Ancient Architecture Essay Research Paper The sun

Ancient Architecture Essay, Research Paper

The sun sets. Its crimson shadow is cast over vast empires, empires that spanned centuries. As the world gazed on with admiration, the two ancient powers of Greece and Rome achieved architectural supremacy before its eyes. The temples and architectural ingenuity of these two powers immortalized their civilizations and left permanent indentation upon architectural design today.

Millennia have now past, and all that is left are the antiquities showing the exemplar artistic feats of man. Greece and Rome were profound in achieving such accomplishments. Greece praised art and triumphed in architectural design; while Rome enhanced Grecian styles and created new design elements that reflect some of the great architectural achievements in human history. Remnants of Greco-Roman architecture can be admired throughout the world, from the pristine cathedrals in England, to government facilities in the United States. These echoes from an era of peak artistry and innovation have survived thousands of years and yet continue to ripple into our lives today. In many ways, Greece and Rome provided some of the greatest architecture man has produced and paved the way for human ingenuity. But how did they achieve such terrific feats in the ancient world.

Vanquishing with the sword, the Grecian empire expanded with the same charisma as former world powers before them, conquering and assimilating surrounding nations into their culture. Antiquities leave us their legacy of the past, and subsequently, our present. The Greco-Roman era has made a profound impact upon our lives, and continues to direct our fundamentals in architectural design. Although Greece was one of the greatest innovators in the ancient world, it was still subject to the rippling effects of architectural predecessors, much like western architecture is to Greco-Roman stylesj. We find evidence of this in a beautiful white column, displayed at one of the most renowned museums in the world, the Louvre, in Paris, France. One may become amazed to discover the column belongs not to the Greeks, but rather to the columns of Persepolis, Circa (one of the ancient capitals of Persia), in 500 BC. However columns are still primarily associated with one of Greece s great innovations, due to the elegance within their exhibition in pagan temples. However, these extravagant temples did not surface right away.

In early architectural forms, homes were built of mud-brick walls, wooden columns, and thatched roofing. It was not until the eighth century BC that monumental temples took their first emergence. Although the temples still used similar materials as dwelling structures, their sizes became progressively larger. These sacred Greek temples were infamous for their immensity; being made of various specific parts which all served their own independent purpose. The temple serves as a shelter for the statue and a storehouse for offerings made unto the gods. On the island of Samos, a rectangular temple was built to the goddess Hera, making a clear distinction between divine and human houses (Pomeroy 76). Greece showed their wealth and abundance of resources by engaging in architectural projects and thus bringing additional honor to their empire. In the Archaic period, methods for design improved, incorporating vast amounts of limestone with stucco made of marble dust. At times temples were entirely constructed of marble and limestone (imitating the presence of wood within a structure). Dr. Aldo Manos, a senior official of the United Nations, deduced that structures were built entirely of stone in order to avert the threat fire posed to many ancient civilizations as the case in many classical Greek temples (Manos). Surrounding these awe-inspiring temples were situated the Greek columns, the centerpiece of Greek architecture.

In the seventh century BC three architectural orders began to surface, all made distinct by five factors: the purpose, capitol, fluting, base, and frieze. First the column must serve a purpose, whether being for support, religious implement, or for perceptual gratitude. The capital likewise played an influential role. Located atop the column, the capital adjoined the shaft to the ceiling the column supported, or the architrave. The ceiling is binary consisting of an upper portion, known as the frieze, and a lower portion, the architrave. The grooves upon the shaft of the column, the fluting, were present and yet differed among all of the Greek orders. The final aspect is revered as the base for its position on the column. This piece adjoins the shaft to the steps of the building and is often found decorated on the upper portion, or the torus. These five factors are distinguished by the three architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian (Pomeroy 276).

The Doric order, being the first, possessed some of the faults later corrected by following orders. Dating back to the early seventh century BC, the Doric order used columns that connected directly to the steps without the use of a base. The diameter of the shaft was often one-fifth or one-sixth the height of the column. The temple of Athena Parthenos (the Parthenon), built between 447 and 438 BC, was the largest structure atop the Acropolis and contained some 136 massive Doric columns (Pomeroy 277). The capital atop the shaft consisted of a circular molding (Pomeroy 276) with a square slab above that