Without doubt, the most significant influence on subsequent generations was the art of Ancient Greece. Its calm, majestic beauty and harmony served as a model and source for later eras of cultural history.
The history of culture and architecture of ancient Greece can be divided into three periods:
Archaic, or the ancient period - from about 600 to 480 BC, the Greeks repelled the invasion of the Persians and, having freed their land from the threat of conquest, were again able to create freely;
The classic, or heyday, is from 480 to 323 BC. - the year of the death of Alexander the Great, who conquered vast territories, very different in their cultures; this eclecticism of cultures was one of the reasons for the decline of classical Greek art;
Hellenism, or the late period; it ended in 30 BC when the Romans conquered ancient Egypt under Greek influence.
Temples were one of the greatest achievements of Greek architecture. The oldest ruins of temples date back to the archaic era, when limestone and white marble were used instead of wood as building materials. It is believed that the ancient dwelling of the Greeks - a rectangular structure with two columns in front of the entrance - served as a prototype for the temple. From this simple building, various more complex types of temples grew over time. Usually the temple stood on a stepped foundation. It consisted of a room without windows, where the statue of the deity was located, the building was surrounded in one or two rows of columns. They supported floor beams and a gable roof. In the semi-dark inner room at the statue of the god, only priests could be, while the people saw the temple only outside. Obviously, therefore, the ancient Greeks paid the main attention to the beauty of the outward appearance of the temple.
The construction of the temple was subject to certain laws. The dimensions, ratios of parts and the number of columns were precisely established.
Three styles prevailed in Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. The oldest of them was the Doric style, which took shape already in the archaic era. It was simple and powerful. It got its name from the Doric tribes who created it. Today the preserved parts of the temples are white: the paint that covered them has crumbled over time. Once upon a time, their friezes and cornices were painted red and blue.
The Ionian style originated in the Ionian region of Asia Minor. From here he entered the territory of Greece. Compared to the Doric style, the Ionic style columns are more elegant and slender. The middle part of the capital resembles a pillow with spiral corners, the so-called. volutes.
During the Hellenistic era, when Greek architecture began to strive for greater grandeur and splendor, Corinthian capitals were most often used. They are richly decorated with plant motifs, among which the images of acanthus leaves prevail.
The heyday of the architecture of ancient Greece began in the 5th century BC. This classical era is inextricably linked with the name of the famous statesman Pericles. During his reign, grandiose construction work began in Athens, the largest cultural and artistic center in Greece. The main construction was carried out on the ancient fortified hill of the Acropolis.
The vitality of the principles of ancient Greek architecture is explained primarily by its humanism, deep thoughtfulness in general and details, simplicity and clarity of forms and compositions.
The ancient Greeks brilliantly solved the problem of transferring purely technical constructive problems of architecture to artistic ones. The unity of artistic and constructive content has been brought to the heights of perfection in various order systems.
The works of Greek architecture are distinguished by a surprisingly harmonious combination with the natural environment. A great contribution has been made to the theory and practice of construction, to the formation of the living environment, to the system of urban engineering services The foundations of standardization and modularity in construction, developed by the architecture of subsequent eras, have been developed.
The decline of the ancient Greek influence in architecture begins in the 1st century BC. in connection with the active expansion of the Roman Empire. Architecture takes on the features of the culture of the conquerors, is romanticized. The principles of Greek democracy no longer fit the imperial needs of Rome. In the 5th century A.D. Greece converted to Christianity, the formation of the Byzantine Empire began, with its characteristic architectural canons. During the period of the great migration of peoples from IV to VI, the territory of Greece was subjected to systematic attacks by the Goths, Slavs, Persians, Arabs, Normans who were not very sensitive to architectural monuments. The church split in 1054 exacerbated the cultural divide. Byzantium, and Greece as a part of it, came under the influence of the traditions of the Middle East. In the XI-XII centuries, the crusades and the beggars of all Western Europe following the crusaders inflicted enormous damage on the monuments of ancient Greek architecture. Together with the Crusaders and Templars, their sponsors, the Florentines and Genoese, came, and when they left, they took out whole dismantled houses, not to mention individual columns. In 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell, and in 1456 the Turks captured Athens. At the same time, the Turks must be given their due in preserving the values of Ancient Greece. Thanks to the Turks, in the 19th century, the British began to carry out excavations and returned to the European world the lost knowledge of the architecture and art of Ancient Greece. Now the government of modern Turkey is very sensitive to all the preserved architectural monuments of antiquity and makes very good money on it.