The Temples of Ancient Greece

1. The Temples of Ancient Greece By: George Stefanakis

2. Table of Contents • Ancient Greek Temples • Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian • Doric Columns • Ionic Columns • Corinthian Columns • Fast Facts Pg. 1 pg. 2 Pgs.3-4 Pgs. 5-6 Pgs. 7-8 Pg. 9

3. Ancient Greek Temples Most of the buildings and structures that have remained to this day from ancient Greece were temples. A good example of this is the Parthenon which was built in 447 B.C. Temples were built to honor ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Religious ceremonies were held in an altar outside of the temple. A temple usually consisted of a room that entered the temple from the front porch, a room inside the temple (which was called a “naos”) that had the statues of the gods, the front porch (which was called a “pronaos” because it was literally in front of the naos and “pro” comes from the Greek word “prota” which means “first.” Also, an ancient Greek temple has a colonnade, an encircling staircase that goes through the middle of the temple. In ancient Greek terms, the colonnade was called a “peristyle.” Since ancient Greeks liked their temples to look symmetrical, they had a porch in the back of their temples also. This was called a “opisthodomos.” There was no way to enter the temple from the back though. Pg. 1

4. Doric, Ionic and Corinthian There are three different types of columns in ancient Greece: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Pg. 2

5. Doric Columns The features of a Doric column includes fat, tall columns with no decorative volutes, just an abacus to support the weight of the architrave, the frieze and the cornice. Three steps lead up to the base of the temple. Stair #1 is called the “stylobate” Stair #2 is called the “stereobate” Stair #3 is also called the “stereobate” This type of column is the most bland with no decorative volute before the abacus. There are triglyphs that support the cornice instead of just lying on the frieze. Pg. 3 If you do not understand some of the terms used in this page turn to pages 4 and 8.

6. architrave Doric Column capital column abacus stylobate stereobate stereobate Pg. 4

7. Ionic Columns Thin, tall, columns with decorative and supportive volutes. This type of column has no triglyphs to hold up the cornice (top layer.) The Parthenon on the Acropolis is a good example of Ionic columns. The column has a very thin abacus because it has a strong volute to support the weight of the architrave, frieze, and cornice. The Ionic columns also have a base unlike the Doric columns with just a stylobate. If you do not understand some of the terms used in this page, turn to pages 4 and 8. Pg. 5

8. Ionic Column abacus volute This column has the same parts as the Doric column, only in different sizes. Only the 3 parts shown are not on the Doric column. A Doric column does have an abacus, though, but I just wanted to point out the difference in size. base Pg. 6

9. Corinthian Columns Corinthian columns were the most advanced. They had no abacuses, a beautiful volute of carved acanthus leaves, and extremely tall columns. There was a very thin cornice and no triglyphs. Since the Corinthian columns were so tall, they had thick columns to support the weight. If you do not understand some of the terms used in this page turn to pages 4 and 8. Pg. 7

10. Corinthian Column cornice architrave frieze decorative volute (carved acanthus leaves) Pg. 8

11. Fast Facts • Iktinos and Kallikrates, the two people who designed the Parthenon, designed its columns to be slightly bent so that from far away, the Parthenon appeared to be perfectly straight. • The Stadium at Delphi held athletic “games” which were called The Pythian Games every 4 years to honor the Greek god Apollo. • Doric columns were first developed in 600 B.C. • The Temple of Hera had Doric Columns. • The Temple of Apollo’s columns were nearly 20 meters tall. Pg. 9