Architecture Through The Ages

Architecture can be seen as a response to the human need for shelter from various unfavorable hindrances: the elements, wild animals, and human enemies. However, over the centuries, man's knowledge of building techniques grew, and structures began to be built for other purposes, such as worship (King 9). Nonetheless, man has always been aware of beauty, "and the history of architecture is also the record of man's attempts to build something more than practical shelters that stood up to wind and weather" (King 9). From the early Greek temples to the modern homesteads of today, the structures of man have changed significantly over the centuries due to a combination of technological advancements and cultural tastes.

For the ancient Greeks, the temple was the primary focus of the architect. It is assumed that Greek architecture began to first take form in the ninth century B.C., and construction was simple. Walls were built on foundations of stone with rubble and mud bricks. Wood was used consistently throughout the temples, with the columns and roof systems being composed entirely of this material. Clay tiles, which allowed for a lower pitched roof, later replaced thatching as the preferred roof covering. Dressed stone first appeared in the architecture of Greece in the seventh century B.C. and began to replace wood and mud temples in the sixth century B.C. "The principles of carpentry were simply applied to stone instead, so that the new temples had all the same structural and functional members as the old" (Baumgart 22). It was during these later periods that the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders of Greek architecture emerged. With these three orders of architecture, Greek architects could be far more flexible in their designs than any other previous civilization (Baumgart 22).

The Doric order, invented in the second half of the seventh century B.C., was named for the Dorian people and is the oldest and simplest of the three orders (King 29). The thick, slightly tapered columns represent the development of incorporating modifications on themes used in earlier wood and brick temples, but "in timeÐ'...it acquired more graceful proportions" (King 29). The height of each column was roughly four and three-quarters the length of its diameter, the point the column was thickest. The column of the Doric order did not rest on a base and had an uncomplicated capital consisting of only two partsÐ'--the echinus and the abacusÐ'--and usually had twenty channels, or flutes, running along its length. The entablature, which was the portion of the temple supported by the columns, consisted of three parts rather than the usual solid lintel. The architrave was constructed of plain stone and was directly supported by the columns. Above the architrave was the frieze, which was composed of a band of carved and sculpted stone. The last portion of the entablature was the cornice, a band of plain stone directly under the roof (King 30). The Doric order long remained the preferred order of mainland Greece and changed very little over time.

The Ionic order, named for the Ionian people of Greece, first appeared in around 600 B.C. in Smyma. The Ionic parts were lighter than those of the earlier Doric order. The Ionic column was generally set on a base and "sometimes had a height equal to ten times its diameter" (King 31). Whereas the Doric column had twenty channels, the Ionic had twenty-four. The supreme difference in the Doric and Ionic columns was, however, in their capitals, with that of the Ionic order being composed of an echinus ornamented with swirls termed volutes. The

entablature of the Ionic order was very comparable to that of the Doric order with, however, a substituted decorative molding in place of the frieze (King 31).

The last of the three Greek orders to be created was the Corinthian order; and "like the other two, its column shaft was fluted," and "like the Ionic, its columns rested on bases" (King 32). This order first became popular in the third century B.C. in Greek provinces in Asia Minor, and it was not until later that it spread to the Greek mainland and began to replace the Doric and Ionic orders. The Corinthian echinus, the most ornamented of the three orders, was shaped like an inverted bell and was decorated with strips of leaves. These leaves were composed after the acanthus plant, an herb found throughout the Mediterranean region (King 33).

When the Roman Empire began to expand, first throughout Italy and then into the Mediterranean region, it came into contact with other architectural traditions. The Etruscans, native to Italy, were the sole influencers in the early days. Later, when Rome conquered the Greek mainland, it shook off the Etruscan influence and replaced it with that of Greece. Subsequently, a distinctive Roman manner of building emerged. Even so, "the Etrusco-Italian basis, however, prevented a mere imitation of Greek styles" (Baumgart 37). Nonetheless, the extraordinarily large boundaries of the Roman Empire and the number of diverse peoples within these boundaries resulted in a class of architecture that was miscellaneous at best.

It is often mistakenly stated that the Romans were responsible for the invention of the arch. This statement should be recomposed: the Romans did not invent the arch; rather, they applied it in their architecture with great skill and success. "It was when the Romans began to really seek elegance in their construction that they turned from the post and lintel to building with the arch" (King 47). A true arch is composed of several small stone blocks, shaped into wedges. These wedges are fitted into place over a temporary support at right angles to the curve of the arch, and the center voussoir, or keystone, is installed last. This keystone is what keeps the arch together, and without it, the arch would collapse in upon itself. The Romans favored the arch because it permitted for the spanning of much greater distances while at the same time providing a deal more strength than a simple lintel. Larger and taller openings, made possible by the arch, allowed for more elaborate architectural details. Arches were used for a variety of projects, including aqueducts, public buildings, and religious temples (King 48). The triumphant use of the arch, along with many other architectural feats, was used in the construction of the Pantheon.

The Pantheon was a temple dedicated to all the gods and was originally built in 27 B.C., but it was later rebuilt in A.D. 117-125 by the emperor Hadrian after a fire. The fact that the Pantheon exists today in its current condition is largely due to it being used as a Christian church since 609 (Baumgart 37). The central dome of the Pantheon, whose radius was equal to the height of the walls it rested on, was composed of brick