Analyzing Ancient Greek and Roman architecture
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AP Art History › Analyzing Ancient Greek and Roman architecture
Which of these statements about Greek temples is most accurate?
They were designed to be seen from the outside, where they emphasized balance over mystery
They were designed to be increasingly more beautiful as the worshiper went deeper into the temple area
They were designed by competing architects, each trying to outdo the previous in scale and design
They were only made of stone
They were built as gathering places for worshipers
Explanation
Temples epitomized the Greek way of life. They formed a balanced and aesthetically pleasing background to the daily lives of the Greeks, not necessarily places of active worship for the masses. They were built to be seen from outside, where their harmony spoke of the rationality of life.
Why do classical Greek temples not contain arches?
While the Greeks did use arches it was mainly in below ground construction, not temples
The arch wasn’t invented until Roman times
Arches were considered profane because of their practicality, so they were not used to build places of worship
Early arches were poorly made and, while the Greeks used them, none have survived until today
Arches have to be made out of brick, not marble, so they could not be used in temple construction
Explanation
There is a long-standing myth that the Romans invented the arch. This is simply not true, arches can in fact be found among ancient Greek ruins. They were mostly used underground. While the Romans didn’t invent the arch, they were the first to put it to wide use.
Which of the following best describes Ancient Greek architecture?
The Greeks sought beauty based on mathematical proportions
The Greeks used size to determine the importance of a building
The Greeks used the same style for all their temples
The all the great Greek architectural projects were for tombs and places of worship
Greek architecture was developed entirely independent of Egyptian architecture
Explanation
While many early civilizations sought to show the importance of a building by its size, the Greeks aimed, not so much for immense structures, but properly proportioned ones. We are still using their standards of proportion on art and architecture today. This doesn’t mean that there were no large Greek temples, but this was not a common characteristic.
Why are Greek temples smaller than temples found in Egypt?
Proportion mattered more than size to the Greeks; the temples needed to be proportioned to those who used them
The prevalence of earthquakes in Greece forced the Greeks to focus on smaller, more achievable projects
Egyptian temples were carved into rock, so size was less of an issue
The Greek economy couldn’t support large building projects
The stone used by the Greeks wasn’t strong enough for larger structures
Explanation
Some Greek temples are in fact massive, but for the Greeks religion and art were centered on man. The people who used the temples were in some ways the focal point, not the afterlife, or strange and exotic deities. Because of this the temples were supposed to be more in proportion to the people who used them.
What is a major difference between Greek and Roman temples?
Greek temples were meant to be viewed on all sides, while Roman temples were to be viewed from the front
Greek temples had columns with slight bulges, while roman ones did not
Greek temples never veered from the established orders, while Roman temples were more varied
Roman temples were also used as marketplaces
Roman temples were built on the ruins of previous structures
Explanation
The Romans copied many stylistic elements from Greek temples. There was, however, a major difference. Greek temples were built freestanding and without regard for the other buildings around them. Roman temples, on the other hand, were built in conjunction with large municipal building projects and their final design took this into account.
What is misleading about the architectural and sculptural evidence that remains of the Greek artistic tradition?
The surviving sculpture and architecture is white, but would have actually been brightly colored.
The surviving pieces do not demonstrate properly the opulence of the empire.
The sculpture that remains undervalues the importance Greek senators held in the community.
The architecture that remains does not properly demonstrate the depth of Greek commitment to their polytheistic religion.
None of the other answers is correct.
Explanation
There is evidence that the white piece found in Greece were actually brightly colored, giving us an image of Greece that is much different than the white marble we think of when we think of Classical Greece.
Greek Doric temples _________________.
were still strongly influenced by wooden temple design
were unstable and tended to collapse, leading to a new design: the Ionic temple
doubled as meeting places of governing bodies
were built without a sense of proportion
emphasized tall and slender architecture
Explanation
Even centuries after temples were built from stone, they were still strongly influenced by their wooden predecessors. Characteristics that the original temples had, for structural reasons were copied in the stone forms. For instance, the round columns imitated tree trunks, and the square triglyphs above the columns were meant to look like horizontal beams sticking out of the face of the building.
As time progressed Greek temple architecture changed. Columns _________________.
grew taller and had more slender
grew shorter and more refined
were simplified; most of the ornamentation was moved to the architrave
were removed from the sides of the temple, and only used on the front and rear
were no longer designed according to the 3 standard categories or orders
Explanation
Ionic and Corinthian architecture was marked by taller, slenderer columns. Even the Doric temples, still built on the Greek mainland were less squat that their predecessors. The Greeks felt that this gave the buildings a lighter and more delicate feel.
The image above is an aerial view of the Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis (410-405 B.C.).
(Image by José-Manuel Benito from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple\_of\_Athena\_Nike.)
What about the Temple of Athena Nike makes it unique as compared to the other buildings on the Athenian Acropolis?
It is made entirely of marble and is the first fully Ionic temple on the acropolis.
It has a cult statue of Artemis as well as Athena.
It was supposedly built at the site at which Zeus's thunderbolt struck the ground.
Only priestesses were permitted to enter, and it was the site of female worship.
It housed an altar for animal sacrifice and was said to constantly burn incense.
Explanation
You can see that the building is Ionic by noting the bases on the columns (the larger circles around the outside of the circles that denote columns). Most other buildings on the acropolis were made of limestone, but the small size of this temple allowed architects to use pentelic marble.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of ionic order temple construction?
Alternating triglyphs and metopes in the frieze
A tiered base at the bottom of the column
A decorative and often elaborate volute
Relief sculpture running the length of the frieze
A narrow and stylized column
Explanation
Triglyphs and metopes are a characteristic of the doric order temple, but were abandoned by the time the ionic order became the favored architectural tradition in favor of an uninterrupted frieze that could house relief sculpture.