High and Late Classical architecture is distinguished by its adherence
to proportion, optical refinements, and early exploration of
monumentality.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Identify the common themes in Greek architecture
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Architecture during the Early and High Classical periods was refined and the optical illusions
corrected to create the most aesthetically pleasing proportions. The High and Late Classical
periods begin to tweak these principles to experiment with monumentality and space.
Temples during the Late Classical period began to experiment with new architectural designs and
decoration. The Tholos at Delphi is a circular shrine with two rings of columns, the outer Doric
and the inner Corinthian. This demonstrates that Corinthian's decorative use.
The Temple of Epikourious at Bassae is noted for its uniqueground plan and the use of
architectural elements from all three Classical orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The temple's
use of architectural decoration and ground plan demonstrate changing aesthetics.
The theater in the city of Epidaurus is a prime example of the architectural and engineering skill
during this period. The theater is built with refined acoustics that could amplify the sounds on the
stage to every one of the theater's 15,000 spectators.
TERMS [ edit ]
aniconic
Of or pertaining to representations without human or animal form .
tholos
a dome, or domed building; a cupola; a dome-shaped tomb from the Mycenaean period of
Ancient Greece
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
The study of Classical era architecture is
dominated by the study of the
construction of the Athenian Acropolis
under the supervision of the Athenian
statesmen, Pericles, and the cultural
minister, Phidias, and the development of
the Athenian agora. The Parthenon on the
Acropolis represents a culmination
of style in Greek temple architecture. The
optical refinements found in the
Register for FREE to stop seeing ads
Parthenon, the slight curve given to the whole building and the ideal placement of the
metopes and triglyphs over the column capitals represent the Greek desire to achieve a
perfect and harmonious design known as symmetria. Overall, the columns become more
slender and the entablaturelighter during this period. Throughout the Classical period,
proportion and monumentality are begun to be examined in terms of architecture, which is
more fully utilized in theHellenistic period. The architectural refinements perfected during
the Late Classical period open the doors of experimenting with how architecture could define
space, an aspect that became the forefront of Hellenistic architecture.
Temples
Throughout the Archaic period, Greeks experimented with building in stone and slowly
developed the ideal temple. An ideal number of columns was decided upon, where twice the
number of columns across the front of the temple plus one was the number of columns down
each side (2x + 1 = y). Many temples during the Classical period followed this formula for
their peripteral colonnade, although not all. Also, many temples in the Classical period and
beyond are noted for the curvature given to the stylobate of the temple that corrected for
optical distortions.
The Temple Epikourious at Bassae is a hexastyle temple with fifteen columns down its length.
The temple was built by the Parthenon architect, Iktinos, in the second half of the fifth
century BCE. The temple's plan is unusual for a variety of different attributes . First, the
temple faces north-south instead of east-west, which accommodates the landscape of the site.
Secondly, the temple has a door on the naos which provides access and light to the naos.
Thirdly, it takes some cues from the Parthenon, such as a colonnade in the naos, but in this
case the colonnade is a single story and only the columns of the temple and not the stylobate
have entasis. Finally, the temple has elements of all three architectural orders and is
currently has the earliest known example of a Corinthian capital. Only one Corinthian capital
has been found and it is hypothesized that it was place on a column in the center of the naos,
replacing the cult statue as an aniconic representation of Apollo.
Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae
Ground plan of the Temple of Apollo Epicurius. Marble. Bassae, Greece.
The Tholos at Delphi was a sanctuary of Athena Pronaia built by Theodoros of Phoenicia
between 380 and 360 BCE. The tholos was a circular shrine with twenty exterior Doric
columns and 10 Corinthian columns in the interior. The Corinthian capital was developed in
the middle of the fifth century and used minimally until the Hellenistic era and was later
popular with the Romans.
Tholos of Athena Pronaia
Theodoros of Phoncia. Tholos. Marble. Ca. 375 BCE. Delphi, Greece.
Theater of Epidaurus
The large theatre located at Epidaurus is an example of the architecture and engineering at
the time . The theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger, the son of the sculptor
Polykleitos, in the mid fourth century BCE. The theater seats up to 15,000 people. Like all
Greek theaters, this theatre was built into the hillside, which supports the stadium seating,
and the theater overlooks a lush valley and mountainous landscape. The theater is especially
well known for its acoustics that could amplify a spoken voice on the stage to every spectator,
no matter where they sat. The shape of the theater helped to amplify the sounds from the
stage, while the limestone seating is credited with muffling additional noises coming from the
crowd.
Theater at Epidauros
Polykleitos the Younger. Theater. Ca. 350 BCE. Epidauros, Greece.