Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens — a Doric peripteral temple of Pentelic marble by Iktinos and Kallikrates.
Unit IVHistory of Architecture - II

Greek Architecture

The orders, the perfected temple, and the building as a sculpted object.

≈ 35 min + study task

Greek architecture is the foundation of the Western classical tradition — and its lesson is restraint. It is trabeate (post-and-lintel), and it treats the temple as a finely proportioned sculptural object seen from outside, perfected with optical refinements so subtle the eye barely registers them. Master the three orders and the temple plan here, and the whole of Roman, Renaissance and colonial classicism becomes readable.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for History of Architecture II:

1
CO4 · Understand

Describe the character of Greek architecture — trabeate, proportioned, exterior-focused — and its optical refinements.

2
CO4 · Apply

Identify the three orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) by column and entablature.

3
CO4 · Analyse

Label the parts and plan-types of a Greek temple (peripteral, in antis, prostyle).

4
CO6 · Apply

Read the Parthenon, Erechtheion and Theatre of Epidaurus as exemplars.

Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

The three orders

An order is a column-and-entablature system. Read it by the capital and the frieze: sturdy Doric (no base, triglyphs and metopes), slender Ionic (a base and scroll-like volutes), and ornate Corinthian (an acanthus-leaf basket).[2, 4]

The three Greek orders Doric no base · triglyphs Ionic base · volutes Corinthian acanthus leaves
DiagramThe three Greek orders compared: the Doric with no base and a plain capital under a triglyph-and-metope frieze, the Ionic on a base with a volute capital, and the Corinthian with an acanthus capital

Doric — sturdy and plain

The earliest, mainland order: a stout fluted shaft with no base, a plain cushion capital (echinus) under a square abacus, and a frieze that alternates three-grooved triglyphs with square metope panels. The Parthenon is its supreme example.[2, 4]

Reading a temple

The temple plan and its parts

Temples are classed by their colonnade (in antis, prostyle, amphiprostyle, peripteral) and read by their parts: the front porch (pronaos), the main room (naos/cella) holding the cult statue, and the rear porch (opisthodomos) — the whole ringed by the peristyle on the stylobate.

A peripteral Greek temple in plan peristyle (colonnade all round) pronaos opisthodomos naos / cella cult statue
DiagramPlan of a peripteral Greek temple with a colonnade all round, the pronaos front porch, the naos or cella holding the cult statue, and the opisthodomos rear porch
The masterpieces

The Acropolis and Epidaurus

On the Athenian Acropolis stand the Doric Parthenon (Iktinos and Kallikrates, with its full suite of optical refinements), the Ionic Erechtheion with its Caryatid porch, and the monumental Propylaea gateway. Nearby, the Theatre of Epidaurus is the most perfect Greek open-air theatre — orchestra, cavea and skene — famous for acoustics.[3, 5]

The Greek theatre — Epidaurus cavea / theatron stepped seating orchestra skene (stage)
DiagramPlan of a Greek open-air theatre such as Epidaurus, with a fan of stepped stone seating wrapping a circular orchestra and the skene stage building behind

The sacred citadel of Athens

Rebuilt under Pericles after the Persian sack, with Phidias as artistic director — the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike and the monumental Propylaea gateway (Mnesicles, 437–432 BCE). The planning is deliberately picturesque, set up for oblique three-quarter views as one ascends.[3, 4]

The Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion — six Caryatid figures serving as columns.
PhotoThe Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion — six Caryatid figures serving as columns.Coolcaesar · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
The Theatre of Epidaurus — its fan of stone seating around a circular orchestra, famous for its acoustics.
PhotoThe Theatre of Epidaurus — its fan of stone seating around a circular orchestra, famous for its acoustics.Zde · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
At a glance

The orders compared

AspectDoricIonic / Corinthian
ProportionDoric: sturdy (~5.5 diameters)Ionic / Corinthian: slender
BaseDoric: none — sits on the stylobateIonic / Corinthian: a moulded base
CapitalDoric: plain echinus + abacusIonic: volutes · Corinthian: acanthus
FriezeDoric: triglyphs + metopesIonic: continuous frieze or dentils
ExampleDoric: the ParthenonIonic: the Erechtheion
The Acropolis of Athens from below — the Parthenon, Erechtheion and Propylaea on the sacred citadel.
PhotoThe Acropolis of Athens from below — the Parthenon, Erechtheion and Propylaea on the sacred citadel.Fuzheado · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Vocabulary

Key terms

Entasis

The slight convex swelling of a column shaft.

Stylobate / stereobate

The top step the columns stand on (stylobate), over the lower stepped base (stereobate).

Triglyph / metope

The grooved block and the square panel that alternate in the Doric frieze.

Volute

The spiral scroll of the Ionic capital.

Acanthus

The stylised leaf forming the Corinthian capital.

Cella (naos)

The main enclosed room housing the cult statue.

Peristyle

A colonnade running around the whole building (a peripteral temple).

Caryatid

A carved female figure used in place of a column.

Apply it

Study task

Draw the three orders side by side, labelling base, shaft, capital and frieze, and naming one building for each. Then sketch a peripteral temple plan and mark the pronaos, naos and opisthodomos.

Check your understanding

Self-assessment

1. The Parthenon is best described as a —

2. Entasis refers to the —

3. The Caryatid porch — figures of maidens used as columns — belongs to the —

In a nutshell

Recap

Greek architecture is trabeate and exterior-focused — the temple is a finely proportioned sculptural object, refined with entasis, a curved stylobate and inward-leaning columns.
Learn the three orders by column and frieze: Doric (no base, triglyph-metope), Ionic (base, volutes), Corinthian (acanthus capital).
Temples are read by plan-type (in antis, prostyle, amphiprostyle, peripteral) and parts (pronaos, naos, opisthodomos, peristyle on the stylobate).
The Acropolis is the touchstone: the Doric Parthenon, the Ionic Erechtheion with its Caryatids, and — nearby — the acoustically perfect Theatre of Epidaurus.
The evidence

References & further reading

  1. [1]Banister Fletcher, A History of Architecture (20th ed.). Architectural Press / RIBA, 1996.
  2. [2]A.W. Lawrence, Greek Architecture (rev. R.A. Tomlinson). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
  3. [3]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Acropolis, Athens (inscribed 1987). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404
  4. [4]Francis D.K. Ching, Mark Jarzombek & Vikramaditya Prakash, A Global History of Architecture. Wiley, 2007.
  5. [5]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus (inscribed 1988). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/491

Further reading

  • A.W. Lawrence, Greek Architecture (Yale/Pelican History of Art).
  • Spiro Kostof, A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals.
  • D.S. Robertson, A Handbook of Greek and Roman Architecture.

Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.