Ancient Greek Architecture: An Influence You Never Paid Attention To

Ancient Greece still stands as the most cumulative culture in almost all areas of human life. In the old times, it came to represent the concentration of the most significant types of creation, encompassing the arts, philosophy, religion, sports, the art of war and building of ships, commerce and ruling over the people.

One area that was widely emulated over the course of history is the Ancient Greek architecture. It was gradually evolving throughout the Archaic Period (750/700-480 B.C.), it came to a culmination during the Classical Period (510-323 B.C.), and it stood out as the most precious type of human construction with the advent of the Hellenistic Period (323-30 B.C.). It was further adopted by the Roman architects, and Vitruvius remains the reference by which future generations would look at the proportions that could be established numerically, with the final aim of creating symmetry (which represented a balance of parts, not how we understand it today) and harmony, the two main tenets of the Greek art.

Europe went through major upheavals after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D., the sweeping actions of the Barbaric invasions, and the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. It managed to reconfigure itself and adopt a new identity starting with the Carolingian Era and even more so towards the end of the Medieval period, with the advent of the Renaissance, when it returned to the values of Antiquity on many planes. Architecture is one of these sectors that were widely valued and taken into account. The European Baroque took the classical forms of the Greek architecture into bolder and flamboyant forms, and contributed to its enrichment, while furnishing a solid background to the contemporary interest in resorting to the old, solid styles.

Some famous contemporary buildings in Europe and in other parts of the world are a valid proof of the continuous appreciation of the non perishable values of the old monuments, initially erected by the ancient Greeks.

The architects of the Antiquity were among the first artists to establish canonical forms, as buildings needed accurate and correct proportions and a proper balance between all their elements, in order for them to endure through the times.

We must distinguish the main functions of these constructions, initiated as sacred places for worshiping. The Archaic and then, most famously, the Classical Period witnessed the erection of temples, that would be taken to further embellishments and innovation starting with the Hellenistic Period.

The Greek architecture developed three styles or orders that have been maintained throughout the centuries, to this day: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian.

The Doric style reached its peak around the 5th century B.C. “Its characteristics are masculinity, strength, and solidity.”

Parthenon, the famous temple dedicated to Athena - the patron goddess of Athenians - represents the culmination of the Doric style or order.

The Ionic style knew its culmination by the 4th century B.C. “According to the Roman architect Vitruvius, the Ionic order’s main characteristics were beauty, femininity, and slenderness, derived from its basis on the proportions of a woman.” (p. 100)

Notice how the Ionic columns stand on a base and are usually decorated with carved mouldings, called ‘egg-and-dart”.

PICTURE: the Ionic columns employed for the Propylaia, the gateway to the Acropolis

The third Greek style or order is the Corinthian, which represents an obvious embellishment of the Ionic style, mostly by floral motives on its capital (top of the column).

Ancient Greece was a polytheistic type of society and religion occupied a central part in all its functions and manifestations. The craftiness, the ingenuity, and the budget that would go into the erection of various temples were entirely dedicated to always obtaining the best outcome, the most glorious possible places for worship, libation, purification, divination, and adoration.

This central employment of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders in architecture will be later put to use for a slightly different function of such buildings in the Renaissance period, that resorted to the glory and splendor of Antiquity to restore its magnificent style.

The architects of the Renaissance looked back at Vitruvius’ ample treatise on this enduring art, thus creating a massive invigoration and a sweeping interest for the imposing facades and interiors of the buildings. Donato Bramante (1444-1514) left precious sketches for the interior of The St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, resorting to the three consecrated styles, while putting a special accent on the lavish Corinthian style.

Tempietto of St. Pietro:

The sheer beauty of Bramante's Tempietto of St. Pietro in Montorio, that displays the famous peristyle - columns surrounding the buildings on all sides - and his phenomenal achievements and rich theories had an enduring effect on the architects of the 16th century, that would employ the Antiquity's style for building churches but also, this time, villas and palaces. One can notice the expansion of the Antiquity’s - standard by now - architecture towards more generous functions: the clergy and the believers could benefit of the splendor and the grandeur of phenomenal cathedrals and churches, but at the same time the nobility were willing to pay large amounts of money to the best architects that built villas, pavilions, and palaces that inspire awe to this day.

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) reconfigures the richness of the three orders, this time in the context of the villas, built all over Italy, in particular, and spreading as a phenomenon to the surrounding countries. His famous masterpiece, Villa Rotonda, is a proof of his talent and achievements, with lasting impact on future generations of architects. This villa displays four facades, an absolute innovation for the 16th century, and it is in perfect harmony with the landscape.

PICTURE: Andrea Palladio _ La Villa Rotonda

The 17th and the 18th centuries witnessed the construction of great palaces, in an eclectic style that also incorporated the three classical canonical columns in the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian shapes. The standard construction that would become the inspiration for most of them was Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles, built in the 17th century.

PICTURE: Palace of Versailles

In a strenuous attempt to display the full magnificence of the king or the emperor, the architects of the Baroque period were combining many styles while still keeping their focus on the Classical Greek style. A fabulous example in this period is The Belvedere Palace (1721-1723) in Vienna.

An unexpected turn in the function of a classical architectural piece is represented by Napoleon Bonaparte’s efforts to complete the construction of The Church of the Madeleine in Paris (1807-1842), that he had dedicated to the French Army. The exterior of this monument resembles an Ancient temple, with its peristyle going entirely around the building, formed of majestic columns, decorated in the Corinthian order. This is an example of a change of functions: a monument that changes into a church, all under the auspices of the Classical Greek style.

Only half a century before this transformation of a public building that displays all the beauty and the impressive marks of the Greek era, The Brandenburg Gate was built in Berlin (1788-1791). The monument gate on the Acropolis, Propylaeum, served as the inspiration for the German architect, in which he put an impressive front, prestige, solemnity, and sobriety. The Doric style of the columns was used to erect this symbolic landmark of the city, in its more modern years. This is part of the Greek revival, a Western and Northern European trend that saw the incorporation of the Doric and Ionic orders in the buildings at a time when it was not easy for people to travel to Greece. The Greek revival got its big advancement with the publication of “The Antiquities of Athens” by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, in 1762. With its publication, Grecian architectural words began to be introduced to European architectural vocabulary.

The 19th and the 20th centuries saw a powerful attempt to erect imposing buildings that usually represent the authority of different institutions; therefore, one can notice the complete change in the function of these public monuments. They reflect sometimes a stern facade, and they impose themselves as they are completely standing out in the middle of an urban landscape. Such buildings that have become famous through their Classical Greek style are the Capitolium in Washington D.C. , Altes Museum (1824), Berlin, The Reichstag Building (1884), Berlin, The Victor Emmanuel Monument (1885), Rome, St. George’s Hall (1840) Liverpool, The White House, Washington.

It is our greatest awe and source of pride to admire the unique achievements of the Greek art in general and its architectural masterpieces, and still see them reflected so many centuries later, that found in the Classical art a universal beauty and an inextinguishable source of inspiration and creation.

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Sources:

Cole, Emily. Architectural Details: A Visual Guide to 2000 Years of Building Styles. 58 West Street, Brighton: Ivy Press, 2017.

Eliade, Mircea. A History of Religious Ideas Volume 1: from the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1981.

Levet, J. (2020, October 06). An Introduction to the American Greek Revival with Jacques Levet. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.classicist.org/articles/an-introduction-to-the-american-greek-revival-jacques-levet/

Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley Mayer Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, David W. Tandy, and Georgia Tsouvala. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. New York ; Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Risebero, Bill. The Story of Western Architecture. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2018.

Stewart, Andrew. Art in the Hellenistic World. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

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