The oldest architectural works in Greece are those erected by the Cyclopes or Pelasgi, a race who came originally from Lycia, and moved gradually Westward, peopling successively the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, the Peloponnesus, Sicily, and Italy. At Tiryns and Mycenæ, in the province of Argolis, are to be seen the most remarkable remains of the buildings of this people, which were always grouped together in walled cities, serving as strongholds to protect the inhabitants of the province from the wild tribes with whom they came in contact. These cities were generally placed upon a rocky eminence, difficult of access and commanding a view of the surrounding country.

There are remains of high walls at Tiryns built of huge stones extracted from a neighbouring quarry and put together without cement or mortar, the interstices being filled with smaller stones. From the fallen blocks lying scattered at their base it is estimated that they originally measured sixty feet in height.

At intervals these walls are pierced by triangular doors and windows, the sides of which are curved, forming arches obtained by corbelled or overlapping instead of wedged stones. These Cyclopean constructions date from the seventeenth century before Christ.

The Acropolis of Mycenæ is entered by a doorway formed of two vertical monoliths of great size supporting a lintel, and called the Gate of the Lions, from the carving above, representing two rampant lions separated by an engaged column.

This city was surrounded by high fortified walls, and contained a place of assembly for the people and rude habitations, the remains of which are still visible. There is also still to be seen a conical or bee-hive-like structure, commonly called the Treasury of Atreus. This cone is formed by overlapping stones, curving gradually until they meet at the top of the vault, which is capped by a large block. The doorway by which it is entered is composed of slanting jambs of stone, sustaining a massive lintel. This lintel is relieved from direct weight above by a triangular opening, obtained by a similar process of corbelling. The Cyclopean remains are of interest to architects chiefly on account of this system of corbelled vaulting employed in their construction, which would never have been adopted had their builders been acquainted with the voussoir principle.

Dr. Schliemann has recently excavated the Acropolis of Mycenæ, and found there many interesting objects of gold and pottery. Bronze nails with flat heads have also been found within the Treasury of Atreus, which were evidently used to attach copper plates with which the interior was lined. Pausanias speaks of a similar treasury belonging to King Minyas, at Orchomenos, and other remains of the same description have been discovered in different parts of the Morea, bearing a resemblance to the ruined cities of Etruria.

In fact, the various tumuli found in Western Europe, Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, and Asia are all of the same type, and were a form commonly adopted by the ancient nations.

When we come to the epoch preceding Roman architecture, we will examine the character of Etruscan buildings, which were similar in many respects to the works of the Pelasgi; at present the subject of most interest is that of the great century of Greek art, for it marks the transition from Crude Art, to which belongs all that has preceded, to Fine Art, in which the Greeks excelled.

Greek buildings were erected according to the rules of three systems or orders, of the origin and character of which Vitruvius gives the following account, which, if not strictly accurate, is at least as reasonable as some of the versions which have been advanced. “Dorus, King of the Peloponnesus, having had a temple erected to Juno, in Argos, it was built by chance in the manner which we call Doric; afterward, in several other towns, other temples were built in this same order, having no established rule for the proportions of their architecture. About the same period the Athenians established several colonies in Asia Minor under the guidance of Ion, and they called the country which he occupied Ionia. These colonists built Doric temples there at first, of which the chief was that of Apollo, but as they did not know what proportion to give to the columns, they sought the means of making them at once strong enough to sustain the building, and of rendering them at the same time agreeable to the eye. For this they took the measure of a man’s foot as the sixth part of his height, and on this measure formed their column, giving it six diameters.[1]

“Some time afterward, wishing to build a temple to Diana, they endeavoured to find a new method, equally beautiful and more appropriate to their purpose. They imitated the delicacy of a woman’s form; they heightened the columns, gave them a base like the twisted cords which bind a sandal; they carved volutes in the capital to represent that portion of the hair which falls to the right and left of the head; they put circles and rings on the columns to imitate the rest of the hair which is braided and caught up on the back of women’s heads; and by flutings they imitated the folds of the dress. And this order, invented by the Ionians, took the name of Ionic.

“The Corinthian column represents the delicacy of a young girl, at the age when the figure is slender and best suited to the display of ornaments which may add to her natural beauty. The invention of its capital is due to the following incident: A young girl of Corinth, who was about to marry, having died, her nurse placed some little vases which she had been fond of during her life, in a basket on her tomb, and, in order that the weather should not spoil them, she placed a tile on the basket. This, having been laid accidentally over an acanthus-root, it came to pass, when the leaves began to grow, that the stems of the plant crept up the sides of the basket and, meeting the corners of the tile, were forced to curve downward, and to take the form of volutes. Callimachus, a sculptor and architect, struck by the harmonious result, imitated it in the capitals of columns which he subsequently made in Corinth, establishing on this model the proportions of the Corinthian order.”

At this stage it is necessary to explain briefly that an order consists of a column, the pedestal upon which it stands, and the entablature, or top member, which it supports. The column is subdivided into the capital, or head; the shaft, or body; and the base, or foot. The entablature has likewise three divisions: the architrave, or beam sustained by the columns; the frieze, or space occupied by the cross-beams; and the cornice, or line of stone marking the extremity of the rafters. These were originally made of wood and subsequently imitated in stone.[2]

The Greek Doric column had no base and rested upon a series of steps in place of the pedestal. The ends of the cross-beams were marked upon the frieze by a projection, upon which were cut three grooves into which the rain-water ran and fell in drops to the ground. These drops were represented in stone underneath, completing an ornament which was called a triglyph (meaning in Greek, three grooves). The spaces intervening between the triglyphs were called metopes. The inclination of the sides of the roof formed the lines of the triangular termination which we call the pediment.

The Greeks employed three methods in their Doric, namely, the hexametric, heptametric, and octometric, that is, a proportion of six, seven, and eight diameters to the height.

We have seen what were the component parts of the Ionic and Corinthian orders in the quotation from Vitruvius.

In Greek temples the shafts of the columns not only tapered considerably, but the vertical lines of an entire building inclined to imaginary points determined by the intersection of lines following the inclination of the end columns. The mass was thus in the form of the frustum of a pyramid, being intentionally so designed to bind the parts of the building together in a manner to withstand effectually the oscillation caused by earthquakes, which occur frequently in this region.

The city of Athens contained numerous examples of each of these orders, and a brief account of the buildings of that city will be the best means of showing their principal characteristics.

The city proper, in which were the chief temples, was built upon a rocky hill rising from the valley of the Illysus, lying between the mountain-chains of Pentelicus and Hymettus, and situated about five miles from the port of Phalerum, on the Gulf of Ægina. This Acropolis (rock city) is approached by a broad flight of stairs leading to the Propylæum, or outer gate, with high pedestals on each side which were formerly surmounted by equestrian statues.

The Propylæum is composed of a porch of six Doric columns, giving access to a large vestibule flanked by two outer halls. This vestibule is divided by a flight of steps, placed between six Ionic columns on pedestals, supporting nine marble beams or architraves which carry the weight of the roof.

Beyond is a second porch, opening on the plateau of the Acropolis by means of five doors of different proportions. The lintel of the central or largest door measures 23 feet, while the architraves are 17 feet in length and of single stones.

The Athenians prided themselves greatly upon the vestibule of the Propylæum, and believed Pericles, by whose direction the building was erected, to have been divinely inspired. The details and proportions of the two orders here combined are of great beauty, and show the most refined study. From the farther porch, the Parthenon (meaning in Greek, virgin), or temple of Minerva, is seen to the right, exhibiting a fine perspective view of its North and West elevations.

The temple is raised upon a platform surrounded by steps, and is rectangular in form, composed of a cella, or oblong room, surrounded by an open portico. It measures 228 by 101 feet, having eight Doric columns on the front and seventeen on the flank, inclusive of the corner ones.

Ictinus and Callicrates were the architects, under the general supervision of Phidias, who designed the gold and ivory figure of Minerva within.

The Doric is of the hexametric order, having an approximate proportion of six diameters of the column to its height.

The pediments of the Parthenon were decorated with rich carvings in high relief, representing, in the one, the presentation of Minerva to the assembled gods by her father Jupiter, and in the other, the contest of Minerva and Neptune for the naming of the city.

In the metopes were depicted the battles of the Athenians with the Centaurs, and scenes in the lives of Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules, in the admirable sculpture of Phidias.

The building stood almost intact from the fifth century before Christ to the seventeenth century of our era, when it suffered greatly from Venetian artillery, and in modern times its richest sculpture was torn from it under the Turkish régime, by order of Lord Elgin, who obtained permission from the authorities to remove it to the British Museum. One of the ships containing the marbles was sunk off Cape Matapan. Even in its ruined condition the Parthenon stands to-day a great example of the finest architecture the world has known.

On the plateau of the Acropolis are the three contiguous temples of Pandrosus, Erictheus, and Minerva Polias, and the temple of the Wingless Victory (Niké Apteros), of the Ionic order.

The temple of Pandrosus is virtually a porch attached to the larger temple of Erictheus. It is composed of six female figures or caryatides upon a high base, supporting an entablature without frieze. These figures are of exceeding grace and beauty, and are models of the sculptor’s art. The single cella was probably divided into three, to which access was had separately by the several porches. The ceilings of these temples are flat and decorated with sunken panels, ornamented with egg and dart moulds. According to Diodorus Sicculus, the temple of Erictheus was erected in his honour by the Athenians, in gratitude for his having instructed them in the worship of Ceres, Goddess of Agriculture. While Pausanias states that it contained the miraculous spring created by Neptune, who shared in its dedication.

There are three windows in the wall of the cella—unusual features in Greek architecture—and the levels of the temples are different, evidently so arranged, with a view to distinguish them the more completely.

The temple of the Wingless Victory is supposed to have been erected where Ægeus fell from the wall upon seeing the black sails of his son’s ship returning after his victory over the Minotaur. Others again assert that it was built without reference to site and so-called because the Athenians considered victory would never leave them, and consequently needed no wings. The temple is composed of a cella and two porches of four columns each, supporting a beautifully decorated entablature.

At the base of the Acropolis stood the resident portion of the city, containing also other temples and public buildings, which are still standing. The most important are the temple of Theseus, the Tower of the Winds, the theatre of Bacchus, and the monument of Lysicrates. Besides these there are many Roman buildings, but they belong to a subsequent period.

Plutarch says that the Athenians under Cimon erected the temple of Theseus on his return from Crete, and that it is of older construction than the temple of Minerva. It has six columns in the front and thirteen in flank, supporting marble beams the extremities of which rest on the inner wall and correspond on the other with the triglyphs on the outer face. The metopes had carvings representing the exploits of Theseus. The temple stands at the base of the Acropolis to the North; it is similar to the Parthenon in many respects, being of the same Doric order, though less rich in sculpture. It is the best preserved of all the monuments, having suffered but little during the twenty-two centuries it has existed.

The Tower of the Winds, erected by Adronichus Cyrrhastes, is an octagonal structure surmounted by a frieze, upon which the eight winds of heaven are carved in allegorical figures. The roof is a pyramid of marble slabs and was at one time surmounted by a bronze triton holding a switch, which answered the purpose of a vane, but has since disappeared. The building was used as a water-clock.

The choragic monument of Lysicrates, commonly called the Lantern of Demosthenes, is a circular structure of the Corinthian order. The spaces intervening between its six columns are closed by panels of a single stone upon which trivets are carved. The stone roof is decorated with scales and surmounted by a finial of delicate workmanship. On this was placed the tripod of the choir which had been successful in the Olympian contest of the year 375 B.C., according to inscription.

There are other Corinthian buildings scattered throughout Greece, but this is generally taken to be the best example and its proportions followed. The carvings of the frieze depict the exploits of Hercules, who is represented clothed in the traditional lion’s skin.

On the opposite slope of the hill are the ruined chairs and benches of the theatre of Bacchus, fronting an open stage. In building a theatre, the Northern slope of a hillside was generally selected for the site, in order to avoid the direct solar rays. Seats were provided for the audience by cutting circular tiers in the rock and a marble stage, profusely ornamented, was erected facing them. The stage was raised in order that the orchestra might not interfere with the view of the actors, and a portico adjoining it, served as a promenade during the intervals in the performance.

The stadium, or circus, of Athens was formed in this way, taking in plan the shape of a horseshoe. It was here that the public games and races took place, the upper or circular end being occupied by the seats of the judges. It belongs, however, to a later period, having been constructed in the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. A few years ago the King of Greece caused the stadium to be excavated, and several marble chairs and seats were discovered.

Each city of importance possessed a Palæstra, or gymnasium, in which were rooms for bathing in hot or cold water, for the wrestlers to anoint themselves with oil and fine dust, and a school for young lads. The building was enclosed by a portico and surrounded by pleasure-grounds in which the public exercises took place.

The private dwellings were of one story in height, surmounted by terraces and divided by courts. The women’s apartments were separated from the men’s, and the larger houses contained banqueting-halls with accommodation for musicians and singers. The furniture consisted of tables in wood and choice stone, vases, candelabra, tripods in bronze, and rich Oriental carpets.

Externally the houses were painted brilliantly and decorated with wreaths, garlands, and arms. Outside the entrance door stood the statue of the god of the household—Jupiter, Minerva, or Mercury.

The richer citizens preferred country villas to city residences, which they surrounded with ornamental gardens and woods. The groves of the Academy where Plato held his school in the shade of the olives, outside the city gates, are probably the most celebrated of the latter.

The dead were buried in necropoli without the city, and their place of interment marked by tombs in the form of pyramids or funeral pyres, or more simply by a stella, or upright tablet, inscribed with the name and virtues of the deceased, and upon which were carved scenes in his life. In the colonies in Asia Minor the system of excavating chambers in the rock was adopted, the entrance to them being marked by Ionic columns supporting entablatures and pediments.

The public buildings of Athens were built of white marble from the island of Paros and the mountain quarries of Pentelicus, resembling in its fracture the purest loaf-sugar. The sun and rain have stained them to a tawny red during the many ages which have passed over them, and nearly all trace of the various dyes, with which they are supposed to have been coloured, has disappeared to-day.

The Greeks built their walls of bonded masonry, the vertical joints coming in the centres of the stones above and below, and they were frequently additionally strengthened by metal anchors. In walls of unusual thickness it was customary to construct the inside and outside faces first and fill the intervening spaces with loose stones and mortar, with an occasional through stone to connect the parts and bind them together.

The joints were sometimes emphasized by grooves, but this ornament was used more frequently in Roman work.

Until its introduction by the Romans the arch was rarely, if ever, employed, and the limit of inter-columniation was restricted by the necessity of finding stones of sufficient length to form the architraves.

The roofs were generally of wood, covered with terra-cotta tiles or sheet metal, and left open at intervals for the admission of light. This is, however, a disputed point, as the wood, being perishable, has left no positive proofs of the method employed. It appears that an awning or sail was stretched over these openings when services were being held. It is probable that in many instances there was no light admitted, except that from the entrance door. The effect of a religious ceremony performed in the temples by the artificial light of torches, with the flickering fires from the tripods and votive stands reflected upon the ivory and gold of the statues, and the smoke wreathing weirdly above the heads of the assembled multitude, must have been infinitely more impressive than if lit by the colder light of day.

The Greek colonists carried the principles of their architecture with them, leaving monuments of their genius wherever they established themselves. Of the temple of Diana, at Ephesus, nothing but a few fluted drums and scattered fragments remain to-day. It was the most magnificent temple of the Ionic order, erected with lavish expenditure, and decorated within with panels of cedar wood. It was burned and pillaged by the Persians.

At Agrigentum, in Sicily, and Pæstum, in Southern Italy, there are several Doric temples of massive proportions. Of these the temples of Concord, Jupiter, and Neptune are the most notable. The columns are shorter and their capitals broader than the Athenian type, and in one instance there are two orders superposed, within the cella, to support the roof.

The Greeks erected buildings in many parts of Southern Europe, in Asia Minor, and in Egypt, and in later times, even under the Roman conquest, they remained the masters of the arts, teaching their principles and supervising the erection of the monuments of Rome. The race was, indeed, peculiarly endowed with a genius for creating the beautiful, for though we have but scant information on the subject of Greek painting, we have preserved to us examples of sculpture which have never been surpassed or even equalled, and in architecture, though many more elaborate buildings have since been erected, nothing has ever been produced worthy of comparison with the harmonious proportions and majestic simplicity of the temples of Attica.