Greek Architecture
Greek Architecture
Greek Architecture
GREEK
ARCHITECTURE
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AEGEAN or MINOANS & MYCENEAN
ARCHITECTURE
The Minoans
= lived in CRETE, an island in the Aegean Sea.
= named after a legendary king, MINOS.
= as early as 2,600 B.C., people on Crete are working with bronze and
gold.
The Myceneans
= Indo-European invaders of Crete named after the palace at Mycenae
around 1900 B.C.
= Mycenae was the homeland of Agamemnon, a king in Greek
mythology.
= Culture was based around citadels on the mainland of Greece.
ANCIENT GREECE MAP
Kings lived in large, elegant palaces; the most famous of which is
the Palace of King Minos at Knossos. It was like a small city
with more than 800 rooms.
Palace of King Minos @ Knossos has
rooms groups around a central
courtyard that are surrounded by
cypress wood columns that tapered
downward.
An underground
tomb
Tholos = beehive shaped
long chamber
The Lion Gate @ Mycenae
HELLENISTIC & HELLENIC GREEK ARCHITECTURE
800 B.C. = Great Age of Greek Civilization
Hellas = Greek’s name for their country
3 MAIN GREEK ORDERS
Doric order is the widely used order during the
Greek period.
Greek columns appear to be straight but are subtly
tapered (“entasis”)
Ionic order – peak of Classical Greek Architecture
Corinthian – decline
The moulding that is often found in the Doric order
is the Bird’s Beak.
TYPES OF GREEK MOULDINGS
PROPYLAEA
PARTHENON
ERECTHEUM
TEMPLE OF ATHENA
NIKE
THE PROPYLAEA
ARCHITECT : MNESICLES
ARCHITECTS : ICTINUS
CALLICRATES
SCULPTORS : SCOPAS
PHEIDIAS
A temple dedicated to Athena
Parthenos (Athena the Warrior Maiden)
THE
ERECTHEUM
The most complex & richly-embellished
ARCHITECT : MNESICLES
Best known for its caryatid porch on the
South side facing the Parthenon.
DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK
THEATRE :
PARACENIA = projecting wall
PROCENIUM = speakers’ platform
EPISCENIUM = raised background
AGORA
market place or town square
STOA
colonnade used as a shelter
The most famous of all tombs and one of the Seven Wonders of the World
Erected for King Mausolos is the Mausoleum, Halicarnassos.