Editing Column (section)

==== Greek and Roman ====
{{see also|Classical order|Minoan civilization#columns}}
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| image1 = Schema Saeulenordnungen.jpg
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| caption1 = Illustration of Doric (left three), Ionic (middle three) and Corinthian (right two) columns
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| caption2 = Very detailed illustrations of the [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]], [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Ionic order|Ionic]], [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] and [[Composite order|Composite]] orders
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| caption3 = Very simple detailed of the [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]], [[Ionic order|Ionic]], [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] and [[Composite order|Composite]] orders
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The [[Minoans]] used whole tree-trunks, usually turned upside down in order to prevent re-growth{{Dubious|date=January 2024}}, stood on a base set in the stylobate (floor base) and topped by a simple round capital. These were then painted as in the most famous [[Minoan palace]] of [[Knossos]]. The Minoans employed columns to create large open-plan spaces, light-wells and as a focal point for religious rituals.

These traditions were continued by the later [[Mycenaean civilization]], particularly in the megaron or hall at the heart of their palaces. The importance of columns and their reference to palaces and therefore authority is evidenced in their use in heraldic motifs such as the famous lion-gate of [[Mycenae]] where two lions stand each side of a column. Being made of wood these early columns have not survived, but their stone bases have and through these we may see their use and arrangement in these palace buildings.

The Egyptians, Persians and other civilizations mostly used columns for the practical purpose of holding up the roof inside a building, preferring outside walls to be decorated with [[relief]]s or painting, but the Ancient Greeks, followed by the Romans, loved to use them on the outside as well, and the extensive use of columns on the interior and exterior of buildings is one of the most characteristic features of classical architecture, in buildings like the [[Parthenon]].  The Greeks developed the [[#Classical orders|classical orders]] of architecture, which are most easily distinguished by the form of the column and its various elements.  Their [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Ionic order|Ionic]], and [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] orders were expanded by the Romans to include the [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] and [[Composite order|Composite]] orders.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Knossos 03.JPG|Minoan columns at the West Bastion of the Palace of [[Knossos]]
File:EB1911 Capital Fig. 5 Early Greek Capital from the Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae.jpg|Illustration of the end of a Mycenaean column, from the [[Tomb of Agamemnon]]
File:Fotothek df tg 0001022 Architektur ^ Säule ^ dorische Ordnung ^ Brücke.jpg|Illustration of the [[Tuscan order]]
File:DoricParthenon.jpg|Illustration of the [[Doric order]]
File:Ionic Order from “Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce” p197.jpg|Illustration of the [[Ionic order]]
File:Evolution of the Corinthian Capital 138.jpg|Evolution of the [[Corinthian order]]
File:Fotothek df tg 0001039 Architektur ^ Säule ^ komposite Ordnung.jpg|Illustration of the [[Composite order]]
File:Femme en priere entre deux colonnes ioniques - Louvre.jpg|Praying Woman between two ionic columns, 2nd century, marble, in the [[Louvre]]
</gallery>