This World History .: ( **Greek Architecture ]

Right after Egyptians, Greeks paved the way for architectural excellence and beautiful buildings of worship and praise. The Greek had developed 3 Architectural Systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing : Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric Order : Parthenon - the temple of Athena Parthenos, ("Virgin") Greek goddess for wisdom, on the Acropolis in Athens and was built in 5th Century b.c. Ionic Order: Erechtheum - a temple from the middle classical period of Greek art and architecture, built on the Acropolis of Athens between 421 and 405 b.c. contained sanctuaries of Athena Polias, Poseidan, and Erechtheus. Corinthian Order - the most ornate, but not arriving at full development until the middle of the 4th century b.c. The temple of Zeus at Athens was the most notable of the Corinthian temples.

(above the 3 distinctive systems)

The best known acropolis were known as "Acropolis of Athens", which in Greek is "The Sacred Rock, The High City". The Acropolis of Athens was originally dedicated to Goddess Athena and was also the epicenter of the Greek Theatre. Greek life was dominated by religion so when Christianity was introduced, monuments were converted into churches and temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beneficial of its kind. Also known as Ceropia , after the mythological half serpent-man Cecrops who was known as the 1st Athenian king, Greeks celebrated civic power, pride, and offered thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war. "The Acropolis" without qualification is a flat topped rock, made of limestone, which rises 512 feet (150 meters) above sea level in the city of Athens, Greece.

( above side view of the Ceropia)

Ionian architect Hippodamus improved Greek lifestyles by creating unique patterns of homes and cities. He planned new cities for Piraeus and the Athenian colony on Thuril. Greek house designs were various, typical houses in Olynthus had small rooms arranged in a rectangular plan around a colonnaded interior courtyard. A second house plan, found in Prienne, also planned around an interior courtyard, had a much different floor plan. Instead of focusing on small rooms, the primary living area consisted of a large rectangular hall leading to a columned porch. Houses in the Hellenistic period became much more diverse. For example, wealthy beings resided in homes that included marble thresholds, mosaic floors depicting scenes of animals and humans , and plastered walls modeled to look like fine stonework.