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.
Two of the architects who built the Parthenon were Ictinus and Callicrates. They built the temple for the Greek goddess Athena. They began building the temple in 447 B.C. and finished in 431 B.C. The Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians attacked the city.
It is located in Giza where it guards the front of Khafra's pyramid. The greatest monumental sculpture in the ancient world, the Sphinx is carved out of a single ridge of stone 240 feet (73 meters) long and 66 feet (20 meters) high. The sphinx is built of soft sandstone and would have disappeared long ago had it not been buried for so long. It was the first time that a pharaoh had been represented in this way with the body of a lion, even though this animal had symbolised royalty ancient Egypt’s beginnings around 3000 BC. The animal body of the Sphinx in fact represented the king’s triumphant strength.
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 was clearly evident by the lack of details around the joints in the knees and arms. Another major characteristic of early Greek sculpture was the lack of natural stance of movement in the figure. A perfect example of a piece of art from the Archaic period is the Kouros, ca. 600 BC. The Kouros is one of the earliest life-size statuary in the history of Greek Art.
The Classical City of Olympia The classical Greek city has a variety of certain styles that have proven to be typical for the time period which the cities had been erect and populous. The chief building material used in ancient cities was stone, with the exception of the timber and roof ceiling. Buildings were decorated with terra-cotta and everything was marble cut in large blocks which were fastened together with clamps and dowels. How the ancient Greeks used lighting is also a distinguishing characteristic of their ancient cities. They also knew how the light interacted with the architecture to create seemingly massive and overpowering spaces that defined their building shapes and colors.
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 frieze ran around the entire main building, and the figures were carved of white marble and attached to the dark background, creating a dramatic effect. Unfortunately, almost none of the frieze remains, and even the topic of the frieze is unknown (Wycherley, 148-149). The eastern front of the building is a prostyle porch with 6 Ionic columns, each about 6 and a half meters tall. The northern porch has 6 columns as well. This porch is peculiar in several ways.
At some stage, Socrates, the great philosopher of the ancient world, is born. The Golden Age in Athens, Greece begins and this will bring the great monuments, art, philosophy, architecture and literature in the ancient world. In this era the 60 ft. sculptor of Zeus, is build and becomes on e of the seven wonders if the ancient world. Jerusalem, does not want to stay behind and Nehemiah builds Jerusalem wall, in 445 BC. It is during this era that Malachi becomes a prophet and then the Jewish language, the Hebrew is being replaced by Aramaic in 390 BC.
What is Petra, exactly? Petra means “rock” in Greek, fitting for a town literally carved out of desert cliffs. It is located about three hours south of Amman, the capital of Jordan, and was built by the pre-Roman Nabataean Kingdom approximately 600 years BC. It is half-buildt, half-carved in the rose-red rock and surrounded by sandstone passageways and canyons that stand as natural barriers and seem to envelop anyone walking through them. A trading center and impressive fortress, Petra was a bustling city around the 6th century BC, but after an brutal annexation to the Romans and a large earthquak trade routes began to change, and by the 7th century AD the only people who remained in the city of Petra were the local Bedouin tribe.