PPT 4 - Exam 1

Question 1

Greeks

Answer 1

Beauty mattered to them
The beauty of the Greek architecture based on mathematical proportions
The growing appreciation of architecture went hand in hand with the development of science, astronomy, and philosophy
Greeks extrapolated the need of balance from architecture to personal level and further to the workings of their society

Question 2

The Aegean cultures

Answer 2

2 major cultures emerged in the 2nd millennium BC and constituted to the cultural patrimony of classical Greece

Minoan- based on Crete

Mycenaean- mainland Greece

Question 3

Linear A

Answer 3

Was the official Cretan script used in ancient Crete by Minoans before the Mycenaean Greek dominion

Question 4

Linear B

Answer 4

An early form of Greek, used by Mycenaeans, found in Knossos, Crete, and the Peloponnesus peninsula (Mycenae)

Question 5

Knossos palace chronology

Answer 5

Ca 1900 BC as a serious of detached structures around a large rectangular court

1700 BC earthquake; rebuilt in a unified scheme

1450 BC destroyed again by a volcanic eruption

Rebuilt with Mycenaean influence

1380 BC destroyed by fire

Question 6

Sir Arthur Evans

Answer 6

British archeologist started excavations around 1900 AD
reconstructed part of the ruins : grand stairs, major ceremonial rooms, light wells

These portions of the palace are being restored to the pre-Evans conditions

Question 7

The Minoans - the palace at Knossos

Answer 7

Multiple levels around the court yard 
Lower levels made of Ashlar masonry 
Upper levels were supported on walls that were supported by square timbers and wooden columns and beams 
Non-axial configuration 
Long corridors, staircase around light wells, open cores 
Ceremonial rooms 
Underground storage rooms 
Residential buildings 
Kings and queens megaron 
Unfortified

Question 8

Western wing - the throne room

Inside of the palace at Knossos

Answer 8

One of the 3 lower room (antechamber, throne room, luster basin)
The original alabaster throne
Benches on both sides
Walls are decorated with a production of the griffins fresco
Assumed to have been dedicated to ritual ceremonies rather than royal audiences
Probably dedicated to a female deity (cult statues)

Question 9

Luster basin sanctuary

Answer 9

At a lower level than the throne room
Shallow pool used for ritual purification - one of the few found on site
Concealed by a low wall and a row of Minoan columns
Sacred vessels and cult statues discovered here suggest the basin was used for purification/initiation purposes

Question 10

Eastern wing - Grand staircase

Answer 10

Main entrance made through a well lit grand staircase
4 flights of stairs
Stairs are wide and shallow (representative example of the Minoan sophisticated architecture
Built into the side of a hill provides added stability
Unique inverted column - tree column
Downward tapering shaft, with a torus ring and an abacus block capitol
Made of wood, generally painted red

Question 11

Eastern wing - Kings megaron (hall of the double axes)

Answer 11

Grand staircase leads down to this hall

Portico (covered porch with its roof supported by columns) provided protection form the elements

Question 12

Eastern wing - queens megaron

Answer 12

A corridor connected the kings megaron to a room called by Evan the queens megaron
Megaron- single cell-house in Aegean region, its a rectangular room having a central hearth and 4 columns supporting the roof with an atrium opening
Decorated with a duplicate of the dolphin fresco which is in the iraklion museum
The light well that illuminated the queens megaton is named the court of the distaff, after the masons Mark

Question 13

Eastern wing- queens bathroom

Answer 13

Small room behind the megaron equipped with a restored clay bath tub and a water closet is considered the bathroom
The queens toilet is equipped with flushing facility and connected to the drain system
Sanitary sewers collected the wastewater from the lavatories and water closet

Question 14

water supply and drainage system at the palace

Answer 14

Exceptional for the time

Water system:
Tapered terra-cotta water pipes for clean water
Settling tanks and siphons

Sanitary sewer systems:
Tapered piped to fit the next segment
Provided a greater head to flush objects
Queens bathtub was bailed manually

Question 15

Storm water collection system at the palace

Answer 15

Gutters -vertical parabolic curves besides the open stairways
Turns- banked to prevent water spilling over the walkways
Settling basins - to catch the sediments
Sunlight- disinfected the water on its way to the collection units
Storage cisterns or washing rooms

Question 16

Labyrinth

Answer 16

A building with an arrangements of winding or confusing paths

Question 17

Fresco

Answer 17

A painting executed on wall surfaces by working pigments into wet plaster

Question 18

Ashlar

Answer 18

Smooth stone masonry laid so the joints are visible

Question 19

Abacus

Answer 19

On a classical column the stone set directly over the capitol

Question 20

Base

Answer 20

A lower part of a column or pier often broader than the sections above to spread the load to the foundations

Question 21

Torus

Answer 21

Convex, roughly semicircular molding often seen at the base of a classical column

Question 22

The Mycenaeans ca. 1600-1250

Answer 22

Takes its name from the archeological site of Mycenae
Located in the NE part of the Peloponnesus
Athens, pylons, Thebes, and tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites
Minoans were a trading society
Mycenaeans are a warrior society
Historical setting of most of the Greek myths and literature
Laid the foundation of Greek civilization

Question 23

Mycenae

Answer 23

Citadel strategically located on high ground
View of major transportation routes
Agamemnon - the Mycenaean king that, according to homer, lead and won the war on Troy
Cyclopes- the term used to describe walls made of large stones minimally shaped
Fortification walls:
Buttressed by stone blocks of 10 tons
Engineered with precision to fit perfectly in place to the adjacent block

Question 24

The lion gate

Answer 24

Principal entrance - built in ca 1300 BC
Positioned so the incoming visitor would have to pass through a narrow passage
Imposing piece of symbolism - power

Imposing piece of engineering

• massive stone posts 10 feet tall
• 14 tin lintel
• corbelled arch -Mycenaean innovation
• triangular stone with relief sculpture- new element

Note: it is a UNESCO world heritage site, a place of high cultural significance

Question 25

Mycenae - the palace and Megaron

Answer 25

The palace is the focal point of the city of Mycenae The megaron is the major ceremonial space (great room) Constructed at the summit of the Mycenae acropolis, it’s consists of: -a front porch with 2 columns -an ante-chamber just inside (prodomos) -large main room with 4 columns around a central fire pit (Domos) The room at the north, identified as a bathing room -assumed to be the bathing place agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra, his wife

Question 26

Domos

Answer 26

Simple rectangular space, having solid long walls without openings and an entrance in the center of one short side

Question 27

Promodos

Answer 27

Attached anteroom proceeded by a court

Question 28

Treasure of Atreus ca 1330 BC

Answer 28

9 impressive circular tombs, similar to er-mane and the passage st newgrange - tholos (domed circular building only used for tombs) Different from any other structure engineered by the Mycenaeans - symbolism of the circle is related to death Building a Tholos was a giant engineering accomplishment

Question 29

More about the tholos

Answer 29

- hollow a side of a hill and construct the dromos (entryway) - flanked in each side by stone walls - massive doorway elaborately decorated - corbelled stone chamber (33 horizontal courses) - smaller room to the right of the entrance - as it is built it is covered by an earth mound for stability

Question 30

The west house ca 1330 BC

Answer 30

Typical dwelling of the Mycenaean society - opened court paved with stone - porch, vestibule (promodos), Domos - corridor - storage rooms - large terrace (probably unroofed) - stairs leading to an upper level - upper level and roof might have been of wood - floors of clay - kitchen with hearth and drainage - large drains: across the court; a smaller one in the Domos

Question 31

Mycenaean - engineering

Answer 31

Handled huge blocks of stone without jacks and pulleys Use of corbelled arch and vault Comical, beehive structures for underground tombs -extended this structural approach to the construction of bridges for the roadways Roads were supported by stone retaining walls Water was directed through culverts of corbelled stone Created water supply and drainage systems

Question 32

Greece: the archaic period ca 700-500 BC

Answer 32

Mycenaean civilization declined Several century of obscurity that followed are referred to as the dark age or archaic period Limited resources exceeded and city states began a colonization process in Asia Minor, Sicily, southern Italy, and Northern Africa

Question 33

Biggest contribution of this time period?

Answer 33

Temple ``` Early temples (home of gods) -simple one room structures, meant to House a statue of deity, covered portico, walls made of mud brick, sloping roofs made of thatch ``` Larger temples -based on the Mycenaean megaron, rear rooms (opisthodomos), naos (fella), front porch (pronas)

Question 34

Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, Turkey (8th century BC)

Answer 34

Wooden (peripteral) columns surrounding the temple chamber (127 ionic columns) Decorated with many fine sculptures by renowned Greek sculptors -many of whom were of Amazons who were believed to have founded the city -Artemis (the main statue) : sculptor endoeus Painting and decorated columns

Question 35

Peripteral columns

Answer 35

Columns placed around all sides of a building

Question 36

Temple of Hera , Olympia, Greece ca 600-590 BC

Answer 36

Ancient Doric Greek temple Original wooden peripteral columns Replaced by stone columns later on (Egyptian influence) -fluted shafts with concave groves (similar to Hatshepsut mortuary temple) Fired clay roof tiles 2 sets of in antis columns between antae Destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th century BC Located where the Olympic torch is lit nowadays

Question 37

Anta

Answer 37

Pilaster-like thickening at the wall edge of jamb of a wall opening that responds to an adjacent column

Question 38

Stylobate

Answer 38

The base, usually having steps, on which a colonnaded temple sits

Question 39

Column

Answer 39

The upright element consisting of base, shaft, and capital Base- the lowest part of the column or pier, often broader than the section above to spread the load to the foundation Shaft- vertical element above the base and below the capital in an architectural column -fluting: vertical grooves incised in a shaft or classical column Capital - termination of a column, generally given decorative carving

Question 40

Entablature

Answer 40

The horizontal elements supported by columns, consisting of the architrave, frieze, and cornice Architrave- the bottom part of an entablature Frieze- the horizontal element above the architrave and below the cornice in an entablature Cornice- the uppermost element of an entablature, which projects beyond the plane of the exterior wall; more generally, the overhanging molding atop any building

Question 41

16th century

Answer 41

These assemblies are defined as the orders of architecture

Question 42

Orders

Answer 42

The trabeated systems of architecture developed by the Greeks and extended by the romans Greek orders: Doric, ionic, and Corinthian -they differ slightly from the Roman orders

Question 43

Doric

Answer 43

The Greek order that has a fluted shaft, no base, and an echinus molding supporting the abacus Roman Doric columns have a base

Question 44

Ionic

Answer 44

The order that features volutes in the capital; the shaft is usually fluted

Question 45

Corinthian

Answer 45

The order that features acanthus-leaf capitals stop a fluted shaft

Question 46

Temple of hera , paestum, Italy ca 550 BC

Answer 46

One of the earliest examples of the Doric order One of the best preserved archaic temples Built in the colonial city of poseidonia Unusual number (9) of columns on the short side Study Doric columns, marked by an entasis, a curved tapering in the column shaft Bulbous echinus moldings form the capitals

Question 47

Echinus

Answer 47

The curved cushion like molding that together with the abacus, forms the capital in the Doric order

Question 48

Abacus

Answer 48

Flat square block

Question 49

Entasis

Answer 49

The slight outward five of a column, which then tapers towered the top of the shaft

Question 50

Arris

Answer 50

The intersection of two curved surfaces, most commonly applied to the line formed when the fluted of a Doric column join

Question 51

More about the temple of Hera

Answer 51

The rhythm of the Doric order alternates the metopes and triglyphs

Question 52

Metope

Answer 52

Element of the Doric frieze set alternatively with triglyphs Panels contain low relief carving

Question 53

Triglyph

Answer 53

A channeled block set between metopes in a Doric frieze