Ancient Greek architecture is a product of the Hellenic and the Hellenistic people. Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, most of which are found in the region as ruins. Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished by its highly formalized characteristics, both of structure and decoration, particularly in the temples. Most often these temples are raised on the high grounds so that the beauty of the well illuminated structure can be enjoyed from a good distance away in all angles. Although limestone was available the building material primarily used was stone, especially high quality marble.
Rome vs. Greece Rome and Greece were powerful, prosperous and great nations. They both made major contributions to the past and even today the concepts of these influential nations are still in use. Many of Greece’s set examples were carried on into the Roman culture. Both Rome and Greece had many common ideas, but yet a plethora of differences. Greece, or otherwise known as the Hellenic Republic, was an empire located in the southern portion of Europe.
Parthenon The Greeks built many temples for gods but one of the most famous temples made by ancient Greeks is the Parthenon. Parthenon is not just one of the most famous temples in Greece but is also one of the most beautiful temples ever built in Greece. The temple is located at the acropolis of Athens in Greece and is now a tourist spot. Parthenon was built for the Greek goddess Athena. Parthenon is a symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy.
Greek and Roman influence on Western literature Jinho Seo Western Civilization After the fall of Greek and Roman civilization and the Dark Ages Greek language managed to survive. It was not only spoken by the Greek, but also spoken by Jews in Egypt, Palestine, and elsewhere for intercommunication between Near Eastern countries. Since Jews spoke Greek, even the New Testament is written in Greek. The Roman Empire also spoke Greek since they weren’t just Latin speaking country, but a bilingual in Latin and Greek. Since the Greek language is so flexible, nearly all the upper-class Romans of the late republic and early empire used Greek for philosophical discussion and even for love-making.
It is similar because of the extensive contacts and trade between Pre-Classical Greece and Mesopotamia. This impact of similar cultural values, are manifested in their mythology. There aren’t many documents of official trades between Greece and Mesopotamia, only a few depictions in cuneiform[1]; however, archaeologists know that the Ionian Greeks that had taken control of Western Anatolia had established a trade route with Mesopotamia leading through Lydia and Persia called “The Royal Road”, built by Darius in 5th century BCE. [2] Archaeologists also know that not just Ionians but the whole Greek empire had adapted the Babylonian sexigesmal system and were exchanging knowledge of philosophy for knowledge of mathematics. [3] The Greeks and the Mesopotamians had often met in Egypt and Anatolia and worked together with the Persians[4].
Humanities 101 25 July, 2015 The Parthenon High above the city of Athens sets the Parthenon. Although it is simple in structure, the wonderful artistry of this structure impacted classical architecture and still influences structures to this day. The Parthenon was built to house a grand, gold and ivory statue of the goddess Athena. Temples traditionally were to only be viewed from the outside (The Parthenon); the Doric style columns often interrupted the view of the temples. It was the largest Doric Greek temple but also used the Ionic temple styles (Ancient History).
This is one of the main reasons I believe Pericles is the most important Greek leaders. Pericles also began building the Parthenon. The building of the Parthenon was the most ambitious building program in Greek history. Pericles oversaw the project personally. During the first year of building, it cost Athens five thousand talents(equivalent to thirty six billion dollars today).
The ancient Greeks have profoundly impacted the western world and American culture through their architecture, forms of entertainment and stories. The Greeks set many examples that influenced modern people. These examples have become amazing aspects of American culture such as stadiums, sports, famous buildings and myths and heroes. Even though the ancient Greeks are so distant in time from modern society, America has not lost the wonders that the ancient Greeks left. The Theater at Delphi gave public performances of plays, poetry readings and musical events to spectators.
This is simply shown in Mejia’s notes, “First to think of 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.” (Mejia’s notes). Those 3 branches as simple as they may seem are crucial to democracy today. Last but certainly not least, they “developed theatre, the Olympic games, philosophy, democracy, and individualism.”(Mejia’s notes). This is just a prime insight to the depth of the contributions that the Greeks made. Not only was Greek a big part of democracy but Rome it self played a big part of it too.
Greek architecture begins with the simple houses of the Dark Age and culminates in the monumental temples of the Classical period and the elaborately planned cities and sanctuaries of the Hellenistic period. As in any time or place, the raw materials available and the technologies developed to utilize them largely determined the nature of the architecture. The principal materials of Greek architecture were wood, used for supports and roof beams; unbaked brick, used for walls, especially of private houses; limestone and marble, used for columns, walls, and upper portions of temples and other public buildings; terracotta (baked clay), used for roof tiles and architectural ornaments; and metals, especially bronze, used for some decorative details. Greek architects of the Archaic and Classical periods used these materials to develop a limited range of building types, each of which served a fixed purpose—religious, civic, domestic, funerary, or recreational. The principal forms of religious architecture were open-air altars, temples, and treasuries.