Archaic Greek Architecture
(page 2) (click here for page 1)
In the early temples, the columns and the roof were made of wood. To keep the wood from rotting, the Greeks put a flat stone under each column, and to help the columns support the weight of the roof, they put a block of wood at the top of each column.
Temple of Hercules - Agrigento, Sicily
But soon the Greeks began to build in limestone,
which was more impressive and would last longer. The earlier stone
temples have big thick columns, and heavy Doric
capitals (that block of wood at the top of the column, only now made
of stone) that look like pillows, as in this picture from the temple
of Hercules in Agrigento
on the island of Sicily, built in 510 BC.
Archaic Greek Architecture, Page Three
Classical architecture
Main Greek architecture page
Main architecture page
Copyright 1998-2007 Dr. Karen Carr, Associate Professor of History, Portland State University. This page last updated Tuesday, May 15, 2007
