Describe in writing the principle characteristics of temples of the Essay

Describe in writing the principle characteristics of temples of the ancient period (Greek or Roman) and cathedrals of the Gothic period in England or France (30 - Essay Example From the early Greek temples to the Gothic cathedrals is a long and interesting journey for any art lover. It also unfolds the story of each generation and their priorities both artistic and menial. The Greek temple is the remnant of the ancient Greek civilisation. The architecture itself speaks volumes about the taste and intellectual abilities of the people apart from giving a distinct idea of the then religious outlook and the rites and rituals. A Greek temple might not be a real visual treat but it bewilders one with its constructional genius with massive columns put up one against the other. One keeps wondering at the technology and the labour that went into the building and the construction. Each temple had its cult-image or the statue of their community God who would protect them against all evils. These statues in the later prosperous Greek societies were often made of rich stuff like chryselephantine a mixture of gold and ivory. The temples are usually characterised by their trademark shape and design. They are built in the shape of a megaron, which is a form of a house that had existed since the Bronze Age. The megarone consisted of a rectangular room also known as cella or naos. It had got walls or antae projecting to form a porch or pronaos. At times in order to provide more support a ‘false’ porch or opisthodomos was constructed at the back portion of a temple.(Odyssey, Adventure in Archaeology,2001) The entire building had a platform or stylobate as its base which was 3 to 4 steps elevated from the ground.(Porter, 2008). But the uniqueness of Greek architecture best captured in the temples was its columns with its base, capital and horizontal entablature. The Greeks created the three variations of columns the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian. The most widely used column type was Doric. It was the simplest type and perhaps appeared more dignified. (Greek