Greek Temples
There were many Greek temples in Greece over the ages and some of them have survived and many have not. Some of the temple that have survived over the years have been or are in the process of being restored. Some of the temple that have been discovered are the Temple of Artemus, the Temple of Zeus, the Parthenon, the Temple of Albania, the Temple of Hephaistos, the Temple of Apollo Epikourios, and the Tholos. These are temples which the historians have discovered that existed in early Greek times but not all of them have survived.
The temples were usually built facing the east There are some exceptions because sometimes the lay of the land would not permit the building to be facing the east. The first feature of the temples was to put a line of columns all the way around the temple. The temples also had columns inside of them to hold up the roof. In the 6th century the temples usually had 6 columns across the short side of the building and 15 columns along the sides of the temple. In the 5th century the design was changed slightly and there were still 6 columns across the front and back and 13 columns along the sides. This shortened the temples a little. Some of the temples had two or three rows of columns instead of just one.
There was one temple known that was quite different from the usual rectangular shape. That was the Tholos which was a circular temple. The naos was a circular room with just one door. A line of columns went clear around the naos. Many of the temples were not as elegant as people believe them to be. Most of them were gaudy and not impressive at all. The marble ones were left bare and the limestone ones were coated in stucco and painted bright colors. These colors were usually red, white, or blue. Pictures were carved into many of the flat surfaces of the temple. The triangle gable was usually carved into a scene of gods and goddesses. The flat vertical part of the temple which went all the way around it and rested on the columns was often carved into pictures .
The columns of the temples were one of three different styles. Sometimes a temple would have more than one style of column connected to them. The three styles of columns were the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The Doric style was the simplest form of column and it had a plain shaft with 20 sides to it. The top, or crown, was a circle which was topped with a square. There was no base on the Doric style. The Ionic style was taller than the Doric column and it made it look taller. The top of the Ionic consisted of scrolls. The shaft had flutes and also a little bulge to make them look straight. The base of the Ionic was large and looked much like a stack of rings. The Corinthian was the most elegant all. The top was decorated with leaves and scrolls. The base was like the Ionic base and looked like a stack of rings. The shaft of the columns were also fluted and had a slight bulge.
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