Greek Architecture and Temple Decoration
Year of lecture: 1958
Abstract:
"This morning we shall begin the study of Greek architecture and temple decoration. Neither the Minoans nor the Mycenaeans of the Bronze Age made a practice of building temples. They used caves or mountain shrines or fitted up one or two rooms in a palace for the worship of their gods. But for the Greeks, temples were important, not as places of worship, but as shrines for the deity. The early temples of the Geometric and Orientalizing periods, that is, from the 10th century down to about 600 B.C., were very simple structures, consisting of timber and sun-dried brick. Several shapes were at first used, but the rectangular temple, which enclosed a cult statue of the god or goddess in its cella, soon became the dominant type. A porch was often added before the entrance, the porch being supported simply by extending the side walls, or by using a few timber posts. Sometimes the eaves of the temple were increased to for a veranda around the whole building, the roof being supported by wood posts or pillars. The verandas served to protect the walls from sun and rain, and also provided shelter. Colonnades were of course widely used by the Egyptians as internal roof supports and the Minoans made use of the colonnaded courtyard, a practice also much used by the Greeks in their market places and gymnasia. A gymnasium, for instance frequently consisted of a colonnaded courtyard which led off to rooms arranged around a square or rectangle. But in the Greek temple the colonnade becomes and important external feature."
