【古希臘】建築的前世今生 The Development of Ancient Greek Architecture
3 次觀看·2025年10月25日
你知不知道許多現代建築都是基於古老的基督教建築嗎?
Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia
My name is Kelly
And today's video is all about the incredible architecture
that not only went on to influence Hellenistic and Roman architects
but which provided the foundation for much of the architecture of the modern Western world
Today we are looking at the architecture of Ancient Greece
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Some of the most exceptional and distinctive buildings
from the ancient world
were crafted by the architects of Ancient Greece
and some of their structures like theaters, temples and stadia
became staple buildings in cities and towns
from antiquity onwards in the Western world
The architectural feature of all or most of these buildings
and the one most commonly associated with the Greeks
are columns
There are five of what are called orders of classical architecture
And an order is basically a combination of a type of column
either with or without a base
with an entumblature
which is what the column supports
This could be something like a frieze
or a beam called an architrave
The five classical orders are Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite
though it was not the Greeks but the Romans
who gave them these names
The Greek architects created the first three
and those three influenced the latter two
The Doric column evolved from early wooden pillars
it is thinner at the top
it doesn't have a base
and it has a simple capital at the top
The Ionic order with origins in the mid-6th century in Ionia
on the western coast of Asia Minor
had a base and volute
which is a scroll capital
and is a slimmer and straighter column
Then in 5th century BC
Athens, the Corinthian was invented
which is much like the Ionic column
but it's topped with a more decorative capital
of stylised acanthus and fern leaves
For the public buildings in Greece
marble was definitely the material of choice
although wood would have been the initial material
not only for architectural elements like columns
but for the entire building
From the late 7th century BCE onwards though
buildings were constructed using more durable stone
such as limestone
which was sometimes covered
by a protective layer of marble dust
The best marble that could be sourced
came from the Greek islands of Naxos and Paros
as well as Mount Pentelecon near Athens
The classical orders can still be seen on modern buildings
such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, USA
which features 36 Doric columns
the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain
with its annex adorned by Ionic columns
and the US Capitol building
with its Corinthian columns
The ancient Greeks are well known
for their incredible Doric and Ionic temples
and none are quite as famous
as the Parthenon atop the Acropolis of Athens
built under the direction of the General Pericles
and envisioned by the architect Phidias
in the 5th century BCE
Of course there are other famous temples
including the Doric Temple of Zeus at Olympia
which was completed in circa 460 BCE
and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
which was completed in circa 430 BCE
and was considered one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world
It's clear that a whole lot of time and thought
went into the creation of these buildings
as not only were many temples built at prominent sites
like the Temple of Poseidon at Sunion
but they employed optical tricks
using sophisticated geometry
like thickening the bottom of columns
or having columns lean slightly inwards
so that from a distance
the building seemed perfectly straight
This technique was actually employed
in the building of the Parthenon
But you can't actually see these refinements
with the naked eye
So if you visited the Parthenon today
the columns would look perfectly straight
Temples, especially on the mainland
all followed a similar plan
They were almost all rectangular and peristyle
which means that their exterior sides and facades
consisted of rows of columns
Although, of course, not every temple was the same
and you just have to look next to the Parthenon
to the Erechtheion
which has the famous Porch of the Maidens
where the columns are women
and known as caryatids
The regular style of temple was peristyle
which is when columns surround an inner chamber
or space in a building
like a courtyard
and the whole thing was atop a platform
and the interior was paved with rectangular slabs
It usually had a raised roof
which had a slope of approximately 15 degrees
and was constructed of wooden beams and rafters
which were then covered in overlapping tiles
made of either terracotta or marble
The doors to the temple
would often be made of either elm or cypress wood
and would be decorated with bronze
Temples were often decorated
and the architectural sculpture
would be arranged to tell a narrative
Pediments, friezes and metopes
often in high relief
ran around the temple
and would be brightly decorated
in colours like blues and reds
and metals such as bronze
The stories told in the artworks
would often be popular tales from mythology
or a part of their history
The ancient Greek architects
knew how to keep a building's foundation stable
with water drainage
and building the base
on top of various layers of fill material
Many ancient Greek buildings that have fallen
have done so
not because of a natural weakening of the building
but from human intervention
such as people removing blocks
or metal fixtures for personal use
When buildings aren't interfered with
like the Temple of Hephaestus
in the Athenian Agora
or the Temple of Aphaia
on the island of Aegina
they continue to stand tall
Sometimes temples would have
a monumental entrance near it
like the Propylaia of the Athenian Acropolis
Modern day buildings
with impressive entrances
mirroring ancient Greece
include the British Museum
Downing College
Cambridge
and the Shrine of Remembrance
in Melbourne, Australia
Common to many temple complexes
from the 7th century BCE onwards
but a separate building is the stoa
A stoa is a long roofed building
with columns on each side
and backed by a plain wall
It would often be used as a meeting space
or for storage
and many Agora of ancient Greek towns
would have a large open space
surrounded by a stoa
The stoa in the Hellenistic period
served a different function
in the Gymnasia and Palaestra complexes
These stoas were used to create
an enclosed space
not just for markets
but for physical exercise
and a space for practicing sports
like throwing javelin and discus
One very distinctive addition
to architecture from the Greeks
was the amphitheatre
The oldest archaeological evidence
for theatres dates back
to the late 6th century BCE
But we know that earlier
even as early as the Minoans
in the Bronze Age
people gathered in large
stepped courts
as a space for spectacles
or religious processions
From Thoreos in Attica
comes the earliest example
of the rectangular
theatre-like structure
from the late 6th century BCE
which had a temple to Dionysus
on one end
which suggests
it played a part
in the Dionysian festival
where dramas were performed
It was from the 5th century BCE though
that the Greek amphitheatre
developed into the recognizable
and influential form
that we are all familiar with
These Greek amphitheatres
were open air
so there was no roof
and were built as a semicircle
with rising rows of seats
They had incredible acoustics
and the stage or orchestra
was semicircular
and backed by a skene or a screen
There were often monumental arches
or paradoi
on either side of the stage
for entrances
One of the best-known
ancient Greek theatres
is the Theatre of Dionysus Eleutherius
on the slope of the Athenian Acropolis
and was the place
where plays by Tragedians
Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides
were first performed
The Theatre of Argos
is one of the largest
which had a capacity
for over 20,000 spectators
And the Theatre of Epidaurus
is one of the best preserved
and is still used to this day
There was also the stadium
which was named after the distance
of 600 ancient feet
or around 180 meters
of the foot race
known as the stadia or stadion
The stadia evolved
into having rows of stone
or marble steps
that were used for seating
which had divisions
which made the rows of seats
easy to access
Conduits were included
to drain any excess rainfall
And during the Hellenistic times
vaulted corridors were added
for a dramatic entrance
for athletes and judges
The two most famous stadia
are at Nemea
which seated 30,000
and Olympia
the home of the ancient Olympic Games
that seated 45,000 spectators
These ancient buildings
became the models for later ones
right up to the stadiums
and arenas of the present day
Can you see any features
of Greek architecture
in your hometown or city?
Let us know in the comments below
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