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