The Greek Temple

"Classical Humanism and Architecture : Embedded in Greco-Roman Era

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Submission date "Classical Humanism and Architecture : Embedded in Greco-Roman Era

INTRODUCTION

Classical humanism in architecture is a direct reflection of a human quest of self-realization through ages . As for the recorded evidences one can go back to the periods of Plato , Zeno , Epicurus or Aristotle - the period reigned by Greco-Roman philosophers - when this quest of 'know thyself ' flourished and established itself as a philosophy to woo

br the future generations . Thus this essay takes a quick look to expressions of classical humanism through the wonderful architectural remains of Acropolis that contains the signs of evolution in architecture too - before coming into its own conclusion

Classical Division of Greco-Roman Architecture

The period in discussion contains three distinctive division of architecture , viz , Doric , Ionic and Corinthian . Doric could be termed as the mainstream architecture of Greece , which later gave way to Ionic and Corinthian , where each of them can be identified through their different finishes at the sections like cornice , frieze architrave , capital , shaft and base . Out of them two styles still co habit in Acropolis - Parthenon and Erechtheum , while the third belonging to Roman era , has two of its bright examples in the 'Temple of the Sybil ' in Rome or in the Charlotte City Hall (Shulman

Classical Humanism

It can be identified as the improvised state of early Greek Humanism (1200-750 B .C , when the Greeks had evolved with the concept of arkte (human excellence , where the guiding elements were "courage , loyalty generosity , mercy , dignity , decency , honor , stoicism and strength (Sunami , 2004 . Gradually the depiction of these elements as virtues took shape in architectural details besides other modes of expressions like drama , painting or writing , where a realistic approach dominated the proceedings . It is because of that the human-centered sculptures done by them or the details in their architecture attempts to create near-perfect depiction of figures

Parthenon

In spite of its present dilapidated state , Parthenon (447-432 B .C , the home of Greek goddess Athena Perthenos (the 'Virgin Athena ) is easily the best example of both Doric architecture and Humanism , where its simple columns and the detailed human figures would reflect a 'plain living and high thinking ' philosophy . In fact , the Doric architecture relied much on the solidity rather than frills , which is evident in its many expressions , like the shafts of its overall 46 columns or their capitals and friezes besides cornices

As for humanism , it contained many figures , and especially the 'metops (relief-works , which were altogether 92 in number , spread all around to depict the series of mythological events or the successful war ventures of the people of Athens . The near-accurate depiction of various muscuto-skeletal states of humans speaks of the deep thoughts applied by their creators

Erectheum

Thereafter , the fascination with mathematics and geometry of the Greeks belonging to the period 500 B .C . - 30 B .C , led to their advancement in architecture (Sunami , 2004 ) while maintaining...