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Ancient Greek Columns

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During the archaic period, the Greeks stopped using wood as their primary building material. Instead, they used stone, preferable marble, to make their large buildings. Hence the birth of stone in Greek structures. The stone was very durable and had superior strength, unlike the wood. The Greeks cut the stone to form columns. According to Mark Cartwright(2012) from Ancient History Encyclopedia "The columns were an architectural invention, which allowed for the support of ceilings without the use of wood to walls." Without solid walls, the larger buildings would have more sources of light. Columns were used primarily for Greek temples, such as the Parthenon which displayed a great use of columns. The Parthenon primary source of light came from the sun. …show more content…

The Greeks created three different architectural orders for columns. The three orders were the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders. The Doric columns was the Greeks first architectural order. Although it had a simple capital and no base, it was the widest among the three orders. The Ionic columns had a more detailed capital that was in the form of a double scroll. The Ionic columns also had a base unlike the Doric order. The Corinthian column had a capital that was sculpted with flowers and leaf designs. The Corinthian column also had a base, but it is the tallest among all three orders. With these three orders Greek temples were built lager with more features since the stone columns can withstand more weight. These three orders also gave Greek architects the flexibility to add more sources of light to their

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