But it was the architects of Classical Greece who made refinements and set standards which were to persist into modern times. By c. 700 bc Greek architects had already begun to employ the characteristic entasis , the swelling of the column shaft. Roman architects adopted, but also developed, Greek architectural practice, the principal Roman technical innovation being to employ columns to support arches. To the three Greek modes, they added the Tuscan and the Composite . Thus the full range of uses had been established by the end of the Classical period, all future developments being stylistic adaptions.
Columns are also sometimes coupled, that is arranged in a row in linked pairs.
The Bloomsbury Guide to Art 3. All rights reserved.