CLEP Humanities › Understanding Terminology That Describes Classical Architecture
What is the name for the specific type of high tower found on a mosque, particularly a mosque from the Middle Ages?
Minaret
Pyramid
Copula
Turret
Parapet
One of the most important features of any mosque, a Muslim place of worship, is the space to broadcast the regular call to prayer. In the Middle Ages particularly, this was achieved through building a thin, tall tower at one corner of the mosque. This high tower was called a "minaret" and was often the tallest building in a medieval Islamic society.
The three orders of classical Greek architecture that are still found in architecture today are ________________.
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
Ionic, Doric, Tuscan
Corinthian, Athenian, Tuscan
Ionic, Doric, Composite
Monumental, Doric, Ionic
Tuscan is a Roman architectural order and Composite is a Roman combination of orders. Athenian and Monumental are not architectural orders, though they may be used to describe architecture. The three orders are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
A statue of a small grotesque figure that adorns a gothic building is called __________.
a gargoyle
a buttress
a redoubt
a turret
a keystone
Gothic architecture, particularly in the building of churches and cathedrals, featured a number of ornate features. One of the most peculiar was the use of gargoyles, small stone figures of grotesque characters that were placed on the sides of buildings. These figures would often be placed between sculptures of saints and kings, and were viewed as protective features. Some gargoyles also functioned as drainage pipes (through holes in their mouths).
In an arch, the central piece of masonry that allows all the pressure to be placed throughout the arch is called __________.
the keystone
the buttress
the lintel
the transverse
the beam
An arch is able to remain in its appropriate position because of the way that pressure is placed throughout the entire arch. Pressure can only be appropriately distributed because of the placement of the keystone. The keystone is the central stone in an arch, which is shaped in order to push the weight down through every piece of stone.
Flying buttresses were a common feature of church architecture in which style?
Gothic
Neoclassical
Art Nouveau
Modern
Greco-Roman
Flying buttresses are ornate supports that stick outside the walls of Gothic church architecture, particularly cathedrals. Buttresses were necessary to keep the new, massive stone cathedrals of the middle ages standing. While they were originally functional, church builders made them reflect and enhance the design of their buildings.
What is the key feature of Russian church architecture?
Onion domes
Flying buttresses
Pyramids
Flèche
Diamond vaults
An onion dome is a dome on top of a drum which is bulbous and larger than the structure it sits on, and comes to a point with a cross on it. Onion domes are the chief feature in Russian church architecture, adorning cathedrals in Russian Orthodox cultures. Onion domes are featured prominently in St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and are a symbol of Russian culture.