Architecture Greek and Roman City Essay

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The capital supported a horizontal element called the entablature, which was divided further into three different parts:

The architrave which was the lowest part

The frieze was the middle part

The cornice was the very top

These elements were further detailed with decorative moldings and ornamentation. Each part of the classical order was sized and arranged according to an overall proportioning system based on the height and diameter of the columns.

In order to examine the artistic features of that time period it is useful to look at the building materials with which a Greek architect had to use and the methods of putting them together. Greece had a large amount of good building stone. Many times there was an inexhaustible supply of white marble. There was also many beautiful colored marbles that the Romans had to figure out how to use. There was also many other common types of stone that was readily available, especially soft, brown lime stones which the Greeks called by the name of poros. In the instances where poros or crude brick were used, it was coated with very fine, hard stucco, which gave it a surface like that of marble. Roof tiles were made of terra-cotta in this early period, until Greek travelers brought back the idea of using baked bricks.

In is also worth noting that there was an absence of lime-mortar in Greek architecture. Lime-stucco was in use everywhere, but lime mixed with sand and used as a bond for masonry, was found nowhere in Greek work. Because of this the walls of temples and other carefully constructed buildings had an elaborate system of bonding that was done by means of clamps and dowels.

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Another important fact is there was an absence of the arch from in Greek architecture. It has been reported that the principle of the arch was first discovered by the Greek philosopher, Democritus. The arch has no part in the columnar architecture of Greece. In a Greek temple or similar building the only thing that was known was the flat ceiling.

Mesopotamia and the Greek City architecture have some things in common. They both took advantage of natural materials in their buildings. The both used mud and bricks. The Greeks used the natural marble and stone that was plentiful to them. Each architecture type had its own flare. The Mesopotamians used the idea of building in sequences, while the Greeks used columns and ornamental decorations. Both had their advantages to the culture that they were building at the time and both served the purposes for which it was used.

Notes

Ziggurat.eu: Mesopotamia. 2009. Mesopotamia. http://www.ziggurat.eu/mesopotamia_en.html (accessed June 8, 2009).

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Greek Architecture: Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian? 2009. Dummies.com http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/greek-architecture-doric-ionic-or-corinthian.html (accessed June 8, 2009).

6 Ibid.

7 Greek Architecture. n.d. The History of Ancient Greece. http://greek-history.annourbis.com/GreekArt/GreekArthgrkr10_greek_architecture.html#greek_architecture (accessed June 8, 2009)......

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