Architecture; Buildings

Monument of Lysicrates, Athens

Athens, 335 B.C.E.; The circular structure, raised on a high squared podium, is the first Greek monuments built in the Corinthian order on its exterior. It was originally crowned with an elaborate floral support for the bronze tripod that was the prize Lysicrates' chorus won. Its frieze sculptures depict episodes from the myth of Dionysus, the god whose rites developed into Greek theatre; the common design for elaborate cupolas.

Palace of Minos

Crete, c. 1600 B.C.E.; also known knossos Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square. Detailed images of Cretan life in the late Bronze Age are provided by images on the walls of this palace. The 6 acres of the palace included a theater, a main entrance on each of its four cardinal faces, and extensive storerooms (also called magazines). Within the storerooms were large clay containers (pithoi) that held oil, grains, dried fish, beans, and olives. Many of the items were processed at the palace, which had grain mills, oil presses, and wine presses. The palace used advanced architectural techniques: was built up to five storeys high. The centerpiece of the "Minoan" palace was the so-called Throne Room, this chamber has an alabaster seat identified by as a "throne" built into the north wall. On three sides of the room are gypsum benches.

Khirokitia

Cyprus, c. 5500 B.C.E.;, A cyprus city well known for having a street which created a social stratification.

Lion Gate, Mycenae

Greece, c. 1,250 B.C.E.; Entrance to the citadel of Mycenae. Uses post and lintel structure with a triangular stone that relieves the weight of the structure. The triangular stone contains a relief, with two lion placing their paws on an altar, serving as guardians. Consists of a corbelled arch which arranges stones in layers until they create an arch shape at the point in which they meet.

Altar of Zeus, Pergamon

Turkey, 197-159 B.C.E.; Contains an elevated platform framed by a colonnade of Ionic columns with projecting wings on either side of a central staircase. All around the platform was a sculpted frieze dominated by larger-than-life figures almost jumping onto the stereobate. The subject is of Zeus and the gods triumphing over the titans (secret allegory).

Troy VII

Turkey, 3000-1300 B.C.E. (Homeric Troy); a walled city with towers reaching a height of nine meters; the foundations of one of its bastions measure 18 meters by 18 meters. Manfred Korfmann, who excavated the site in the 1980s, estimated the area of Troy VII at 50 acres or more and put its population at five to ten thousand inhabitants, which makes it "by the standards of its day a large and important city."

Troy VI

Turkey, 3000-1300 B.C.E. (Troy VI); Troy VI was destroyed around 1300 B.C.E., probably by an earthquake. Only a single arrowhead was found in this layer, and no bodily remains.

Temple of Artemis

Turkey, c. 560-550 B.C.E.; Artemision; a prominent center of spiritual traditions in Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Rectangular in shape, the temple had 127 columns, (each was 66 feet tall) those at the front were decorated with intricate sculptures. The entire structure was erected from marble, an unusual material for building temples. A statue of Artemis stood in the middle of the temple.

Çatalhöyük

Turkey, c. 6000 B.C.E., 9000ya, Central Turkey; elaborate art depicting males, but no specific artists; egalitarian society; males and females had same level of tooth wear, same food intake and same soot on ribs; high rates of infant mortality; buried dead under floors; agriculture signs present, but wasn't major focus, instead focus was on hunting/gathering; Due to density, can be considered first city; essentially controlled obsidian trade: that was its main economy; belief system: "skull cult".

Lepenski Vir

Yugoslavia, c. 5000 B.C.E., An impressive Mesolithic state along the Danube River in Serbia where structures, burials, and sculptures were found.

Skara Brae

Scotland, c. 2000 B.C.E., A late Neolithic village in Northern Scotland (Orkeny Islands) discovered by archaeologists in the 1800s, Dates back to 1500 BCE. Special Storage areas for grain, sturdy housed, better conditions lead to higher birth rates and lower mortality rates at least when crop yeilds were high.

Erechtheion, Akropolis

Athens, 421-405 B.C.E. Architect: Kallikrates; The main structure consists of up to four compartments, the largest being the east cella, with an Ionic portico on its east end. The entire temple is on a slope, so the west and north sides are lower than the south and east sides. It was built entirely of marble from Mount Pentelikon, with friezes of black limestone from Eleusis which bore sculptures executed in relief in white marble. It had elaborately carved doorways and windows, and its columns were ornately decorated; there is another large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous "Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures (caryatids) as supporting columns, each sculpted in a manner different from the rest and engineered in such a way that their slenderest part, the neck, is capable of supporting the weight of the porch roof while remaining graceful and feminine.

Temple of Athena Nike, Akropolis

Athens, 427-424 B.C.E., Architect: Kallikrates; is the earliest Ionic building on the Acropolis. Only c. 11 feet high from the stylobate to the apex of the pediment, it has four columns at the projecting porches at each end (tetrastyle amphiprostyle). Its elongated shape and small scale befit its position on a high narrow substructure. Includes complex, double-faced angle capitals and the first known division of the Ionic architrave into three fasciae.

Propylaia, Akropolis

Athens, 437-432 B.C.E., Architect: Mnesikles; The monumental gateway to the Acropolis. Was never completed. There is no surviving evidence for sculpture in the pediments. The central building contains the gate wall, about two-thirds of the way through it. There are five gates in the wall, one for the central passageway, which was not paved and lay along the natural level of the ground, and two on either side at the level of the building's eastern porch, five steps up from the level of the western porch. The central passageway was the culmination of the Sacred Way, which led to the Acropolis from Eleusis.

Propylaia Site Plan

Athens, 437-432 B.C.E., Architect: Mnesikles; The structure consists of a central building with two adjoining wings on the west (outer) side, one to the north and one to the south. The core is the central building, which presents a standard six-columned Doric façade both on the West to those entering the Acropolis and on the east to those departing.

Parthenon, Akropolis

Athens, 447-432 B.C.E. Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates, Sculptor of Athena: Phidias; It was built to replace two earlier temples of Athena on the Acropolis. One of these, of which almost no trace remains today, stood south of the Parthenon (between the Parthenon and the Erechtheum). The other, which was still being built at the time of the Persian sack in 480, was on the same spot as the Parthenon.

Parthenon Site Plan, Akropolis

Athens, 447-432 B.C.E. Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates, Sculptor of Athena: Phidias; The Parthenon is a Doric peripteral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on every side, and a colonnade (8 x 17) of Doric columns extending around the periphery of the entire structure. Each entrance has an additional six columns in front of it. The larger of the two interior rooms, the naos, housed the cult statue. The smaller room (the opisthodomos) was used as a treasury.

Mortuary Complex of Zoser

Egypt, Saqqara c. 2680 B.C.E., Architect: Imhotep; an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built during the 27th century for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep. It is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration. This first Egyptian pyramid consisted of six mastabas (of decreasing size) built atop one another in what were clearly revisions and developments of the original plan. The step pyramid (or proto-pyramid) is considered to be the earliest large-scale cut stone construction, although the nearby enclosure known as Gisr el-mudir would seem to predate the complex.

Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel

Egypt, c. 1250 B.C.E.; took about twenty years to build. Four colossal statues of the pharaoh with the double Atef crown of Upper and Lower Egypt decorate the facade of the temple, which is topped by a frieze with 22 baboons. The colossal statues were sculptured directly from the rock. All statues represent Ramesses II, seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Next to the legs of the colossi, there are other statues no higher than the knees of the pharaoh, that represent his wives and children. The inner part of the temple a triangular layout, with rooms decreasing in size from the entrance to the sanctuary. The hypostyle hall is supported by eight huge Osirid pillars depicting the deified Ramses linked to the god Osiris. From the hypostyle hall, one enters the second pillared hall, which has four pillars decorated with beautiful scenes of offerings to the gods. This hall gives access to a transverse vestibule in the middle of which is the entrance to the sanctuary.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari

Egypt, c. 1500 B.C.E., Architect: Senmut; the adjacent, earlier mortuary temple of Mentuhotep was used as a model, the two structures are nevertheless significantly different. Hatshepsut's temple employs a lengthy, colonnaded terrace that deviates from the centralised structure of Mentuhotep's model. There are three layered terraces reaching 97 feet tall. Each terrace is articulated by a double colonnade of square piers, with the exception of the northwest corner of the central terrace. These terraces are connected by long ramps which were once surrounded by gardens with foreign plants including frankincense and myrrh trees. The layering of Hatshepsut's temple corresponds with the classical Theban form, employing pylons, courts, hypostyle hall, sun court, chapel and sanctuary.

Temple of Amon, Karnak

Egypt, c. 1525-1350 B.C.E.; an extension of an existing temple that had its origins a thousand years earlier and had experienced additions throughout its long life. This stone bastion of 134 columns delimits one side of the temple's Great Court. The columns defining the processional aisle are 69 feet high, the others 42 feet, the difference in height filled by a stone grille or clerestory. The entire hypostyle was originally roofed with slabs of stone: the effect of columns vanishing into darkness.

Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep,, Deir el-Bahari

Egypt, c. 2050 B.C.E.; king who reunited Egypt at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. His mortuary temple was built on several levels in the great bay at Deir el-Bahari. The structure overall was laid out as a terraced temple, possessing an open frontal façade with pillared halls. Thereafter, the plan divides the temple into two main sectors: A causeway led away eastwards from the forecourt of the mortuary temple itself, towards the Nile and a valley temple; The actual tomb of the ruler lies some 150 metres deep within the cliff face, a granite chamber with an alabaster chapel in the form of a shrine. A secondary tomb for the ruler was built at some depth in the lower courtyard in the Bab el-Hosan (the "tomb of the horse") at the front of the temple. Here, an black seated statue of Mentuhotep (now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) was interred beside an empty sarcophagus.

Great Sphinx of Giza

Egypt, c. 2550 B.C.E., 4th dynasty; made of sandstone. Largest statue in the near east. Sphinx is associated with the sun god, and joins the body of a lion with the head of a pharaoh.

Pyramids of Giza

Egypt, c. 2570-2500 B.C.E. (Cheops, Chefren, and Mykerinos); includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village and an industrial complex.thought to have been constructed to house the remains of the deceased Pharaohs who ruled over Ancient Egypt. A portion of the Pharaoh's spirit called his ba was believed to remain with his corpse. To ensure that the pyramid remained symmetrical, the exterior casing stones all had to be equal in height and width. Workers might have marked all the blocks to indicate the angle of the pyramid wall and trimmed the surfaces carefully so that the blocks fit together. During construction the outer surface of the stone was smooth limestone; excess stone has eroded as time has passed.

Stonehenge

England, c. 2750-1500 B.C.E., a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, consisting of a large circle of megaliths surrounding a smaller circle and four massive trilithons(3 stone construction); dating to late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. The stones are made sarsen (a type of limestone) and bluestones (various volcanic rocks).

Temple of Apollo, Delphi Site Plan

Greece, 3rd-4th century B.C.E.; a peripteral Doric building. It was erected on the remains of an earlier temple, dated to the 6th century BC. The new building was a Doric hexastyle temple of 6 by 15 columns. Of a similar proportion to the second temple it retained the 6 by 15 column pattern around the stylobate. Inside was the adyton, the centre of the Delphic oracle and seat of Pythia.

Lascaux Cave

France, c. 10,000 B.C.E., Paleolithic Period. Most important cave paintings found in the 1950's in S of France. Series of 20 different caves connected by tunnels. Sophisticated/educated drawings. Elaborate b/c of vastness & colors/shadings used.

Carnac

France, c. 2000 B.C.E.; one of the largest/complex system of megaliths, menhir stones that sit up by themselves, still no explanation about what it means (expression of space, property, markers of the dead- not a lot of evidence supporting any of these ideas).

Terra Amata

France, c. 400,000 B.C.E., archaeological site in France excavated in the late 1960s with evidence of seasonal hunting and gathering, living huts, fossil turds, and paleomakeup that tell us about the lifestyles of H. erectus

Treasury of Atreus (Tomb of Agamemnon), Mycenae

Greece, c. 1,400 B.C.E.; This tholos tomb with stone dome. The lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tons, the largest in the world. The grave is in the style of the other tholoi of the Mycenaean World. It is formed of a semi-subterranean room of circular plan, with a corbel arch covering that is ogival in section. Great care was taken in the positioning of the enormous stones, to guarantee the vault's stability over time in bearing the force of compression from its own weight. The tholos was entered from an inclined uncovered hall or dromos, 36 meters long and with dry-stone walls. A short passage led from the tholos chamber to the actual burial chamber, which was dug out in a nearly cubical shape. The entrance portal to the tumulus was richly decorated: half-columns in green limestone with zig-zag motifs on the shaft, a frieze with rosettes above the architrave of the door, and spiral decoration in bands of red marble that closed the triangular aperture above an architrave.

Theater, Epidaurus

Greece, c. 300 B.C.E.; The harmony of its cavea, the way it 'sits' in the landscape with the semicircle hollowed out of the side of the hill, and the quality of its acoustics make the Epidaurus theatre one of the great architectural achievements of the fourth century. The circular orchestra provides the link with the stage buildings.

Temple of Apollo, Site Plan

Greece, late 5th century B.C.E. Architect: Iktinos; The temple is aligned north-south, in contrast to the majority of Greek temples which are aligned east-west; its principal entrance is from the north. This was necessitated by the limited space available on the steep slopes of the mountain. To overcome this restriction a door was placed in the side of the temple, perhaps to allow worshippers to face east or let light in to illuminate the statue.

Temple of Apollo, Bassae

Greece, late 5th century B.C.E. Architect: Iktinos; The temple is of a relatively modest size, containing a Doric peristyle of six by fifteen columns (hexastyle). The roof left a central space open to admit light and air. The temple was constructed entirely out of grey Arcadian limestone except for the frieze which was carved from marble. Like most major temples it has three "rooms" or porches: the pronaos, plus a naos and an opisthodomos. The naos most likely once housed a cult statue of Apollo. The temple lacks some optical refinements found in the Parthenon, such as a subtly curved floor, though the columns have entasis. It has examples of all three of the classical orders used in ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric columns form the peristyle while Ionic columns support the porch and Corinthian columns feature in the interior. The Corinthian capital is the earliest example of the order found to date.

Temple of Apollo, Interior View

Greece, late 5th century B.C.E. Architect: Iktinos; there was a continuous Ionic frieze showing Greeks in battle with Amazons and the Lapiths engaged in battle with Centaurs. Corinthian columns feature in the interior. The Corinthian capital is the earliest example of the order found to date.

Persepolis; Palace of Darius and Hypostyle Hall of Xerxes

Iran, 518-460 B.C.E.;

Persepolis

Iran, 518-460 B.C.E.; Persepolis is near the small river Pulwar, which flows into the river Kur. The site includes a 125,000 square meter terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mountain of Mercy"). The other three sides are formed by retaining walls. To create the level terrace, depressions were filled with soil and heavy rocks, which were joined together with metal clips. The dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan stairway, was built in symmetrically on the western side of the Great Wall. The top of the stairways led to a small yard in the north-eastern side of the terrace, opposite the Gate of Nations. Major tunnels for sewage were dug underground through the rock.

Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu

Iraq, c. 2113-2096 B.C.E.; The temple idea becomes more spectacular, in the form of a stepped pyramid climbing to the top to grant access to the temple; Ziggurats represent mountains and being higher to the gods. Emergence of Religion that requires massive structures that parallels the emergence of monarchs and the representation of earthly power.

Ishtar Gate, Babylon

Iraq, c. 575 B.C.E.; was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. Dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the gate was constructed using a rare blue stone called lapis lazuli with alternating rows of bas-relief mušḫuššu (dragons) and aurochs. The roof and doors of the gate were of cedar, through the gate ran the Processional Way, which was lined with walls covered in lions on glazed bricks (about 120 of them); Statues of the deities were paraded through the gate and down the Processional Way each year during the New Year's celebration.

New Grange

Ireland, c. 2500 B.C.E. (passage grave); The Newgrange monument primarily comprises a large mound, built of alternating layers of earth and stones, with grass growing on top and a reconstructed facade of flattish white quartz stones studded at intervals with large rounded cobbles covering part of the circumference. Within the mound is a chambered passage, which can be accessed by an entrance on the south-eastern side of the monument. At the end of the passage are three small chambers off a larger central chamber, with a high corbelled vault roof. Each of the smaller chambers has a large flat "basin stone", which was where the bones of the dead were possibly originally deposited, although whether it was actually a burial site remains unclear. The walls of this passage are made up of large stone slabs, several are decorated with carvings.

Jericho

Israel/Palestine, c. 7000 B.C.E; , early walled urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern Israel-occupied West Bank near Jordan River.