportions, profiles, and other aesthetic characteristics. Finding the order of the column will help locate the order used in the structure as a whole because the style of the column used acts as a handy index of the style itself. The terms Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, which are used to describe the classical orders, are not only used to describe the ruins of ancient structures; they also act as an index to the evolution of Greek architecture's form and style.

Doric order from Ancient Greek architecture incorporated aesthetically pleasing elements and planned construction to align with human perception and not just limited to math and geometry. The Doric order of architecture, the first of the three Classical orders, marks a significant period in Mediterranean architecture when monumental construction switched from temporary materials, like wood, to permanent ones, particularly stone. A basic, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the temple's stylobate without a base are characteristics of the Doric order. A frieze made up of triglyphs, vertical plaques with three divisions, and metopes, square areas for painted or sculpted embellishment may be found on the Doric entablature. The fluted columns have strong, albeit not particularly stocky, proportions.?

The Doric order first appeared on the Greek mainland in the late seventh century BCE and remained the most common style for building Greek temples until the early fifth century BCE, though notable structures were constructed later in the Classical period, particularly the canonical Parthenon in Athens, continued to use it. The metope plaques from the Temple of Apollo at Thermon are some of the earliest surviving components, and by 575 BCE, the order may be correctly identified. The Hera sanctuary at Argos, votive capitals from the island of Aegina, and early Doric capitals that were a component of the Temple of Athena Pronaia at Delphi in central Greece are some other early but incomplete instances. The Parthenon is the ultimate manifestation of the Doric order, c. 447-432 BCE., in Athens designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates.

The Ionic order was created in Ionia, a coastal region of modern-day Turkey's central Anatolia, where several ancient Greek cities once stood. The Ionic capital is characterized by volutes, scroll-like embellishments, and a base that supports the column, in contrast to the Doric order. By the fifth century BCE, mainland Greece had received the Ionic order, which originated in Ionia about the middle of the sixth century BCE. The votive column from Naxos with an inscription, which dates to the end of the seventh century BCE, is one of the first specimens of the Ionic capital.?

The first of the great Ionic structures was the imposing Hera temple on the island of Samos, designed by Rhoikos in 570–560 BCE. However, it was quickly destroyed by an earthquake. A wonder of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was likewise an Ionic structure. The Ionic frieze that surrounds the temple's cella is one example of how the Parthenon, built in Athens between 447 and 432 BCE, was influenced by the Ionic order. The interior of the Propylaia, the great entrance to the Acropolis, built between 437 and 432 BCE, also features ionic columns. Construction of the Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis, from 421-405 BCE, elevated the Ionic to an external order.

Compared to the Doric order, the Ionic order has more graceful proportions that result in a more slender and attractive shape. The Doric module was attributed by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius to a strong, masculine physique, whereas the Ionic had more ethereal, feminine proportions. In contrast to the Doric frieze, which is made up of triglyphs and metopes, the Ionic order features a running frieze of continuous sculptural relief.

The Corinthian order of architecture is the newest and most complex of the Classical architectural orders. With a few minor alterations, this order was used in both Greek and Roman architecture, which led to the creation of the Composite order. According to the architectural historian Vitruvius, the sculptor Callimachus created a group of acanthus leaves enclosing a votive basket in the Greek city-state of Corinth, which is where the order's name comes from (Vitr. 4.1.9-10). The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae produced the first known Corinthian capital, which dates to around 427 BCE.

The Corinthian order is distinguished by its intricately carved capital, which uses more vegetal motifs than the Ionic order does. Around the capital, the stylized, carved leaves of an acanthus plant grow and typically end just below the abacus. Perhaps because of its thin qualities, the Corinthian order was preferred by the Romans. The Pantheon in Rome, the Maison Carrée in N?mes, and several other significant Roman architectural landmarks all make use of this order.

Greek architects produced some of the finest and most recognizable structures in the entire Ancient World, and some of their creations, including temples, theatres, and stadiums, would develop into enduring symbols of ancient towns and cities. Furthermore, the Greeks' attention to simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony in their constructions would later have a significant impact on Roman and Hellenistic architects, laying the groundwork for the classical architectural orders that would rule the western world from the Renaissance to the present day.?

Ancient Greek architecture has inspired some of the finest building and furniture designs with their unique, aesthetically pleasing, and strong base. They are paving the way for companies like Maruthi Stonemart, who is known for coming up with designs and structures, that are too, as Vitruvius suggested, attractive, sturdy, and functional.