Architecture of Ancient Greece. classical period

Greece is the cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations, which organically combines ancient monuments of culture, architecture and literature. Even after millennia, Hellas is considered a model of creativity and culture of the countries of Europe and Asia. The temples of ancient Greece are the heritage of the history of the whole world and cultural value.

Buildings that were built many centuries ago are striking in their beauty and grandeur. According to myths, they were built by the Cyclopes, thanks to which the name of the “Cyclopean” architectural style of buildings took root. The Mycenaean era left a mark, embodied in amazing tombs and buildings. The classical style, vividly manifested in the form of an amazing Acropolis, is rightfully considered the "golden" period.

In Greece, the concepts of temple and sanctuary are clearly distinguished. The religious building itself was considered a temple, and the sanctuary was the central part of the temple, where sacred objects were stored and protected by the oracle.

Hellenic ancient temples

Initially, the first Temples of ancient Greece did not differ much in architecture from an ordinary dwelling, but soon their significance began to manifest itself in luxurious lines and frills of buildings. Spacious halls were devoid of windows, and a statue of a revered deity was erected in the center.

The classical period brought some changes to the exterior, thanks to an extraordinary combination of power and grace, which caused inner awe when contemplating the structure. reflect ancient history.

Changing architectural styles. The temples of ancient Greece are most pronounced precisely in the modification of the columns of buildings, which were carried out in an ascetic form without frills, or decorated with capitals, ornaments. The columns brought additional stability to the buildings, allowing to significantly increase the volume of the premises, and gave significant solidity.

There was no luxury in the temples, matte monochromatic tones with strict ornamentation were selected. Sometimes gold was used to decorate the interior. The statues of the deity were painted and decorated with jewels, but, unfortunately, not a single statue has survived to our time in its original form. Each resident of the city took part in the construction of the temple, which took decades. In the article you will learn even more interesting facts.

famous temples in greece

A huge number of temples have been preserved in Athens. The Acropolis houses the Parthenon, a structure built in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena. The temple of Erechteinon was considered the place of the battle between Poseidon and Athena.

The inhabitants of Athens firmly believed in the existence of the goddess of victory, Nike, which is confirmed by the temple with a statue of a deity whose wings were cut off so that victory would never leave them. It was in this temple that, according to legend, the king of Athens was waiting for his son, after defeating the minotaur. Theseus forgot to give a conventional sign of victory, as a result of which King Aegeus threw himself into the sea, which eventually became known as the Aegean. Hiking, travel, walks can tell you a lot about culture, history and architecture, for example, beautiful ones amaze with their magnificence.

Temple of Hephaestus

The temple of the god of fire Hephaestus rises on the very top of the mountain called Agora. The building has been perfectly preserved to this day. The sea coast near the mountain is decorated with the ruins of a temple built in honor of Poseidon, which are sung in the works of many writers, leaving an indelible mark on the memory and a lot of impressions.

Temple of Zeus

The unusually majestic temple of Zeus, the supreme Greek deity, is called Olympion, despite the fact that only columns and ruins remained of it, it still impresses with its scope and size.

Each Greek city has its own Acropolis, which is a powerful fortress located in the very center, the purpose of which was to protect the temples. To date, many fortresses have been destroyed, being only ruins, but even they carry history and convey the unique grandeur of the history of Greece.

Parthenon Temple

Geographically located in the "heart" of Athens. The temple was solemnly erected for the beautiful and majestic goddess of Athens - the Parthenon. It was built from Pentelian light marble, unique in its kind. Currently, this temple is the most popular among the ancient buildings of all Greece. Finishing work dragged on until 432 BC.

The construction was carried out by the ancient architect Kalliktat, it happened in 447 BC. construction lasted 9 years. The temple is made in the palace style with many columns (48 pieces). The pediment and cornices are decorated with sculptures. Now there are very few of them left, only fragments. All of them were looted during the long years of wars. Now the temple has a white or cream shade, but in ancient times it was painted in different colors. for such a long existence, the Parthenon Temple had different purposes: it served as a haven for Catholics, was an Orthodox place, and even was a secret warehouse for gunpowder.

Temple of Hera

It has its location closer to the Northwest corner of the Great Olympia. The temple is located on a slope, shaded, as if hidden from human eyes, by growing terraces. As is known from scientific chronicles, the temple was built in 1096-1095 BC. But according to archaeologists, the temple was built in 600 AD. The Temple of Hera was rebuilt many times, converted into a museum building. The temple was partially destroyed by a strong earthquake in the middle of the 4th century. And since that time it has not been restored. The majestic architectural building has survived to this day very poorly. The temple - the embodiment of hope, procreation, preservation of marriage is the main historical center in Paestum.

Temple of Nike Anperos

This temple was the first building of this ancient character in the Acropolis. The temple has a different, more gentle name - "wingless victory." The construction of the building began in 427 BC. the walls of the great Nike Anperos are made of bleached marble block. In the center of the temple stood a statue of Athena. She carried a symbolic character, and she had a helmet in one hand, and a grenade in the other. This indicated that she carries a symbol of fertility and victory. Throughout history, the temple has been constantly attacked, each time disturbing its beauty. In 1686, the temple was attacked by Turkish troops, who dismantled the main buildings, and in 1936 the central platform collapsed. Now this miniature temple, the wall, is the only thing that reminds us of that ancient life.

In the second millennium BC. e. Greek tribes are gradually moving into the Aegean region from the north. The Dorians take over the Mycenaean territories and bring with them a different way of life and, apparently, the knowledge of iron.

The Dorian Greeks, whose tribes conquered the Achaean cities, adopted the religious and mythological ideas of the Achaeans, many skills and traditions, but in general they stood at a lower level of social development, it took more than three centuries for a class society to mature on the land of Ancient Hellas and slave-owning city-states arose.

Under the pressure of the Dorians, the local population retreats and populates the islands of the Aegean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor. On the territory of Greece, there are many city-states, such as Athens or Sparta, competing with each other.

The history of the culture of the ancient world is traditionally divided into periods.

Homeric period (XI - IX centuries BC) Of the architectural structures of this period, only ruins have survived, by which one can judge the continuity of Homeric Greece of the Aegean culture: in the names of the gods to whom the temples were dedicated; in the plans of temples, reminiscent of the outlines of a Mycenaean megaron with an entrance on the narrow side of a rectangular building.

archaic period(from XII BC to 590 BC) Passed in relation to architecture in the development of basic principles and forms. During this period, a planning scheme was formed, which formed the basis for the subsequent architecture of Greek temples and which is characterized by the surrounding of the main volume of the temple with a colonnade. however, no material monuments of this period have been preserved.

Early Classic period (590 BC - 470 BC)
The ruins of buildings of the second period that have come down to us testify that its main feature was the gradual liberation of Greek architecture from foreign influence, the transformation of elements brought from Asia and Egypt into forms corresponding to the spirit of the people and the conditions of their religious beliefs and rituals.

Almost all buildings in this period are of the Doric style, at first heavy and not very elegant, but then becoming lighter, bolder and more beautiful.

Of the temples of this era, located in Greece itself, one can point to the temple of Hera at Olympia, the temple of Zeus in Athens, the temple of Apollo at Delphi (one of the most famous and luxurious sanctuaries of ancient Greece) and the temple of Pallas Athena on the island of Aegina, which in modern times received loud fame for the sculptural groups that adorned its pediments.

Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

The ancient Greeks attached great importance to the temple of Apollo located in Delphi and the Delphic oracle. The ancient geographer Strabo wrote: “The greatest honor fell to the share of this sanctuary for the sake of its oracle, since of all the oracles in the world it seemed the most truthful, but nevertheless the location of the sanctuary itself added something to its glory. After all, it is located almost in the center of all Greece, both on this and on the other side of the Isthmus. It was also believed that it is located in the center of the inhabited world, and they called it the navel of the earth. In addition, a myth was invented, transmitted by Pindar, that two eagles released by Zeus met here: one from the west, the other from the east.

Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

The temple was built in 366-339 BC, on the site of several successive buildings, the earliest of which dates back to 548-547 BC. But even before her, at least three more predecessor temple buildings existed on this site.

Now several columns and foundations have survived from the majestic temple of Apollo. The temple is 60 meters long and 23 meters wide. Once it was surrounded on all sides by six columns at the ends and fifteen at the long sides. It was a classical ancient Greek temple, called the periptera.

Olympeion, Temple of Olympian Zeus - the largest temple in all of Greece, built from the 6th century BC. e. until the 2nd century A.D. e.
The length of the base of the temple of Zeus was approximately 96 m, and the width was 40. Fifteen of the one hundred and four 17-meter columns of the temple are still standing, another column is dismantled.

Olympeion, Temple of Olympian Zeus

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located in the Greek city of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor (now Selchuk, Turkey). The first major temple was built in the middle of the VI century BC. e., burned by Herostratus in 356 BC. e., soon restored in a rebuilt form, in the III century destroyed by the Goths.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Classic period (470 BC - 338 BC)

During the third period, that is, during the most brilliant period of Greek art, the Doric style, continuing to be dominant, becomes lighter in its forms and bolder in their combination, while the Ionic style comes into greater and greater use, and, finally, gradually gains the right citizenship and style Corinthian. Actually in Greece, temples become more noble and harmonious both in their general character and in the proportionality of individual parts.

In the V-IV centuries BC. Athens became the main city of Ancient Greece. Ebullient construction unfolded in the reign of Pericles. Under him, under the guidance of the outstanding sculptor Phidias, an ensemble of several structures was erected - the Athenian Acropolis.

Temple of Nike Apteros

Athens Acropolis.

Temples, sculptures and the whole composition of the Acropolis became the most striking example of the flowering of Greek classical art.

At the foot of the hill are the portico of the Propylaea - the solemn gate - and the small temple of the wingless Nike (Niki Apteros).

The main temple of the Acropolis - Parthenon

The main temple of the Acropolis is the Parthenon (447 BC). Against the backdrop of a bright blue sky, its columns of brownish-golden marble look solemn and monumental. A total of 46 columns surround the temple. The distance between the extreme columns is less than between the columns in the middle. This creates the feeling that the columns are moving.

The Parthenon was decorated with a sculptural frieze, most of the sculptures of which were carved by Phidias with his own hands. The frieze depicts 365 figures of people and 226 animals, and not a single figure is repeated. Inside the building was divided into two parts. In the large hall stood a 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena, created by Phidias. The other half of the temple was occupied by the hall where the treasury and the state archive were kept.

The small Erechtheion temple stands on the spot where, according to legend, Athena argued with Poseidon. The gods wanted to own Greece, but they had to bring their gifts to her. Poseidon carved a salt spring out of the rock with his trident.

Athena plunged her spear into the ground, and an olive tree grew. People liked Athena's gift more. And she became the patroness of Attica and the city, which was given her name.

The temple is named after one of the first kings of Athens, Erechtheus, who sacrificed his daughter to the gods for the sake of Athens. His grave was located in the same church. The mythical king Kekrop, who was the founder of the city of Athens, was also buried in the Erechtheion.

The brilliant achievements of architecture in Athens had a strong influence on architectural activity elsewhere in Attica and the Peloponnese.

Temple of Apollo at Bassae (unique in its kind, as it combines all three ancient Greek architectural orders. Basically, it is a Doric temple, a peripter, with a pronaos (an extension in front of the entrance to the temple), a cella, a sanctuary and a treasury. It has 6 columns on the narrow sides and 15 on the long ones (as opposed to the ratio of the number of columns 6 x 13 adopted in that era). The temple is dedicated to Epicurean Apollo. Apollo Epicurius means Apollo the savior, probably because he helped the Phigalians in the fight against Sparta, or because he saved the city from the plague that was common during the Peloponnesian War. The construction of the temple is attributed to 420-400 years. BC, a Iktin (one of the builders of the Athenian Parthenon) is considered to be the architect, who in this creation managed to combine many archaic elements characteristic of the ancient religious tradition of Arcadia with the latest achievements of the classical era. Due to the remoteness from the main Greek centers, the temple was forgotten for a long time, but that is why it has survived so well to this day. It was accidentally discovered by a French architect in 1765. The first serious excavations were carried out here in 1836 (Karl Bryullov took part in them).

Of interest is the cult statue of Apollo, which once again emphasized the asymmetric and picturesque design of the temple. According to one version, she stood opposite the entrance to the small section of the cella, in the southern part of the temple - thus, she was illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun. The statue of Apollo has not been preserved; it was allegedly taken away in the 4th century BC. e. to the newly founded Peloponnesian city of Megalopolis and received a new place there.

Temple of Zeus at Olympia

The Temple of Zeus at Olympia (468-456 BC) is one of the most revered temples of Ancient Greece, the first authentic example of the Doric order. It served as the center of the architectural ensemble of ancient Olympia. The temple is famous for its sculptural decorations, especially the colossal statue of the father of the gods, executed by Phidias. Historical reconstruction of the Temple of Zeus of the 19th century, performed by Paul Neff Verlag.

Without a doubt, the art of ancient Greece had the greatest influence on subsequent generations. Its calm and majestic beauty, harmony and clarity served as a model and source for the later eras of cultural history. It took several centuries before the Dorian tribes, who came from the north in the 12th century BC, by the 6th century BC. created a highly developed art. This was followed by three periods in the history of Greek art:

I. archaic, or ancient period, from about 600 to 480 BC, when the Greeks repelled the Persian invasion and, having freed their land from the threat of conquest, were again able to create freely and calmly;
II. classic, or heyday, - from 480 to 323 BC. - the year of the death of Alexander the Great, who conquered vast areas, very dissimilar in their cultures; this diversity of cultures was one of the reasons for the decline of classical Greek art;
III. Hellenism, or late period; it ended in 30 BC when the Romans conquered Greek-influenced Egypt.

Greek culture spread far beyond its homeland - to Asia Minor and Italy, to Sicily and other islands of the Mediterranean, to North Africa and other territories where the Greeks founded their settlements. Greek cities were even on the northern coast of the Black Sea.

Temples were the greatest achievement of Greek building art. The oldest ruins of temples date back to the archaic era, when instead of wood, yellowish limestone and white marble began to be used as a building material. It is believed that the ancient dwelling of the Greeks served as a prototype for the temple - a rectangular structure with two columns in front of the entrance. From this simple building, various types of temples, more complex in their layout, grew over time. Usually the temple stood on a stepped base. It consisted of a room without windows, where there was a statue of a deity, the building was surrounded in one or two rows of columns. They supported the floor beams and the gable roof. In the semi-dark interior, only priests could visit the statue of God, while the people saw the temple only from the outside. Obviously, therefore, the ancient Greeks paid the main attention to the beauty and harmony of the external appearance of the temple.

The construction of the temple was subject to certain rules. Dimensions, ratios of parts and the number of columns were precisely established.

Greek architecture was dominated by three styles: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. The oldest of these was Doric style that has developed already in the era of archaic. He was courageous, simple and powerful. It got its name from the Doric tribes that created it. Today, the surviving parts of the temples are white: the paint that covered them crumbled over time. Once their friezes and cornices were painted red and blue.

Ionic style originated in the Ionian region of Asia Minor. From here he penetrated into the Greek regions proper. Compared to the Doric style, the Ionic style columns are more ornate and slender. Each column has its own base - the base. The middle part of the capital resembles a pillow with corners twisted into a spiral, the so-called. volutes.

In the Hellenistic era, when architecture began to strive for greater splendor, they most often began to use Corinthian capitals. They are richly decorated with floral motifs, among which images of acanthus leaves predominate.

It so happened that time spared the oldest Doric temples, mainly outside of Greece. Several such temples have been preserved on the island of Sicily and in southern Italy. The most famous of them is the temple of the god of the sea Poseidon in Paestum, near Naples, which looks somewhat heavy and stocky. Of the early Doric temples in Greece itself, the most interesting is the one now in ruins. Temple of the supreme god Zeus at Olympia- the sacred city of the Greeks, from where the Olympic Games originate.

The heyday of Greek architecture began in the 5th century BC. This classical era is inextricably linked with the name of the famous statesman Pericles. During his reign, grandiose construction work began in Athens - the largest cultural and artistic center of Greece. The main construction was carried out on the ancient fortified hill of the Acropolis.

Even from the ruins you can imagine how beautiful it was in its time Acropolis. A wide marble staircase led up the hill. To the right of it, on a dais, like a precious box, there is a small graceful temple to Nike, the goddess of victory. Through the gate with columns, the visitor got to the square, in the center of which stood the statue of the patroness of the city, the goddess of wisdom, Athena; further seen Erechtheion, a peculiar and complex temple according to the plan. Its distinguishing feature is a portico protruding from the side, where the ceilings were supported not by columns, but by marble sculptures in the form of a female figure, the so-called. caryatids.

main building acropolis- temple dedicated to Athena Parthenon. This temple, the most perfect building in the Doric style, was completed almost two and a half thousand years ago, but we know the names of its creators: they were called Iktin and Kallikrat.

Parthenon- The central temple of the Acropolis. Its construction began in 447 BC. The famous sculptor Phidias supervised the construction. The Parthenon is built of 46 columns, its dimensions are 70 by 30 meters. Inside the temple, Phidias installed a huge statue of Athena, but she was taken to Constantinople and died there during a fire. Any Greek can tell a whole story about the construction of the Parthenon. Firstly, under its construction there is a special foundation that helps to absorb earthquakes (they are not uncommon in Greece). Secondly, the columns of the Parthenon are not parallel, and if they are continued, they will converge at one point several kilometers above the center of the temple. In general, in the Parthenon, all surfaces turn out to be non-parallel, but this is visible only if you put some object and look at it from the other side of the Parthenon. This was the genius of the architects - from the outside, all the columns look strictly vertical. The corner columns are actually thicker than all the others, but visually this is also imperceptible. In subsequent history, the Parthenon was a Christian temple, and then the Turks used it as a gunpowder warehouse. During the siege of Athens by the Venetians, an explosion occurred and the temple was partially destroyed. It began to be restored already in the 19th century.

In the temple stood a statue of Athena, sculpted by the great sculptor Phidiem; one of the two marble friezes, girdling the temple with a 160-meter ribbon, represented the festive procession of the Athenians. Phidias also took part in the creation of this magnificent relief, which depicted about three hundred human figures and two hundred horses. The Parthenon has been in ruins for about 300 years - ever since in the 17th century, during the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the Turks who ruled there set up a powder warehouse in the temple. Most of the reliefs that survived the explosion were taken to London, to the British Museum, at the beginning of the 19th century by the Englishman Lord Elgin.

	Parthenon. Athens Acropolis.
	a - a fragment of the Parthenon, b - clothes, c - a fragment of the capital of the Erechtheion, d - a golden comb, e - a vase, e - an armchair, g - a table.

As a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great in the second half of the 4th century BC. the influence of Greek culture and art spread over vast territories. New cities sprang up; the largest centers were formed, however, outside of Greece. Such, for example, are Alexandria in Egypt and Pergamon in Asia Minor, where construction activity has gained the greatest scope. In these areas, the Ionic style was preferred; an interesting example of it was a huge gravestone to the king of Asia Minor Mausolus listed among the seven wonders of the world. It was a burial chamber on a high rectangular base, surrounded by a colonnade; a stone stepped pyramid towered above it, topped with a sculptural image of a quadriga, which was controlled by Mausolus himself. After this structure, later they began to call mausoleums and other large solemn funeral structures.

In the Hellenistic era, less attention was paid to temples, and squares surrounded by colonnades for promenades, open-air amphitheatres, libraries, various public buildings, palaces and sports facilities were built. Residential buildings were improved: they became two - and three-story, with large gardens. Luxury became the goal, and different styles were mixed in architecture.

Greek sculptors have given the world works that have aroused the admiration of many generations. The oldest sculptures known to us arose in the archaic era. They are somewhat primitive: their motionless posture, hands tightly pressed to the body, and forward gaze are dictated by the narrow long stone block from which the statue was carved. One of her legs is usually pushed forward - to maintain balance. Archaeologists have found many such statues depicting naked young men and girls dressed in loose folded outfits. Their faces are often enlivened by a mysterious "archaic" smile.

In the classical era, the main business of sculptors was to create statues of gods and heroes and decorate temples with reliefs; secular images were added to this, for example, statues of statesmen or winners at the Olympic Games.

In the beliefs of the Greeks, the gods are similar to ordinary people both in their appearance and way of life. They were portrayed as people, but strong, well developed physically and with a beautiful face. Often people were depicted naked to show the beauty of a harmoniously developed body.

In the 5th century BC. great sculptors Myron, Phidias and Polykleitos, each in their own way, updated the art of sculpture and brought it closer to reality. The young naked athletes of Polykleitos, for example, his "Dorifor", rely on only one leg, the other is freely left. In this way, it was possible to unfold the figure and create a sense of movement. But standing marble figures could not be given more expressive gestures or complex poses: the statue could lose balance, and fragile marble could break. These dangers could have been avoided if the figures were cast in bronze. The first master of complex bronze castings was Miron, the creator of the famous Discobolus.

Many artistic achievements are associated with the glorious name of Phidias: he led the work on decorating the Parthenon with friezes and pediment groups. Magnificent are his bronze statue of Athena on the Acropolis and the 12-meter-high statue of Athena covered with gold and ivory in the Parthenon, which later disappeared without a trace. A similar fate befell the huge statue of Zeus seated on the throne, made from the same materials, for the temple at Olympia - another of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

As much as we admire the sculptures created by the Greeks in their heyday, these days they may seem a little cold. True, there is no coloring that revived them at one time; but their indifferent and similar faces are even more alien to us. Indeed, the Greek sculptors of that time did not try to express any feelings or experiences on the faces of the statues. Their goal was to show perfect bodily beauty. Therefore, we admire even those statues - and there are many of them - that have been badly damaged over the centuries: some even lost their heads.

If in the 5th century BC. lofty and serious images were created, then in the 4th century BC. artists tended to express tenderness and gentleness. Praxiteles gave warmth and awe of life to the smooth marble surface in his sculptures of naked gods and goddesses. He also found it possible to diversify the poses of the statues, creating balance with the help of appropriate supports. His Hermes, a young messenger of the gods, leans on a tree trunk.

Until now, sculptures have been designed to be viewed from the front. Lysippos made his statues so that they could be viewed from all sides - this was another innovation.

In the era of Hellenism in sculpture, the craving for pomp and exaggeration intensifies. In some works, excessive passions are shown, in others, excessive closeness to nature is noticeable. At this time, they began to diligently copy the statues of former times; thanks to copies, today we know many monuments - either irretrievably lost or not yet found. Marble sculptures that conveyed strong feelings were created in the 4th century BC. e. Scopas. His greatest work known to us is his participation in the decoration of the mausoleum in Halicarnassus with sculptural reliefs. Among the most famous works of the Hellenistic era are the reliefs of the great altar in Pergamon depicting the legendary battle; a statue of the goddess Aphrodite found at the beginning of the last century on the island of Melos, as well as a sculptural group " Laocoön". It depicts a Trojan priest and his sons who were strangled by snakes; physical torment and fear are conveyed by the author with ruthless credibility.

In the works of ancient writers, one can read that painting also flourished in their times, but almost nothing has been preserved from the paintings of temples and residential buildings. We also know that in painting, too, artists strove for sublime beauty.

A special place in Greek painting belongs to the paintings on vases. In the oldest vases, silhouettes of people and animals were applied with black varnish on a bare red surface. The outlines of details were scratched on them with a needle - they appeared in the form of a thin red line. But this technique was inconvenient and later they began to leave the figures red, and the gaps between them were painted over with black. So it was more convenient to draw the details - they were made on a red background with black lines.

The Balkan Peninsula became the center of ancient Greek culture. Here, as a result of invasions and movements of the Achaean, Dorian, Ionian and other tribes (who received the common name of the Hellenes), a slave-owning form of economy was formed, which strengthened various areas of the economy: handicraft, trade, agriculture.

The development of economic ties of the Hellenic world contributed to its political unification; the entrepreneurial spirit of the sailors who settled the new lands favored the spread of Greek culture, its renewal and improvement, the creation of various local schools in a single line of common Hellenic architecture.

As a result of the struggle of the demos (the free population of cities) against the tribal aristocracy, states are formed - policies, in the management of which all citizens take part.

The democratic form of government contributed to the development of the social life of cities, the formation of various public institutions, for which they built assembly halls and feasts, the buildings of the council of elders, etc. They were placed on the square (agora), where the most important city affairs were discussed, and trade transactions were made. The religious and political center of the city was the acropolis, located on a high hill and well fortified. Here they built temples of the most revered gods - the patrons of the city.

Democracy prevents the Greeks from building separate large palaces for themselves, because politically all men are assumed to be equal, so it is considered bad manners to have a large palace even if there are opportunities to build one. Instead, the Greeks build public buildings.

Religion occupied a large place in the social ideology of the ancient Greeks. The gods were close to people, they were endowed with human virtues and shortcomings in exaggerated sizes. In the myths describing the life of the gods and their adventures, everyday scenes from the life of the Greeks themselves are guessed. But at the same time, people believed in their power, made sacrifices to them and built temples in the image of their dwellings. The most significant achievements of Greek architecture are concentrated in cult architecture.

The dry subtropical climate of Greece, mountainous terrain, high seismicity, the presence of high-quality scaffolding, limestone, marble, which are easy to process and model in stone structures, determined the "technical" prerequisites for Greek architecture.

The architecture of ancient Greece for a long time determined the direction of development of the architecture of the world. The architecture of a rare country did not use the general tectonic principles of the order systems developed by the Greeks, the details and decoration of Greek temples.

I. A temple with a portico, or “forgiveness” (Greek πρόςτνλος), having a portico in front of the entrance vestibule with columns standing just opposite their pilasters and columns.
II. Temple "with two porticos", or "amphiprostyle" (Greek αμφιπρόστνλος), in which to chr. in antis about two porches attached along the portico to both
III. The temple is “round-winged”, or “peripteric” (Greek περίπτερος), consisting of a temple in antis, or a prostyle, or an amphiprostyle, built on a platform and surrounded on all sides by a colonnade.
IV. The temple is “double-winged”, or “dipteric” (Greek δίπτερος) - one in which the columns surround the central structure not in one, but in two rows
V. The temple is “false-winged” or “pseudo-peripteric” (Greek ψευδοπερίπτερος), in which the colonnade encircling the building is replaced by semi-columns protruding from its walls.
VI. The temple is “double-winged”, or “pseudo-dipteric” (Greek ψευδοδίπτερος), which seemed to be surrounded by two rows of columns, but in which, in fact, their second row was replaced from all or only from the long sides of the building by half-columns embedded in the wall.

The viability of the principles of ancient Greek architecture is primarily due to its humanism, deep thoughtfulness in general and details, the utmost clarity of forms and compositions.

The Greeks brilliantly solved the problem of transitioning purely technical constructive problems of architecture to artistic ones. The unity of artistic and constructive content was brought to the heights of perfection in various order systems.

The works of Greek architecture are surprisingly harmonious combination with the natural environment. A great contribution has been made to the theory and practice of construction, to the formation of the environment of a residential building, to the system of engineering services for cities. The foundations of standardization and modularity in construction, developed by the architecture of subsequent eras, have been developed.

The decline of ancient Greek influence in architecture begins in the 1st century BC. due to active Roman expansion. Architecture takes on the features of the culture of the conquerors, romanticized. The principles of Greek democracy no longer corresponded to the imperial needs of Rome. In the 5th century AD Greece is converted to Christianity, the formation of the Byzantine Empire begins, with its characteristic architectural canons. During the period of the great migration of peoples from IV to VI, the territory of Greece is subjected to periodic attacks by Goths, Slavs, Persians, Arabs, Normans, who were not very sensitive to architectural monuments. The church schism of 1054 deepened the cultural divide. Byzantium, and Greece as a part of it, were influenced by the traditions of the Middle East. In the 11th-12th centuries, the crusades and the beggars of all Western Europe who followed the crusaders caused enormous damage to the monuments of ancient Greek architecture. Together with the crusaders, their sponsors, the Florentines and Genoese, also came, and when they left, they took out entire dismantled houses, not to mention individual columns. In 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell, and in 1456 the Turks captured Athens. At the same time, the Turks must be given credit for preserving the values ​​​​of Ancient Greece. Thanks to the Turks, the British began excavations in the 19th century and returned to the European world the lost knowledge about the architecture and art of Ancient Greece. Now the Turkish government is very kind to all the surviving architectural monuments of antiquity and makes quite good money on it.

Ancient Greece is the birthplace of real treasures of art and architecture. Until now, even the ruins of temples erected in ancient times, amaze with grandeur and exact proportions. It was the Greeks who unraveled the secret of noble beauty by inventing the order. It may seem unimportant, but all European architecture rests on it!

Palace of Knossos, or a visit to the minotaur

Cities and writing in Europe originated on the Mediterranean island of Crete. The most powerful city of the island was the legendary Knossos. It was here that the foundation of the famous Labyrinth was laid, to which all the roads of the island led. In ancient Greek mythology, Knossos is associated with the name of the infamous Cretan king Minos.

The Palace of Knossos was perhaps the most complex multi-storey building of those times. There was no clear, regular plan for its construction. It is possible that the premises located at different levels were completed as needed.

It was easy to get lost in the palace: many corridors, halls, secret stairs and passages confuse anyone who got inside the giant architectural web. Rooms of various purposes were located around a rectangular courtyard in the center of the palace.

It is difficult to imagine the architect who created this engineering miracle. That is why the story was born that the builder was the famous Greek architect Daedalus, an artist and engineer who became famous for inventing tools.

For all its randomness, the Palace of Knossos was literally filled with advanced inventions of that time. The labyrinth was supplied with running water and sewerage. The role of windows was played by light wells - large openings in the ceiling. They also provided natural ventilation of the rooms, that is, they were a kind of air conditioners.

According to legend, the king of Crete, Minos, kept a monster in the labyrinth palace - the Minotaur, to be eaten by boys and girls from Athens.

A feature of the Palace of Knossos are the blood-red columns. They are called irrational. In contrast to the column that is familiar to us, expanding downward, these columns, on the contrary, narrow downward. There is an assumption that such an unusual shape of the columns was created in order not to interfere with the passage of light from the light shafts that surrounded these columns. In any case, such columns have not yet been found anywhere else.

Despite the grandeur of the Knossos Palace, the Greeks subsequently abandoned such complex architectural solutions in favor of grace, nobility and beauty.

What is an ancient Greek temple

For the ancient Greeks, religion was an indispensable component of life. Living in rather unattractive houses, they built temples of stunning beauty for the gods. Each temple was built to worship a particular god.

Ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. 6th-4th centuries BC e.

The ancient Greek temple was a rectangular white stone structure without windows, surrounded on all sides by columns in one or more rows, with a majestic statue of a deity inside. The columns supported the gable roof. A marble staircase led to the main entrance. Even in the archaic era, the Greeks preferred white marble and yellowish limestone to wood. Such material not only looked noble, but also differed in durability.

Ordinary people were not allowed to go inside the temple. Only priests could be here. Therefore, mere mortals admired the beauty of the structure from the outside. All the holidays that the ancient Greeks held in honor of the gods took place in the vicinity of the marble giants.

It’s hard for us to imagine now, but in ancient times, Greek temples were brightly painted! Their current "colorless" state is the result of many past years.

Greek temples are very different from each other - in terms of construction, in the number of columns and many other details. The most popular type of this building was the peripter, a rectangular temple surrounded by columns on all sides. The number of marble pillars could not be arbitrary, but calculated in a certain way - the ancient Greeks greatly appreciated the exact sciences!

Peripter - this word can be translated as "round-winged": this was the name of the temple, framed on all sides by a colonnade. Dipter, surrounded by columns in two or more rows, means "two-winged"

Any average ancient Greek could calculate the number of columns. To do this, he solved a simple problem. Both facades (front and back) had six columns, and the number of columns on the sides of the building was determined by the formula 2p + 1, where p is the number of columns on the front facade. Not difficult at all!

Another popular type of building was the dipter - a rectangular temple, on the side facades of which there were two or more rows of columns. Such, for example, is the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

Architectural order - the pillar of European architecture

The word "order" is used to denote the greatest invention of the ancient Greeks, on which, in the literal sense of the word, all European architecture relies. The term itself was first introduced into use by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius. This word comes from the Latin ordo and actually means "system, order." In architecture, this term began to denote a special type of composition, where the necessary elements are used, strictly subordinate to the architectural style.

Any ancient Greek order consists of three main parts. The first part is the base, which is located on the foundation just above ground level. The second part is a column, a bearing element of the architectural structure. It is absolutely necessary, because it holds the roof and all its components. The third part of the order is a carried element, which was called very beautifully: the entablature.

Since the ancient Greeks loved scientific accuracy and constantly multiplied and divided something, they also divided the entablature. Here are its elements: architrave - a crossbar located directly on the columns; frieze - a decorative strip with images of Greek heroes and various mythological creatures; cornice - the upper part of the entablature, it sharply protrudes forward and protects the architrave and frieze from rain. By the way, the role of the cornice has remained unchanged until now. The ancient Greeks invented and built to last!

Capitals of classical orders - Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, as well as a composite order. 18th century illustration

Three types of the classical order are known: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Romans, having conquered Greece and adopted absolutely all the achievements of the Greeks in architecture, nevertheless came up with two more - Tuscan and composite.

Orders got their names from the geographical areas where this or that order was distributed. Once appeared, the order was used in all types of structures. True, least of all in the amphitheaters. Why? Let's figure it out.

Amphitheaters of ancient Greece

Being a civilized people, the Greeks loved entertainment and spectacles. Like religion, the art of the theater was inseparable from the life of each of them. Therefore, the history of the theatre, theater building and stage technology originates precisely in Ancient Greece.

Folk festivities, processions in honor of the god Dionysus, sports competitions and competitions of orators gathered huge crowds. That is why the venues for these performances were arranged at the vast foothills of the hills and mountains.

Later, the Greeks began to arrange wooden benches for sitting. And since the IV century BC. e. temporary structures were already rebuilt into stone amphitheatres.

The ancient Greeks were real aesthetes. In construction, they paid exceptional attention to natural conditions. The audience not only watched the theatrical performance, but also admired both the theater itself and the surrounding landscape.

Anyone who has ever been to a modern theater knows that in order to enjoy the performance, you need to buy a ticket to a good seat. There was no such problem in the Greek amphitheater. Spectator platforms were built across the slope, and the stage was at the bottom. From every seat, the audience could see and hear everything perfectly. In the natural terrain, the acoustics were just great! You could throw a coin into the center of the arena - and the ringing from its fall reached the very last visual row.

One of the first theaters built in ancient Greece was the Theater of Dionysus in Athens, named after the temple opposite.

Invented by the Greeks, the amphitheater is today the most common form of auditorium. Only ... a good place still has to be chosen.

Iktin and Kallikrat. The birth of classicism

Not all times in ancient Greece were equally successful for the development of architecture. For example, from time to time there were wars in which the Greeks often lost. This stopped the development of the entire ancient Greek culture, and in the first place - architecture.

The most fertile period for the flourishing of the state of Ancient Greece was the reign of the legendary king Pericles. This ruler did a lot for the prosperity of Athens and the subsequent glory of the city. In his era, the main construction was carried out on a fortified hill - the Acropolis. And the management of the work was entrusted to the famous sculptor and architect Phidias.

Even from the surviving ruins, one can imagine how beautiful the Acropolis was in its time. A wide marble staircase led up the hill. To her right, on a hill, a small graceful temple was built dedicated to the goddess of victory, Nike. Through the gate with columns - Propylaea - the visitor got to the square. In its center stood a statue of the goddess of wisdom, Athena, the patroness of the city. A little further on was the Erechtheion temple with a portico protruding from the side. The top of the portico was supported not by columns, but by marble female figures. These stone ladies were called caryatids.

According to legend, the word "caryatid" comes from the name of the city of Kariya, whose inhabitants colluded with the enemy during the Greco-Persian wars. In memory of this, caryatids - images of Kariya women - played the role of architectural props.

The main building of the Acropolis is the Parthenon temple dedicated to Athena. It was completed almost two and a half thousand years ago, but history has brought us the names of its creators: Iktin and Kallikrates. The creations of these masters were so perfect that the architects of subsequent eras began to use them as a model. It can be said that it is to these architects that we owe the birth of a style for all times - classicism. Classic means exemplary.

The Erechtheion temple was named after the legendary Athenian king Erechtheus: parts of his tomb were supposedly kept there.

Thus, the order invented by the Greeks was first adopted by the Romans, who admired Greek culture, and through them spread throughout Europe.

Athens Acropolis. 5th century BC e. Architects and architects: Phidias, Callicrates, Iktin, Mnesicles

L. Alma-Tadema "Phidias showing the frieze of the Parthenon to friends" (1868)

In the history of the development of all European culture, the most important place is occupied by the art and culture of ancient Greece. On its basis, the classical canons of antiquity were formed.

In general, its cultural traditions were full of contradictions, because they were created in a society of slave-owning democracy. However, the works of ancient masters became the standard for the creators of many subsequent generations.

The first archaeological excavations at the beginning of the 18th century were carried out in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried under the volcanic lava of Vesuvius. As a result of the research, many unique samples of various works of masters of that era were discovered.

These are sculptures and relief images, crockery and household utensils, weapons and ancient tools. Among all the valuable specimens found, the surviving fragments of buildings attract special attention. They are of great interest to scientists in the process of studying the architectural appearance of the cities of ancient Greece.

Periods of development of ancient Greek architecture

The entire history of the development of architecture in ancient Greece can be divided into several periods:

• Homeric era(from the XII to the middle of the VIII centuries BC) - the period of the birth and development of Hellenic architecture, the time of the gradual decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of new class relations. The Hellenic architecture was originally based on the traditions of the Aegean culture, but later new, original features were born.

Temples were not yet built in the Bronze Age. And only at the beginning of the VIII century a temple appears, the design features of which resemble the megaron that arose earlier in. The main building material for the temple was unbaked brick, and the gable roof was made of wood.

Most of the information about the appearance of buildings of that period, scientists have learned from the works of Homer. In those days, houses were built of wood, which were fastened with metal sheathing for greater strength.

Another common type of building material was raw brick. Towards the end of the period, builders began to use fired tiles. This time is characterized by the construction of not only ordinary residential buildings, but also the first temples.

This period is notable for the formation of a special planning system, in which an important place is occupied by the colonnade surrounding the building from all sides. One of the earliest buildings of that period is considered Temple of Goddess Hera on the island of Samos.

• archaic period(from the VIII to the beginning of the V centuries BC) - is characterized by the final formation of the slave state, and the emergence of the city - policy.

At the beginning of the archaic period, the technique of building from wood and mud brick was also widespread. The difference was only in the use of terracotta facings for the decoration of temples. In the future, the most important and large-scale structures begin to be built from soft and easy-to-work limestone. At the end of the period, the most common material becomes.

During the 7th century BC, the ancient Greek building art developed in several directions at once, which had significant differences.

In the archaic period, the first samples of monumental structures appeared, and various types of temples and other public buildings were formed.

There is a birth and development of orders, which later become the basic and most recognizable elements of ancient Greek architecture.

• classical period(from 480 to 400 BC) - the reign of Pericles, which is characterized by a high level of development of architecture and all areas of art.

The order system honed to an ideal state is widely used. The appearance of buildings acquires sophistication, and the handwriting of architects becomes recognizable.

Athens becomes the main city with the correct layout of the streets. In other cities, the construction of new residential areas is also being carried out according to a single plan.

During this period, the architectural appearance of a typical Greek house was formed, which consists of a courtyard surrounded by porticos, the prototype of which was the megaron.

The classical period is characterized by the appearance of open stone theaters and halls for music - odeyons. New forms are being acquired by public buildings for the gathering of large numbers of people.

• The era of the expansion of policies(4th century BC) - during this period, temples lose their advanced importance, but secular architecture develops with greater intensity and the layout of residential buildings improves.

The building acquires great sophistication and elegance through the use of Ionic and Corinthian orders.

• Hellenistic era(330 - s - I century BC) - the period of the emergence of Greek - Eastern monarchies and the penetration of ancient Greek culture into Asia Minor and Egypt.

The Hellenistic era is characterized by a mixture of different styles and orders for a purely decorative purpose. But at the same time, the former conciseness, monumentality and recognizability of the order system are lost.

However, this fact does not at all prevent the creation of large-scale urban ensembles, in the architecture of which the peristyle is widely used - rows of columns surrounding courtyards and squares.

order system

An order in architecture is a system of manifestation of a building structure in a certain form. With the development and formation of the style of various orders, the proportionality of the whole structure and its individual parts, the composition and the corresponding proportions are established. The forms of buildings are gradually being improved, and the Greek classics reach the pinnacle of its development.

Three main orders were used in the architecture of ancient Greece:

• Doric
• Ionic
• Corinthian

The main difference between architectural orders was primarily in the forms of columns and entablature, as well as in various decorative details and proportions.

At the same time, the layout of the building space was the same for all order systems. Both Doric and Ionic orders were used in the process of building not only religious, but also secular buildings, as well as places of public visitation.

Each building is a single whole, created from separate architectural elements, among which are the following:

• Crepida- this is the foot of any building, a kind of foundation for the structure.
• Walls
• columns various orders
• Entablature
• Roof
• triangular pediment

In ancient Greek architecture, a system of columns and entablature was used, or, as it is also called, a post-beam system. The best examples of buildings were temples, which were originally built from, and later from natural stone.

Doric order

The Doric order is the most massive of all, but at the same time it is distinguished by the simplicity of decorative details and the severity of finishing elements. The Doric order was formed in the 6th century BC. A striking example is Temple of Hera at Olympia.

The dimensions of the individual parts of the structure and their proportional relationship are related to the length of the radius of the column at its base. This radius is called the modulus, and on its basis all subsequent proportions are calculated.

In the future, with the development of construction techniques, the columns became thinner, elegant and tall. Accordingly, the distance between them increased, and the height of the entablature decreased.

The temple of the Doric order was usually built on a three-stage high base. The steps of the crepid were not intended for people to climb. It was one of the characteristic elements of ancient Greek architecture. The height of the steps of the base was determined from the calculation of the general proportions of the structure.

On a three-stage base, columns were installed that did not have a base. They consisted of a three-part capital (hypotrachelium, echinus, abacus) and a fluted barrel, which had a slight thickening - entakhis. The height of the column shaft was approximately 11 modules, that is, it was 11 times longer than the radius of the column at the base.

The entablature of the Doric order was also three-part. On the columns there was an architrave with a frieze, which consisted of triglyphs and metopes. It also supported a slightly projecting cornice. The roof was gable with a slight slope. The triangular pediment, as a rule, was decorated with sculptures.

For the compositional completeness of the Doric temple, the color of the structure was of great importance, which additionally emphasized its structural features.

The most famous of the surviving examples of Doric buildings is Temple of Poseidon at Paestum in southern Italy and Temple of Hephaestus in Athens.

According to its architectural merit, the most significant building is considered to be on the Acropolis of Athens.

Ionic order

The buildings of the Ionic order are characterized by greater lightness and grace. This is especially noticeable in comparison with the massive elements of the Doric order.

The Ionic temples of the early period were larger and more luxuriously decorated than the ponderous and austere Doric temples.

But the main distinguishing feature can be considered the appearance of the columns: they are much slimmer and thinner. In addition, they have a base, a stem and a capital. The most luxurious form is characterized by a capital with volutes.

At the same time, the columns are not connected by rhythmic elements, as in the Doric order. Instead of a frieze, the Ionic entablature was trimmed with a belt decorated with a bas-relief. All details of the Ionic order had a complex profiling.

The Ionic order reaches its greatest flourishing in Asia Minor, where the samples of structures are of considerable size. A striking example is Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which reached a length of 126 meters, and had columns 18 meters high.

In Greece itself, the buildings of the Ionic order are represented by small, elegant buildings. Of the surviving examples, one can name Temple of Nike Apteros and in the ensemble of the Acropolis in Athens.

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order was developed on the basis of the Ionic order and was finally formed only in Roman architecture. The main difference between the Corinthian order and the Ionic one was the presence of a capital with four sides, decorated with a sculptural image of acanthus leaves.

Among the most significant examples of the Corinthian order in Greece is the capital Statue of Lysicrates in Athens. Another example of the use of the Corinthian order is the unfinished Athenian Olympion.

Construction machinery

In the architecture of ancient Greece, natural stone of various varieties was the main building material. So, in the early period, soft limestone was used, which was easy to process. Limestone was used during construction in the 6th century BC. But in the ensemble of the New Acropolis, built by Pericles, there are already structures made of Pentelian marble.

At the same time, it should be emphasized that temples and public buildings were built primarily from stone. But residential buildings were usually built of brick - raw or baked bricks.

In the process of laying the walls of public buildings, it was also sometimes used, but later the outer side was lined with stone slabs.

For the construction of roofs and ceilings, wood was usually used. In the early period, the columns of temples were also made of wood. This could be seen in the example of the temple of Hera at Olympia, where the wooden columns were subsequently replaced by stone ones.

The masonry was made in a dry way without the use of mortar. At the same time, spikes or wooden dowels were used to strengthen the structure. The construction had to withstand tremors in the event of earthquakes, so the stone blocks were fastened together with many metal brackets.

The process of installing complex architectural elements was very laborious. Some details were made immediately solid - for example, capitals and slabs with sculptural elements. The remaining parts were processed only after their installation. At the same time, the final processing was carried out in the direction from top to bottom as the height of the construction scaffolds decreased.

However, from the point of view of professional architects, ancient Greek architecture, striking in the nobility and perfection of its forms, was very simple in its design. This system consisted of load-bearing elements of the building (walls and columns) that could withstand the load and load-bearing parts - beams, slabs and lintels.