Issuu

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

1 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

MYTHICAL ROUTES HISTORICAL SERIES

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE THE COMPLETE FIELD GUIDE

2 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Historical Series

Cradle of Western civilization

Mythological Park

Acropolis of Athens

Delphi

Eleusis

Necromanteion

Epidaurus

Olympia

Dion

Delos

Dodoni

Cape Sounio

Brauron

Diktaio Andro

Sanctuary of Cabeiri

About the Author

Books by G. Baltoyannis

Historical Series collection

Photography Series

Adventure Travel Greece

100 3 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Historical Series Mythical Routes Historical Series is a location-based series of architectonical / historical guides based on the best seller books by architect and author G. Baltoyannis. For more information visit Mythical Routes | Books.

4 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHTHONIC AND CELESTIAL ❖

Editor in chief: Angelo Baltoyannis

❖

Author: George Baltoyannis

❖

Translation: Chris Loutroutzis

❖

Text editing: Lorraine Adams

❖

Graphic design: Angelo Baltoyannis

❖

Design Layout & Pagination: Mythical Routes IKE

❖

ISBN: 978-618-84479-0-5

“Mythical Routes inaugural mission is to help spread the ideas and facts of Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning throughout the international adventure community”

5 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Copyright Notice All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send us an email or write at the address: Mythical Routes  Nymfon Sqr. 1, Glyfada  16674, Greece Disclaimer: All materials are protected under the United States and international copyright laws and treaties which provide substantial penalties for infringement. The use of any images or other materials, in whole or part, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, reproduction, storage, manipulation, digital or otherwise, is expressly prohibited without the written permission of Mythical Routes. Governing Law: Any claim relating to Mythical Routes's web site shall be governed by the laws of the State of Greece without regard to its conflict of law provisions. General Terms and Conditions applicable to Use of a Web Site. Copyright © 2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES | All Rights Reserved For more information, visit Terms of Use

6 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

Cradle of Western civilization Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.

! Ancient Messini, Peloponnese ÂŠ 2019 A. Baltoyannis

From the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organized into various independent city-states (polis), which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India.

7 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and culture.

The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

8 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Mythological Park From Mythology to History The route Delphi - Necromanteion - Olympus - Delhi is roughly 450 kilometers long. The surface of the Orphic circle centered around Metropolis (Ω) is roughly 25.500 square kilometers, namely 1/5 of the territorial span of Greece, which is roughly 132.000 square kilometers of land and island surface.

This entire surface is covered in myths of older civilizations, to which new ones are added. On the other hand the History of the previous civilizations become Mythology, with some sort of connection between them, for example Agamemnon of Mycenae became ZeusAgamemnon. So then when Aeschylus (525-457 B.C.) presented in 458 B.C. his trilogy Oresteia, which includes the tragedies Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, the 9 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

audience did not distinguish reality from fiction, neither were they interested in doing so, because their attention was focused on the meaning of the tragedy.

! Clytaemnestra hesitates before striking Agamemnon

This way however, up until 1871 AD, when H. Schliemann made the first announcement about the city of Priam, Troy, nobody knew anything about the Mycenean civilization. Schliemann then, expanded Greek History and the myth of Agamemnon became reality; the same goes also for the Minoan civilization, by which Greek prehistory was expanded. Namely, C. Cavafis (1863-1933) was not taught in his school about the history of the Myceneans and the Minoans, but rather their Mythology. Modern day mythology, in science fiction films like Conan or The Matrix, uses the vocabulary and the logic of these myths, even though the story lines of the films are different and have been

10 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

adapted to the modern era, to be more accessible to the public. For example in the film Conan the Barbarian, starring the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the scene of the death of the serpent which transformed into a man of power of the temple and the central scene of the march to the temple on top of the mountain, with thousands of believers extending throughout the valley, comes from the myth of Apollo who slays the Python (chthonic forces) in Delphi. This shows a mythological wealth, which we noticed in this route in the Greek region and which is used by its inhabitants to raise their cultural level.

! Apollo killing Python

The contribution of the Myceneans who spearheaded this new religious mythology was great, not so much in the ideological area of the religion (since it would be difficult for them as a former dominant people to change the habits that were established through time in their own civilization), but rather in the area of construction. 11 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

From 1100 to 800 B.C., namely for 300 years, several construction templates must have been proposed, to find the type that would fit the rectilinear architecture, since there were already the Mycenean projects like the Treasury of Atreus representing the curvilinear architecture. As far as the rectilinear architecture is concerned, it seems that they did not follow the solution of the large surfaces, with the arcs arches and domes, because it would not differentiate Up from Down of the religious template based on the ideological character of the religion; the believer would be subsequently confused, if the structural representation was the same for the celestial and chthonic gods. Moreover the differentiation between the celestial and chthonic gods was based on another important element, namely that the celestial gods were more beautiful, more powerful and immortal. Thus, the chthonic gods (not however the ones who come from the celestial Pantheon and are in a transitional state, like for example Persephone) are malformed, less powerful, and in order for the system Up-Down to work, are kept by the celestial gods imprisoned in the earth. Of course at this point a new construction orientation is created. The surface building should be aesthetically pleasing, show its power and be immortal. So the constant repetition of the sanctuaries, based on previous buildings, serve this purpose. On the other hand, the obsession in the choice of materials, the colors, ratio and decoration, is solely a matter of aesthetics The symmetry, the geometrical shapes and the correction of optical errors are associated with the power stemming from the geometrical structure of the building. Now as far as immortality, this is symbolically and geodynamically expressed based on the 12 of 101

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

orientations and symbolic axes which accurately define the position of the building. Subsequently the architecture of the Ancients is not just the result of aesthetics, only to give a pleasant visage to the building, but expresses some ideals, besides surface.

Greek architecture metaphysically translates some deep religious meanings. Religion, before it became Theology during the Byzantine period was the philosophy of shapes and numbers. Due to this geometrical structure, God was called "The Architect of the Universe". If the Orphics preexisted or not is less important than when the Orphic Poems emerged and influenced the Greek world, changing the psychological world of the Greeks. Because nobody can demand from the world of 1100 B.C., which practically tries to coexist, to simultaneously be inspired by an ideal standard.

Taking the route into the Orphic circle, we realize that we are in a mythological park of approximately 25.500 square kilometers. Inside a vast scenery, were the actors were the very inhabitants of the country.â€Š

13 of 101

Ancient Greek Architecture