Ancient Greek architecture

To understand and enjoy the architecture of classical Greece we must approach in the manner of the archaeologist. In other words, what we see is only part of the picture. The rest must be filled in by imagination based on study. This can be a rewarding exercise, not least because of the quality of Greek achievements.

Among the various city-states in Greece, Athens was artistically pre-eminent. It was a small town with some 50,000 freemen, yet it controlled empire.

In the fifth century BC architecture, sculpture and drama in Athens reached levels not far short of perfection. Indeed, if asked to name the most perfect buildings in the world, many people would choose the Parthenon, which was built in the fifth century as the chief temple of Athena on the Acropolis.

It was devoted to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and a guardian of Athens. The Parthenon had no rivals in the ancient world, and marked the zenith of ancient Greek architecture. The most prominent Athenian statesman and admiral Pericles (450–429 BC) started the Parthenon soon after the victorious battles over the Persians. Pericles had vision and power to create new Athens, which was to become the envy of the ancient world. Phidias, an outstanding sculptor, Pericles's friend and supporter, was responsible for the reconstruction of the Athenian Acropolis, destroyed by the Persian army. Together with the architects Ictinus and Callicrates, Phidias spent 15 years designing, building, perfecting, and decorating the great Doric temple. "For the Greeks, the Parthenon was not just a beautiful and impressive structure – it was a symbol of the core values that held their civilization together: power, prosperity, and democracy".

Yet the Parthenon we see today is largely a ruin. Originally it contained a gold and ivory statue of Athena, but this was subsequently taken away. In the sixth century AD the temple was turned into a church, and the inner columns and the roof were removed. Later it became a mosque and, in the seventeenth century, an ammunition store. After that the damage was more gradual.

Even so, in comparison with the other buildings of the extraordinary civilization which once flourished in Greece, the Parthenon is well preserved. That is the measure of our loss and also of the challenge to those who go today to look at the remains.

What makes even the ruins of the Parthenon so memorable? Principally because of the purity of style, perfect harmony and technical perfection.

The so-called “post-and-lintel” type of construction is the term used to describe standard Greek practice. Greek buildings were composed entirely of horizontal blocks supported by columns and walls. Straight lines predominated and, in marked contrast with all later styles, there were no arches and curves. The two main components of a building are the entablature and the column. The architrave, the frieze, and the cornice together formed the entablature. The column is made up of the capital, the shaft, and the base.

Vocabulary

1. rewarding exercise полезное (стоящее) осуществление

2. artistically pre-eminent мастерски выдающийся

3. ivory слоновая кость

4. subsequently впоследствии

5. inner columns внутренние колонки

6. an ammunition store склад боеприпасов

7. gradual постепенный

8. in comparison with. по сравнению с

9. extraordinary экстраординарный

10. to flourish процветать

11. to preserve сохранить

12. “post-and-lintel construction система с перемычкой, поддержанной в ее концах двумя вертикальными колонками, столбами или постами.

13. arch арка

14. curve кривая

15. entablature поперечина, балочное завершение

16. cornice карниз

17. frieze бордюр

18. architrave архитрав, прямолинейная перекладина, перекрывающая промежуток над колоннами, столбами или оконными и дверными проёмами. ...

19. capital капитель, верхняя часть колонны, служащая непосредственным переходом к покрытию

20. shaft шахта

21. base основа

Task 1.Choose the answer (a, b, c or d) which you think fits best according the text.

1. To understand and enjoy the architecture.

a) We must rely on our imagination.

b) Study and imagination can be of great.

c) We must be archaeologists.

d) Careful study must be conducted.

2. Athens was artistically prominent in the 5^th century BC because

a) architecture, sculpture and drama reached perfect levels there

b) it was small town

c) the Parthenon was built in the fifth century on the Acropolis.

d) It controlled an empire.

3. The Parthenon is so memorable

a) because it was the chief temple of Athena

b) because it is largely in ruins

c) because it was turned into a mosque

d) because it is the most perfect building in the world

4. We can recognize a classical Greek building

a) by the column and the entablature

b) by arches and curves

c) by horizontal blocks

d) by standard Greek practice.

Task 2. Answer the following questions.

1. When did classical Greek architecture develop?

2. What makes the Parthenon the most perfect building in the world?

3. What type of construction was used in Greek practice?

4. What were the main components of a building?

5. What does the entablature consist of?

6. What is the column made up of?

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