EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

Ancient Egyptian architecture is the architecture of Ancient Egypt, one of

the most influential civilizations throughout history, which developed a vast array
of diverse structures and great architectural monuments along the Nile, including
pyramids and temples.

GEOGRAPHICAL
Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs, of which the ancient name was Kemi, or the
black land, consists of a narrow strip of fertile, alluvial soil along both banks of the
Nile bordered by the sandy desert. It was the only country of the ancient world
which, by means of the Red Sea, commanded outlets and inlets for foreign trade by
both the Mediterranean and Arabian Seas. the Egyptians founded their cities, both
for the living and the dead, and here are the royal pyramids and the priestly
temples.
GEOLOGICAL
The natural products, such as timber, brick, clay, and stone, largely
determine the character of the architecture of a country. Stone, including
limestone, sandstone, and alabaster, as well as the harder syenate or granite, basalt
and porphyry, was the material chiefly employed. Foremost among the productions
of Egyptian quarries was the famous limestone of the Mokattam Hills in the north ;
then came the sandstone in the central districts, and the red granite or syenite of
Aswan in the south.
CLIMATE
Egypt has been said to have but two seasons, spring and summer. The
climate is equable and warm ; snow and frost are unknown, while storm, fog, and
even rain are rare, and these conditions have contributed to the preservation of the
buildings. a climate, with its brilliant and continuous sunshine, conduced also to
simplicity of design.

HISTORY
Wealthy country despite the desert - every year, Nile would overflow,
leaving the land fertile for growing crops Nile River was a trade route. Gold from
Nubia in the south . Two kingdoms, Lower and Upper Egypt, combined by King
Menes in 3100 BC. Many small towns, but royal cities at Memphis and Thebes • A
single kingdom for most of its existence - unified under the centralized omnipotent
authority of the pharaoh (king)
 • Pharaohs- Seen as gods dwelling on earth. Sole masters of the country and
its inhabitants. The builders and leaders. Initiated the design, financing,
quarrying and transporting of materials, organization of labor and
construction itself.

SOCIAL
Divided into groups, by order of importance: senior priests, officials,
noblemen, and army commanders. Most ordinary Egyptians were farmers.
Architects, engineers, theologians, masons, sculptors, painters, laborers, peasants,
prisoners. Weaving, glass-making, pottery, metal, jewelry and furniture.
Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, music and writing literature and history
written on papyrus and stone tablets.

RELIGIOUS
Cult of many gods representing nature: sun, moon, stars, animals. After
death, a persons soul went on to enjoy eternal life in kingdom of the God Osiris -
imagined this kingdom as a perfect version of Egypt. Pharaohs were buried,
bringing with them the things they might need in the afterlife, even living people.
Wished for a fine burial, embalmment and funeral rites, and a permanent tomb or
"eternal dwelling". Dead body had to be preserved to house the spirit. Remove
insides, dry out the body, filled with linen, masked and bandaged.

CHARACTERISTICS
Ancient Egyptian houses were made out of mud collected from the Nile
river. It was placed in moulds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden for use in
construction.
Egyptian architecture is based mainly on religious monuments, massive
structures characterized by thick, sloping walls with few openings, possibly
echoing a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud walls.
Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events, such
as solstices and equinoxes, requiring precise measurements at the moment of the
particular event. Measurements at the most significant temples may have been
ceremonially undertaken by the Pharaoh himself.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
DESCRIPTION:
• Afterlife - life and house on earth is temporary, the tomb is permanent
• For sustenance and eternal enjoyment of the deceased
• Religion is the dominant element in Egyptian architecture.

MATERIALS:
• Stone was abundant in variety and quantity
• Used for monuments and religious buildings
• Durability of stone is why monuments still exist to this day.
• Other materials, metals and timber were imported
• Mud bricks: for houses, palaces (reeds, papyrus, palm branch ribs, plastered over with clay)

ROOF & OPENINGS:

• Roof was not an important consideration
• Flat roofs sufficed to cover and exclude heat
• No windows
• Spaces were lit by skylights, roof slits, clerestories

WALL:
• Batter wall - diminishing in width towards the top for stability
• Thickness: 9 to 24m at temples
• Unbroken massive walls, uninterrupted space for hieroglyphics

DECORATIONS:
• Mouldings such as "gorge" or "hollow and roll" was inspired by reeds
• Torus moulding
• Hieroglyphics were pictorial representations of religion, history and daily life
• Derived from the practice of scratching pictures on mudplaster walls
• Avenue of sphinxes: rows of monsters (body of lion, head of man, hawk, ram) leading to
monuments

COMMON ORNAMENTS:
• Common capitals used were the lotus, papyrus, palm which echoed indigenous Egyptian plants,
and were symbols of fertility as well
• The shaft represented bundle of stems

MASTABAS

• Rectangular flat-topped funerary mound, with battered side, covering a burial

chamber below ground
• First type of Egyptian tomb
• Developed from small and inconspicuous to huge an imposing
Parts:
• Stairway with 2 doors: one for ritual, second was a false door for spirits
• Column Hall
• Offering Chapel
• Serdab (contains statue of deceased)
• Offering room with Stelae (stone with name of deceased inscribed)
• Offering table
• Sarcophagus – Egyptian coffin

PYRAMIDS

• massive funerary structure of stone or brick

Came in complexes:
• Offering chapel (north or east side)
• Mortuary chapel
• Raised and enclosed causeway leading to west
• Valley building for embalmment and internment rites
• Immense use of labor and materials, built in layers, like steps

STEP PYRAMID OF ZOSER, SAQQARA

• World's first large-scale monument in stone

• Designed by Imhotep
PYRAMIDS AT GIZEH

• Most magnificent of pyramids

• Equilateral sides face cardinal points
• Forms a world-famous building group
• Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)
• Pyramid of Chephren (Khafra or Khafre)
• Pyramid of Mykerinos (Menkaura)
• The Great Sphinx shows King Chepren as a man-lion protecting his country
ROCK-CUT or ROCK-HEWN TOMBS

• Built along hillside

• For nobility, not royalty

MORTUARY TEMPLES

• worship/ in honor of pharaohs

CULT TEMPLES
• worship/ in honor of god

Parts:
• Entrance pylon
• Large outer court open to sky (hypaethral court)
• Hypostyle hall
• Sanctuary surrounded by passages
• Chapels/chambers used in connection with the temple service
TEMPLE OF KHONS

• Typical temple: pylons, court, hypostyle hall, sanctuary, chapels all enclosed by
high girdle wall
• Avenue of sphinxes and obelisks fronting pylons
GREAT TEMPLE OF AMMON, KARNAK, THEBES

• Grandest temple and the work of many kings

MAMMISI TEMPLE

• Became the prototype of the Greek Doric temples

GREAT TEMPLE OF ABU-SIMBEL

• Example of rock-cut temple

• Constructed by Rameses II
• Entrance forecourt leads to imposing pylon with 4 rockcut colossal statues of
Rameses sitting over 20 m high

PYLONS

• monumental gateway to the temple consisting of slanting walls flanking the

entrance portal
OBELISKS

• upright stone square in plan, with an electrum-capped pyramidion on top

• sacred symbol of sun-god Heliopolis
• usually came in pairs fronting temple entrances
• height of nine or ten times the diameter at the base
• four sides feature hieroglyphics Obelisk, Piazza of S. Giovanni
• originally from Temple of Ammon, Karnak
DWELLINGS

• Made of crude brick

• One or two storey high
• Flat roof deck

3 parts:
• Reception suite on north side - central hall or living room with high ceiling and
clerestory
• Service quarters
• Private quarters
FORTRESSES

• Mostly found on west bank of Nile or on islands

• Close communications with other fortresses

FORTRESS OF BUHEN

• Headquarters & largest fortified town near Nubia

• From here they could trade and invade lands to the south
EGYPTIAN
ARCHITECTURE

Ancient Egyptian architecture is the architecture of Ancient Egypt, one of the

most influential civilizations throughout history, which developed a vast array
of diverse structures and great architectural monuments along the Nile,
including pyramids and temples.
GEOGRAPHICAL
• the land of the Pharaohs, of which the ancient name was Kemi, or the
black land

• consists of a narrow strip of fertile, alluvial soil along both banks of the
Nile bordered by the sandy desert

• commanded outlets and inlets for foreign trade by both the

Mediterranean and Arabian Seas

• Egyptians founded their cities, both for the living and the dead, and
here are the royal pyramids and the priestly temples

GEOLOGICAL
• natural products, such as timber, brick, clay, and stone, largely
determine the character of the architecture of a country

• Stone, including limestone, sandstone, and alabaster, as well as the

harder syenate or granite, basalt and porphyry, was the material chiefly
employed
 • Egyptian quarries was the famous limestone of the Mokattam Hills in
the north ; then came the sandstone in the central districts, and the red
granite or syenite of Aswan in the south

CLIMATE
• two seasons, spring and summer

• equable and warm ; snow and frost are unknown, while storm, fog, and
even rain are rare, and these conditions have contributed to the
preservation of the buildings

• with its brilliant and continuous sunshine, conduced also to simplicity of

design

HISTORY
• Wealthy country despite the desert - every year, Nile would overflow,
leaving the land fertile for growing crops

• Nile River was a trade route

• Gold from Nubia in the south

• Two kingdoms, Lower and Upper Egypt, combined by King Menes in

3100 BC

• Many small towns, but royal cities at Memphis and Thebes • A single
kingdom for most of its existence - unified under the centralized
omnipotent authority of the pharaoh (king)

Pharaohs:
• Seen as gods dwelling on earth

• Sole masters of the country and its inhabitants

 • Builders and leaders

• Initiated the design, financing, quarrying and transporting of materials,

organization of labor and construction itself

SOCIETY
• Divided into groups, by order of importance: senior priests, officials,
noblemen, and army commanders

• Most ordinary Egyptians were farmers

• Architects, engineers, theologians, masons, sculptors, painters, laborers,

peasants, prisoners

• Weaving, glass-making, pottery, metal, jewelry and furniture

• Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, music and writing literature and

history written on papyrus and stone tablets

RELIGION
• Cult of many gods representing nature: sun, moon, stars, animals

• After death, a persons soul went on to enjoy eternal life in kingdom of

the God Osiris - imagined this kingdom as a perfect version of Egypt

• Pharaohs were buried, bringing with them the things they might need in
the afterlife, even living people

• Wished for a fine burial, embalmment and funeral rites, and a

permanent tomb or "eternal dwelling"

• Dead body had to be preserved to house the spirit

• Remove insides, dry out the body, filled with linen, masked and
bandaged
CHARACTERISTICS
Ancient Egyptian houses were made out of mud collected from the Nile
river. It was placed in moulds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden for use
in construction.
Egyptian architecture is based mainly on religious monuments, massive
structures characterized by thick, sloping walls with few openings, possibly
echoing a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud walls.
Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events,
such as solstices and equinoxes, requiring precise measurements at the
moment of the particular event. Measurements at the most significant temples
may have been ceremonially undertaken by the Pharaoh himself.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
DESCRIPTION:
• Afterlife - life and house on earth is temporary, the tomb is permanent
• For sustenance and eternal enjoyment of the deceased
• Religion is the dominant element in Egyptian architecture.
MATERIALS:
• Stone was abundant in variety and quantity
• Used for monuments and religious buildings
• Durability of stone is why monuments still exist to this day.
• Other materials, metals and timber were imported
• Mud bricks: for houses, palaces (reeds, papyrus, palm branch ribs, plastered
over with clay)
ROOF & OPENINGS:
• Roof was not an important consideration
• Flat roofs sufficed to cover and exclude heat
• No windows
• Spaces were lit by skylights, roof slits, clerestories
WALL:
• Batter wall - diminishing in width towards the top for stability
• Thickness: 9 to 24m at temples
• Unbroken massive walls, uninterrupted space for hieroglyphics
DECORATIONS:
• Mouldings such as "gorge" or "hollow and roll" was inspired by reeds
• Torus moulding
• Hieroglyphics were pictorial representations of religion, history and daily
life
• Derived from the practice of scratching pictures on mudplaster walls
• Avenue of sphinxes: rows of monsters (body of lion, head of man, hawk,
ram) leading to monuments
Common ornaments:
• Common capitals used were the lotus, papyrus, palm which echoed
indigenous Egyptian plants, and were symbols of fertility as well
• The shaft represented bundle of stems
EXAMPLES:
MASTABAS
• Rectangular flat-topped funerary mound, with battered side, covering a
burial chamber below ground
• First type of Egyptian tomb
• Developed from small and inconspicuous to huge an imposing
Parts:
• Stairway with 2 doors: one for ritual, second was a false door for spirits
• Column Hall
• Offering Chapel
• Serdab (contains statue of deceased)
• Offering room with Stelae (stone with name of deceased inscribed)
• Offering table
• Sarcophagus – Egyptian coffin

PYRAMIDS
• massive funerary structure of stone or brick
Came in complexes:
• Offering chapel (north or east side)
• Mortuary chapel
• Raised and enclosed causeway leading to west
• Valley building for embalmment and internment rites
• Immense use of labor and materials, built in layers, like steps

STEP PYRAMID OF ZOSER, SAQQARA

• World's first large-scale monument in stone
• Designed by Imhotep

PYRAMIDS AT GIZEH
• Most magnificent of pyramids
• Equilateral sides face cardinal points
• Forms a world-famous building group
• Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)
• Pyramid of Chephren (Khafra or Khafre)
• Pyramid of Mykerinos (Menkaura)
• The Great Sphinx shows King Chepren as a man-lion protecting his country
ROCK-CUT or ROCK-HEWN TOMBS

• Built along hillside

• For nobility, not royalty

MORTUARY TEMPLES
• worship/ in honor of pharaohs
CULT TEMPLES
• worship/ in honor of god
Parts:
• Entrance pylon
• Large outer court open to sky (hypaethral court)
• Hypostyle hall
• Sanctuary surrounded by passages
• Chapels/chambers used in connection with the temple service

TEMPLE OF KHONS
• Typical temple: pylons, court, hypostyle hall, sanctuary, chapels all enclosed
by high girdle wall
• Avenue of sphinxes and obelisks fronting pylons

GREAT TEMPLE OF AMMON, KARNAK, THEBES

• Grandest temple and the work of many kings

MAMMISI TEMPLE
• Became the prototype of the Greek Doric temples

GREAT TEMPLE OF ABU-SIMBEL

• Example of rock-cut temple
• Constructed by Rameses II
• Entrance forecourt leads to imposing pylon with 4 rockcut colossal statues of
Rameses sitting over 20 m high

PYLONS
• monumental gateway to the temple consisting of slanting walls flanking the
entrance portal
OBELISKS
• upright stone square in plan, with an electrum-capped pyramidion on top
• sacred symbol of sun-god Heliopolis
• usually came in pairs fronting temple entrances
• height of nine or ten times the diameter at the base
• four sides feature hieroglyphics Obelisk, Piazza of S. Giovanni
• originally from Temple of Ammon, Karnak

DWELLINGS
• Made of crude brick
• One or two storey high
• Flat roof deck
3 parts:
• Reception suite on north side - central hall or living room with high ceiling
and clerestory
• Service quarters
• Private quarters

FORTRESSES

• Mostly found on west bank of Nile or on islands

• Close communications with other fortresses

FORTRESSES

• Mostly found on west bank of Nile or on islands

• Close communications with other fortresses

HISTORY

 Mesopotamia (from the Greek word meso “middle” and potamos “river” and literally means
land between two rivers
 was an ancient region located in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the
Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to today’s
 Mesopotamia was called the “cradle of civilization” and the center of copper metallurgy. It is
the earliest period to use painted ornaments on pottery.
 Its people were the first to easily supply water to their fields, formulate a system of writing,
develop mathematics, invented the wheel and learned to work with metal.
 Mesopotamians believe their King and Queens were descended from the city of God, but unlike
the ancient Egyptian, they never believe their kings were a real God.

KING HAMMURABI

 Was the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon

 Expanded the Kingdom of Babylon to conquer all of the ancient Mesopotamia
 He built new walls and new canals and dikes to improve crops.
 Best known for the development of a code of laws known as the Code of Hammurabi
 King Hammurabi’s Code of Laws
 Most extensive law of code from the ancient world
 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar

MESOPOTAMIAN
CLIMATE
• Little Rainfall
•Hot and Dry Climate
•Windstorms leaving muddy river valleys in winter
•Catastrophic flooding of rivers in spring

RELIGION
•They believed that the divine affected every aspect of human life.
•Polytheistic Religion (belief in many god) consisting of 3600 gods and demigods.

GEOGRAPHY
•Arid (too dry) soil containing little Minerals
•Natural Levee
•That create a high and safe flood plain
•Provide protection
•Provide needs (a tall grass or plant) that was used as building resources

•Fertile Soil

•Marshy areas and wide flat, barren plains

MATERIALS

•Little stone or timber resources

•Uses sun dried brick

•Uses reeds ( a tall grass plant)

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

•Mesopotamian families were responsible for the construction of their own houses.

•Doorways were often the only openings

HISTORICAL WORKS OF MESOPOTAMIANS

CUNEIFORM

•Most famous achievement of Sumerian

•Civilization of Mesopotamia is the invention of the

cuneiform

•Latin Term (wedge – shaped)

•Sumerian writing developed from pictograms but grew in sophistication and ultimately became a full-
fledged writing system that could be used for creating pieces of literature as well as prayers and laws.
Though it is not the oldest example of writing, cuneiform script is considered a great milestone in human
history.

CYLINDER SEAL

•Carved stone

•To make impression on wet clay

•They were used to sign business deals, to show ownership

of goods, to sign treaties, letters and marriage contracts.

•Cylinder seals also had a magical use – a man used his seal as a talisman or amulet for protection. Often
the seals made of semi-precious stones or gemstones conveyed this magical protective use.

•Used as a jewel.

SUMERIAN CITY OF ERIDU – first city in the world

HOUSES

•Made of sun dried brick.

•Upper class lived in large homes.

•Roofs were flat that it looks like a fourth floor.

•Important floor for them is the first floor

ZIGGURATS

•Were built by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local
religions.

•According to Herodotus, at the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, although none of these shrines have
survived.

Function

•The high place on which the priest could escape rising water and its practical function as security.

•The largest Sumerian and Mesopotamian structures were ziggurats.

•Made up of mud brick and topped by temples to god and goddesses

•Every major Mesopotamian cities had at least one

BABYLONIAN (HISTORY)

 The traditional style of Mesopotamia building was enhanced by a new form of façade ornament
consisting of figures designed in colored glazed bricks. It was also adorned with magnificent
new buildings.
 The Ishtar gate was built across the double walls of the city. Nebuchadnezzar's palace covered a
land of 900 feet by 600 feet.
 The city was surrounded by a double walls that has defensive towers. Babylonia is legendary for
hanging garden which is included in the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
 Temples and towers are also prominent.

CLIMATE

•Used to have about 10 inches of rain per year and very hot temperatures

•In summer, average temperatures reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

RELIGION

•Christianity GEOGRAPHY

•Vast desert rimmed by rugged mountain ranges.

MATERIALS

•Mud bricks

SAMPLE STRUCTURE

 HANGING GARDEN
 ISHTAR GATE

ASSYRIAN (HISTORY)

 The empire existed between roughly 1365 BC and 600 BC

 Assyria is a part of ancient Mesopotamia located on the upper Tigris. The Assyrians were great
warriors and hunters.
 Assyrians of Northern Mesopotamia became dominant in the region towards the end of the
second millennium BC they took over principles of design established by their Sumerian
predecessors.
 Assyria Palaces. Due to the expansive size of their empire, they gained access to many
resources including stone and iron.
 One of the unique characteristics of Assyrian art is their relief carvings.

ASSYRIAN

CLIMATE

•Rain fell in predictable and reliable ways.

•The temperature was warm but not too hot.

RELIGION

•Believed in a multitude of gods.

•Had a conception of an afterlife.

•Had leaders who ruled on behalf of the gods.

•Assyrians held the supernatural or mystical in high regard.

GEOGRAPHY •

It covered the most northerly portion of the Mesopotamian plain, with the river Tigris flowing through
it.

•The land was flanked to the north and easy by the Zagros mountains, to the west and south by desert

MATERIALS

•Rock (Limestone)

•Architectural materials in the Assyrian empire were quite diverse, consisting of a variety of woods,
stones and metals.

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

•Massive fortified walls are a common attribute in Assyrian Fortresses, pointing to the political
instability of the time and the need for architectural defense.

SAMPLE STRUCTURE

 BALAWAT GATES- These are three sets of decorated bronze bands that had adorned the
main doors of several buildings at Balawat.
 LAMASSU- A guardian figure consisting of the head of a human, massive wings, and the body
of a lion or bull.
 DUR-SHARRUKIN- This building had remained rectangular through much of the empire’s
history

PERSIAN (HISTORY)

 The Persian empire is the name given to a series of dynasties centered in modern - day Iran that
spanned several centuries. From the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D.

CLIMATE
•December to January: very cold, subfreezing winter
•July: Very hot summer

RELIGION
•First Persian Empire: Zoroastrianism
•After Arab conquest of 7th century: Islam

GEOGRAPHY
•Located in west Asia and borders the Caspean sea, Persian gulf and Gulf of Oman
MATERIALS •
Soil
•Clay
 •Bricks (made of mud and other imported materials)

CULTURE
•The ancient Persians of Achaemenid empire created art in different forms: Metal work, Rock
carvings, Weaving and Architecture
•Practice religious and cultural tolerance

SAMPLE STRUCTURE
 PALACE OF PERCEPOLIS
TOMB OF DARIUS, NAKSH-I-RUSTAM
 CITY Of sSUSA

Mesopotamian Architecture

4000 BC – 4th Century

Geographical Influence

West Asiatic Architecture flourished and developed in the twin river Tigris and Euphrates, also known as
Mesopotamia. It refers to Persia, Assyria, and Babylon. The fertile plains between the twin river were
given the name Mesopotamia from Greek word meaning mesos (middle) and potamos (river).

Known as the “cradle of civilization”, Mesopotamia is also part of what is known as the Fertile Crescent
because of the irrigated farmlands.

Mesopotamia (from the Greek word meso “middle” and potamos “river” and literally means land
between two rivers

Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq, has no natural barriers. It included Babylonia, Assyria, Persia, Sumer
and Akkad, corresponding to modern-day Iraq, North-eastern Syria, south-eastern Turkey and South-
western Iran.

Babylon was the capital of ancient of Babylonia in Southern Mesopotamia now the modern Iraq.

It was during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzae II (650 B.C.) that Babylon was the Largest City.

Geological Influence

Mesopotamians were superstitious, believers of symbolism and believers of genies and demons. Persian
were believers of good and evil. They believe that good usually triumphs in the end.

Historical Influence

1. Babylonian Period
 2. Assyrian Period
3. Neo- Babylonian Period
4. Persian Period

Social and Political Influence

Babylonians among the 3 were considered extra ordinary because they achieved highest degree of
civilization. Assyrian and Persian believe in military superiority thus manifested in their buildings.

King Hammurabi was the 6th Babylonian King to write the first code of laws in Human History called
Hammurabi’s Code.

King Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

•Most extensive law of code from the ancient world

•282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar

Cuneiform script in clay tablets is one of the earliest known forms of written expression.

CUNEIFORM

•Most famous achievement of Sumerian

•Civilization of Mesopotamia is the invention of the cuneiform

•Latin Term (wedge – shaped)

CYLINDER SEAL

•Carved stone

•To make impression on wet clay

•They were used to sign business

deals, to show ownership of
goods, to sign treaties, letters and
marriage contracts.

•Cylinder seals also had a magical

use – a man used his seal as a talisman or amulet for protection. Often the seals made of semi-precious
stones or gemstones conveyed this magical protective use.

•Used as a jewel.

CYLINDER SEAL

Assyria was the ancient name for northeastern part of modern Iraq and was named after its original
capital, the ancient city of Assur.
Persia now known as Iran was once a major empire of superpower proportions.

In the 6th century B.C. Cyrus the Great ( Kurosh, Father of the Iranian Nation) established the Persian
empire as the most powerful state in the world.

Darius I ( son of Cyrus the Great), ruled the Persian Empire from 522-486 B.C. He developed
infrastructure projects, the largest being the building of the new capital of Persepolis.

Xerxes I (Son of Darius I), was known for his massive invasion of Greece and his defeat marked the
decline of the empire.

Architectural Character

1. Massiveness
2. Monumentality
3. Grandeur

Bricks were made from clay mixed with chopped straw to improve cohesion and bondin

Types of Bricks
1. Sun-dried – for ordinary finish
2. Kiln- Dried – for facing important buildings
3. Colored glazed – for decorative purposes.

Characteristics Features:

Persian Architecture – columnar and trabeated with flat timber roof sometimes domed.

Assyrian and Babylonian Architecture – arcuated type of construction: arch, vault and flat strips,
buttresses with glazed tile adornment.

ZIGGURATS

•Were built by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local
religions.

•According to Herodotus, at the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, although none of these shrines have
survived.

•Function –The high place on which the priest could escape rising water and its practical function as
security.

•The largest Sumerian and Mesopotamian structures were ziggurats.

•Made up of mud brick and topped by temples to god and goddesses

•Every major Mesopotamian cities had at least one

Example of Structures

1. Babylon
a. Ziggurats / “holy Mountains” – a chief building
structure, square or rectangle in plan with steeply
battered sides and an open platform on top
containing the fire altar.
Three types of Ziggurat
I. Archaic Ziggurat – usually have one flat
top rectangular mound carrying the upper
temple.
White Temple Ziggurat, Uruk – the
temple is perched a top platform known
as a ziggurat.

The grand height serves two purposes:

 To stand out among the other

structures and therefore appear
the more important.
 To get the temple closer to the
sky

The central hall, known as the cella,

served as a meeting place for the
priests and gods making this belief
that temples were often reffered to
as waiting rooms.

II. Two or more stage Ziggurat

 III. Seven Stages square base Ziggurat

Tower of Babel Ziggurat, Borsippa

Temple Oval, Khafaje

b. City of Babylon – with towers and 100 bronze gates

2. Assyria
 a. Place of Sargon, Khorsabad – built by Sargon II of Assyria. Square –planned with a defensive
parameter and covered nearly one square mile. Entrance portals flanked with status of headed
winged bulls and lions. It contains 700 rooms.

Important parts of Palace

I. Seraglio – palace proper which includes the kings and residence, men’s apartment.
II. Harem- usually designed which a private family apartments or women’s quarter
III. Khan – service chambers; khan is a Moslem inn prototype for travelers

3. Persia
a. The place of Persepolis ( Greek word meaning City of the Persians) – a showcase for the
empire, was begun by Darius I, mostly executed by Xerxes I and finished by Artaxerxes I
about 460 BC; occupies 1500 and 1000 ft and is elevated 40 ft.
Greek Architecture

8th- Century to 2nd Century

Geographical influence

The rugged nature of greek peninsula and its widespread islands made communication difficult. It was
bounded on 2 sides by black sea and the Mediterranean Sea, with Athens as its center kingdom contains
the upper city know as citadel.

Aegean civilization has two cultures known as minoan which flourished in crete under the legendary
king Minos of Knossos, and the mainland civilization known as Mycenaean, after one of the great
centers, Mycenae.

The Minoans were the first great culture of Aegean civilization.

Geological Influence

Marble- chief building materials, they also ample supplies of building stones: facilities exactness of line
and refinement of detail.

The famous variety of marble is pentelic marble of Greece, found in the quarries of mount pentelikon in
Africa.

Climatic Influence

climate was intermediate between cold and hot which favored an outdoor life dramatic presentation.
Most of public ceremonies took place in an open air, even in religious rites, due to limited public
buildings other than temples/

Religious Influence

1. Aegeans – worship nature; priestesses rather than priest conducted the religious rites.
2. Greeks- represents their deities by large statues. They worship natural phenomena.

Greek Mythology- is the body of mythsand legends belonging to the ancient greeks concerning
their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult
and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece.

Greek deities
 Aphrodite – Goddess of commerce, love and beauty
 Apollo- God of law and reason, art, music, and poetry
 Ares- God of war
 Artemis- Goddess of chastity
 Athena- Goddess of learning and wisdom
 Demeter- Goddess of earth and agriculture
  Dionysus- God of wine and feasting
 Hephaestus- God of fire, flame and forgery
 Hera- Wife of Zeus, Goddess of marriage
 Heracles- Son of Zeus, mythical half of god and man
 Hermes- Messenger of Gods
 Hestia- Goddess of hearth and home
 Nike- Goddess of Victory
 Pan- God of flock
 Poseidon- God of the sea
 Zeus- Supreme God, ruler of the sky, chief god

Historical Influence

1. Early Period/ Mycenaean/ Hellodic Greece [3000 BC – 700 BC]

 Aegeans, Minoan and Myceneans were the only people in Greece
 Defense Architecture such as fortifications of MycenaeTyrins were necessary for protection.
 Citadel placed were built

2. Hellenic Period
 Essentially columnar and trabeated in acropolis, which was crowned by Parthenon. By
the 16th centurt, Parthenon was converted into Christian church.
 The “city state” (‘polis’) emeged as the basis of greek society
 Great figures in Philosophy and science such as Pythagoras (philosopher-scientist) and
Socrates (philosopher)
3. Hellenistic Greece
 Philip of Macedonia unified Greece and his Son, Alexander the Great embarked on a
national Crusade against Persia.
 The death of Alexander at 32, led to the division of empire among his generals.
 Greece became a roman Province.

Social and Political Influence

Chief diversion were music, dancing, wrestling, boxing, gymnastic, and bull fighting often with
religious connection. Women took part in hunting and more strenuous games, as well as in craftwork.
Tyrannic, aristocratic, and democratic were the forms of Government. Pericles one of leaders in Athens.

Architectural Character

1. Aegean Architecture/early Period

a. Low pitch or flat roof on multi-storey structure.
b. Stairway was developed for vertical circulation
c. Houses and palaces were principal building types, built of rubble or cut stone without
mortar.
 d. Walls were coated with stucco and floor with gypsum.
e. Columns were of cypress wood, tapering downward, cylindrical shaft, disc-like base and a
widely-projecting capital with 2 main parts:
 Square Abacus (above)
 Circular Echinus (below)
f. This broad-topped column was necessary to collect the weight of the thick walls.
g. Houses termed megaron and palaces were principal building types.

Megaron Areas:

 Enclosed porch
 Living apartment or megaron proper
 Thalamus- sleeping room

h. Four methods of walling finishes

 Cyclopean - a masonry made-up of huge stone blocks laid mo

 Polygonal - a mansory which is constructed with stones having polygonal

faces.
  Rectangular – block of stone cut into rectangular

 Inclined blocks - stones with inclined blocks

2. Greek Architecture/ Hellenic Period

a. Characteristics
 Simplicity
 Purity of lines
 Perfection of proportions
 Refinement of details
b. This Hellenic period chief building type were temples which were built towards the rising
sun (east)
c. Temples were the principal buildings.
d. Colonnades surround the temple
e. Greek architecture was essentially columnar and and trabeated
f. Timber forms were imitated in stone with remarkable exactness. For this reason, greek
Architecture has been called “Carpentry in marble”
g. The method of constructing the column was the mortise and Tennon or Tongue & groove.
h. Sectioned columns were carved with a centre hole of depression so that the y could be
pegged together, using stone metal pins.
i. Characteristic Features
 They used rectangular plan
 Propylaea – Temples gateways
 Collonade surrounds the temple
 Ceiling were omitted and treated with timber paneled coffers lacunaria
 Walls were made up of stones
 Marble sculptures completed the buildings
 Mural paintings on the walls of temples were highly developed
  Optical illusions were corrected from horizontal lines no to appear dropping or
sagging from the center, a slight convex outline were formed for stylobates (upward
curvature at its center og 2-3/8” on the shorter sides and 4-5/16” on the longer
sides), cornices and architraves from the temple Parthenon, the same with vertival
lines for columns.
 Vertical columns were inclined inwards towards the tp of 2-3/8” to correct the
appearance of falling outwards.
 Columns have an entasis, a slight convex curve used on Greek columns (vertical and
horizontal) to correct the optical illusion of concavity which result to dropping and
sagging.
 Angle columns were stouter and set closer to the adjacent columns.
 Letters were larger on the upper lines than in the lower.

3. Hellenistic Period
a. Civic design developed and building groups were laid out on symmetrical lines linked by
colonnaded porticoes o “stoas”.
b. Town planning became new developments.
c. Trabeated architecture was still usual but arches began to appear over wall openings.

Examples of Architectural Structures:

Aegean Architecture/ Early Period

1. Gate of Lions (1250 BC) – most ancient stone sculpture in Europe.
2. Palaces – used by kings or local Chieftain

Palace of King Minos, Knossos

Palace of Tyrins

The Palace, Mycenea

3. Tombs
2 types of Aegean Tomb
 a. Thalos - a stone-vaulted construction, shaped line and old fashion beehive. It consist of a
long passage known as dromos leading to domed chamber

Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae

b. Rock- cut or chamber tomb; rectangular chamber, cut within the slope hill- side approach by
Dromos.

Amythas Rock Tomb, Mugia, Turkey

Greek Architecture/Hellenic Period

1. Temenos/ Citadel/ Acropolis – sacred enclosure; upper city.

Important structures found in Acropolis

a. Principal Template
b. Pinacotheca (Picture gallery)
c. Gypthoteca (sculpture gallery)
d. Statue of Athena
e. The Erecthelon
f. Old Temple of Athena
g. The Parthenon
h. Theater of Dionysus
i. Stoa of Eumenes
j. Odeion of Herodes Atticus
k. Temple of Athena Nike

2. Civic Square – Square city or market place; the Greek’s political business and economic life (e.g.
Civic Square at Miletus, Civic Square at Ephesus, Civic Square at Priene)

English Market
Greek Agora
Italian Piazza
Roman Forum
French Place

3. Temples – the chief building; usually the plan is rectangular in shape.

Temples were not built for internal worship but with special regard to the outward effect.

They stood upon crepidoma of 3 or more steps.

Windows were rare and some were hypaethral (partly open to the sky).\

On the ends of the roof is the Tympana (triangular-shaped pediment) filled with sculptures.

Part of a Greek Temple

a. Naos – principal chamber containing the statue of the God or Goddess, which porticoes and
colonnades.
b. Pronaos – the inner portico in front of naos, or cella of the naos.
c. Epinaos/ Opisthodomus – posticum which serves as the treasury chamber.
Ways of describing temples (rectangular)
a. According to the number of columns on the entrance front.
 In Antis – temples that have 1-4 columns between antae at the front. Two id
the usual number.
 Amphi-Antis – temples that have 1-4 columns between antae at the front and
rear. 2 is the usual number.
 Prostyle – temples that have a portico of columns at front.
 Amphi-prostyle- temples that have a portico of columns at the front and rear.
 Peripteral – temples that have single line of columns surrounding the naos.
 Pseudo- peripteral – temples that have flankes of columns; attached to the
naos wall.
 Dipteral – temples that have a double line of columns surrounding the naos.
 Pseudo-dipteral – temples are like the last, but inner range of columns is
omitted on the flanks of the naos.
b. By the arrangement of the exterior columns of the temple in relation to naos as below;
 Henostyle – 1 columns
 Distyle – 2 columns
 Tristyle – 3 columns
 Tetrastyle – 4 columns
 Pentastyle – 5 columns
 Hexastyle – 6 columns
 Heptastyle – 7 columns
 Octastyle – 8 columns
 Enneastyle – 9 columns
 Decastyle – 10 columns
 Dodecastyle – 11 columns

c. In the doric order, the intercolumniation is sometimes referred to in terms of the

number of triglyphs between columns.
 Monotriglyph – an interval of 1 triglyph
 Ditriglyph – an interval of 2 triglyphs
 Polytriglyphs – an interval or more than 2 triglyphs
 d. Intercolumniation – the clear space between 2 adjacent columns usually measured at
the lower parts of the shafts.
 Pyknostyle – 1 ½ column diameters
 Systyle – 2 columns diameters
 Eustyle – 2 ¼ column diameters
 Diastyle – 3 column diameters
 Araeostyle – 3 ½ column diameters

4. Propylea – entrance gateways which marked the approached to the sacred enclodure in many
cities in Greece.

a. Propylaea o Athens – forms the imposing entrance to Acropolis; Erected by: Perles;
Architect by: Mensicles
b. Propylaea, Epidaurus
c. Propylaea, Priene

d. Greater Propylaea, Eleusis

5. Theater - an open air structure, which consisted of orchestra, auditorium or cavea out of the
slope of hillside, in or near city.

Parts of Theater:

 Orchestra
 Cavae – Auditorium
 Skene – Scene
 Logeion – stage
 Parasceina – dressing room
 Diazoma – Wide horizontal walkway between the upper and lower auditorium seats
 Stoae – Columnated Portico.

6. Public Building- restoration of Athens, Olymphia, Delphi and Epidorous gave an ideaof the
distribution of buildings on this famous sites.
a. Agora- town square; an open air meeting place for the transaction of business and also
market place.
b. Stoa – a long colonnaded building which serves to connect public monuments and for
shelter
STOA OF EUMENES, ATHENS STOA OF POIKILE, OLYMPIA

STOA OF ATTALOS, ATHENS

c. Prytaneion – a senate house to the chief dignitaries of the city

 Prytaneion, Olympia
 Prytaneion, Athens
 Prytaneion, Priene

d. Bouleuterion – council house; covered meeting place of the democratically elected councils

(e.g., Bouleuterion, Milletus - largest accommodation of 1,200 people)

e. Assembly Halls – used bu citizens in general assembly

 Thersillion, Megapolis
 Ekklesiasterion, Priene

f. Odeon - a theater building used mainly

by musicians in the presentation of their
works for competition and for public
approval.
 Odeon of Pericles, Athens

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens, was built in 161 AD

by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife.

g. Stadium/ Stadion- foot race course and also used for other athletic peroformances.
 The Stadium, Athens – up to 50,000 spectators: Architect : Herodes Atticus
 Stadium, Olympia was the oldest Stadium in Greece. The ancient Olympic Games
were held on this Site.

Panathenian Stadium (Kalimarmaro), Athens, Greece was excavated in 1870 and

rebuilt to host the first modern Olympics in 1896. It can seat 80,000 spectators.

h. Hippodrome – plan similar to stadium but longer, for horse and chariot racing.
i. Palaestra- a wrestling school; the events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing
and wrestling, were practiced here. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a
part of public gymnasia.
j. Gymnasium – a place for physical exercise, both Palaestra and Gymnasium were prototype
of roman Thermae.
 Gymnasia, Olympia
 Gymnasia, Ephesus
 Gymnasia, Pergamon
Parts of Gymnasium

 Court for athletes

 Tanks for bathers
 Dressing rooms and toilets
 Exedrae and other seats for expectators
 Stores, places for rest and conversation
 Epheblum/ club – for lectures

k. Naval Buildings – includes ship, sheds, and stores

l. Tombs – mausoleum or monumental tombs; one of the famous of all tombs and one of the
7 wonders of the world was erected to King Mausolus by his window, Artemesia and from it
derived the term mausoleum applied to monumental tombs.
 The Lion tomb
 Sarcophagus, Cnidus

 Tomb of the weepers, Sidon

Nereid Monument, Xanthus

 The Mausoleum, Halicarnassus was erected for king Mausolus by his wife. Covered
with white marble, its beauty and uniqueness made it one of the seven wonders of
 the ancient world. It was designed by Pythius and Satyrus with Scopas as the master
of sculptor.

m. Domestic Building / Greek Houses- usually one storey with rooms built around an internal
court with porticoes on 3 sides and chambers grouped around. Most homes in ancient
Greece had a courtyard, which was the center of the activity. Houses were made out of sun-
dried brick on a foundation of stones. Homes were divided into areas for the men and areas
for the women. The andron was a room reserved for males to entertain male guests.

Maison de la Colline, Delos

Classical Greek Home in Priene

 Plan similar to Aegean Megaron

 Example of a Greek House

n. Asclepieion – healing temple

 Asclepieion of Epidaurus

ORDERS OF THE GREEK

An order includes the colum (capital, shaft, base) with an entablature, which is following a
certain rule with regards to system of designing.

1. Doric Order – 1st order of the Greek Architecture; among the simplest and earliest
among the 5 orders Parthenon Temple; masculine in quality; has no base; height 4-6 ½x
diameter of the base.

A. ------------
B. -------------
C. Entablature parts
 Cornice
 Frieze
 Architrave
D. Cornice
 Mutule
 Guttae
E. Frieze Parts
 Triglyphs
 Metope
F. Architrave Parts
 Taenia
 Regulae
 Guttae
G. Triglyph
 2 whole and ½ channels
 Shank
H. Column Parts
 Capital
 Shaft
  Base
I. Shaft’s Plan
 Flutes (20)
 Arris (20)

2. Ionic Order – 2nd capital introduced by Greek Architecture. It is a more sophisticated

order. It is less heavy than the doric and less elaborated than the Corinthian order. It
was used in Erechtheion, Athens, also of Artemis, Ephesus; 4- fronted capital; originated
from nautilus shell and ram’s horn; has no frieze; has 24 flutes separated by filletes not
by arrises; has an attic base; height is 9x diameter of base

3. Corinthian Order – 3rd capital introduced by the Greek Architecture. Most elaborated
and most elegant of all the 3 capitals introduced by the Greeks. It looks like an inverted
bell; Acanthus Plant; The acanthus leaf and scroll play an important role in Greek
Ornamentation; The invention of the Corinthian Capital was due to Callimachus who got
the idea from observing a basket covered with a tile over the grave of a Corinthian
maiden; most ornate of the classical orders; with acanthus leaves and scrolls; has
slender fluted columns; has a base similar to the ionic height is 9x-10x diameter of base.

1. DORIC

a. The Parthenon, Athens

 Doric, Peripteral, Octastyle
 Dedicated to Athena
 Largest greek temple
 Architect: Ictinus and Callicrates
 Master Sculptor: Phedias

Statue of Athena- one of the most marvelous works of Phidias;

made of gold and Ivory 12.8 m high; eyes were of precious
stones

b. The Temple of Zeus Olympus, Agrigentum

  Doric, Pseudo- Peripteral, Heptastyle
 2nd largest Greek Temple
 It uses Atlantes (carved male figure)
 Atlas- male figure support carrying the world in kneeling position
 Telamones – male figure support in standing position
Architect: Theron

2. IONIC
a. Temple of Athena Nike, Athens
 Ionic, Amphi-
Prostyle, Tetrastyle
 Dedicated to the
wingless victory
 Architect: Callicrates

b. Temple of Apollo, Didyma

 Designed by Paeonius and Daphnis
 roof was hypaethral
 dipteral octastyle plan
 no opisthodomos

c. The Erectheion, Athens

 Ionic, Apteral, Irregular Plan, No side
colonnades
 Forms the imposing entrance to the
acropolis
 It uses caryatid porch
 Caryatids- draped female figure without
hands and carrying nothing
  Canephora- same as caryatids but this time with basket on her head.
 Uses egg and tongue or egg and dart omament

d. The Temple of Arthemis, Ephesus

 Hellenestic temple, ionic dipteral,
octastyle
 One of the seven wonders of the world
 Center of Pan- ionic festival of Asiatic
Colonies
 Architect: Deinocrates – under the time
of Alexander the great
 Master Sculptor: Scopas

e. Thalos Philippeion, Olympia

 Was begun by Philip of Macedonia and
completed by Alexander
 A Thalos is a circular temple (this word is
also used for a Mycenaean circular
subterranean tomb).

3. CORINTHIAN

a.

a. Thalos, Epidaurus
 Astronomical monument
 Built by Polykleitos
 Perystyle in plan with 14 internal Corinthian Columns
 Floor in black and white marble
 b. Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, by Cossutius
 Renowed as the largest temple in Greece
 Housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world
 Builder Antiochus Epiphanes

Other Architectural Structures

1. Temples
a. Temple of Apollo Epicurius, Bassae
 Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Peripteral,
Haxastyle
 Architect: Ictinus

b. The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, Athens

 Corinthian
 Type of monument erercted to support a tripoid as a
prize for athletic exercises of musical competitions in
Greek Festival
 c. Tower of the Winds, Athens
 Octagonal structure
 Known as the Horologium od Andronikos
Cyrhestes
 In its interior, it has clepysdra- water-clock
internally, sundial externally.

2. Theaters
a. The Theater of Dionysos,
Athens
 Where famous choragic
competitions took place
during the Panathenaic
festivals.
 Prototype of all greek
temple
 It was the first stone
theatre ever built, cut
into southern cliff.

b. The Theater, Epidaurus

 by Polykleitos
 an impressive open-air theater
renowned for its nearly
perfect architecture and
acoustics.
  Most beautiful and preserved Greek Temple

Other Greek terms

1. Abacus- the flat square on the top of a capital; uppermost member of a capital
2. Ancon/Console- a scrolled bracket which supports a comice or entablature over a door or a
window.
3. Andron/Andronitis- the part of a building used by men at the banquet room for entertainment
4. Aprotheca- store room, wine storage
5. Cyclostyle- circular projecting collonade
6. Cytrostyle- a circular projecting portico
7. Dentils- a small square block used in series in ionic, Corinthian, composite and rarely in doric
cornices.
8. Dromos- the long deep passage way to an ancient Egyptian tomb
9. Fluting- a shallow, concave grooves running vertically on the shaft of a column, pilaster or other
surfaces.
10. Glyptotheca- a sculpture gallery
11. Hecatompedon- a building 100ft in length or width; especially the cella of Parthenon
12. Konistra- in ancient Greek theater, it was orchestra
13. Loggia- an arcaded or collonaded porch or gallery attached to a larger structure
14. Modillion- a console on the other side of a doorway supporting a cornice
15. Plinth- the lowest square member of the base treasury house.
16. Quadriga- a chariot drawn by 4 horses
17. Thesaurus- treasury house in ancient Greece.
18. Triga- chariot drawn by 3 horses
19. Volute- spiral scroll in an ionic capital; smaller versions appear on Corinthian and Composite
Capitals

Greek Mouldings and Ornaments

 Refined
 Delicate in Contour
 due to the fine-grained marble in which they were carved
 due to the clear atmosphere and continuous sunshine which produced strong shadows from
slight projections
 Though these mouldings were formed by hand, they approach very closely to various conic
sections; parabola, hyperbola and ellipse

1. Cyma Reversa (ogee) – water-leaf & tongue

2. Cyma Recta – anthemion (or honeysyckle)
 3. Ovolo- egg and dart (or egg &tongue)
4. Astragal (or bead) – beed and reel
5. Torus – the guilloche or plait, ornament, or with bundles of leaves tied by bands
6. Corona – usually painted with the fret ornament (also called key pattern)

The Fillet, Cavetto and Scotia are generally plain mouldings

1. The fillet is a small plain face to separate the other mouldings.

2. The scotia is a deep hallow moulding
3. The cavetto is a simple hollow moulding

Elements of classical supports

1. Basic forms
a. Pier
b. Column
c. Pilaster
d. Pedestal
e. Engaged Column
f. Baluster

2. Special Forms
a. Caryatids
b. Canephorae
c. Atlas/Atlantes- male figure in kneeling position supporting the world at his shoulders