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Gentri Pitts Mrs. Darrough October 19, 2010 WD-2 CEC The Impact of Ancient Greek Architecture Today

As time has progressed, the world has changed drastically. Technology has improved, new lands have been discovered, and people have explored new ways of life. But one thing that has survived the ages is the forms of Ancient Greek Architecture. Though we may not think about it, we often see buildings inspired by the Ancient Greek's architectural form and even displayed in many of our nation's well-known monuments.

What identifies most works of Ancient Greek Architecture from other styles is the evidence of multiple columns supporting the building. They come in three varieties. There is Corinthian, which wasn't used as much as the other two in Ancient Greece, that features a typical column, or shaft, and is categorized by a fancy design carved into the top of the column. Ionic also has a column shaft, but is distinguished by a wavy design carved at the top.

The featured Ancient Greek column in this article is the Doric form. It has a regular column, like the other varieties, and is known for having a plain design, which is often just a square cement block, at the top. This form was most commonly used by the Spartans of Ancient Greece, but is known to exist elsewhere.

The Parthenon, a Greek temple resting on the hill of Acropolis, overlooking the city of Athens, is a building several thousand years old that features the Doric column type, also known as the Doric Order. The Parthenon was originally completed around 440 B.C. to serve as a temple that would represent a sign of respect for the Greek goddess Athena. This building, amazingly, is still standing today, even though it is in partial ruins.

Today in Washington, D.C., USA, the Lincoln Memorial sits on the Western end of the National Mall in commemoration of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The monument began construction on Lincolns birthday in 1915 and was completed in 1922. The monument's architectural design was greatly impacted by the Greek Doric Order. In fact, its style is extremely similar to that of a Greek temple, such as the Parthenon in Athens. The steps of the Lincoln Memorial hosted the infamous speech by equal rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.in 1963. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" was an important part of Dr. Kings infamous speech that has gone down in history as an extremly influential element of the Linclon Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial looks very much like the Parthenon from the front. There are multiple columns in the Doric Order supporting the front of the monument and they are both contain marble in their construction. Both buildings are in remembrance of an important being in their country. If thousands of years ago the Greeks had not constructed Greek temples, such as the Parthenon, or Greek buildings and their design had not survived through the years, the Lincoln Memorial may not look anything like it does. **Ancient Greek Architecture**

**Comparison Table**


 * **Buildings being Compared** || **The Parthenon** || **The Lincoln Memorial** ||
 * **Location** || **Athens, Greece** || **Washington, DC, USA** ||
 * **Years Built** || **Approx. 440 BC** || **1915-1922 AD** ||
 * **Type(s) of Columns** || **Doric Order** || **Doric Order** ||
 * **Materials used to Build** || **Marble** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Lucida Handwriting,cursive; text-align: left;">**Building: Marble Columns: Limestone** ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Lucida Handwriting,cursive; text-align: left;">**Purpose** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Lucida Handwriting,cursive; text-align: left;">**Greek Temple, dedicated to goddess Athena** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Lucida Handwriting,cursive; text-align: left;">**Memorial of the 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln** ||

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