It is well known that all of world architecture developed under the influence of classical designs created by the architects of the legendary Hellas. For many centuries, their immortal creations have served as a standard of harmony that inspired architects of later eras, for whom the order system of Ancient Greece was the starting point of their creative searches. Photos illustrating the article give an idea of its characteristic features.
The concept of an architectural order
Before starting a conversation about the features of certain orders, it does not hurt to clarify the very meaning of this term, so often found in architecture. It is customary to mean a composition that has become the result of artistic processing of the most important part of a building - its post-beam structure. The simple combination of a vertical support and a horizontal panel in it has become a work of art.
The ancient Greeks naturally had a poetic perception of many seemingly prosaic attributes of life. So, in the usual combination of building elements of the column and the upper floor, they managed to discern a symbol of the struggle of good - support, and evil - the architrave beam pressing on it from above with its weight. Well, if matters touched on such high matters, then the flight of inspiration of the ancient architects became truly unstoppable.
Three whales of ancient Greek architecture
The order architecture of ancient Greece is based on three pillars, which became its basis for the entire period of existence of this highly developed civilization. By them it is customary to understand the Doric order, Ionic and Corinthian. These names come from areas where buildings first appeared, marked by their characteristic artistic features. As a rule, these were not ordinary residential buildings, but public buildings or temples.
It is no accident that it was religious buildings that embodied the fruits of the creative inspiration of architects. The worship of the deities included not only the ritual system, but also required a very special aesthetic form for the creation of all the elements of the temple, including its architectural solution, and sculptural decoration.
The early architectural style of ancient Hellas
The addition of the order system in the architecture of ancient Greece has deep historical roots. Even at the earliest - archaic - period, buildings appeared, the artistic features of which were called the Doric order. Temples made in this style are characterized by squat, massiveness and avarice of decorative design. The famous Roman architect and mechanic Vitruvius, who lived in the 1st century AD, aptly described him as "male."
The validity of such a characteristic becomes apparent when you see these massive columns, giving the impression of power that can withstand any load. At the same time, their surface, covered with longitudinal grooves running along the axis, emphasizes the upward trend and creates a sense of dynamics, which, to one degree or another, submits the entire order system of Ancient Greece.
Briefly describing this architectural technique, it should be noted that the effect of movement is achieved by the very shape of the column - wide at its base, and tapering at the top. It is like a sign pointing to the sky - the abode of those deities worshiped in the temple. This stylistic device also serves another purpose - the conical silhouette of the column causes a significantly greater feeling of counteraction against gravity than its strictly vertical outlines.
Variety of Doric Order Temples
The crowning part of the column - the capital - is characterized by the absence of decor and consists of a smooth convex contour, called echin, and a rectangular slab - abacus. Nothing extra. True masculine beauty does not need jewelry. However, such an artistic orientation does not mean that the order system of Ancient Greece generated the external monotony of temples made in the framework of a particular style.
With a general similarity of proportions, Doric temples looked different. Everything depended on the height and location of the columns, as well as the general proportions of the building. In some cases, a feeling of immense heaviness was created, and in others - lightness and grace. To verify this, just look at the massive forms of the Pestum temple of Poseidon and compare them with the soaring outlines of the sanctuary of Hephaestus on the Agora.
The emergence of the feminine in architecture
A little later, already in the heyday of Mediterranean culture, the order system of Ancient Greece was enriched by another architectural style, known as the Ionic order. Unlike his Doric brother, who embodied the masculine principle in his forms, he became an expression of femininity and grace, manifested in the harmonious outlines of the columns, and the general lightness of the proportions of the temples.
In addition, Greek architects, inspired by their beautiful compatriots, performed capitals of columns in the form of circles, reminiscent of the shape of a woman's chest, decorated with a rich decor in the form of necklaces. The flutes were made so deep that they involuntarily associated with the viewer with the folds of the dress.
The overall impression of the feminine and some eroticism was supplemented by caryatids - female figures used as additional supports. They were a sharp contrast to the powerful and gloomy figures of the Atlanteans that existed in Doric temples.
Varieties of Ionic Style
The buildings related to the ionic order were not homogeneous. They had distinctive features that made it possible to divide them into Asia Minor and Attic variants. The first was distinguished by an in-depth depiction of the base and the absence of a frieze - a strip of sculptural decorations that framed the upper parts of the walls. It is found infrequently. Attic is more common. It was this style that the architectural order system of Ancient Greece was most famous for. The Acropolis of Athens is its most famous incarnation.
The distinctive features of the Attic-style temples include a three-layer entablature - a beam ceiling, resting on supporting columns. In addition, they are characterized by a continuous frieze, enveloping the entire perimeter of the building and often decorated with decorative compositions.
In general, ionic temples, for all their undeniable merits, had one significant drawback - the details included in their composition were deprived of a comprehensive review. According to their design features, they were beautiful from only one certain side. For this reason, the order system of Ancient Greece needed a new, more elaborate and universal style.
A style that incorporates the achievements of past centuries
It became the Corinthian warrant, developed taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of its two predecessors. He embodied their best features. It was in it that the order system of Ancient Greece got its full completion. There is a legend that its creator, the ancient Greek architect Callimachus, once witnessed a spectacle he remembered.
A basket with acanthus flowers standing on the grave of a young Greek woman was covered with green branches sprouted through its rods. The architect liked this so much that he created several columns whose capitals reproduced what he saw. They were beautiful from all points of view, and their image formed the basis for creating a new architectural order.
The Roman architect Vitruvius mentioned above compared the slender Corinthian columns with the silhouettes of girls. Unlike Dorian and Ionic samples, they look more flexible and proportional. In addition, the Corinthian capitals and entablature, in addition to their comprehensiveness, are characterized by a rich decorative design that gives them a bright festive look.
Roman followers of the ancient Greeks
The ordering system of Ancient Greece served as the basis for the creation and development of architectural styles of the Roman Empire. But, unlike previous centuries, in this later period of world history, not three, but five orders were spread. To the styles inherited from Greek architects and creatively redesigned, Roman architects added two original ones that they developed - Tuscan and composite.
The simplest was the Tuscan style. It was characterized by massive columns and a simplified Doric entablature - beam span of the span, often made of wood. The Roman Doric and Roman Ionic orders generally reproduced their Greek prototypes, but with some modifications. As for the composite style, it is considered the most complex in its structure, as it was a combination of the elements of the other four orders.
The foundation of world architecture
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the architecture of Ancient Greece, the order system of which was continued in the works of Roman architects, was the basis upon which all world classical architecture subsequently grew. Looking closely at her most famous masterpieces, you can see in them the elements that came to our world from the depths of ancient times.