The components of an ancient greek temple and why it is unique

It's no surprise that when we observe ancient Greek architecture, specifically temples, we find that the Greeks preferred functionality over design and that’s why symmetry and patterns were important to them. This is evident in most of their remaining architectural works, predominantly in their temples for their gods and goddesses. But what were the components that made Greek temples unique and specific? And why is it still respected even after 2500 years?

Today the works of the Greeks are detected in western architecture to a great extent. Buildings such as the Lincoln memorial and the Capitol building exhibit features of a typical Greek temple. One of the features they exhibit are the classical orders, which were forms of greek decoration for columns (pillars). The three main orders are the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Each order gets more complex in design as you move up. To understand the orders in more depth, we must first look at the major components of a classical Greek temple.

Starting from the top, most temples have a roof with an angle of approximately 15 degrees known as a pediment and within it, detailed, life-sized statues illustrate mythological events. On its point, there is usually a small design known as acroterion, which is essentially a decoration. Below the pediment is the entablature which acts as a flat resting place for the pediment. The top part of the entablature is also known as the frieze which is a continuous row of decorations again depicting mythological events, whilst the lowest part of the entablature, the part that rests on the capital, is known as the architrave. Separated by triglyphs are the metopes (serving the same function as the frieze and pediment) present in the entablature too. Below the entablatures are the columns/ pillars, also referred to as shafts by archaeologists. They consist of a capital, which differs from order to order, as well as flutes and footing. Flutes are vertical lines down the shafts and the number of which varies from order to order. The first order, namely, the Doric, consists of typically 18-20 flutings, whilst Ionic and Corinthian both contain 24 flutings. A colonnade is a row of evenly spaced columns and serves different functions which depend on their positioning in the temple. If the colonnade was present in the front, it is there to act as an entrance and is referred to as a portico. However if the colonnade encloses an open courtyard, it is then referred to as a peristyle. If we look at the very bottom, the entire temple rests upon a crepidoma, which is a masonry, multilevel platform ( though usually 3 levels ) which erects the temple. The top part of the crepidoma is often referred to as the stylobate and they act as the base of the colonnade of columns, whilst the other two levels are referred to as the stereobates.

The first type of column we look at is regarded as the most ‘simplest’ and ‘masculine’ of all orders, which is the Doric. Said to have initially begun in the 17th century, most doric columns are distinguishable due to the presence of a doughnut-shaped slab known as the echinus and the square slab known as the abacus in the capital as well as having very shallow flutings down the column surface. If you look at the footing of Doric columns, they are much simpler and do not seem to blend in with the ground as most columns do. Doric columns are mostly recognised in the infamous Parthenon. The Ionic column also consists of an abacus, however, this one is thinner and differs from the doric due to the presence of scroll-shaped carvings known as volutes, which are also present in the Corinthian column. Further features that make them distinguishable from the Doric columns are the presence of egg and dart/ egg and tongue patterns, adding to the growing complexity of the columns. A perfect example of Ionic columns can be found on Acropolis, on the Erechtheion. Like both Ionic and Doric, the Corinthian also presents itself with an abacus but instead of an echinus or an egg and dart decoration, it has a more complex carving of acanthus leaves and rosettes. The greeks were also apparently a great fan of optical illusions! One such 'optical illusion’ was a method known as entasis, which is essentially curving a surface such that to the human eye the column will make the building look much more larger and sturdier than it actually is.

The ground plan of most Greek temples differed but some elements of it were kept the same. Looking at the various floor plans the Greeks used above, we can see that most of them are kept rectangular with the only exception of course being the Tholos which is circular but contains typical components we would see in Greek temples. The cella or the naos is considered the holiest part of the temple. This is where they would keep giant statues of the god/goddess whom the temple was dedicated to. Some temples kept the statues of their deities in separate, small rooms called the adyton/ opisthodomos, which is the furthest room away from the entrance of the naos. The naos is prominent in every floor plan as seen above except the tholos and pseudoperipteral. If you were to start entering the naos, you would note that the columns start to change as you go in, it may change from the Doric order to the Corinthian. This may have been done in order to differentiate the naos from the rest of the temple as unique. At the front of the naos, there is a porch known as the pronaos, whilst at the back it was known as the opisthodomos (which was where they typically housed the deities). The naos was typically surrounded by a four sided hall of columns called the peristalsis. Variations in the positioning and number of columns can also be observed as we go though the different temples. For example, the peripteral contains a single row of columns going all around the temple, whilst the dipeteral contains a double row of columns going around the temple. The prostyle features a row of columns at the front whilst the amphiprostyle features a row of columns in the front and back of the temple.

Standing at the altar, even the slightest whisper can be heard from the furthest seat

Essentially, these were the typical sort of components that you would find in greek temples, but let’s now jump back to my previous question. Why does it matter today? Today, greek architecture holds its position due to its ability to communicate its history and heritage with us. It acts as a vessel for us to escape the modern architecture of our generation and exposes the way the greeks thought when it came to design. If we look at the architecture of an ancient greek theatre, it’s designed specifically to help sound travel to the farthest end possible. Today architecture is disordered in a sense and that isn’t a bad thing; different people with different ideas shape the world around us and will continue to do so. But those were ideas of individuals; what makes Greek architecture unique was their collective ability to make their monuments look symmetrical, in balance and logical, and all that without any form of advanced technology. They followed the most basic form of building system, namely ‘post and lintel’, but yet they were able to produce mathematically accurate structures and that’s what amazes us. The temples that stand on acropolis and all over the world today aren’t just for study, they’re a reminder of our history and a symbol showing the relevance of architecture.