The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, France, is one of the worldÆs most admired architectural feats, one that has been modified many times over its centuries of existence. Completed in 1235, reconstruction commenced on the structure soon thereafter, creating what Riebold Benton and DiYanni (2005, p. 399) maintain is ôa masterpiece of balance,ö and a ôsimple, satisfying geometry.ö Located in the center of Paris, the historical center of the city, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is representative of Greek architecture in origin, purpose, and form in many ways.
The location of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, in the heart of the city of Paris, is similar to the architecture of ancient Greece, which arose from the political institution of the city-state. In ancient Greece, religious connection served to unite the city-states which produced the earliest examples of Greek architecture in the ninth century. Yet, whether the temple was for a single town or a group of them; like the ones at Olympia and Delphi, its architectural style was the same. As Martin (1967, p. 7) maintains, ôThe first crude examples of Greek architecture in the ninth century BC took the form of chapels with simple rectangular or irregularly shaped shrines sometimes divided into two aisles by a central row of pillars, these were first built of wood and later in stone.ö Similarly, the design of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is simple, with squares and rectangular shapes and pillars constructed of stone.
Throughout all the periods of Greek civilization and architecture, we are able to see the influence of the history and politics of the time as well as the development of sculpting ability. The Hellenistic period saw many transformations in Greek architecture, many of them visible within the overall construction and design of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The blending of Doric and Ionic styles of columns, along with the rise of sculpture to decorate te
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