Who Were The Master Builders in Ancient Times?

Who Were The Master Builders in Ancient Times?

Most of the ancient builders advanced in the field of architecture. This was through the spirit of experimentation. The ancient Greeks stood out as the masters in architecture. They used wood, mud-brick and marble for their architectural structures. They used some as a shelter in which they lived. Others were built to house their gods serving as temples. However, worship of the gods was carried out outside the temple. The Greeks built stadiums for athletic contests and theatres for theatrical performances. Colour was used in pecking out details of their building. The design of the buildings was rectangular in form with the foundation of three steps with colours either at the ends or all around the porch (A structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance). Blue and Red were mostly used for painting their buildings. Other colours like yellow, green, black, gildings (gold) were rarely used. The unpainted parts were waxed to improve their surface quality.

The style used for the construction of the temples in the archaic period was the DORIC style named after the Doric tribe to which the Spartans (Residents of Sparta, An ancient Greek city famed for military prowess) belonged.

The skills of the ancient Greeks in the area of architecture greatly improved during the classical period. Sculptural figures and columns were added to the architectural structures. Apart from the Doric style, Ionic and Corinthian styles were also used for their architectural structures. The Corinthian style invented in the rich city of Corinth in 420BC was the most elegant in design.

At the latter part of ancient Greek architecture, great temple structures of gods were constructed during this period with large statues in the form of animals like lions placed at the entrances. An example is the Temple of Apollo. The ground plan and design of this great temple were established by famous Hellenistic architects Painios and Daphnis. Mausoleums were built to remember Mausolus who was the leader of Asia Minor. The old Doric style was rejected by architects of this period.

In modern societies today, the three iconic styles of the Greeks are used as the basis for architectural structures in various countries of the world. For instance, in Ghana, the entrance of the Manhyia palace of the Asante king, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has been lavishly crafted in the Corinthian style. Architects today can harness the rudiments of the popular architectural styles of ancient Greece and develop new ones that can best address the unique architectural demands in the contemporary age.