Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is the beginning of western ideas and culture. The people of ancient Greece are remembered as masters of philosophy, science, fine arts, geography, medicine, and astronomy. The intelligence and hunger for learning in the greek culture lead to many great products in architecture and design. One of the most iconic pieces of architecture of ancient Greece is the Parthenon. 

The Parthenon is an ancient temple of the goddess Athena. This temple is located on Athenian Acropolis and is one of the most important surviving buildings and gives us a good look into Ancient Greece and their design. The Parthenon looks like the epitome of architectural perfection, but what I found so interesting is that even though it appears to be absolutely perfect, the columns are actually not symmetrical and balanced in reality. The distance between each column varies, the corner columns are heavier, and they columns bow slightly inward. The Parthenon is the cumulation of the Doric order. The Doric order is one of the three classical orders in the Ancient Greek time period; it features vertical grooves running down the column and a smooth capital that flared away from the column to meet the top. Doric columns are more masculine in look and stature. Below is a picture of the Parthenon and its Doric columns. 

Ancient Greece is the time from which trompe l'oeil painting emerged from. This paint technique gives the feeling of being in the painting itself rather than just viewing it; it has a three dimensional affect. Another signature of Greek interior design was their motifs. On the island of Crete many of the motifs contained objects pertaining to the sea such as dolphin, octopus, and other marine life. One of the most well known Greek motifs is the Greek Key, this motif was used frequently in ancient Greek and is still used today. Below is an image of a Greek motif featuring waves and a key pattern. 

Modern Application 

This modern bedroom features the greek key motif in the fabric on the bench below in the bed. 

This is a modern day take on a Greek kline. A kline was a bed/sofa that also was used for dining; it also has more rounded legs which was common in Greek furniture. 

Lastly, this image shows a modern take in the doric order. The columns used on this porch are of the doric order and are similar to those used on the Parthenon. 

Peer Reviews

I thought that Katie K's blog post did a great job explaining the importance of mythology and gods on greek architecture and design. I also learned that the home of all the gods was called Olympus and located on the tallest mountain in Greece. 

I also read Alex R's blog post on ancient Greece and thought all of her modern application pictures were great! They really exemplified the influence that ancient Greek design had on the world.