Sacred Architecture - Classical Architecture

Classical Architecture

See also: Classical architecture, Architecture of Ancient Greece, and Roman architecture

Around 600 BCE the wooden columns of the Temple of Hera at Olympia were replaced by stone columns. With the spread of this process to other sanctuary structures a few stone buildings have survived through the ages. Greek architecture preceded Hellenistic and Roman periods (Roman architecture heavily copied Greek). Since temples are the only buildings which survive in numbers, most of our concept of classical architecture is based on religious structures. The Parthenon which served as a treasury building as well as a place for veneration of deity, is widely regarded as the greatest example of classical architecture.