The Specialty and Striking Features of the Ancient Greek Architecture

Greek culture flourished on the main island of Greece and the Aegean islands, Peloponnesus. During the 900 BC it also flourished in the city of Italy and Asia Minor colonies. Ancient Greek architecture is known mainly because of its temple structures and some of them are also found today, throughout the entire region but most of them are are just the ruins of the main architectural structures. Open-air theatre is the second most important structure built during the Hellenic period. The public square or agora, surround by stoat along with the pubic monument, the town council building, the monumental tomb and the processional gateway are the main evidences of the Ancient Greek architecture that are found today.

The ancient Greek architecturehas its own unique and distinguishable features from both the aspects of decoration and structure. This can be mainly seen in the structures of the temple where each of the building has its own uniqueness and sculptural entity. They are generally raised on high platforms so that its classy and elegant look can be easily viewed from different angles. Nikolas Pevsner which means the plastic shape of the Greek temple appears to be the loveliest art form of the Greek architecture.

The ancient Greek architecture vocabulary is the architectural style division that can be categorized in three separate orders: the Ionic order, Doric order and the Corinthian order. They left a very deep and profound effect on the architecture of the Western culture. The Doric order style flourished in the temple structures and this special class of architecture was known because of its use by the Spartans. It was started with the use of wood and replaced by stones in the later period. The Ionic order consists of slender columns and their dimension ranges from 8 to 9 meters. They also had molded base that was usually placed under the array of columns followed by the sculpted figures at the lower end of the shaft. Stone blocks were placed above the shafts that were given the shape of hair or wave like curves.

The ancient Roman architecture breaks the boundary of Greece and seamlessly flowed into the Italian culture. Starting from the period of the Renaissance to revivals of the classicism, all the forms and details of the Greek architecture were maintained in details. The secret of the ancient Greek architecture lies in the balance and the structural proportion.

The Greek revival architecture and the neoclassic architecture also adapted the beautiful style of the Greek architecture. The stadiums are also the finest examples of ancient Greek architecture and enable all the states of Greece to share the common bond of love and strength through the various competitions that used to be held there.