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Classical order
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== Greek orders == There are three distinct orders in Ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. These three were adopted by the Romans, who modified their capitals. The Roman adoption of the Greek orders took place in the 1st century BC. The three ancient Greek orders have since been consistently used in European [[Neoclassical architecture]]. Sometimes the Doric order is considered the earliest order, but there is no evidence to support this. Rather, the Doric and Ionic orders seem to have appeared at around the same time, the Ionic in eastern Greece and the Doric in the west and mainland. Both the Doric and the Ionic order appear to have originated in wood. The [[Temple of Hera (Olympia)|Temple of Hera]] in Olympia is the oldest well-preserved temple of Doric architecture. It was built just after 600 BC. The Doric order later spread across Greece and into [[Sicily]], where it was the chief order for monumental architecture for 800 years. Early Greeks were no doubt aware of the use of stone columns with bases and capitals in [[ancient Egyptian architecture]], and that of other Near Eastern cultures, although there they were mostly used in interiors, rather than as a dominant feature of all or part of exteriors, in the Greek style. [[File:Chapiteau-Parthenon.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Doric capital of the [[Parthenon]] from Athens]] === Doric order=== {{Main|Doric order}} The Doric order originated on the mainland and western [[Greece]]. It is the simplest of the orders, characterized by short, organized, heavy columns with plain, round [[Capital (architecture)|capital]]s (tops) and no base. With a height that is only four to eight times its diameter, the columns are the most squat of all orders. The shaft of the Doric order is channeled with 20 flutes. The capital consists of a necking or [[Annulet (architecture)|annulet]], which is a simple ring. The echinus is convex, or circular cushion like stone, and the [[Abacus (architecture)|abacus]] is a square slab of stone. Above the capital is a square abacus connecting the capital to the entablature. The entablature is divided into three horizontal registers, the lower part of which is either smooth or divided by horizontal lines. The upper half is distinctive for the Doric order. The frieze of the Doric entablature is divided into [[triglyph]]s and [[metope (architecture)|metopes]]. A triglyph is a unit consisting of three vertical bands which are separated by grooves. Metopes are the plain or carved reliefs between two triglyphs. The Greek forms of the Doric order come without an individual base. They instead are placed directly on the [[stylobate]]. Later forms, however, came with the conventional base consisting of a plinth and a torus. The Roman versions of the Doric order have smaller proportions. As a result, they appear lighter than the Greek orders.[[File:Ionic capital at the British Museum.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.8|Ionic capital from the [[Queen Elizabeth II Great Court]] of the [[British Museum]] (London)]] === Ionic order === {{Main|Ionic order}} The Ionic order came from eastern Greece, where its origins are entwined with the similar but little known [[Aeolic order]]. It is distinguished by slender, fluted [[column|pillar]]s with a large base and two opposed [[volute]]s (also called "scrolls") in the echinus of the capital. The echinus itself is decorated with an [[egg-and-dart]] [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]]. The Ionic shaft comes with four more flutes than the Doric counterpart (totalling 24). The Ionic base has two convex moldings called ''tori'', which are separated by a scotia. The Ionic order is also marked by an [[entasis]], a curved tapering in the column shaft. A column of the Ionic order is nine times more tall than its lower diameter. The shaft itself is eight diameters high. The architrave of the entablature commonly consists of three stepped bands (''fasciae''). The frieze comes without the Doric triglyph and metope. The frieze sometimes comes with a continuous ornament such as carved figures instead.[[File:The Pantheon, Rome (14995115321).jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.8|Corinthian capital of a column from the interior of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in [[Rome]]]] === Corinthian order === {{Main|Corinthian order}} The Corinthian order is the most elaborated of the Greek orders, characterized by a slender fluted column having an ornate capital decorated with two rows of [[Acanthus (ornament)|acanthus leaves]] and four scrolls. The shaft of the Corinthian order has 24 flutes. The column is commonly ten diameters high. The Roman writer [[Vitruvius]] [[Callimachus (sculptor)#Architecture|credited]] the invention of the Corinthian order to [[Callimachus (sculptor)|Callimachus]], a Greek [[sculpture|sculptor]] of the 5th century BC. The oldest known building built according to this order is the [[Choragic Monument of Lysicrates]] in Athens, constructed from 335 to 334 BC. The Corinthian order was raised to rank by the writings of Vitruvius in the 1st century BC.
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