Greek architecture

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The architecture of ancient Greece is the base for virtually all architectural developments in Europe. The Greeks invented the entablature, which allowed roofs to be hipped (inverted V-shape), and perfected the design of arcades with support columns. There were three styles, or orders, of columns: Doric (with no base), Ionic (with scrolled capitals), and Corinthian (with acanthus-leafed capitals).

Of the Greek orders, the Doric is the oldest; it is said to have evolved from a former timber prototype. The finest example of a Doric temple is the Parthenon in Athens (447–438 BC). The origin of the Ionic is uncertain. The earliest building in which the Ionic capital appears is the temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus (530 BC). The gateway to the Acropolis in Athens (known as the Propylaea) has internal columns of the Ionic order. The most perfect example is the Erechtheum (421–406 BC) in Athens.

The Corinthian order belongs to a later period of Greek art. A leading example is the temple of Zeus (Jupiter) Olympius in Athens (174 BC), completed under Roman influence in AD 129. The monumental and sumptuously ornamental Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (353 BC) was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

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