Oriental Influences on Greek Temple Architecture

To understand the extent of Oriental influences on the emergence of Greek temple architecture, it is important to realize what any such influences might have wrought. In this connection, an important term that is used repeatedly throughout the literature of classical Greek architecture is Doric Order. An appreciation of this term requires a rethinking of meaning of the word order. Doric is the name given to the oldest of the three Greek types (i.e., orders) of column, entablature, and stylobate or support for the base of the column, as a unit of architectural style. One might be hard put to it to describe the Doric Order without benefit of illustration; simply put, the Doric order is neither the Ionic order (with capitals or column tops that look like a scroll) nor the Corinthian order (with capitals sporting acanthus leaves). One source connects the physical attributes of the Doric order with the historical context of its greatest flow

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he Egyptian culture as one in which peasants had only to sit and wait for the Nile to flood to produce a good harvest. This view of the differences between Greeks and Egyptians emphasizes the fact that Greek temple stone architecture at its best was the culmination of much experimentation from the time of the mud-brick huts onward. Furthermore, it continued to experiment even after the Doric Order was institutionalized, and that is why one sees the elaboration of the Ionic and Corinthian columns at about the same time as the Doric ones were obtaining full exposure in the Hellenistic world. "It is essential to appreciate the implications of this expansion, in order to understand the basic Egyptian pyramid and the lightness of the buildings on the Acropolis in Athens . . . The Greek was an adventurer who . . . expressed this desire for freedom in his creations by ceaselessly trying to perfect them. One cannot strive for perfection with a pyramid" (Jacquet 15-16). This fact, connected with the fact of Greek travel in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, suggests that foreknowledge on the part of Greek builders of Egyptian architectural conventions was not impossible. In fact, to the degree the Greeks were known as projectors of them
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Persia Crete, Nevertheless Ayrton, Alexander Great's, Archaic Greek, Acropolis Athens, Greek Egyptian, , Hurwitt Doric, AmonRa Egyptian, Hurwitt Greek, greek temple, millennium bc, greek architecture, temple architecture, greek temple architecture, egyptian culture, sixth fifth centuries, rolling hills, greek culture, greek architectural, monuments pyramids, wood mud-brick, middle millennium bc, golden age greece,
Approximate Word count = 2480
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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