Architecture of ancient Greece

The **architecture of ancient Greece** is the architecture produced by the Greek-speaking people whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia
 and Italy for a period from about 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with
 the earliest remaining architectural works dating from around 600 BC.

Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished by its highly formalized
characteristics, both of structure and decoration. This is particularly
so in the case of temples where each building appears to have been
conceived as a sculptural entity within the landscape, most often raised
 on high ground so that the elegance of its proportions and the effects
of light on its surfaces might be viewed from all angles. Nikolaus Pevsner
 refers to "the plastic shape of the [Greek] temple ... placed before us
 with a physical presence more intense, more alive than that of any
later building"

The formal vocabulary of ancient Greek architecture, in particular the
division of architectural style into three defined orders: the Doric Order, the Ionic Order and the Corinthian Order, was to have profound effect on Western architecture of later periods. The architecture of ancient Rome grew out of that of Greece and maintained its influence in Italy unbroken until the present day. From the Renaissance, revivals of Classicism
 have kept alive not only the precise forms and ordered details of Greek
 architecture, but also its concept of architectural beauty based on
balance and proportion. The successive styles of Neoclassical architecture and Greek Revival architecture followed and adapted Ancient Greek styles closely.

## Domestic buildings

The Greek word for the family or household, oikos, is also the name for the house. Houses followed several different
types. It is probable that many of the earliest houses were simple
structures of two rooms, with an open porch or "pronaos" above which
rose a low pitched gable or pediment. This form is thought to have contributed to temple architecture.

The construction of many houses employed walls of sun dried clay bricks
or wooden framework filled with fibrous material such as straw or
seaweed covered with clay or plaster, on a base of stone which protected
 the more vulnerable elements from damp. The roofs were probably of thatch with eaves which overhung the
permeable walls. Many larger houses, such as those at Delos, were
built of stone and plastered. The roofing material for substantial house
 was tile. Houses of the wealthy had mosaic floors and demonstrated the
 Classical style.

Many houses centered on a wide passage or "pasta" which ran the length of
 the house and opened at one side onto a small courtyard which admitted
light and air. Larger houses had a fully developed peristyle courtyard
at the center, with the rooms arranged around it. Some houses had an
upper floor which appears to have been reserved for the use of the women
 of the family.

City houses were built with adjoining walls and were divided into small
blocks by narrow streets. Shops were sometimes located in the rooms
towards the street. City houses were inward-facing, with major openings
looking onto the central courtyard, rather than the street.

## References

1. ↑ Boardman, Dorig, Fuchs and Hirmer
2. ↑ Helen Gardner, pp. 126-132
3. ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner, *An Outline of European Architecture*, p. 19
4. ↑ Banister Fletcher pp. 93-97
5. ↑ John Boardman, pp. 10-14
6. ↑ Banister Fletcher, pp 151-153
7. ↑ Banister Fletcher pp. 93-97