GREEK ARCHITECTURE Coincident with this movement of civilization through western Asia the people of Greece were evolving a new culture and with it a new architecture that was destined to become the most influen tial, and still remains an ever recurring factor, in the art. Of the prehistoric period, much that is archaeologically interesting has been written ; the extant remains, notably in the palace of Cnossus in Crete and the beehive tombs at Mycenae and in other parts of Greece, owe less to Egyptian and Chaldaean architecture than was at one time supposed ; although there is evidence of commercial exchange between the several countries, it affected matters of detail and decoration more than the plan scheme of the palace referred to, or of the tombs. The point of architectural interest is the Greek freedom from the too binding and established precedent in design so characteristic of Egypt. A freer people in a mountainous country deeply cut by the sea required imagina tion to meet their peculiar problems, which gave their art more rapid and effective development than that in other lands of the same period.
About 2,000 B.C. the Achaeans began to migrate southward and, apparently, to mingle with the earlier Mycenaean civilization. This culture ultimately succumbed before Dorian invaders from still farther north. Before a new culture appeared some centuries passed; in the meanwhile, the invaders intermarried with the native population forming, in the mixture of the clear, cool, hardy northerner and the dark, gayer southerner, the ideal racial combi nation. The Greeks colonized the Aegean islands, Asia Minor, southern Italy and even Sicily. The prosperity of the colonies as well as the states proper is vouched for by splendid stone temples, the remains of many of which have lasted to this day.
For centuries Greek architecture evolved by a consistent pro gression. The very contour of the country must have engendered the freedom of thought, unique in the then-known world, which was expressed with equal force in philosophy, literature and archi tecture. Everything on this comparatively small area of land conspired to the development of a vigorous creative art. Nature herself was no small contributor. The temperate, invigorating climate, the clear atmosphere, the rich blue of the Mediterranean sea, and the mountains silhouetted against a sunny southern sky formed an ideal setting for buildings of refined lines and propor tions; while the abundance of unrivalled marble, found in the mountains of Hymettus and Pentelicus near Athens and in the islands of Paros and Naxos, provided a finely textured building material that facilitated the exactness for which the Greeks are famous. Handicapped at the start by the established precedents of other countries, they were, nevertheless, too segregated by their geographical situation to be restrained in the development of their own peculiar talent.
In spite of the comparatively small area of Greece, no single group seems to have been able to control the peninsula and thereby dominate its art. Yet a common religion and love of music, the drama and the fine arts bound the peoples of the various states together. Nature was kinder than in Egypt, and life pleasanter ; the fearful gods of former civilizations were abandoned ; the deities worshipped were of human form idealized. Beauty of form, colour, mass, silhouette, texture and proportion became high considerations in the lives of the people as well as of the workers in the field of art. The Greeks loved beauty for itself and idealized their conceptions of everything. Just as the Greek phi losophers loved thought for its own sake, the artists must have loved beauty for itself. A study of the progress of architectural forms shows consistent refinement, each step being made after careful study of what had preceded, and each modification of conventional style marking an improvement in beauty of form and delicacy of proportion. There is neither abject adherence to precedent nor a searching for the new merely to be different, but that gradual change for the better that so eminently characterizes a nation of great culture, in which beauty and truth are the ultimate goal.
The Parthenon (q.v.) at Athens represents the most perfect composition and its realization, and for centuries it has remained the ideal combination of building and setting. There is no sham or flamboyance in either structure or embellishments. In accuracy and delicacy the workmanship surpasses anything that even the modern machine can produce. Its studied refinements of line— such as the very slight curving of lines intended to appear straight, the slight tilting in of corner columns to correct the appearance of tilting outward that such vertical columns have, the spacing of the columns so as to produce a span at the centre slightly larger than that at the ends—these with the complete symmetry of the plan as viewed from each side and the use of only one structural principle, the post and lintel, all combined to give this building a simple and impressive dignity that has never been equalled. Philosophers, mathematicians, archaeologists and architects have attempted with infinite research and study to discover some mathematical rule by which the Greeks worked to produce this great masterpiece of architecture. Enthusiasm for their own theories has led many astray, but, judging from the literature on all the theories, it may well be that the Greeks did develop some principle since lost.
It has already been seen that in Egypt the only form of popular entertainment was that of seeing the king or priests parade. In Greece, a freer people, actually participating in the government, demanded opportunities to enjoy and take part in the achieve ments of the time, and the open air theatre for the production of dramas and the staging of festivals appeared. In selecting the sites for their theatres, the Greeks always utilized the slope of a hill, which they could cut out, thus saving the expense of raising a structure to carry seats and at the same time obtaining a beau tiful prospect for the background. These theatres went through a natural evolution of being first a gathering place formed by the natural contour of the ground, then being furnished in some regularity with wooden seats, and finally refitted with stone seats. To-day there are remains of the theatre of Dionysus at Athens and of others at Epidaurus, Eretria, Delos, Sicyon and Orobus.
The point of architectural interest is the front row of seats, which were designed for dignitaries, and some of which still remain in situ in the theatre of Dionysus, Athens. The centre seat was made the most imposing and elaborate, but many others were inscribed, each with the name of its regular occupant. They were most graceful in line and proportion, they were embellished with exquisite detail and they are still an inspiration to the designer of seats in monuments and other places of importance.
Probably the most significant element in Greek architecture is the perfect correlation of architecture, sculpture and painting. We can speak with less assurance of painting, for while we know that colour was used extensively in buildings, the ravages of time have left few definite examples and it is difficult to determine how much of the colour that has been found was part of the original conceptions: But of the sculpture there can be no question ; when used it was an inherent part of the building's design and perfectly composed for its position with respect to scale, relief and the play of light and shade upon it. In fact, purely architectural form, such as appeared profusely in later periods, notably in Rome, was significantly simple in Greek work. Sculpture gave the necessary embellishment to their buildings, effecting desirable contrasts between plain surfaces and those in which light and shade were required. In every case the sculpture symbolized the purpose of the building, told the story of its function and became a coherent and truthful element of its composition. (See SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE.) The temperate Greek climate, with its scant rainfall, encouraged open-air activities and most political and social ceremonies were so held. Consequently Greek architecture is largely devoted to temples whose deities symbolized natural phenomena. The most important temples were built in the 5o years following the battles of Salamis (48o B.c.) and Plataea (479 B.c.) in exultation at the complete defeat of the invading Persians. Athenian prosperity excited Sparta to jealousy, however, and the Peloponnesian War B.c.) resulted, after which the leadership passed to Sparta, Thebes and Macedonia successively. Greek states disput ing among themselves were easy prey for conquerors, and Rome's power in Greece steadily increased until in 146 B.C. the once proudly independent nation, whose art and thought were to remain fresh always, became a Roman province. (See also GREEK