The History of Greek Architecture
The architecture of ancient Greece is represented by buildings in the
sanctuaries and cities of mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, southern
Italy and Sicily, and the Ionian coast of Turkey. Monumental Greek
architecture began in the archaic period, flourished through the classical
and Hellenistic periods, and saw the first of many revivals during the
Roman Empire. The roots of Greek architecture lie in the tradition of local
Bronze Age house and palaces. The following paper will cover the basic
forms of Greek architecture.
One of the many types of Greek building structures was Sacred
Architecture. The Greeks conceived of their gods in human form, as
anthropomorphic representations of the forces and elements of the natural
world. These gods and goddesses were worshiped with sacrifices made at an
outdoor altar. At many sanctuaries, the altar was much older than the
temple, and some sanctuaries had only an altar. The temple designed simply
as a shelter or home for the cult statue and as a storehouse for offerings.
This shelter consisted of a cella (back wall), a pronaos (columned porch),
an opisthodomus (enclosure), an antae (bronze grills securing the porches),
and a colonnade that provided shelter for visitors.
The earliest monumental buildings in Greek architecture were the
temples. Since these were solidly built and carefully maintained, they had
to be replaced only if destroyed. The architectural orders, Doric on the
mainland and Ionic in the eastern Aegean, were developed in the archaic
temples, and their lasting example tended to make Greek architecture
conservative toward changes in design or in building technology.
The Archaic period evolv...
... middle of paper ...
...mples had
exterior Corinthinan columns, such as the colossal temple of Zeus Olympius
in Athens, begun in 174 BCE. In the Ionic order, Hermogenes of Priene
evolved new canons of proportion concerning the temple plan and the height
and spacing of columns. His writings were also passed down to Roman
architects who emulated his designs. Long after the Roman army captured
Athens, the principles of Greek architecture continued to govern building
designs in mainland Greece and in Anatolia and strongly influenced Roman
architecture throughout the empire.
Greek architecture changed and evolved over a number of years. The
creative architecture of the Greeks led to the construction of some of the
best known buildings in history. Therefore, the Greek's advancements in the
field of architecture were not only beneficial to their civilizations, but
ours as well.
When the colonists came to America, they classified the Native Americans as complete brutal savages. But was that a correct assumption? The Native Americans lived a life that was a complete opposite from the way that the Europeans were accustomed to. The Native Americans believed that the land was shared by everyone and not one person could own it. The Native Americans also had a polytheistic religion which completely went against the beliefs of the colonists. The colonists viewed the Native Americans as savages and barbarians because their ways of living were different.
When studying an ancient culture, it is important for one to comprehend the many unique elements that make up that culture. The study of architecture enables historians to deepen their understanding of a culture and identify the modern influences of that society. Architecture is an essential aspect of ancient Greek culture and its long lasting influence is evident in most cities today. The Greek Revival style dominated American architecture during the nineteenth century. Many prosperous citizens believed that the ancient Greece architecture embodied the spirit of democracy. When analyzing the architecture of New York City, one will find many examples of Greek Revival architecture, the most notable examples being the Old Custom House on 28 Wall Street, the first National City Bank building on 55 Wall Street, and Saint Peter’s Church at 22 Barclay Street.
In Benjamin Franklin’s Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America, he writes about how the Native Americans were being called savages because their culture and traditions were different. The work that took place here, was him taking a stand and writing these remarks to bring awareness to others on how everyone is different in some way. Franklin explains, “ But they are still ignorant. You know our Practice. If a white Man in travelling thro’ our Country, enters one of our Cabins, we all treat him as I treat you; we dry him if he is wet, we warm him if he is cold, we give...
Throughout his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh drew many self-portraits. It’s theorized that he drew so many to test out new painting styles and because it was cheaper to draw himself instead of hiring a model. The function of this painting is commentary since it is a visual account of a person. Using shades of blue in the background and shirt makes Vincent Van Gogh pop out. The orange in his beard complements to the blue and draws the viewer’s attention to his face.
Vincent was an influential post-Impressionist painter born in 1853, Netherlands. With Theo van Gogh’s association, Vincent met reputable Impressionist painters such as Émile Henri Bernard and Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin. Impressionism served as a platform for Vincent in developing his own style . He explored with colours, a stark contrast from his usual dark and sombre style. The influence of Japonisme charmed Vincent into residing in Arles where he began painting landscapes. Thereafter, Vincent voluntarily checked into Saint-Rémy sanatorium where his works reflected strong colours and lights of the countryside around him. His manic depression and epileptic condition, led to his suicide on July 27th 1890.
To many of the Europeans during 1700’s Native Americans were thought of as savages, but in reality they were not. The Natives were only viewed this way because they were different from the Europeans, and the Europeans weren’t fond of things or people that were different from them. Using historical evidence and accounts from long ago you can see how the Natives were discriminated against for only reason that they were different from everybody else.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of the world’s greatest and most well-known artists, but when he was alive he considered himself to be a complete failure. It was not until after he died that Van Gogh’s paintings received the recognition they deserved. Today he is thought to be the second best Dutch artist, after Rembrandt. Born in 1853, he was one of the biggest artistic influences of the 19th century. Vincent Van Gogh created a new era of art, he learned to use art to escape his mental illness, and he still continues to inspire artists over 100 years later.
The Native Americans were the earliest and only settlers in the North American continents for more than thousands of years. Like their European counterparts, the English colonists justified the taking of their territories was because the natives were not entitled to the land because they lacked a work ethic in which shows that the colonists did not understand the Native Americans system of work and ownership of property. They believed the “Indians seemed to lack everything the English identified as civilized” (Takaki, Pg. 33). Because the settlers were living far away from civilizations, to ensure that they were civilized people, the settlers had negative images of the Native Americans so that they would not be influenced and live like the how the natives do, ensuring that these groups are savages who are uncivilized. Many began to believe this was God’s plans for them to civilize the country in which many would push westward and drive the Indians out to promote civilization and progress. While the United States was still in its early stages of development,
The Native Americans were referred to as “savages” and the English in their words expressed their fear of them. One could also take the Native Americans’ nature as being shy because upon the English spotting a few of them near the water they quickly ran away (Bradford 59). This was probably because the Native Americans had never seen anyone other than themselves. They were shown to be intelligent people who not only farmed but also built houses (Bradford 60). However, the English also implied the Native Americans to be mean people because they stated that one of the reasons for building large fires was to “…defend them from any sudden assaults of the savages” (Bradford 61). Nevertheless, it was not long until the Native Americans did attack the English and in their minds, it was for no reason. The recurring theme was that the English were always cautious of the Native Americans because they feared they would attack (Bradford 62).
Native Americans were stereotyped as savages during that time. They were taken advantage of and seen as ignorant. When in reality it was not the Indians that acted like “savages,” it was the Americans that treated the Native Americans poorly and took advantage of them. They did it because they were different. They were seen as different because they had a very different lifestyle than that of the Americans. Franklin wrote “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” to show Americans that they were the true “savages” not the Native Americans.
Benjamin Franklin wrote “In Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America”, because he made observations and describes it in this essay the difference between the society of White English America and Native Americans. Furthermore, he needed people to understand that those supposed savages are different from us and that is acceptable. In every culture, whether White English America, or Native Americans, we all have some practices of disrespect and courtesy. Not all cultures are the same, as well as everyone’s life is different. Benjamin explains the differences between our society and their nation; moreover, he explains that their manners differ from ours as well.
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).
The Native Americans or American Indians, once occupied all of the entire region of the United States. They were composed of many different groups, who speaked hundreds of languages and dialects. The Indians from the Southwest used to live in large built terraced communities and their way of sustain was from the agriculture where they planted squash, pumpkins, beans and corn crops. Trades between neighboring tribes were common, this brought in additional goods and also some raw materials such as gems, cooper. seashells and soapstone.To this day, movies and television continue the stereotype of Indians wearing feathered headdresses killing innocent white settlers. As they encountered the Europeans, automatically their material world was changed. The American Indians were amazed by the physical looks of the white settlers, their way of dressing and also by their language. The first Indian-White encounter was very peaceful and trade was their principal interaction. Tension and disputes were sometimes resolved by force but more often by negotiation or treaties. On the other hand, the Natives were described as strong and very innocent creatures awaiting for the first opportunity to be christianized. The Indians were called the “Noble Savages” by the settlers because they were cooperative people but sometimes, after having a few conflicts with them, they seem to behaved like animals. We should apprehend that the encounter with the settlers really amazed the natives, they were only used to interact with people from their own race and surroundings and all of this was like a new discovery for them as well as for the white immigrants. The relations between the English and the Virginian Indians was somewhat strong in a few ways. They were having marriages among them. For example, when Pocahontas married John Rolfe, many said it has a political implication to unite more settlers with the Indians to have a better relation between both groups. As for the Indians, their attitude was always friendly and full of curiosity when they saw the strange and light-skinned creatures from beyond the ocean. The colonists only survived with the help of the Indians when they first settler in Jamestown and Plymouth. In this areas, the Indians showed the colonists how to cultivate crops and gather seafood.The Indians changed their attitude from welcome to hostility when the strangers increased and encroached more and more on hunting and planting in the Natives’ grounds.
In conclusion, the book was mostly about the struggle of the Senegal people and how they were being treated unfairly by the railroad companies. People have gone through series of unfortunate events to get to the freedom necessary for life. In this book the people’s need for change conflicted with the management’s desire for unequal rights to continue. Greed had led them to think like this, but the people prevail against all odd so they find independence from oppression.
From the time of the ancient Greeks all the way to modern day, some part of humanity has almost always been interested in the past. For the ancient Greeks, it was discovering Mycenaean ruins and composing stories about them. Today, inspiration is still drawn from classical architecture. One has to look no further than the U.S. capitol building, or even the University of Michigan's Angell Hall to see remnants of this architectural style. This raises the question of why does it still persists? Logically, the best way to answer this is to examine the origins of classical architecture, and what it represented then and now. Furthermore, the study of ancient architecture can show insights into past civilizations which otherwise would have been lost.