An architectural order is a system of rules fixing the forms and proportions of columns and entablature, the horizontal structure the columns support. The Greeks developed three, which the Romans adopted and which have been used throughout Western architecture ever since, from the Renaissance to 19th-century banks and courthouses.
How to recognise them
| Doric | Ionic | Corinthian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Peloponnese, mainland Greece, Magna Graecia | Aegean islands and Ionia (Asia Minor) | Athens and Peloponnese, then Rome |
| Period | From the 7th century BC | From the 6th century BC | From the late 5th century BC |
| Column base | None: stands directly on the floor | Yes, moulded | Yes |
| Shaft | Sturdy, 20 sharp-edged flutes | Slender, 24 flutes separated by fillets | Slender, like Ionic |
| Capital | Plain: a cushion (echinus) and a square slab (abacus) | Two spiral volutes | Basket of acanthus leaves with small volutes |
| Frieze | Alternating triglyphs and carved metopes | Continuous, often carved | Continuous |
| Character | Severe, solid, "masculine" | Elegant, "feminine" | Decorative, rich |
| Examples | Parthenon, Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Paestum | Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike | Olympieion, Monument of Lysicrates |
According to the Roman architect Vitruvius, the Corinthian capital was invented by the sculptor Callimachus, who saw a basket left on a Corinthian girl's grave with an acanthus plant growing around it.
Parts of a temple
- Crepidoma: the stepped base
- Stylobate: the top step on which the columns stand
- Columns: fluted shaft and capital
- Entablature
- Architrave: the beam resting on the columns
- Frieze: triglyphs and metopes (Doric) or a continuous band
- Cornice
- Pediment: the triangle on the short side, with sculptures
- Interior
- Pronaos: the entrance porch
- Naos or cella: the room holding the god's statue
- Opisthodomos: the rear room, often used as a treasury
The temple was not a place where worshippers gathered: it was the home of the god's statue. Rites and sacrifices took place outdoors, at the altar in front of the east facade.
Optical refinements
The architects of the Parthenon, Ictinus and Callicrates, knew that perfectly straight lines look curved to the human eye. So the stylobate curves slightly upwards in the middle, the columns swell a little halfway up (entasis) and lean inwards, and the corner columns are thicker. The result is a building that looks perfectly regular and almost alive.
Where to see them
- Athens: Parthenon (Doric with Ionic elements), Erechtheion and Temple of Athena Nike (Ionic), Olympieion (Corinthian).
- Cape Sounion: Doric Temple of Poseidon above the sea.
- Aegina: Doric Temple of Aphaia.
- Bassae: Temple of Apollo Epikourios, with the earliest known Corinthian capital.
- Italy: the Doric temples of Paestum, Agrigento, Segesta and Selinunte.
See also ancient Greek art and the Acropolis of Athens.