Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Classical Greece
art and architecture
Engraving of the Athenian harbor crowded with trade ships. Athens can be seen in the background
A relief carving on a tomb shows Greek soldiers attacking a walled city, using a ladder.
Engraving of Athenian women at home washing clothes, caring for children, and embroidering fabric.
masculine
feminine
Genius Loci (Genius Low-sai)
1. The distinctive atmosphere or pervading spirit of a place. 2. The guardian deity of a place.
Man
Nature
Theater at Delphi overlooking the Temple of Apollo on Mt Parnassus (4th Cent BC)
Golden Mean (Golden Section)
Ratio & Proportion
Greek Column Orders
Greek Column Orders
Golden Mean (Golden Section)
Parthenon Facade
Greek Temple Plans
The temples are understood as houses of the deity, containing statues of the god or goddess.
Case Study : The Acropolis at Athens + Parthenon
, Perikls,
"surrounded by glory"
(495 429 BC)
The most prominent and influential Greek statesman and the general of Athens during the Golden Age.
He promoted the arts and literature; it is principally through his efforts that Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the Ancient Greek world.
Engraving of an architect showing a blueprint to Pericles, as construction is busily underway in Athens.
Poseidon
VS
Athena
Poseidon
VS
Athena
Athenas statue is made of ivory and gold
Acropolis
Parthenon (Temple of Athena Parthenos) Altar of Athena Erechtheion Chalkotheke (armory) Santuary of Artemis Brauronia Propylaia Statue of Athena Promachos Temple of Athena Nike
Plan
Public worship is carried on outside the temple, which is designed and situated for maximum impact in the context of the surrounding landscape
PEDIMENT METOPES
tympanum
FRIEZE
Columns are made of 10-12 drums held together by central wooden pegs.
Viewpoints
The Acropolis of Athens Reconstruction by d'Espouy Geschichte der Baukunst, Dr. D. Josef, Leipzig, 1912)
Caryatides are marble statues of women that take the place of columns in some famous Greek temples, such as the Erechtheum.
curvature of the horizon
The word horizon derives from the Greek " " horizn kyklos, "separating circle"
Entasis (optical illusion)
How it looks
How it was actually built
Entasis (optical illusion)
Greek building typologies: Agora Stoa Bouletarion Theater
stoa
agora
Agora Public square or marketplace of any ancient Greek city. Large and open and easily accessible, it was regarded as the center of political, commercial, religious, and social life in the city. The agora was surrounded by public buildings and temples, frequently with colonnades (stoai) on the side facing the square.
Agora
Agora of Athens The Acropolis and its temples, including the Parthenon, stood guard over the Agora and the rest of ancient Athens.
Engraving of the Agora, or marketplace, in Athens. The Acropolis is in the background.
Stoa
Stoa
The long and narrow structure that was used for offices and shops at the agora.
The enclosed space was only one office in depth, but the entire front of the building provided a wide covered porch for merchants or a convenient place to get out of the rain. Stoas were most often two stories in height.
It was used to hold public meetings; the council chamber.
Bouletarion
It was roofed and had tiers of benches on three sides either rectangular or semicircular in shape.
Bouletarion
Bouletarion
Theater
Open-air structures that took advantage of sloping hillsides for their terraced seating.
Because of drama's close connection with religion, theaters were often located in or near sanctuaries
Theater at Delphi overlooking the Temple of Apollo on Mt Parnassus (4th Cent BC)
On the far side of the orchestra was the stage building, or skene (meaning tent). This was a covered structure, originally a temporary wooden building, where the actors stored their masks and costumes and performed quick changes out of the sight of the audience.
SKENE
ORCHESTRA
Core of any Greek theater is the orchestra, the dancing place of the chorus and the chief performance space
The acoustics in this theater, however, are magnificent, and words spoken very softly in the orchestra can be heard in the top rows
Audience sat in the theatron, the seeing place, on semi-circular terraced rows of benches (in the earliest theaters these were wooden; they were later built of stone)
Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.
Pericles
