Greek Architecture- A Portrayal Of Greatness

7 Pages 1765 Words

cided to improvise by using different materials. Limestone became popular, because it was easily carved. Stone and crude bricks were put to use, but builders of the classical period (fifth century B.C.) preferred marble- the most dignified of stones. They laid their masonry with joints cut to supreme exactness. A highly rubbed and polished coating of marble dust and lime was applied to coarse stonework and crude bricks, creating a very sophisticated appearance. Sometimes marble was even treated with this coating. Ancient Greece had been generally recognized for their sustained use of white marble, but archeologists have discovered traces of colors and embellishments utilized to accentuate decorative sculpture and particular details. Even though architects knew of arches and crypts as forms appropriate for masonry, they usually built using the same methods for wood. Wooden beams could span a gap of fifty feet or less; the builders spanned the same entablature (horizontal structure or architrave, frieze, and cornice between the columns and pediment on the roof.) They lacked the labor that some civilizations (Egyptians) possessed, and a ruler did not have the power to be forced to work. So around 515 B.C., Greek builders employed stone in blocks of 10 tons or less. These blocks could

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be raised by a crane with pulleys and manual wrenches. Others of this time, such as the Barbar...