Doric Columns and the Other Orders

By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide

The most ornate order was the Corinthian Order. It is said that strictly speaking, the Corinthian isn't a separate order, since it uses the Ionic, but substitutes a different capital. This photo of a Corinthian Capital, from the Agora at Athens, is much more elaborate than anything on a Doric Column. The story of the origin of the capital is that a tile-covered basket left on the grave of a Corinthian girl stayed in place long enough to acquire an acanthus plant growing through it, molded into curls by the confines of the basket. The sculptor Callimachus, who worked on the Periclean acropolis program, happened to see it and was delighted. He made a new type of column based up on it. The Corinthian column only became popular in Hellenistic and Roman times. It solved a problem that Ionic columns had. At corners, Ionic columns look different from the two outside sides. The Corinthian column looks much the same.

Source: Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, by Fred S. Kleiner.

1. Doric Columns of the Parthenon
2. The Column
3. The Doric Order
4. Echinus and Abacus
5. Parthenon and Column Proportions
6. Optical Illusions of the Columns and Parthenon
7. Corinthian Capital
8. Ionic Capital
9. Column Technical Terms and Quiz

Previous

• Doric Columns of the Parthenon
• The Column
• The Doric Order
• Echinus and Abacus
• Parthenon and Column Proportions
• Optical Illusions of the Columns and Parthenon
• Column Technical Terms and Quiz
• Corinthian Capital
• Ionic Capital

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