Greece is the cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations, which organically combines ancient monuments of culture, architecture and literature. Even after millennia, Hellas is considered a model of creativity and culture of the countries of Europe and Asia. The temples of ancient Greece are the heritage of the history of the whole world and cultural value.

Buildings that were built many centuries ago are striking in their beauty and grandeur. According to myths, they were built by the Cyclopes, thanks to which the name of the “Cyclopean” architectural style of buildings took root. The Mycenaean era left a mark, embodied in amazing tombs and buildings. The classical style, vividly manifested in the form of an amazing Acropolis, is rightfully considered the "golden" period.

In Greece, the concepts of temple and sanctuary are clearly distinguished. The religious building itself was considered a temple, and the sanctuary was the central part of the temple, where sacred objects were stored and protected by the oracle.

Hellenic ancient temples

Initially, the first Temples of ancient Greece did not differ much in architecture from an ordinary dwelling, but soon their significance began to manifest itself in luxurious lines and frills of buildings. The spacious halls were devoid of windows, and a statue of a revered deity was erected in the center.

The classical period brought some changes to the exterior, thanks to an extraordinary combination of power and grace, which caused inner awe when contemplating the structure. reflect ancient history.

Changing architectural styles. The temples of ancient Greece are most pronounced precisely in the modification of the columns of buildings, which were carried out in an ascetic form without frills, or decorated with capitals, ornaments. The columns brought additional stability to the buildings, allowing to significantly increase the volume of the premises, and gave significant solidity.

There was no luxury in the temples, matte monochromatic tones with strict ornamentation were selected. Sometimes gold was used to decorate the interior. The statues of the deity were painted and decorated with jewels, but, unfortunately, not a single statue has survived to our time in its original form. Each resident of the city took part in the construction of the temple, which took decades. In the article you will learn even more interesting facts.

famous temples in greece

A huge number of temples have been preserved in Athens. The Acropolis houses the Parthenon, a structure built in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena. The temple of Erechteinon was considered the place of the battle between Poseidon and Athena.

The inhabitants of Athens firmly believed in the existence of the goddess of victory, Nike, which is confirmed by the temple with a statue of a deity whose wings were cut off so that victory would never leave them. It was in this temple that, according to legend, the king of Athens was waiting for his son, after defeating the minotaur. Theseus forgot to give a conventional sign of victory, as a result of which King Aegeus threw himself into the sea, which eventually became known as the Aegean. Hiking, travel walks can tell you a lot about culture, history and architecture, for example, beautiful ones amaze with their magnificence.

Temple of Hephaestus

The temple of the god of fire Hephaestus rises on the very top of the mountain called Agora. The building has been perfectly preserved to this day. The sea coast near the mountain is decorated with the ruins of a temple built in honor of Poseidon, which are sung in the works of many writers, leaving an indelible mark on the memory and a lot of impressions.

Temple of Zeus

The unusually majestic temple of Zeus, the supreme Greek deity, is called Olympion, despite the fact that only columns and ruins remained of it, it still impresses with its scope and size.

Each Greek city has its own Acropolis, which is a powerful fortress located in the very center, the purpose of which was to protect the temples. To date, many fortresses have been destroyed, being only ruins, but even they carry history and convey the unique grandeur of the history of Greece.

Parthenon temple

Geographically located in the "heart" of Athens. The temple was solemnly erected for the beautiful and majestic goddess of Athens - the Parthenon. It was built from Pentelian light marble, unique in its kind. Currently, this temple is the most popular among the ancient buildings of all Greece. Finishing work dragged on until 432 BC.

The construction was carried out by the ancient architect Kalliktat, it happened in 447 BC. construction lasted 9 years. The temple is made in the palace style with many columns (48 pieces). The pediment and cornices are decorated with sculptures. Now there are very few of them left, only fragments. All of them were looted during the long years of wars. Now the temple has a white or cream shade, but in ancient times it was painted in different colors. for such a long existence, the Parthenon Temple had different purposes: it served as a haven for Catholics, was an Orthodox place, and even was a secret warehouse for gunpowder.

Temple of Hera

It has its location closer to the Northwest corner of the Great Olympia. The temple is located on a slope, shaded, as if hidden from human eyes, by growing terraces. As is known from scientific chronicles, the temple was built in 1096-1095 BC. But according to archaeologists, the temple was built in 600 AD. The Temple of Hera was rebuilt many times, converted into a museum building. The temple was partially destroyed by a strong earthquake in the middle of the 4th century. And since that time it has not been restored. The majestic architectural building has survived to this day very poorly. The temple - the embodiment of hope, procreation, preservation of marriage is the main historical center in Paestum.

Temple of Nike Anperos

This temple was the first building of this ancient character in the Acropolis. The temple has a different, more gentle name - "wingless victory." The construction of the building began in 427 BC. the walls of the great Nike Anperos are made of bleached marble block. In the center of the temple stood a statue of Athena. She carried a symbolic character, and she had a helmet in one hand, and a grenade in the other. This indicated that she carries a symbol of fertility and victory. Throughout history, the temple has been constantly attacked, each time disturbing its beauty. In 1686, the temple was attacked by Turkish troops, who dismantled the main buildings, and in 1936 the central platform collapsed. Now this miniature temple, the wall, is the only thing that reminds us of that ancient life.

Introduction.

The architecture of ancient Greece, covering in its development mainly the VIII-I centuries BC, is divided into three periods: archaic, classical and Hellenistic. They were preceded by periods of Cretan-Mycenaean culture in southern Greece and the Aegean islands. (III millennium - XII century BC) and the so-called Homeric period (XII - VIII centuries BC) - this is the time of the decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of early class relations, which led to the VIII - VII centuries . BC e. to the formation of ancient slave states. The archaic period (VIII - early V century BC) coincides with the time of the final addition of the policy and the formation of the main types of religious and public buildings. From the second period, covering the time from 480 to the end of the 4th century. it is necessary to highlight the time of the highest dawn of the policies (480-400),

to which the term "classic period" is applied. The leading place in this era belongs to Athens, where in the "golden age" of the reign of Pericles, the development of slave-owning democracy reaches its highest point, and in place with it - art and architecture.

The third period - the era of Hellenism (320s of the 4th century - 1st century AD) - the time of the emergence of Greek-eastern monarchies and the intensive expansion of Hellenic culture into the new cities of Asia Minor and Egypt, which became major centers of commercial and cultural life.

If we talk about the architecture itself, then in ancient Greece it developed quickly and diversified. In the growing Greek cities, residential stone buildings, fortifications, port facilities are being created, but the most important and new appeared not in residential and utility buildings, but in stone public buildings. It was here, and, above all, in the architecture of temples, that classical Greek architectural orders developed.

Rectangular in plan, strict and majestic building, rising on three steps of the basement, surrounded by a strict colonnade and covered with a gable roof - this is what pops up in our memory as soon as we pronounce the words "architecture of Ancient Greece". Indeed, the Greek temple, built according to the rules of the order, was the most significant building in the city both in its purpose and in the place that its architecture occupied in the entire ensemble of the city. Order temple reigned over the city; he dominated the landscape in those cases when temples were built in any other important areas, for example, in places considered sacred by the Greeks. Because the order temple was a kind of pinnacle in Greek architecture, and because it had a tremendous impact on the subsequent history of world architecture, we turned specifically to the features of order buildings, sacrificing many other types and directions of architecture and construction of Ancient Greece. So, let's remember right away - the order in Ancient Greece did not belong to mass architecture, but to architecture of exceptional importance, which has an important ideological meaning and is associated with the spiritual life of society.

As mentioned above, the architecture of Ancient Greece mainly covers the VIII - I centuries. BC e. and receives its highest development mainly in the so-called "classical period" and in the archaic, in principle, this period will be discussed in this essay, but first we turn to earlier times and see how things are there.

Architecture (Homeric period XI - VIII centuries)

Some ideas about the architecture of the Homeric era are given by: the epic, the few remains of ancient buildings, terracotta models of temples found during excavations of the so-called sacred sites. The paucity of archaeological data does not allow us to recreate the architectural appearance of the cities of that time. In separate places of the Iliad and the Odyssey, there are descriptions of ancient sanctuaries - sacred groves and caves with primitive altars, a description is given of a residential estate grouped around a courtyard (“aule”), divided into male and female halves and including special premises for slaves; the main room of the residential building was the “megaron” adjoining the courtyard - a rectangular hall with a hearth in the center, a smoke outlet in the ceiling and an entrance portico formed by the protruding ends of the longitudinal walls (“antae”) and pillars between them.

Megaron was the original architectural type in the development of the Greek temple. Judging by the excavated fragments of buildings, the construction technique of the Homeric era is noticeably inferior to the Mycenaean and Cretan ones. The buildings were built of clay or raw brick (rarely flagstone) on foundations of rubble cemented with clay mortar; elongated in plan, they ended with a curvilinear apse. In the IX - VIII centuries. BC e. They began to use a wooden frame that strengthened the old building (the Temple of Artemis Orvali in Sparta), which contributed to the transition to rectangular plans. Clay model of the temple of the 8th century. BC e. from Heraion near Argos testifies to the development of a double-mat roof and the appearance of a ceiling and gables; the pillars form an independent portico. Later, a portico appears around the entire temple, protecting the mud walls from rain (the 1st temple of Hera in Heraion near Samos, now Tigani, a building in Hermon).

The description in the Odyssey of the palace of Alcinous allows us to guess the aesthetic views of that era, when architecture had not yet separated from crafts, and the ideas of beauty - from admiration for craftsmanship, according to Homer, shining like sunlight on all products of human labor. This radiance makes the fairy-tale palace “radiant”, at the sight of which Odysseus’s heart beat faster; he charms not so much with specific means of architecture as with skillful metal details and sheathing, wood carvings, paintings, decorative fabrics; the traveler is attracted by a rich house, a skillfully irrigated garden, the coolness of the premises, the thoughtful organization of the entire estate, filled with the creations of human hands.

Architecture (archaic VIII - VI centuries)

At that time, the city was usually located around a fortified hill - the "acropolis", on the top of which there was a sanctuary with a temple dedicated to the patron god of the policy. At the foot of the acropolis were living quarters; their layout evolved spontaneously; artisans of each profession settled in separate settlements. The center of the lower city was the shopping area "agora" - a place of political meetings of citizens.

In connection with the emergence of new forms of public life, various themes of public buildings are emerging; among them the leading place belonged to the temples.

Along with the temples, other types of public buildings have developed: “bouleuterium” - a house for a meeting of the community council; "Pritaney" - a house with a sacred community hearth, intended for official receptions and solemn meals. Early appeared "sta" - porticos, open in front, and often from other sides, which served as a place of rest and walks. Public buildings also included "leskhs" (a kind of clubs), fountains, theaters, stadiums. Entire complexes of buildings were assigned to "palestres" and "gymnasiums" - schools for the physical and general education of young people. Most of the public buildings were loosely placed around the agora.

The beginning of the search for more durable than previously known, more impressive and corresponding to the requirements of the new era of architectural forms marks the temple of Apollo Terepios in Hermon and the temple of Hera in Olympia.

These temples testify to a greater extent to the search than to the successes of archaic architecture. His greatest achievements were associated with the creation and consistent application of order principles. The order represents a special type of architectural composition, the characteristic features of which are tripartiteness (stereo-wall, columns and entablature), a clear division of parts into carried and bearing ones, an increase in the complexity of building from the bottom up. The order arose as an important element of the architecture of a public building.

The Doric order was formed on the basis of the building experience of the Dorian tribes that inhabited the Greek metropolis. It is found already in the first structures built of stone, both in the metropolis (the old temple of Athena Pronaia and the old folos in Delphi), and in the Dorian colonies (the temple of Artemis in Kerpira, the temple of Apollo in Syracuse). At first, Doric buildings had many local features. Over time, the differences in plan have faded. Sharp fluctuations in the proportions of the columns, which were initially very significant, also disappeared. Ceramic cladding has fallen into disuse, meaningless in stone structures, but sometimes used according to tradition (the treasury of the Iloyans in Olympia).

The temple of Athena on Aegis Island, the treasury of the Athenians in Delphi, the temple of Apollo in Corinth, the “basilica” and the temple of Demeter in Paestum serve as examples of the established archaic dorica.

An important element of archaic architecture was decor: sculpture that filled the fields of metols and pediments, and the painting of facades (with wax paints on the finest marble plaster or directly on stone). In Doric temples, the backgrounds for sculpture were painted blue or red. Mutuls, triglyphs and reguls - in blue, the lower surfaces of the cornice, tenia, under the capitals - in red. The main, “working” parts of the building (architrave, column) were not painted. The coloring emphasized the construction and at the same time gave the architecture a festive, major character.

The decorative and graceful Ionic order, light in proportions, was formed in the rich trading cities of island and Asia Minor Greece, which were influenced by the culture of the East. The constructive prototype of the Ionic entablature was a flat adobe roof, combined with the ceiling, laid along a continuous roll from a small forest. It is in this design that the high Ionic force and the teeth located on top of the architrave find their prototype. The Ionic order is found for the first time in large Asian dipteras of the middle of the 6th century BC. e., built of limestone and marble. Among them, the most famous is the temple of Artemis (architects Hersiphon and Metagenes) in Ephesus.

In the VI century BC. e. Greek architects achieved great success in the creation of architectural ensembles. The most important type of ensemble, along with the support and the acropolis, was the sanctuary. In the ensemble of the sanctuary at Delphi, which were determined in the main features in the VI century BC. e., an important element of the architectural image is the landscape environment. The composition of the sanctuary was designed for the perception of a person who, as part of a solemn procession, ascended the zigzags of the illuminated road, framed by treasuries and motif statues; at one of the turns, unexpectedly large and therefore especially impressive masses of the main temple, standing on a high terrace, appeared before his eyes.

Greek orders.

In the ancient Greek order, there is a clear and harmonious order, according to which the three main parts of the building are combined with each other: the base - stereobat, bearing supports - columns and bearing structure - entablature.

Doric order(arose at the beginning of the 7th century BC) had three main parts (see above). It is characterized by a column dissected by grooves-flutes converging at an acute angle, standing without a base and completed with a simple capital, an architrave in the form of an even beam and a frieze of alternating triglyphs and metopes.

The Ionic order (formed in the middle of the 6th century BC) differs sharply from the Doric order by a slender column standing on the base and completed by a capital with two volutes, a three-part architrave and a ribbon-like frieze; the flutes here are separated by a flat track.
Both the Doric and Ionic orders were used in ancient Greece in a wide range of buildings - from small galleries of residential buildings to grandiose temple porticos.
But in addition to the Doric and Ionic orders in ancient Greece, there were others. Here are some of them.

Corinthian order similar to the Ionic, but differs from it in a complex capital decorated with floral patterns (the oldest Corinthian column is known in the temple of Apollo in Basa, now Vassus in the Peloponnese, built around 430 BC

AD famous architect Iktin).

Aeolian order(known from several buildings of the 7th century BC - in Neandria in Asia Minor, in Larissa, on the island of Lesbos) has a thin smooth column standing on the base and completed with a capital, large volutes and petals of which reproduce plant motifs.

wooden structure. In the form of ceilings, in the details of the Doric order, one can see their origin from buildings from a large forest. In the lighter Ionic order, roof construction techniques from small logs affected. V

In the capitals of the Aeolian order, a local building technique is manifested, according to which beams were laid on a fork in the branches of a tree trunk. In ancient Greece, a strictly ordered plan of the temple, which was built according to the rules of orders, quickly developed. It was a temple-peripter, that is, a temple surrounded on all sides

a colonnade, inside of which there was a sanctuary (cella) behind the walls. The origin of the peripter can be traced back to buildings close to the most ancient megarons. The closest to the megaron is the temple “in antah”, that is, the temple, where the ends of the walls protrude on the end side, between which columns are placed. This is followed by a prostyle with a portico on the façade, an amphiprostyle with two porticos on opposite sides, and finally a peripter. Of course, this is only a diagram of historical development: in Greece, temples of different

types. But one way or another, the residential building-megaron served as the oldest model, and in the 7th century. BC. periptery temples appeared (the temple of Apollo Thermios, otherwise Fermos, the temple of Hera at Olympia, etc.). In the temples of that time, raw brick and wooden columns were still used, which were eventually replaced by stone ones.

Together with the creation of stone structures, the ancient architects “from the field of shaky and unstable eye-measuring calculations worked out to establish strong laws of “symmetry” or proportionality of the constituent parts of a building.” This is how the Roman architect of the 1st century BC wrote about it. BC. Vitruvius, the author of the only fully preserved ancient treatise on architecture, by which we can reliably judge the views of that era on architecture. Of course, taking into account the fact that the orders were formed six hundred years before the appearance of this treatise. All these “strong laws” were fixed in the stone architecture of Ancient Greece for centuries, and if we count those eras when the order was revived in architecture again, then for millennia.

Architecture (classical Greece in the 5th century BC)

The development of orders in ancient Greece was associated mainly with the formation of the main types of public buildings and, above all, temples. In connection with the idea of the temple as the dwelling of a deity, its original composition was formed under the influence of an ancient residential house - a megaron with a portico in front of it and a statue inside the building. The simplest type of temple is antovy. It consisted of a rectangular hall - a cella and an entrance portico in two columns located between the protrusions of the longitudinal walls - ants. The development of the temple in ante is a prostyle, in which a four-column portico is advanced in relation to the ants, as well as an amphiprostyle - with two end porticos on opposite sides. Finally, during the archaic period, a peripter was formed, which has a colonnade on four sides.

The development of the peripter and other types of temples in the archaic and classical era gives the most vivid idea of the changes in the order composition and the addition of the characteristic features of Greek architecture. The peak of development was the temples of the Acropolis of Athens, which was created in the 5th - 4th centuries. BC. and dominates the city and its environs. Destroyed during the Persian invasions, the Acropolis was rebuilt on a scale never seen before. During the third quarter of the 5th c. BC e. sparkling, white marble buildings were erected: the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the temple of Nike Apteros (“Wingless Victory”). The building of the Ereichteion, which completed the ensemble, was built later.

Truly harmony was achieved by the builders of the Parthenon, Iktik and Kallikrat. The columns of the temple have the same height as the columns of the temple of Zeus in Olympia, but the heavy proportions of the “severe” style have been replaced by harmony and grace. The influence of Ionian traditions was reflected in the appearance of a frieze on the outside of the western part of the building. The architect Mnesicles, the creator of the majestic gate leading to the Acropolis, the Propylaea, also strove to combine both styles: Ionian columns coexist here with Doric ones. On the contrary, the architecture of the beautiful miniature temple of Athena the Conqueror is dominated by Ionian features. Also in the spirit of Ionian traditions, the Ereichteion was built, located very picturesquely.

All these wonderful creations of Athenian architects are located on the Acropolis.

On the hill of the Acropolis, the main sanctuaries of the Athenians were located, and above all the Parthenon - the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the patroness of Athens. The treasury is kept there. In the building of the Propylaea, which served as the entrance to the Acropolis, there is a library and an art gallery in two of their outbuildings - wings.

Greek architects knew how to perfectly choose the places for their buildings. The temple was erected where it was as if a place had been prepared for it by nature itself, and at the same time, its calm strict forms, harmonious proportions, light marble columns, bright colors contrasted the temple with nature, affirmed the superiority of a structure reasonably created by man over the surrounding world.

The Acropolis embodied the idea of the power and greatness of the Athenian state and at the same time, for the first time in the history of Greece, expressed the idea of pan-Hellenic unity.

From the Propylaea, the main temple of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, erected on the highest platform of the Acropolis, is visible from the corner. The large building of the Parthenon is balanced by the graceful and relatively small Erechtekhon temple standing on the other side of the square, shading the sublime severity of the Parthenon with free asymmetry.

The Parthenon is the most perfect creation of Greek classical architecture and one of the highest achievements of architecture in general. This monumental, majestic building rises above the Acropolis, just as the Acropolis itself rises above the city and its environs. The Parthenon is the largest temple in the ensemble of the Acropolis and the entire Greek metropolis. Inside it has two large halls - rectangular and square, the entrances to which were located on opposite sides. The eastern rectangular hall with a statue of Athena in the depth was divided into three parts by two-tiered colonnades of the Doric order. The square hall served as a treasury and was called the Parthenon.

The type of Greek temple, over the creation of which many generations worked, received the most perfect interpretation in the Parthenon. In its basic forms, it is a Doric peripter with eight columns on the short sides and seventeen on the long sides. But it organically includes elements of the Ionic order: columns elongated in proportion, a lightweight entablature, a continuous frieze encircling the building, made of squares of Pentelic marble. The coloring emphasizes the structural details and provided a backdrop against which the pediment and metope sculptures stood out.

The majestic clarity and strict harmony of the Parthenon seem to be opposed by the grace and freedom of composition of the Erechtheion, an asymmetric building built on the Acropolis by an unknown master in 421-406. BC e. Dedicated to Athena and Poseidon, the Erechtheion is distinguished by a picturesque interpretation of the architectural whole, a contrasting juxtaposition of architectural and sculptural forms. The layout of the Erechtheion takes into account the unevenness of the soil. The temple consists of two rooms located at different levels. On three sides it has porticos of various shapes, including the famous cor (caryatid) portico on the south wall.

In addition to the Athenian Acropolis, many other ensembles developed in the archaic and classical periods, including temples, sanctuaries and public buildings (the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, the complex of temples in Poseidonia, etc.). But already from the 4th century, temples began to lose their leading importance and buildings and complexes for secular purposes, which were formed as elements of the general structure of cities, were increasingly developed. It is especially worth highlighting the shopping and entertainment - sports complexes, combined with the natural landscape. Stadiums were arranged in natural depressions, sometimes reaching significant sizes (Athens, Olympia), theaters used the slopes of the mountains to build a natural semicircular theatron with a round platform - an orchestra, where the choir usually performed. A rectangular stage adjoined the orchestra.

Architecture (epoch of Hellenism).

For the plastic arts III - I centuries. BC e. were by no means times of decline. An example is the famous sculptural group of Laocoön, a masterpiece of Hellenistic plasticity. The group was created in the first half of the 1st century. BC e., i.e., when Greek poetry was already engulfed in creative barrenness.

The sacred architecture of the Hellenistic era was dominated by the Ionian order. A few Doric buildings were distinguished by slender columns and light ceiling beams - this, like the appearance of some other elements, indicates the decomposition of the old Doric style, which still preserved ancient traditions only in the Greek West. If the Doric order was not widespread in sacred architecture, then in secular construction it was often resorted to, as can be seen from the colonnades of the porticos.

In addition to rectangular buildings in the Hellenistic era, round monuments increasingly appeared, continuing the traditions of the 4th century BC. BC e. Of the surviving monuments of this type, Arsinoeion on the island of Samothrace, the choreic monument of Thrasilla, buildings in Olympia and Eretria deserve attention. The most outstanding was the creation of Sostratus of Cnidus - a sea lighthouse on the island of Pharos near Alexandria, elevated by more than 100 meters in height. The lighthouse of Alexandria was considered one of the seven wonders of the world, but has not survived to our time.

Conclusion.

And so it remains only to sum up all the above. As follows from the work itself, the development of Greek architecture took place during the reign of Pericles, or in other words, during the “classical period”.

Here we trace the repeated change in the styles of construction of buildings, temples. The transition from a heavy style to a lighter, more elegant, laid-back style.

Here we can also learn about how the restoration of the Acropolis takes place in the classical period, what temples it included, “walk” along it in a solemn procession “seeing” the location of all the majestic temples built in honor of the Greek Gods. Learn about the most majestic and honorable temple of that time, the Parthenon.

In this work, I tried to more or less reveal all the stages of the formation and transformation of architecture in Ancient Greece, considering this in detail on some buildings and temples of that time.

Bibliography:

Kazimierz Kumanetsky "History of the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome" - M .: "HIGH SCHOOL", 1990
N. F. Gulyanitsky "Architecture of civil and industrial buildings" in 5 volumes: volume 1 "History of architecture" - M .: Stroyizdat 1984
History of foreign art - M .: Image. art, 1984
A. N. Badak and others. "HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD Ancient Greece" - Minsk: AST, 2000
L. Lyubimov "The Art of the Ancient World" - M .: Education, 1980

Ancient Greek architecture had a huge impact on the architecture of subsequent eras. Its main concepts and philosophy have long been entrenched in the traditions of Europe. What is interesting about ancient Greek architecture? The order system, the principles of city planning and the creation of theaters are described later in the article.

Development periods

Ancient civilization, which consisted of many scattered city-states. It covered the western coast of Asia Minor, the south of the Balkan Peninsula, the islands of the Aegean Sea, as well as Southern Italy, the Black Sea region and Sicily.

Ancient Greek architecture gave rise to many styles and became the basis in the architecture of the Renaissance. In the history of its development, several stages are usually distinguished.

(mid-XII - mid-VIII century BC) - new forms and features based on the old Mycenaean traditions. The main buildings were residential houses and the first temples, made of clay, unbaked bricks and wood. The first ceramic details appeared in the decor.
Archaic (VIII - early V century, 480 BC). With the formation of policies, new public buildings appear. The temple and the square in front of it become the center of city life. In construction, stone is more often used: limestone and marble, terracotta cladding. There are different types of temples. Doric order prevails.
Classics (480 - 330 BC) - the heyday. All types of orders in ancient Greek architecture are actively developing and even compositionally combined with each other. The first theaters and musical halls (Odeillons), residential buildings with porticos appear. A theory of the planning of streets and quarters is being formed.
Hellenism (330 - 180 BC). Theaters and public buildings are being built. The ancient Greek style in architecture is complemented by oriental elements. Decorative, luxury and pomp prevail. The most commonly used is the Corinthian order.

In 180, Greece came under the influence of Rome. The empire lured the best scientists and masters of art to its capital, having borrowed some cultural traditions from the Greeks. Therefore, ancient Greek and Roman architecture have many similarities, for example, in the construction of theaters or in the order system.

Philosophy of architecture

In every aspect of life, the ancient Greeks sought to achieve harmony. Ideas about it were not blurry and purely theoretical. In ancient Greece, harmony was defined as a combination of well-balanced proportions.

They were also applied to the human body. Beauty was measured not only "by eye", but also by specific numbers. So, the sculptor Poliklet in the treatise "Canon" presented clear parameters of the ideal man and woman. Beauty was directly associated with physical and even spiritual health and integrity of the individual.

The human body was seen as a structure, the details of which are perfectly fitted to each other. Ancient Greek architecture and sculpture, in turn, sought to match the ideas of harmony as much as possible.

The sizes and shapes of the statues corresponded to the idea of a “correct” body and its parameters. usually promoted the ideal person: spiritual, healthy and athletic. In architecture, anthropomorphism manifested itself in the names of measures (elbow, palm) and in proportions that were derived from the proportions of the figure.

Columns were a reflection of a person. Their foundation or base was identified with the feet, the trunk - with the body, the capital - with the head. Vertical grooves or flutes on the column shaft were represented by folds of clothing.

The main orders of ancient Greek architecture

There is no need to talk about the great achievements of engineering in ancient Greece. Complex structures and solutions were not used then. The temple of that time can be compared with a megalith, where a stone beam rests on a stone support. The greatness and features of ancient Greek architecture lie, first of all, in its aesthetics and decorativeness.

The artistry and philosophy of the building helped to embody its order or a post-and-beam composition of elements in a certain style and order. There were three main types of order in ancient Greek architecture:

Doric;
ionic;
Corinthian.

All of them had a common set of elements, but differed in their location, shape and ornament. So, the Greek order included a stereobat, stylobate, entablature and cornice. The stereobat represented a stepped base over the foundation. Next came the stylobate or columns.

The entablature was a carried part, located on the columns. The lower beam, on which the entire entablature rested, is called the architrave. It had a frieze - the middle decorative part. The upper part of the entablature is a cornice, it hung over the rest of the parts.

At first, elements of ancient Greek architecture were not mixed. The Ionic entablature lay only on the Ionic column, the Corinthian - on the Corinthian. One style per building. After the construction of the Parthenon by Iktin and Kallikrates in the 5th century BC. e. orders began to combine and put on top of each other. This was done in a certain order: first Doric, then Ionic, then Corinthian.

Doric order

Doric and Ionic ancient Greek orders in architecture were the main ones. The Doric system was distributed mainly on the mainland and inherited the Mycenaean culture. It is characterized by monumentality and somewhat heaviness. The appearance of the order expresses calm grandeur and conciseness.

Doric columns are low. They have no base, and the trunk is powerful and tapers upward. The abacus, the upper part of the capital, has a square shape and rests on a round support (echinus). Flutes, as a rule, were twenty. The architect Vitruvius compared the columns of this order with a man - strong and restrained.

The entablature of the order always included an architrave, a frieze and a cornice. The frieze was separated from the architrave by a shelf and consisted of triglyphs - rectangles stretched upwards with flutes, which alternated with metopes - slightly recessed square plates with or without sculptural images. Friezes of other orders did not have triglyphs with metopes.

First of all, practical functions were assigned to the triglyph. Researchers suggest that he represented the ends of the beams that lay on the walls of the sanctuary. It had strictly calculated parameters and served as a support for the cornice and rafters. In some ancient buildings, the space between the ends of the triglyph was not filled with metopes, but remained empty.

Ionic order

The Ionic order system was widespread on the coast of Asia Minor, in Attica and on the islands. It was influenced by Phoenicia and Persia of Achaedine. A striking example of this style was the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the temple of Hera at Samos.

Ionic was associated with the image of a woman. The order was characterized by decorativeness, lightness and refinement. Its main feature was the capital, designed in the form of volutes - symmetrically arranged curls. The abacus and echin were decorated with carvings.

The Ionic column is thinner and slimmer than the Doric. Its base rested on a square slab and was decorated with convex and concave elements with ornamental cuts. Sometimes the base was located on a drum decorated with a sculptural composition. In ionics, the distance between the columns is greater, which increases the airiness and sophistication of the building.

The entablature could consist of an architrave and a cornice (Asia Minor style) or three parts, as in a dorica (Attic style). The architrave was divided into fasciae - horizontal ledges. Between it and the cornice were small teeth. The gutter on the cornice was richly decorated with ornaments.

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is rarely considered independent, it is often defined as a variation of the Ionic. There are two versions of the origins of this order. More mundane speaks of borrowing style from Egyptian columns, which were decorated with lotus leaves. According to another theory, the order was created by a sculptor from Corinth. He was inspired to do this by a basket he saw containing acanthus leaves.

It differs from the Ionic one mainly in the height and decoration of the capital, which is decorated with stylized acanthus leaves. Two rows of fashioned leaves frame the top of the column in a circle. The sides of the abacus are concave and decorated with large and small spiral curls.

The Corinthian order is richer in decor than other ancient Greek orders in architecture. Of all three styles, he was considered the most luxurious, elegant and rich. Its tenderness and sophistication was associated with the image of a young girl, and acanthus leaves resembled curls. Because of this, the order is often called "girlish".

ancient temples

The temple was the main and most important building of Ancient Greece. Its shape was simple, the prototype for it were residential rectangular houses. The architecture of the ancient Greek temple gradually became more complex and supplemented with new elements until it acquired a round shape. Usually these styles are distinguished:

distill;
prostyle;
amphiprostyle;
peripter;
dipter;
pseudodipter;
tholos.

Temples in ancient Greece had no windows. Outside, it was surrounded by columns, which housed a gable roof and beams. Inside there was a sanctuary with a statue of a deity to whom the temple was dedicated.

Some buildings could house a small dressing room - pronaos. In the back of the large temples there was another room. It contained donations from residents, sacred inventory and the city treasury.

The first type of temple - distil - consisted of a sanctuary, a front loggia, which was surrounded by walls or antes. There were two columns in the loggia. With the complication of styles, the number of columns increased. There are four of them in the style, and four in the amphiprostyle on the back and front facades.

In temples-peripherals, they surround the building from all sides. If the columns are lined up along the perimeter in two rows, then this is the dipter style. The last style, tholos, was also surrounded by columns, but the perimeter was cylindrical. During Roman times, the tholos developed into the rotunda type of building.

Policy device

Ancient Greek policies were built mainly near the sea coast. They developed as trading democracies. All full-fledged residents participated in the public and political life of cities. This leads to the fact that ancient Greek architecture develops not only in the direction but also in terms of public buildings.

The upper part of the city was the acropolis. As a rule, it was located on a hill and was well fortified in order to hold back the enemy during a surprise attack. Within its boundaries were the temples of the gods who patronized the city.

The center of the Lower City was the agora - an open market square where trade was carried out, important social and political issues were resolved. It housed schools, the building of the council of elders, the basilica, the building for feasts and meetings, as well as temples. Statues were sometimes placed around the perimeter of the agora.

From the very beginning, ancient Greek architecture assumed that the buildings inside the policies were placed freely. Their placement depended on the local topography. In the 5th century BC, Hippodames brought about a real revolution in urban planning. He proposed a clear grid structure of streets, which divides blocks into rectangles or squares.

All buildings and objects, including the agora, are located inside the block cells, without getting out of the general rhythm. This layout made it easy to complete the construction of new sections of the policy, without violating the integrity and harmony. According to the design of Hippodamus, Miletus, Cnidus, Assos, etc. were built. But Athens, for example, remained in the old "chaotic" form.

Living spaces

Houses in ancient Greece differed depending on the era, as well as the wealth of the owners. There are several main types of houses:

megaron;
apsidal;
pastad;
peristyle.

One of the earliest types of dwelling is the megaron. His plan became the prototype for the first temples of the Homeric era. The house had a rectangular shape, in the end part of which there was an open room with a portico. The passage was edged by two columns and protruding walls. Inside there was only one room with a hearth in the middle and a hole in the roof for smoke to escape.

The apsidal house was also built in the early period. It was a rectangle with a rounded end part, which was called the apse. Later, pastoral and peristyle types of buildings appeared. The outer walls in them were deaf, and the layout of the buildings was closed.

The pasta was a passage in the inner part of the courtyard. From above it was covered and supported by supports made of wood. In the 4th century BC, the peristyle becomes popular. It retains the former layout, but the pastoral passage is replaced by covered columns along the perimeter of the courtyard.

From the side of the street there were only smooth walls of houses. Inside there was a courtyard, around which all the premises of the house were located. As a rule, there were no windows; the courtyard was the source of light. If there were windows, they were located on the second floor. Interior decoration was mostly simple, excesses began to appear only in the Hellenistic era.

The house was clearly divided into the female (gynaecium) and male (andron) half. In the men's part, they received guests and had a meal. It was possible to get to the female half only through it. From the side of the gynaecium was the entrance to the garden. The wealthy also housed a kitchen, a bathhouse and a bakery. The second floor was usually rented out.

Ancient Greek theater architecture

The theater in ancient Greece combined not only an entertaining aspect, but also a religious one. Its origin is associated with the cult of Dionysus. The first theatrical performances were arranged to honor this deity. The architecture of the ancient Greek theater reminded of the religious origin of the performances at least by the presence of an altar, which was located in the orchestra.

There were festivities, games and plays on the stage. In the 4th century BC, they ceased to be related to religion. The distribution of roles and control of performances was handled by the archon. The main roles were played by a maximum of three people, women were played by men. The drama was performed in the form of a competition, where the poets took turns presenting their works.

The layout of the first theaters was simple. In the center was the orchestra - a round platform where the choir was located. Behind her was a chamber in which the actors (skena) changed their clothes. The auditorium (theatron) was of considerable size and was located on a hill, encircling the stage in a semicircle.

All theaters were located directly under the open sky. Initially, they were temporary. For each holiday, wooden platforms were built anew. In the 5th century BC, places for spectators began to be carved from stone right in the hillside. This created a correct and natural funnel, contributing to good acoustics. To enhance the resonance of the sound, special vessels were placed near the audience.

With the improvement of the theater, the design of the stage also becomes more complicated. Its front part consisted of columns and imitated the front facade of temples. On the sides were rooms - paraskenii. They kept scenery and theatrical equipment. In Athens, the largest theater was the Theater of Dionysus.

athenian acropolis

Some monuments of ancient Greek architecture can still be seen today. One of the most complete structures that have survived to this day is the Acropolis of Athens. It is located on Mount Pyrgos at an altitude of 156 meters. Here are the temple of the goddess Athena Parthenon, the sanctuary of Zeus, Artemis, Nike and other famous buildings.

The acropolis is characterized by the combination of all three order systems. The combination of styles marks the Parthenon. It is built in the form of a Doric perimeter, the internal frieze of which is made in the Ionic style.

In the center, surrounded by columns, there was a statue of Athena. The acropolis played an important political role. Its appearance was supposed to emphasize the hegemony of the city, and the composition of the Parthenon was supposed to sing of the victory of democracy over the aristocratic system.

The Erechtheion is located next to the majestic and pretentious building of the Parthenon. It is entirely made in the Ionic order. Unlike his "neighbor", he sings of grace and beauty. The temple is dedicated to two gods at once - Poseidon and Athena, and is located on the spot where, according to legend, they had a dispute.

Due to the features of the relief, the layout of the Erechtheion is asymmetric. It has two sanctuaries - cellae and two entrances. In the southern part of the temple there is a portico, which is supported not by columns, but by marble caryatids (statues of women).

In addition, the Propylaea, the main entrance, surrounded by columns and porticos, was preserved in the acropolis, on the sides of which there was a palace and park complex. On the hill was also located Arreforion - a house for girls weaving clothes for the Athenian games.

Architecture of Dr. Greece…

Architecture

(lat. architectura, from the Greek architeckton - architect, builder), architecture, the art of designing and building objects that shape the spatial environment for human life and activity. Works of architecture - buildings, ensembles, as well as structures that organize open spaces (monuments, terraces, embankments, etc.). The planning and development of cities and populated areas constitute a special area of building art - urban planning. Therefore, architecture plays an important ideological role, being a figurative embodiment of the social, philosophical, religious and artistic ideas of people.

The ideological and artistic features of ancient humanism especially clearly reflected the buildings of the classical period in the development of ancient Greek architecture. 5th century BC e. in Athens. Imbued with a humanistic spirit, the architecture of ancient Greece had a profound impact on the subsequent development of world architecture. In ancient Rome, the leading buildings were those that glorified the power of the state and the personality of the emperors. Large ensembles and separate structures arose, designed for huge masses of people: forums, amphitheaters and theaters, baths, covered markets, basilicas. (Churches) Spread five-, six-story houses - insulas and country villas. The construction of engineering structures - bridges and aqueducts - reached great perfection. Arched and vaulted structures were widely used, which made it possible to create ceilings of large spans. Particular attention was paid to the planning and decoration of interiors.

Renaissance architecture in the countries of Western and Central Europe is characterized by an appeal to the ancient heritage. Public buildings, palaces, villas, temples are clear harmonious buildings and architectural ensembles. The classical order was widely used (architects F. Brunelleschi, L. B. Alberti, Michelozzo, D. Bramante, Michelangelo in Italy). A new type of palace appeared - a palazzo with a closed symmetrical courtyard. The theory of architecture developed (Alberti, J. Vignola, A. Palladio, and others). In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the harmony and completeness of spatial compositions are replaced by complex systems of merging spaces, the plasticity and sculptural volumes of buildings of baroque architecture, the dynamic rhythms of which include decorative sculpture and illusionistic painting (buildings by Italian architects L. Bernini, F. Borromini, C. Maderna, and others). Garden and park construction has been widely developed. The Baroque style spread to Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Latin American countries. in France in the 17th century. Classicism became the dominant trend. The rationalistic worldview underlying it was expressed in the rigor and geometric composition of buildings and palace and park ensembles (Versailles). French architects (L. Levo, F. Mansart, A. Le Nôtre) used the order mainly as a decorative motif. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. classicism spread widely in Great Britain (architects I. Jones, K. Wren, Adam brothers), and from the last third of the 18th century. - and in other European countries. In the architecture of Great Britain and the Netherlands, with the development of capitalist industry, new types of buildings appeared - industrial buildings, port facilities, stock exchanges, etc. In Russia at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. Peter's reforms served as an incentive to expand civil construction, strengthening the secular principle in architecture. Numerous public, administrative, industrial and commercial buildings, urban and vast country palaces-residences with regular parks were built ( cm. Petrodvorets). A new capital, Petersburg, was rebuilt and developed, the planning of which combined the principles of regularity and picturesque building, distinguished by simplicity and rationality. From the middle of the XVIII century. in Russian baroque architecture (architects V. V. Rastrelli, S. I. Chevakinsky, D. V. Ukhtomsky), solemn monumentality, rich plastic and color decoration of facades are combined with clarity of plans and three-dimensional composition. In the last third of the XVIII century. baroque is replaced by classicism (architects A. F. Kokorinov, V. I. Bazhenov, M. F. Kazakov, I. E. Starov). Ceremonial monumental urban ensembles in the Empire style were created (architects A. D. Zakharov, A. N. Voronikhin, J. Thomas de Thomon, K. I. Rossi, V. P. Stasov, O. I. Beauvais). In the architecture of Western European countries in the middle and second half of the 18th century. after a brief outbreak of the decorative and pretentious rococo style, classicism was further developed.

The architecture of ancient Greece, covering in its development mainly the VIII-I centuries BC, is divided into three periods: archaic, classical and Hellenistic. They were preceded by periods of Cretan-Mycenaean culture in southern Greece and the Aegean islands. (III millennium - XII century BC) and the so-called Homeric period (XII - VIII centuries BC) - this is the time of the decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of early class relations, which led to the VIII - VII centuries . BC e. to the formation of ancient slave states. The archaic period (VIII - early V century BC) coincides with the time of the final addition of the policy and the formation of the main types of religious and public buildings. From the second period, covering the time from 480 to the end of the 4th century. it is necessary to single out the time of the highest dawn of the policies (480-400), to which the name of the "classic period" is applied. The leading place in this era belongs to Athens, where in the "golden age" of the reign of Pericles, the development of slave-owning democracy reaches its highest point, and in place with it - art and architecture.

Architecture of Ancient Greece

Architecture (Homeric period XI - VIII centuries)

Some ideas about the architecture of the Homeric era are given by: the epic, the few remains of ancient buildings, terracotta models of temples found during excavations of the so-called sacred sites. The paucity of archaeological data does not allow us to recreate the architectural appearance of the cities of that time. In some parts of the Iliad and Odyssey, there are descriptions of ancient sanctuaries - sacred groves and caves with primitive altars; a description is given of a residential estate grouped around a courtyard (“aule”), divided into male and female halves and including special premises for slaves; the main room of the residential building was the “megaron” adjoining the courtyard - a rectangular hall with a hearth in the center, a smoke outlet in the ceiling and an entrance portico formed by the protruding ends of the longitudinal walls (“antae”) and pillars between them.

Architecture (archaic VIII - VI centuries)

In connection with the emergence of new forms of public life, various themes of public buildings are emerging; among them the leading place belonged to the temples.

Greek orders.

In the ancient Greek order, there is a clear and harmonious order, according to which the three main parts of the building are combined with each other: the base - the stereobat, the bearing supports - the columns and the supporting structure - the entablature. The Doric order (originated at the beginning of the 7th century BC) had three main parts (see above). It is characterized by a column dissected by grooves-flutes converging at an acute angle, standing without a base and completed with a simple capital, an architrave in the form of an even beam and a frieze of alternating triglyphs and metopes. The Ionic order (formed in the middle of the 6th century BC) differs sharply from the Doric order by a slender column standing on the base and completed by a capital with two volutes, a three-part architrave and a ribbon-like frieze; the flutes here are separated by a flat track.

Both the Doric and Ionic orders were used in ancient Greece in a wide range of buildings - from small galleries of residential buildings to grandiose temple porticos.

But in addition to the Doric and Ionic orders in ancient Greece, there were others. Here are some of them.

The Corinthian order is similar to the Ionic one, but differs from it in a complex capital decorated with floral patterns (the oldest Corinthian column is known in the temple of Apollo in Basa, now Vassus in the Peloponnese, built around 430 BC by the famous architect Iktin).

The Aeolian order (known from several buildings of the 7th century BC - in Neandria in Asia Minor, in Larissa, on the island of Lesbos) has a thin smooth column standing on the base and completed with a capital, large volutes and petals of which reproduce plant motifs.

The origin of the ancient Greek order and its features have been studied in great detail. There is no doubt that its source is wooden pillars fixed on a pedestal, which are supported by wooden beams blocking them. The gable roof of the stone temples repeats the trussed wooden structure. In the form of ceilings, in the details of the Doric order, one can see their origin from buildings from a large forest. In the lighter Ionic order, roof construction techniques from small logs affected. In the capitals of the Aeolian order, a local construction technique is manifested, according to which beams were laid on a fork in the branches of a tree trunk. In ancient Greece, a strictly ordered plan of the temple, which was built according to the rules of orders, quickly developed. It was a temple-peripter, that is, a temple surrounded on all sides by a colonnade, inside of which there was a sanctuary (cella) behind the walls. The origin of the peripter can be traced back to buildings close to the most ancient megarons. The closest to the megaron is the temple “in antah”, that is, the temple, where the ends of the walls protrude on the end side, between which columns are placed. This is followed by a prostyle with a portico on the façade, an amphiprostyle with two porticos on opposite sides, and finally a peripter. Of course, this is only a scheme of historical development: temples of different types were often built simultaneously in Greece. But one way or another, a residential building, a megaron, served as the oldest model, and in the 7th century. BC. periptery temples appeared (the temple of Apollo Thermios, otherwise Fermos, the temple of Hera at Olympia, etc.). In the temples of that time, raw brick and wooden columns were still used, which were eventually replaced by stone ones. Together with the creation of stone structures, the ancient architects “from the field of shaky and unstable eye-measuring calculations worked out to establish strong laws of “symmetry” or proportionality of the constituent parts of a building.” This is how the Roman architect of the 1st century BC wrote about it. BC. Vitruvius, the author of the only fully preserved ancient treatise on architecture, by which we can reliably judge the views of that era on architecture. Of course, taking into account the fact that the orders were formed six hundred years before the appearance of this treatise. All these “strong laws” were fixed in the stone architecture of Ancient Greece for centuries, and if we count those eras when the order was revived in architecture again, then for millennia.

Architecture (classical Greece in the 5th century BC)

All these wonderful creations of Athenian architects are located on the Acropolis. On the hill of the Acropolis, the main sanctuaries of the Athenians were located, and above all the Parthenon - the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the patroness of Athens. The treasury is kept there. In the building of the Propylaea, which served as the entrance to the Acropolis, there is a library and an art gallery in two of their outbuildings - wings.

The Acropolis embodied the idea of the power and greatness of the Athenian state and at the same time, for the first time in the history of Greece, expressed the idea of pan-Hellenic unity.

The meaning of the planning of the Acropolis can be understood only by imagining the movement of solemn processions during the days of public festivities. The road led up to the solemn gates - the Propylaea. The Doric colonnade of the Propylaea has two unequal, but mutually balanced wings of the building; the temple of Nike Apteros (“Wingless Victory”), which began construction in 449 as a monument in honor of the victory of Athens over the Persians, adjoins the right, smaller wing. It is not large in size, harmonious and clear in form, the temple, as if separated from the general massif of the hill, was the first to meet the procession. Slender Ionic columns on each of the two short sides of the temple give the building a touch of grace. From the Propylaea, the main temple of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, erected on the highest platform of the Acropolis, is visible from the corner. The large building of the Parthenon is balanced by the graceful and relatively small Erechtekhon temple standing on the other side of the square, shading the sublime severity of the Parthenon with free asymmetry. Parthenon- the most perfect creation of Greek classical architecture and one of the highest achievements of architecture in general. This monumental, majestic building rises above the Acropolis, just as the Acropolis itself rises above the city and its environs. The Parthenon is the largest temple in the ensemble of the Acropolis and the entire Greek metropolis. Inside it has two large halls - rectangular and square, the entrances to which were located on opposite sides. The eastern rectangular hall with a statue of Athena in the depth was divided into three parts by two-tiered colonnades of the Doric order. The square hall served as a treasury and was called the Parthenon.

The dissection and picturesque forms of the Erechtheion paves the way for art later than the classics, sometimes more tragically agitated, sometimes lyrically refined, but less valuable and heroic than high classics. In addition to the Athenian Acropolis, many other ensembles developed in the archaic and classical periods, including temples, sanctuaries and public buildings (the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, the complex of temples in Poseidonia, etc.). But already from the 4th century, temples began to lose their leading importance and buildings and complexes for secular purposes, which were formed as elements of the general structure of cities, were increasingly developed. It is especially worth highlighting the shopping and entertainment - sports complexes, combined with the natural landscape. Stadiums were arranged in natural depressions, sometimes reaching significant sizes (Athens, Olympia), theaters used the slopes of the mountains to build a natural semicircular theatron with a round platform - an orchestra, where the choir usually performed. A rectangular stage adjoined the orchestra.

Architecture (epoch of Hellenism).

The monumental temple of Didymaion in Miletus speaks of the triumph of the Ionian order: the temple was surrounded by a double colonnade, consisting of 210 Ionian columns. The Ionian style won not only in life, but also in the theory of architecture. The architect and theoretician of this art, Hermogenes, who worked in the middle of the 2nd century, worked especially hard for him. BC e. and who created a new architectural formula - a pseudo-dipter: a building surrounded by a double colonnade, and the inner row of columns was half hidden in the wall of the building. This form - the last creation of the Ionian style - was embodied in the great temple of Artemis Leukofriena in Magnesia; later, the pseudodipter was widely borrowed by the Romans both in practice and in theory. In addition to rectangular buildings in the Hellenistic era, round monuments increasingly appeared, continuing the traditions of the 4th century BC. BC e. Of the surviving monuments of this type, Arsinoeion on the island of Samothrace, the choreic monument of Thrasilla, buildings in Olympia and Eretria deserve attention. The most outstanding was the creation of Sostratus of Cnidus - a sea lighthouse on the island of Pharos near Alexandria, elevated by more than 100 meters in height. The lighthouse of Alexandria was considered one of the seven wonders of the world, but has not survived to our time.

It took several centuries before the Dorian tribes, who came from the north in the 12th century BC, by the 6th century BC. created a highly developed art. This was followed by three periods in the history of Greek art:

1) the archaic, or ancient period, from about 600 to 480 BC, when the Greeks repelled the Persian invasion and, having freed their land from the threat of conquest, were again able to create freely and calmly;

2) the classics, or the heyday, from 480 to 323 BC. - the year of the death of Alexander the Great, who conquered vast areas, very dissimilar in their cultures; this diversity of cultures was one of the reasons for the decline of classical Greek art;

3) Hellenism, or late period; it ended in 30 BC when the Romans conquered Greek-influenced Egypt.

Greek culture spread far beyond its homeland - to Asia Minor and Italy, to Sicily and other islands of the Mediterranean, to North Africa and other places where the Greeks founded their settlements. Greek cities were even on the northern coast of the Black Sea.

Temples were the greatest achievement of Greek building art. The oldest ruins of temples date back to the archaic era, when instead of wood, yellowish limestone and white marble began to be used as a building material. It is believed that the ancient dwelling of the Greeks served as a prototype for the temple - a rectangular structure with two columns in front of the entrance. From this simple building, various types of temples, more complex in their layout, grew over time. Usually the temple stood on a stepped base. It consisted of a room without windows, where there was a statue of a deity, the building was surrounded in one or two rows of columns. They supported the floor beams and the gable roof. In the semi-dark interior, only priests could visit the statue of God, while the people saw the temple only from the outside. Obviously, therefore, the ancient Greeks paid the main attention to the beauty and harmony of the external appearance of the temple.

The construction of the temple was subject to certain rules. Dimensions, ratios of parts and the number of columns were precisely established.

Three styles dominated Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. The oldest of them was the Doric style, which had already developed in the archaic era. He was courageous, simple and powerful. It got its name from the Doric tribes that created it. Today, the surviving parts of the temples are white: the paint that covered them crumbled over time. Once their friezes and cornices were painted red and blue.

The Ionic style originated in the Ionian region of Asia Minor. From here he penetrated into the Greek regions proper. Compared to the Doric, the Ionic columns are more ornate and slender. Each column has its own base - the base. The middle part of the capital resembles a pillow with corners twisted into a spiral, the so-called. volutes.

In the Hellenistic era, when architecture began to strive for greater splendor, Corinthian capitals began to be used most often. They are richly decorated with floral motifs, among which images of acanthus leaves predominate.

It so happened that time spared the oldest Doric temples, mainly outside of Greece. Several such temples have been preserved on the island of Sicily and in southern Italy. The most famous of these is the temple of the god of the sea Poseidon at Paestum, near Naples, which looks somewhat ponderous and squat. Of the early Doric temples in Greece itself, the most interesting is the now ruined temple of the supreme god Zeus in Olympia, the sacred city of the Greeks, from where the Olympic Games originate.

The heyday of Greek architecture began in the 5th century BC. This classical era is inextricably linked with the name of the famous statesman Pericles. During his reign, grandiose construction work began in Athens, the largest cultural and artistic center of Greece. The main construction was carried out on the ancient fortified hill of the Acropolis.

A - a fragment of the Parthenon, b - clothes, c - a fragment of the capital of the Erechtheion, d - a golden comb, e - a vase, f - an armchair, g - a table.

Even from the ruins one can imagine how beautiful the Acropolis was in its time. A wide marble staircase led up the hill. To the right of it, on a dais, like a precious box, there is a small graceful temple to Nike, the goddess of victory. Through the gate with columns, the visitor got to the square, in the center of which stood the statue of the patroness of the city, the goddess of wisdom, Athena; further on was the Erechtheion, a peculiar and complex temple. Its distinguishing feature is a portico protruding from the side, where the ceilings were supported not by columns, but by marble sculptures in the form of a female figure, the so-called. caryatids.

The main building of the Acropolis is the Parthenon temple dedicated to Athena. This temple, the most perfect building in the Doric style, was completed almost two and a half thousand years ago, but we know the names of its creators: their names were Iktin and Kallikrat.

Propylaea - a monumental gate with Doric columns and a wide staircase. They were built by the architect Mnesicles in 437-432 BC. But before entering these majestic marble gates, everyone involuntarily turned to the right. There, on a high pedestal of the bastion that once guarded the entrance to the acropolis, rises the temple of the goddess of victory Nike Apteros, decorated with Ionic columns. This is the work of the architect Kallikrates (second half of the 5th century BC). The temple - light, airy, extraordinarily beautiful - stood out for its whiteness against the blue background of the sky.

The goddess of victory, Nike, was portrayed as a beautiful woman with large wings: victory is fickle and flies from one opponent to another. The Athenians portrayed her as wingless so that she would not leave the city, which had so recently won a great victory over the Persians. Deprived of wings, the goddess could no longer fly and had to remain forever in Athens.

Temple of Nike stands on a ledge of a rock. It is slightly turned towards the Propylaea and plays the role of a lighthouse for the processions that go around the rock.
Immediately behind the Propylaea, Athena the Warrior proudly towered, whose spear greeted the traveler from afar and served as a beacon for sailors. The inscription on the stone pedestal read: "The Athenians dedicated from the victory over the Persians." This meant that the statue was cast from bronze weapons taken from the Persians as a result of their victories.

In the temple stood a statue of Athena, sculpted by the great sculptor Phidias; one of the two marble friezes, girdling the temple with a 160-meter ribbon, represented the festive procession of the Athenians. Phidias also took part in the creation of this magnificent relief, which depicted about three hundred human figures and two hundred horses. The Parthenon has been in ruins for about 300 years - ever since in the 17th century, during the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the Turks who ruled there set up a powder warehouse in the temple. Most of the reliefs that survived the explosion were taken to London, to the British Museum, at the beginning of the 19th century by the Englishman Lord Elgin.

At the beginning of our millennium, when Greece was ceded to Byzantium during the division of the Roman Empire, the Erechtheion was turned into a Christian church. Later, the crusaders, who took possession of Athens, made the temple a ducal palace, and during the Turkish conquest of Athens in 1458, the harem of the commandant of the fortress was set up in the Erechtheion. During the liberation war of 1821-1827, the Greeks and Turks alternately besieged the Acropolis, bombarding its buildings, including the Erechtheion.

In 1830 (after the declaration of independence of Greece) on the site of the Erechtheion, only foundations could be found, as well as architectural decorations lying on the ground. Funds for the restoration of this temple ensemble (as well as for the restoration of many other structures of the Acropolis) were given by Heinrich Schliemann. His closest associate V.Derpfeld carefully measured and compared the ancient fragments, by the end of the 70s of the last century he was already planning to restore the Erechtheion. But this reconstruction was subjected to severe criticism, and the temple was dismantled. The building was restored anew under the guidance of the famous Greek scientist P. Kavadias in 1906 and finally restored in 1922 /

As a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great in the second half of the 4th century BC. the influence of Greek culture and art spread over vast territories. New cities sprang up; the largest centers were formed, however, outside of Greece. Such, for example, are Alexandria in Egypt and Pergamon in Asia Minor, where construction activity has gained the greatest scope. In these areas, the Ionic style was preferred; an interesting example of it was a huge tombstone of the Asia Minor king Mausolus, ranked among the seven wonders of the world.

It was a burial chamber on a high rectangular base, surrounded by a colonnade; a stone stepped pyramid towered above it, topped with a sculptural image of a quadriga, which was controlled by Mausolus himself. After this structure, later they began to call mausoleums and other large solemn funeral structures.


, builders unknown, 421-407 BC Athens

, architects Iktin, Kallikrates, 447-432 BC Athens

In the Hellenistic era, less attention was paid to temples, and squares surrounded by colonnades for promenades, open-air amphitheaters, libraries, various public buildings, palaces and sports facilities were built. Residential buildings were improved: they became two - and three-story, with large gardens. Luxury became the goal, and different styles were mixed in architecture.

Greek sculptors have given the world works that have aroused the admiration of many generations. The oldest sculptures known to us arose in the archaic era. They are somewhat primitive: their motionless posture, hands tightly pressed to the body, and forward gaze are dictated by the narrow long stone block from which the statue was carved. One of her legs is usually pushed forward - to maintain balance. Archaeologists have found many such statues depicting naked young men and girls dressed in loose folded outfits. Their faces are often enlivened by a mysterious “archaic” smile.

In the classical era, the main business of sculptors was to create statues of gods and heroes and decorate temples with reliefs; secular images were added to this, for example, statues of statesmen or winners at the Olympic Games.

In the beliefs of the Greeks, the gods are similar to ordinary people both in their appearance and way of life. They were portrayed as people, but strong, well developed physically and with a beautiful face. Often people were depicted naked to show the beauty of a harmoniously developed body.

In the 5th century BC. the great sculptors Myron, Phidias and Poliklet, each in their own way, updated the art of sculpture and brought it closer to reality. The young naked athletes of Polykleitos, for example, his “Dorifor”, rely on only one leg, the other is freely left. In this way, it was possible to unfold the figure and create a sense of movement. But standing marble figures could not be given more expressive gestures or complex poses: the statue could lose balance, and fragile marble could break. These dangers could have been avoided if the figures were cast in bronze. The first master of complex bronze castings was Myron, the creator of the famous "Discobolus".

	Aghessander (?), 120 BC Louvre, Paris	Agessander, Polydorus, Athenodorus, c.40 BC Greece, Olympia
IV century BC e., National Museum, Naples	Polykleitos, 440 BC National Museum Rome	OK. 200 BC e., National Museum Naples

Many artistic achievements are associated with the glorious name of Phidias: he led the work on decorating the Parthenon with friezes and pediment groups. Magnificent are his bronze statue of Athena on the Acropolis and the 12-meter-high statue of Athena covered with gold and ivory in the Parthenon, which later disappeared without a trace. A similar fate befell the huge statue of Zeus seated on the throne, made from the same materials, for the temple at Olympia - another of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

As much as we admire the sculptures created by the Greeks in their heyday, these days they may seem a little cold. True, there is no coloring that revived them at one time; but their indifferent and similar faces are even more alien to us. Indeed, the Greek sculptors of that time did not try to express any feelings or experiences on the faces of the statues. Their goal was to show perfect bodily beauty. Therefore, we admire even those statues - and there are many of them - that have been badly damaged over the centuries: some even lost their heads.

If in the 5th century BC. lofty and serious images were created, then in the 4th century BC. artists tended to express tenderness and gentleness. Praxiteles gave warmth and awe of life to the smooth marble surface in his sculptures of naked gods and goddesses. He also found it possible to diversify the poses of the statues, creating balance with the help of appropriate supports. His Hermes, a young messenger of the gods, leans on a tree trunk.

Until now, sculptures have been designed to be viewed from the front. Lysippus made his statues so that they could be viewed from all sides - this was another innovation.

In the era of Hellenism in sculpture, the craving for pomp and exaggeration intensifies. In some works, excessive passions are shown, in others, excessive closeness to nature is noticeable. At this time, he began to diligently copy the statues of former times; thanks to copies, today we know many monuments - either irretrievably lost or not yet found. Marble sculptures that conveyed strong feelings were created in the 4th century BC. e. Scopas.

His greatest work known to us is his participation in the decoration of the mausoleum in Halicarnassus with sculptural reliefs. Among the most famous works of the Hellenistic era are the reliefs of the great altar in Pergamon depicting the legendary battle; the statue of the goddess Aphrodite found at the beginning of the last century on the island of Melos, as well as the sculptural group “Laocoon”. It depicts a Trojan priest and his sons who were strangled by snakes; physical torment and fear are conveyed by the author with ruthless credibility.

In the works of ancient writers, one can read that painting also flourished in their times, but almost nothing has been preserved from the paintings of temples and residential buildings. We also know that in painting, too, artists strove for sublime beauty.

A special place in Greek painting belongs to the paintings on vases. In the oldest vases, silhouettes of people and animals were applied with black varnish on a bare red surface. The outlines of details were scratched on them with a needle - they appeared in the form of a thin red line. But this technique was inconvenient and later they began to leave the figures red, and the gaps between them were painted over with black. So it was more convenient to draw the details - they were made on a red background with black lines.

The Balkan Peninsula became the center of ancient Greek culture. Here, as a result of invasions and movements of the Achaean, Dorian, Ionian and other tribes (generally called the Hellenes), a slave-owning form of economy was formed, which strengthened various areas of the economy: handicraft, trade, agriculture.

The development of economic ties of the Hellenic world contributed to its political unification; the enterprising nature of the sailors who settled the new lands favored the spread of Greek culture, its renewal and improvement, the creation of various local schools in the same mainstream of Hellenic architecture.

As a result of the struggle of the demos (the free population of cities) against the tribal aristocracy, states are formed - policies, in the management of which all citizens take part.

The democratic form of government contributed to the development of the social life of cities, the formation of various public institutions, for which they built assembly halls and feasts, the buildings of the council of elders, etc. They were placed on the square (agora), where the most important city affairs were discussed, and trade transactions were made. The religious and political center of the city was the acropolis, located on a high hill and well fortified. Here they built temples of the most revered gods - the patrons of the city.

Religion occupied a large place in the social ideology of the ancient Greeks. The gods were close to people, they were endowed with human virtues and shortcomings in exaggerated sizes. In the myths describing the life of the gods and their adventures, everyday scenes from the life of the Greeks themselves are guessed. But at the same time, people believed in their power, made sacrifices to them and built temples in the image of their dwellings. The most significant achievements of Greek architecture are concentrated in cult architecture.

The dry subtropical climate of Greece, mountainous terrain, high seismicity, the presence of high-quality scaffolding, limestone, marble, which can be easily processed and modeled in stone structures, determined the "technical" prerequisites for Greek architecture.

The town-planning completion of the square was in the Hellenistic period, porticos providing shelter from the sun and rain. The post-beam construction of these elements of buildings was the main object of constructive and artistic developments of ancient Greek architecture.

Stages of development of ancient Greek architecture:

XIII - XII centuries. BC e. – The Homeric period, vividly and colorfully described by the poems of Homer
7th-6th centuries BC e. - archaic period (the struggle of the slave-owning democracy against the clan nobility, the formation of cities - policies)
5th–4th centuries BC e. - classical period (Greek - Persian wars, the heyday of culture, the expansion of the union of policies)
4th century BC. - l c. AD - Hellenistic period (the creation of the empire of Alexander the Great, the spread of Greek culture and its heyday in the colonies of Asia Minor)

1 - temple in antah, 2 - prostyle, 3 - amphiprostyle, 4 - peripter, 5 - dipter, 6 - pseudodipter, 7 - tholos.

Architecture of the Homeric period. The architecture of this period continues the Cretan-Mycenaean tradition. The oldest residential buildings, built of brick - raw or rubble stone megarons, had a rounded wall opposite the entrance. With the introduction of framing, molded bricks and hewn stone blocks of standard sizes, buildings became rectangular in plan.

Architecture of the archaic period. With the growth of cities and the formation of the policy, a slave-owning tyranny was formed, based on the support of the free population. There are various forms of public institutions: symposiums, bouleuteria, theaters, stadiums.

Along with city temples and sacred sites, pan-Hellenic sanctuaries are being built. The planning composition of the sanctuaries took into account the difficult conditions of the relief and the very nature of religious ceremonies, which were primarily cheerful holidays with solemn processions. Therefore, the temples were placed taking into account their visual perception by the participants in the processions.

The peristyle type of dwelling house is finally established in the Hellenistic regions. The isolation of the dwelling from the external environment is still preserved. Rich houses had swimming pools, lavishly decorated with paintings, mosaics, and sculptures. Cozy places for rest and fountains were arranged in the landscaped courtyard.

The Greeks built well-equipped harbors and lighthouses. History has preserved descriptions of giant lighthouses on about. Rhodes and on about. Pharos in Alexandria.

The Rhodes lighthouse was a huge copper statue depicting Helios, the god of the Sun and the patron of the island, with a lit torch, anointing the entrance to the harbor. The statue was built by the Rhodians c. 235 BC e. in honor of their military victories. Nothing has survived from her; it is not even known how tall she was. The Greek historian Philo calls the figure "seventy cubits", that is, about 40 m.

The republican system of Rhodes contributed to the extraordinary flourishing of art. To judge the Rhodes sculptural school, it is enough to mention the world-famous work "Laocoön".

Alexandria is the capital of Hellenistic Egypt, part of the empire founded by Alexander the Great. At the end of the IV century. BC e. the largest scientific center is being organized here - Museion, where prominent Greek scientists worked: mathematician Euclid (III century BC), astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (II century), doctors, writers, philosophers, artists. Under Museion, the famous Library of Alexandria was created. The city stood on the trade routes of the Greeks with the eastern countries: it had large port facilities, convenient bays.

At the northern end of Pharos, forming a protected harbor in front of the city, at the end of the 3rd century. BC. a lighthouse was built in the form of a high multi-tiered tower with a pavilion, where a bright fire was constantly maintained. According to historians, its height was 150 - 180 m.

In the era of Hellenism, Greek culture penetrated into the most remote corners of the civilized world. Cultural exchange was facilitated by the extensive conquests of Alexander the Great.

The architecture of ancient Greece for a long time determined the direction of development of the architecture of the world. The architecture of a rare country did not use the general tectonic principles of the order systems developed by the Greeks, the details and decoration of Greek temples.

The viability of the principles of ancient Greek architecture is primarily due to its humanism, deep thoughtfulness in general and details, the utmost clarity of forms and compositions.

The Greeks brilliantly solved the problem of transitioning purely technical constructive problems of architecture to artistic ones. The unity of artistic and constructive content was brought to the heights of perfection in various order systems.

The works of Greek architecture are surprisingly harmonious combination with the natural environment. A great contribution has been made to the theory and practice of construction, to the formation of the environment of a residential building, to the system of engineering services for cities. The foundations of standardization and modularity in construction, developed by the architecture of subsequent eras, have been developed.

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