GREEK ARCHITECTURE - AN OVERVIEW

The architecture of ancient Greece is the architecture produced by the Greek-speaking people (Hellenic 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.

1. Greek architects provided some of the finest and most distinctive buildings in
the entire Ancient World and some of their structures, such as temples,
theatres, and stadia, would become staple features of towns and cities from
antiquity onwards. In addition, the Greek concern with simplicity, proportion,
perspective, and harmony in their buildings would go on to greatly influence
architects in the Roman world and provide the foundation for the classical
architectural orders which would dominate the western world from the
Renaissance to the present day.

Greek architecture refers to the architecture of the Greek-speaking peoples
who inhabited the Greek mainland. The Greek colonies in Ionia (coastal Asia
Minor), and Magna Graecia (Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily). Greek
architecture stretches from c. 900 B.C.E. to the first century C.E. (with the
earliest extant stone architecture dating to the seventh century B.C.E.).

The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis
in Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and
sophistication of the ancient Greeks.

THE ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
There are five orders of classical architecture - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan,
and Composite - all named as such in later Roman times. Greek architects
created the first three and hugely influenced the latter two which were
composites rather than genuine innovations. Order is a combination of a

2. certain style of column with or without a base and an entablature (what the
column supports: the architrave, frieze, and cornice). These orders became the
basic grammar of western architecture and it is difficult to walk in any
modern city and not see examples of them in one form or another.

Corinthian Capital

MATERIALS
The Greeks certainly preferred marble, at least for their public buildings.
Initially, though, wood would have been used for not only such basic
architectural elements as columns but the entire buildings themselves. Early
8th century BCE temples were so constructed and had thatch roofs. From the
late 7th century BCE, temples slowly began to be converted into more durable
stone edifices; some even had a mix of the two materials. Some scholars have
argued that certain decorative features of stone column capitals and elements
of the entablature evolved from the skills of the carpenter displayed in more
ancient, wooden architectural elements.

THE TEMPLE

3. The most recognizably “Greek” structure is the temple. The Greeks referred
to temples with the term ὁ ναός (ho naós) meaning "dwelling;" temple
derives from the Latin term, templum. The earliest shrines were built to
honour divinities and were made from materials such as a wood and mud
brick—materials that typically don't survive very long. The basic form of
the naos emerges as early as the tenth century B.C.E. as a simple, rectangular
room with projecting walls that created a shallow porch. This basic form
remained unchanged in its concept for centuries. In the eighth century, the
materials changed from wood, mud brick, thatch to permanent materials
namely, stone.

Greek architectural order
THE THEATRE

4. Another distinctive Greek contribution to world culture was the amphitheatre.
The oldest certain archaeological evidence of theatres dates from the late 6th
century BCE. Indeed, Bronze Age Minoan sites such as Phaistos had large
stepped-courts which are thought to have been used for spectacles such as
religious processions and bull-leaping sports. In the 5th century BCE that the
Greek amphitheatre took on its recognisable and most influential form. This
was an open-air and approximately semi-circular arrangement of rising rows of
seats (theotron) which provided excellent acoustics. The stage or orchestra was
also semi-circular and backed by a screen or skene, which would become more
and more monumental in the following centuries. Monumental arches often
provided the entrances (paradoi) on either side of the stage.
Theatre of Delphi

5. THE STADIUM
Another lasting Greek architectural contribution to world culture was
the stadium. Stadiums were named after the distance (600 ancient feet or
around 180 metres) of the foot-race they originally hosted -
the stade or stadion. Initially constructed near natural embankments,
stadia evolved into more sophisticated structures with rows of stone or
even marble steps for seating which had divisions for ease of access.
Famous examples include those at Nemea and Olympia which had
seating capacities of 30,000 and 45,000 spectators respectively.

Ancient Stadium, Nemea, Greece
HOUSING
Considering more modest structures, there were fountain houses (from the
6th century BCE) where people could easily collect water and perhaps,
as black-figure pottery scenes suggest, socialise. Regarding private homes,
these were usually constructed with mud brick, had packed earth floors, and
were built to no design.

6. INSPIRATION


IONIC PILLARS OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE – The upper body
of the electric scooter is made by taking inspiration from the form and
design ionic pillars.
And the lower body border is also given a touch of ionic pillars texture.

7. COLOURS INSPIRATION


Basic colours used in Greek architecture were shades of brown so the
scooter is given colours using this colour pallet.

Then the buildings were reconstructed and brighter colours were used in
the borders and detailing.




PARTHEON IN GREECE

8. MOTIFS

Motifs were one of the most important part in Greek architecture, so the
first motif is used in the electric scooter.


TEXTURE

Marble texture was used widely, so the electric scooters lower body has
a texture of marble.