Architectural Works of Iktinos

When many people hear the word "architecture", they think of big buildings with a modern design to it. When in a big city, one may notice all the buildings usually look the same and there is not much to appreciate about them. However, in the Golden Age of Greece, people saw architecture as an art for the gods and goddesses of Greece. To capture the heart of many Greek citizens, Iktinos used different orders of architecture and added special touches to each building, he designed, including the Parthenon, Temple of Epicurean Apollo, and the Telesterion. Iktinos' works are compared by Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian Orders of Architecture, and by the layout and by decoration.

According to Byers, there is not much written biographical information on Iktinos. Iktinos was born in some time in the 5th century and there is no know city of where he was born (Bourgoin 101). He is also known as Ictinus or Iktious but, his most commonly used name is Iktinos. During the mid 5th century Iktinos started his reign of designing architecture for building. "Iktinos and Kallikrates were the chief designers of the Parthenon" (182). Iktinos was also the chief architectural designer of the Telesterion and the Temple of Epicurean Apollo. According to Bourgoin, Iktinos was the "first architect to use a Corinthian column in Greek architecture" (101). Iktinos was one of the greatest architects of his time.

"Instead of using brick and wood, the Greeks used stone" (Curlee 8). The Greeks designated different shapes for the columns, entablatures, and other parts of the Golden Age temples. According to Curlee, the different shapes and designs of the stone Greek temples developed a sophisticated system called, the Orders of Architecture which included two different orders (9).The two styles of the Orders of Architecture are Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Later on, a third order of architecture was added on, the Corinthian order. Most Golden Age architects used one of the three Orders of architecture. "Each building was unique, Greek architects tried out different proportions and adjusted the scale of various parts" (Villa).

The first order, Doric, was more of a masculine type of architecture. The order originated in western Greece. The order was simpler than all other orders it included a big and bold, but formal look. According to Villa, Doric order is characterized by "short, faceted, heavy columns with plain, round capitals and no base" (Villa). The columns measured only four to eight diameters in height. As Curlee states, most Doric temples have only "six columns on the end, and thirteen on each side" of a Greek temple (Curlee 9). Greek temples that were for the male gods used the Doric order.

The next order, Ionic, has a more feminine style compared to the Doric order. The feminine order originated in eastern Greece. According to Schulman, the Ionic order is "similar to but little known Aeolic order" (Schulman). "Ionic order was more decorative, lighter, and prettier" (Curlee 10). Some of the characteristics of the Ionic order are fluted pillars with a large base and two opposed scrolls and has four more flutes than the Doric order, totaling twenty-four. "The bases of the columns have two convex moldings called tori which is separated by a scotia" (Schulman). "The ionic order is also marked by an entasis, a curved tapering in the column shaft" (Curlee 10). The ionic columns are nine or a lower diameter; the shaft is eight diameters high. The Greek temples for female goddesses used the Ionic order.

The last order, Corinthian, was designed by a Greek sculptor, Callimachus (Schulman). This order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best; it is ornamented with leaves and scrolls. "The most distinct characteristic is the striking capital. The capital is carved with two rows of leaves and four scrolls" (Schulman). According to Schulman, The shaft compared to the Doric and Ionic shaft, has only twenty-four flutes and the columns are usually ten diameters high (Schulman).

There are three well-know buildings that Iktinos designed the architecture for; the Parthenon, the Temple of Epicurean Apollo, and the Telesterion. Of the three buildings the Parthenon is world renowned for it ancient Greek architecture.

The Parthenon is a temple for the goddess, Athena. According to Curlee, The name of the Parthenon comes from the statue of Athena, "Parthenos", referring to Athena's virginal status. The monument was in the eastern room of the Parthenon. The statue was made of gold and ivory, which was sculpted by Phidias, a Greek sculptor who also supervised the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon (Curlee 3). "The temple replaced an earlier