Chapter 18
In This Chapter
● Admiring the Greek temples
● Constructing and embellishing the temples
● Extending Greek design to other buildings
This chapter is about more than the types of structures and building materials favoured by the ancient Greeks; it’s about architecture. Architecture is the art of building, the design and construction of buildings that ensure that they’re technically correct and aesthetically pleasing. In other words, architecture is about making sure that buildings look good and stay up.
Of all the things that the ancient Greeks left behind, their buildings are the most obvious. You can find great big chunks of these structures - some still in surprisingly good condition - lying around all over the Mediterranean.
And museums around the globe have enshrined several buildings or portions of buildings.
Even more apparent than the physical remains is the influence of Greek architecture on subsequent buildings. Indeed, many buildings in some of the world’s most famous cities instantly remind you of Greek temples - such as the White House in Washington for example.
In this chapter, I look at how the Greeks built temples and other public structures, why they built them, and what to look for when you’re standing in front of one.
Speedy builders
The Greeks really did love their temples. Modern scholars have added up the number of temples constructed between 599 and 301 BC, the height of the temple-building boom:
● Greeks living on the mainland built around 53 temples.
● Across the whole Greek world, Greeks constructed over 120 temples.
Perhaps these figures don't sound that impressive, but when you think of the cost involved, the pretty crude tools, and the enormous effort required, this output is the equivalent of building a new Wembley Stadium or Millennium Dome every two years or so.
Building for the Masses:
Ancient Greek Temples
The Greeks loved building - and building temples in particular. The council of government (refer to Chapter 4) usually paid for these elaborately decorated structures, which were used to make political statements. The Greeks tended to build smaller private buildings like houses or shops out of whatever was available and not to any particular design. See Chapter 14 for more on these day-to-day structures.
Appreciating the role of the temple
The temple was a vital part of the Greek polis or city. A temple’s main purpose was to honour the god that it was dedicated to, such as Zeus, Poseidon, or Apollo. Each temple normally contained a large cult statue of the god within the central room, or cella. The statue was much bigger than life-size and could be as tall as 10 or 15 metres (see ‘Going back to the temple’s beginnings’ later in this chapter for a plan of a typical ancient Greek temple).
The temple was literally thought of as the house of the god. When you entered the temple, you were in the presence of that deity. That’s partly why the Greeks used such massive statues - to create feelings of awe and fear. Temples were open to all and people would flee there for sanctuary in times of crisis.
Festivals, sacrifices, and ceremonies all took place at the temple. Temples were often part of a whole sanctuary complex in which they stood alongside treasuries, or small buildings used to house gifts made to the gods. A good example of a sanctuary complex is the Acropolis in Athens, which was home to four different temples (dedicated to Athena and Poseideon) and also served as the stronghold of the city in times of trouble.
Despite the temple’s civic functions, each building was really about the worship of the god to which it was dedicated. In a way, the vast expense of building a temple was a kind of tribute to the god to start with. Greek religion was based around the idea of giving gifts to the gods and hoping that good things happened to you as a result. You can read more about these spiritual beliefs in Chapter 22.
Going back to the temple's beginnings
Greek architecture developed very much along the same lines as Greek history. The Minoans (covered in Chapter 2) were great builders but they didn’t tend to build structures exclusively for religious purposes. During the Dark Ages the Greeks seemed to build very few massive structures. It wasn’t until the seventh century BC that the Greeks began the large scale construction of temples.
Between 650 and 500 BC the classic form of the Greek temple started to emerge as towns and cities throughout the Mediterranean began to construct their temples in fairly uniform style. The temples that were built during this period were all classified as hekatompedon, which meant ‘hundred footer’. As temples were a great source of local pride, building anything that was smaller was unthinkable. The temples also all followed the same plan of a box within a box, as Figure 18-1 shows.
The temple in Figure 18-1 is a rectangle surrounded by massive round columns. Within the rectangle is another smaller rectangle that made up an interior room. This area was called a cella and was where the business of the temple took place. Often the cella had an external porch leading into it, like the one in Figure 18-1. It was the innermost sanctum of the temple where offerings were made.
Figure 18-1: A basic temple plan.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Some Greek buildings were so impressive that they even made it onto the list of the Seven Wonders of the World! Various ancient writers made lists of seven wonders, including the Greek historian Herodotus (see Chapter 22). In fact, the word the Greeks used to describe these wondrous buildings was thaumatai, which literally means 'must see'! Here's Herodotus's list in full:
● Colossus of Rhodes
● Great Pyramid of Giza
● Hanging Gardens of Babylon
● Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
● Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria
● Statue of Zeus at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia
● Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
As you can see, after the Great Pyramid and the Hanging Gardens, the Greeks feature quite heavily in the list with five entries. Then again, it was a Greek who compiled the list!
Most interesting for historians is the Temple of Artemis at the Greek city of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor. Today, only the base and a few columns of this structure survive, but this temple was considered to be the best example of its kind.
This basic format remained pretty much unchanged for the whole of Greek history. Part of the reason for this consistency was the building techniques involved (see the later section ‘Making it happen: Building tools and techniques’).
Other forms of temple design did develop and the Greeks introduced new materials, but this rectangle-within-a-rectangle plan was the standard. Originally, these temples were probably constructed out of wood, but by the early sixth century BC the Greeks were using stone, most commonly marble.
Evolving style: Three architectural orders
Although the design of Greek temples was incredibly regular, room still existed for expansion and elaboration of the basic form. In fact, any big temple project was a chance for a city to show off its wealth and artistry. The way that temples were decorated and adorned led to the development of three notable styles, or architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
Doric and Ionic were based around the two major regions of Greece (see Chapter 3). Doric mainly referred to the mainland of Greece, and Ionic was ‘Ionian’ and referred to the western coast of Asia Minor. The Corinthian style was attributed to a sculptor and architect called Callimachus who was active in the fifth century BC and was alleged to have come from the city of Corinth.
These styles developed during the fifth and fourth centuries BC. They weren’t strict ways of building but rather styles that architects of the day felt able to experiment with.
As you can see by the three temple columns shown in Figure 18-2, the differences between the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles are fairly clear. The biggest design differences are in the capital (the top portion of the column) and the entablature (the structure that sits on top of the column):
● Doric columns feature a very simple stone capital in two pieces that looks like a bowl with a flat block on top.
● Ionic columns include a carved, curling block that looks a bit like the horns of a ram. Underneath this block is a decorative pattern that some people call ‘egg and dart’.
● Corinthian columns have a far more ornate design that mimic the look of sprouting Acanthus leaves. The thinner column is more like Ionic than Doric.
So, after you decided to build a temple and picked the order that you wanted to style it in, how did you go about building it? Read on.
Figure 18-2: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.
Constructing Temples
The most important thing about any new temple project was choosing the site. Usually, the Greeks built a new temple in a sacred place like a sanctuary complex (a site with a lot of temples and religious buildings), but it was often also the most conspicuous place in the city.
The greatest temple in Athens was the Parthenon dedicated to Athena and built on the site of the Acropolis, on a massive hill that dominated the landscape. Similarly, the Greeks built many temples in Greece and Asia Minor overlooking the sea or in other commanding and beautiful locations.
Bearing the cost
Building a temple wasn’t cheap. The cost was met by the public purse and sometimes donations from rich citizens. For a temple to be built in ancient Athens, the ekklesia (refer to Chapter 4) had to approve and budget for the project before the builders broke a single stone. The ekklesia then set up a supervisory committee for the project and appointed a chief architect.
For an idea of the costs involved, consider the Parthenon in Athens. This building cost 469 silver talents to build. To give you some context, the cost of building and equipping a trireme warship such as those in the Athenian fleet was 1 silver talent. Ouch!
Selecting an architect
The role of the architect was crucial. The position was a hugely responsible one, combining the roles of designer, foreman, and accountant. Not only did the architect design the building, but he also supervised its construction on site, hired the workforce, purchased materials, and ensured that the whole thing came in on budget.
But despite their enormous responsibilities, the Greeks still viewed architects as artisans rather than artists.
Finessing the design
Architects designed temples according to mathematical calculations rather than modelling. For example, if the temple required more columns or wider gaps between them, the architect simply had to adjust his calculations accordingly. Another major issue was the entasis, or contour, of the columns (in basic terms, how much wider the columns were at the bottom than the top). Architects had to go through careful calculations to ensure that the columns could support the weight of tons of stone. And if the architect got his sums wrong, the temple would fall down!
Of course, construction wasn’t quite that haphazard. The fairly standard form of temple design (see the earlier section ‘Going back to the temple’s beginnings’) meant that architects worked within fairly standard guidelines.
Hiring the workforce
Architects managed hundreds of different workers in a temple-building project. They hired skilled artisans and craftsman, along with manual labourers and prisoners of war used as forced labour.
When a major project was under way workers came from far and wide because they knew that work would be available for years to come. The Parthenon was proposed in 447 BC, and 15 years later it was finally completed!
Animals were used to transport materials and equipment. For example, during the building of the Parthenon around 400 oxen a day were used to transport materials.
Making it happen: Building tools and techniques
Ancient Greek tools and building techniques were pretty basic - which makes it all the more impressive that they managed to erect such huge, elaborately embellished edifices.
One issue that all ancient Greek builders dealt with was the lack of concrete (it wasn’t discovered until early in the Roman period, during the first century BC). That’s why Greek architects were so keen on columns; these structures helped support the massive weight of the buildings’ roofs.
Just getting the materials together was difficult enough. Every temple required thousands of cubic metres of stone to be quarried and, given the weight and transportation difficulties, the quarry needed to be close by. The Greeks preferred to use marble, but this could be ruinously expensive. More often they used plain stone and then covered it with painted plaster so that it resembled marble.
Each individual block had to be prepared (that is, shaped for its purpose by carving and hammering) on site and then slotted together. Instead of being fabricated of one long tube of stone, columns were made of different blocks called drums that were fixed together with plugs coated with lead to fill any gaps. This work had to be spot on, otherwise the curvature would be wrong and the column wouldn’t be able to support weight.
Moving the stones was difficult and dangerous. For the most part, a human-powered crane involving fairly simple pulley systems and lots of manpower lifted the stones into the appropriate area, and then men levered them into position.
Getting your message across through decoration
After the temple structure was up, part of the building’s statement was made: The size and spectacular position of the building no doubt impressed many people. However, the Greeks conveyed more clever messages via the decoration of the temple.
Intriguing entablatures and more
Like everything else to do with architecture and temple building, the decoration of temples followed a fairly uniform set of rules. The main areas of decoration were above the columns in the series of sections known as the entablature. Figure 18-2 earlier in this chapter shows two examples of entablature.
The major decorative areas were as follows:
● Frieze: On Ionic temples the frieze often displayed a long, relief sculpture that showcased a consistent theme such as a procession or a continuous battle scene.
● Metope: On Doric temples this space was occupied alternately by triglyphs (triple-grooved panels) and empty panels that could be filled by relief sculptures called metopes. Often each end of the temple featured a different theme.
● Pediment: The pediment was often used as a space for large scale sculptures, usually massive, larger-than-life versions of the gods.
Like the sculptures I discuss in Chapter 17, the temples were colourfully painted - even if they were constructed of marble. The backgrounds of the metopes and pediment sculptures were painted, as well as the triglyphs and some details on the columns. The paints’ bold colours (probably brighter colours like red, gold, yellow and lighter blue) would have contrasted beautifully with the stark white of the remaining marble or stone.
The Parthenon: 230 feet of propaganda!
The decorations of the Parthenon are a great example of ancient Greek architecture, construction, and decoration. The Greeks constructed the building over 15 years during Athens’s greatest period of supremacy, immediately before the start of the Peloponnesian War (see Chapter 7).
They built the Parthenon to replace a temple burned down by the Persians in the fifth century BC (refer to Chapter 6). This new building celebrates the superiority of the Athenian empire and its leading role in defeating the Persians at Marathon and elsewhere. It’s a brilliantly conceived programme of decoration.
Everything about this amazing building fits with the purpose of the temple as a place of worship and also as an expression of Athens’s wealth and superiority.
● The temple was dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, and a massive statue of her dominated the inner building within the cella.
● Because the Parthenon is a Doric temple it doesn’t feature an external frieze, but the inner building had a frieze running around it that depicted the Panathenaiac festival that took place in honour of Athena every four years.
● The building’s pediment sculptures honoured Athena as well. At one end of the temple, a scene showed all the Olympian gods at rest, and the other end showed a scene from the story where Athena battled with Poseidon for the right to be patron deity of Athens.
● The metopes show various scenes of Greeks fighting foreign mythological enemies like Amazons and Lapiths. These images are a not-so-subtle demonstration of Greek superiority over foreigners.
You can still see the Parthenon in a fairly good state. The ruins of the temple are there in Athens although much of the decoration has been taken off and is preserved in the Acropolis Museum in Athens and the British Museum in London.
Building More than Temples
As Greek cities developed, so did the types of public buildings that were designed and constructed. Although temples continued to dominate, the Greeks did build other communal structures.
When you look at some Greek ruins today, you may have difficulty telling the difference between temples and other buildings. The similarities are because Greek architects used many of the same techniques from temple-building to construct other types of building, including agoras, stoas, stadiums, and theatres.
Agoras
The agora was the centrepiece of a Greek city. The word doesn’t have an exact translation - the closest modern equivalent is ‘town square’. (In the Roman world, the agora became the forum.)
The agora was where the citizen body gathered to talk, buy, and sell, and sometimes to protest or vote. Essentially, it was a large open space, but over time buildings were added because the activities that went on needed space for administration and so on. So despite originally being a big empty space, the term agora came to stand for a group of buildings - if you see what I mean!
Stoas
As the agora developed into a building, the architectural elements that surrounded it, or stoas, came to resemble a colonnade, like a roofed street with columns.
Over time, these stoas became quite ornate and complicated buildings in their own right. Some examples of stoas feature more than one level. Effectively, they became a kind of precinct, with small booths used for shops and businesses as well as a street that linked the agora to other areas of the city.
Some agoras and stoas are still partially in existence all around the Mediterranean. The ancient religious town of Delphi contains some particularly good examples (Chapter 24 has more).
Stadiums and theatres
The other major public buildings were those the Greeks used for entertainment (see Chapter 16 for all the fun). Ancient Greek athletic competitions and theatrical performances took place in the open air, so the buildings constructed didn’t have roofs. Neither type of building required much in the way of architectural design; rather the key was picking the right spot to begin with. These structures were usually just cut into a hillside with acoustics being the greatest concern in the case of theatres.