Oldest was the Doric order, the plainest type, but one that epitomizes the Classical spirit. It originated in Dorian areas of Greece, the Peloponnesos and the island of Crete. The Doric order is often thought to derive from wooden constructions, since the very earliest temples and buildings were made of wood. Only later, in the sixth century BCE did marble and limestone buildings become common. The Ionic order originated in the Greek east, in the cities along the Mediterranean coast of what is now Turkey.
Ionic columns have the distinctive volute capital as well as a carved base.
The architrave above the columns often carries a sculpted relief frieze. In later times the Corinthian order was used for columns on the outside of buildings, but originally this order was reserved for interior spaces. The Parthenon had Corinthian columns in the interior. Although the basic shapes remained constant through centuries of Greek potting, variations occur from the Archaic through the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Black figure vases are named because the glaze which was used for the painted figures fires black and the background remained in the red ground of the clay color.