One of the most prominent features of Greek temples is their columns - although columns appear in architecture all around the world, they appear here in an especially significant form. The ancient Greeks constructed their temples along very specific lines, and that included their columns. Over the centuries three different styles (also called Orders) of column were used: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
The earliest and simplest column style was the Doric. Found primarily on mainland Greece and Magna Graecia, it is characterized by a lack of base, a plain architrave, and a frieze divided into triglyphs and metropes.
Slightly more elaborate is the Ionic style of column, generally associated with Greek temples in Asia Minor (it originated in the Ionian Greek territories). This Order is characterized by a decorated base, elaborate scrolls (volutes) at the top, and a continues frieze.
Last and most elaborate is the Corinthian style which got its start in Corinth in the late 5th century BCE and became popular in many places. Corinthian columns are very similar to Ionic columns except for the capitals, which have a flourish of canthus leaves instead of volutes. this order would become most popular under the Roman Empire. |