2020. 2. 15. 20:55ㆍ카테고리 없음
For most of us, architecture is easy to take for granted. Its everywhere in our daily lives—sometimes elegant, other times shabby, but generally ubiquitous. How often do we stop to examine and contemplate its form and style?
Stopping for that contemplation offers not only the opportunity to understand one’s daily surroundings, but also to appreciate the connection that exists between architectural forms in our own time and those from the past. Architectural tradition and design has the ability to link disparate cultures together over time and space—and this is certainly true of the legacy of architectural forms created by the ancient Greeks. The Erechtheion, 421-405 B.C.E. (Classical Greek), Acropolis, Athens, photo: Steven Zucker (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Greek architecture refers to the architecture of the Greek-speaking peoples who inhabited the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese, the islands of the Aegean Sea, the Greek colonies in Ionia (coastal Asia Minor), and Magna Graecia (Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily).
Greek architecture stretches from c. To the first century C.E. (with the earliest extant stone architecture dating to the seventh century B.C.E.). Greek architecture influenced Roman architecture and architects in profound ways, such that Roman Imperial architecture adopts and incorporates many Greek elements into its own practice.
An overview of basic building typologies demonstrates the range and diversity of Greek architecture. During the Archaic period the tenets of the Doric order of architecture in the Greek mainland became firmly established, leading to a wave of monumental temple building during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. Greek city-states invested substantial resources in temple building—as they competed with each other not just in strategic and economic terms, but also in their architecture. For example, Athens devoted enormous resources to the construction of the acropolis in the 5th century B.C.E.—in part so that Athenians could be confident that the temples built to honor their gods surpassed anything that their rival states could offer. The multi-phase architectural development of sanctuaries such as that of Hera on the island of Samos demonstrate not only the change that occurred in construction techniques over time but also how the Greeks re-used sacred spaces—with the later phases built directly atop the preceding ones. Perhaps the fullest, and most famous, expression of Classical Greek temple architecture is the Periclean Parthenon of Athens—a Doric order structure, the Parthenon represents the maturity of the Greek classical form.
In short, not only did ancient Greek philosophy pave the way for the Western. With such a strong presence and legacy of Pythagorean influence, and yet little is. The ancient Greek civilization lasted until about 600 B.C. The Egyptian and Babylonian influence was greatest in Miletus, a city of Ionia in Asia Minor and the birthplace of Greek philosophy, mathematics and science.
Tholos temple, sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, 4th century B.C.E., Delphi, Greece, photo: (CC BY 3.0) Greek temples are often categorized in terms of their ground plan and the way in which the columns are arranged. A prostyle temple is a temple that has columns only at the front, while an amphiprostyle temple has columns at the front and the rear.
Temples with a peripteral arrangement (from the Greek πτερον ( pteron) meaning 'wing) have a single line of columns arranged all around the exterior of the temple building. Dipteral temples simply have a double row of columns surrounding the building. One of the more unusual plans is the tholos, a temple with a circular ground plan; famous examples are attested at the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi and the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidauros. Greek city planners came to prefer the stoa as a device for framing the agora (public market place) of a city or town. The South Stoa constructed as part of the sanctuary of Hera on the island of Samos (c. 700-550 B.C.E.) numbers among the earliest examples of the stoa in Greek architecture. Many cities, particularly Athens and Corinth, came to have elaborate and famous stoas.
In Athens the famous Stoa Poikile (“Painted Stoa”), c. Fifth century B.C.E., housed paintings of famous Greek military exploits including the battle of Marathon, while the Stoa Basileios (“Royal Stoa”), c. Fifth century B.C.E., was the seat of a chief civic official ( archon basileios).
20th century reconstruction of the Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora (original c. 159-138 B.C.E.), photo: Steven Zucker (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Later, through the patronage of the kings of Pergamon, the Athenian agora was augmented by the famed Stoa of Attalos (c. 159-138 B.C.E.) which was recently rebuilt according to the ancient specifications and now houses the archaeological museum for the Athenian Agora itself (see image above). At Corinth the stoa persisted as an architectural type well into the Roman period; the South Stoa there (above), c. 150 C.E., shows the continued utility of this building design for framing civic space. From the Hellenistic period onwards the stoa also lent its name to a philosophical school, as Zeno of Citium (c. 334-262 B.C.E.) originally taught his Stoic philosophy in the Stoa Poikile of Athens.
Theatre at the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, c. 350 - 300 B.C.E., photo: Steven Zucker (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)The Greek theater was a large, open-air structure used for dramatic performance. Theaters often took advantage of hillsides and naturally sloping terrain and, in general, utilized the panoramic landscape as the backdrop to the stage itself. The Greek theater is composed of the seating area (theatron), a circular space for the chorus to perform (orchestra), and the stage ( skene). Tiered seats in the theatron provided space for spectators.
Two side aisles ( parados, pl. Paradoi) provided access to the orchestra. The Greek theater inspired the Roman version of the theater directly, although the Romans introduced some modifications to the concept of theater architecture. In many cases the Romans converted pre-existing Greek theaters to conform to their own architectural ideals, as is evident in the Theater of Dionysos on the slopes of the Athenian Acropolis.
Ancient Greek Influences
Since theatrical performances were often linked to sacred festivals, it is not uncommon to find theaters associated directly with sanctuaries. Greek houses of the Archaic and Classical periods were relatively simple in design. Houses usually were centered on a courtyard that would have been the scene for various ritual activities; the courtyard also provided natural light for the often small houses. The ground floor rooms would have included kitchen and storage rooms, perhaps an animal pen and a latrine; the chief room was the andron— site of the male-dominated drinking party ( symposion). The quarters for women and children ( gynaikeion) could be located on the second level (if present) and were, in any case, segregated from the mens’ area. The Mycenaean fortifications of Bronze Age Greece (c.
1300 B.C.E.) are particularly well known—the megalithic architecture (also referred to as Cyclopean because of the use of enormous stones) represents a trend in Bronze Age architecture. While these massive Bronze Age walls are difficult to best, first millennium B.C.E. Greece also shows evidence for stone built fortification walls. In Attika (the territory of Athens), a series of Classical and Hellenistic walls built in ashlar masonry (squared masonry blocks) have been studied as a potential system of border defenses. At Palairos in Epirus (Greece) the massive fortifications enclose a high citadel that occupies imposing terrain. Since blood sacrifice was a key component of Greek ritual practice, an altar was essential for these purposes.
Ancient Greek Influences Today
While altars did not necessarily need to be architecturalized, they could be and, in some cases, they assumed a monumental scale. The third century B.C.E. Altar of Hieron II at Syracuse, Sicily, provides one such example. 196 meters in length and c. 11 m in height the massive altar was reported to be capable of hosting the simultaneous sacrifice of 450 bulls (Diodorus Siculus History 11.72.2).
Model of the Pergamon Altar (Altar of Zeus), c. 200-150 B.C.E. (Pergamon Museum, Berlin) photo: Steven Zucker (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Another spectacular altar is the Altar of Zeus from Pergamon, built during the first half of the second century B.C.E. The altar itself is screened by a monumental enclosure decorated with sculpture; the monument measures c. 35.64 by 33.4 meters. The altar is best known for its program of relief sculpture that depict a gigantomachy (battle between the Olympian gods and the giants) that is presented as an allegory for the military conquests of the kings of Pergamon. Despite its monumental scale and lavish decoration, the Pergamon altar preserves the basic and necessary features of the Greek altar: it is frontal and approached by stairs and is open to the air—to allow not only for the blood sacrifice itself but also for the burning of the thigh bones and fat as an offering to the gods.
Black-figured water-jar (hydria) with a scene at a fountain-house, Greek, about 520-500 B.C.E., 50.8 cm high, © The Trustees of the British MuseumThe fountain house is a public building that provides access to clean drinking water and at which water jars and containers could be filled. The Southeast Fountain house in the Athenian Agora (c. 530 B.C.E.) provides an example of this tendency to position fountain houses and their dependable supply of clean drinking water close to civic spaces like the agora. Gathering water was seen as a woman’s task and, as such, it offered the often isolated women a chance to socialize with others while collecting water. Fountain house scenes are common on ceramic water jars ( hydriai), as is the case for a Black-figured hydria (c. 525-500 B.C.E.) found in an Etruscan tomb in Vulci that is now in the British Museum. The architecture of ancient Greece influenced ancient Roman architecture, and became the architectural vernacular employed in the expansive Hellenistic world created in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Greek architectural forms became implanted so deeply in the Roman architectural mindset that they endured throughout antiquity, only to then be re-discovered in the Renaissance and especially from the mid-eighteenth century onwards as a feature of the Neo-Classical movement. This durable legacy helps to explain why the ancient Greek architectural orders and the tenets of Greek design are still so prevalent—and visible—in our post-modern world.
Ancient Greece Influence On America Ancient Greece made a huge impact on America which is evident even today. The ancient Greeks helped to lay the foundations for art, literature, theater, math, science, architecture, engineering and warfare. In fact, practically every area of American lives is influenced by Ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks gave America and the rest of the world formulas and theorems. In addition, they provided written records that ended up being the foundation of all that followed in every basic field of study.
Many people are under the misconception that democracy was created by the founding fathers of America. However, the ideas for democracy were first established in ancient Greece and later expanded by the Romans.
There are some who acknowledge the contributions of ancient Greece towards democracy but believe that democratic ideas lay dormant until taken up by the Americans in the 18th century. When the America’s founding fathers created a nation, they carried forward the best ideas of ancient Greece democracy. Because of its location, ancient Greece was a melting pot of cultures just like America. Ancient Greece had people from different lands inhabiting the country and they all ended up sharing a common language but were still separate entities with their own gods and goddesses, army and currency. This is similar to America where each state is a separate entity to a certain extent but combined, the states become one nation.
In America too, one can find people from many cultures who live harmoniously together while respecting each others cultural and religious diversity. There is enough evidence to point out that ancient Greece had a profound influence on America and this influence is evident even today when one takes into consideration the cultural diversity, and the strides America has made in science, art, engineering, warfare and literature.