1. Buildings in Ancient Greece
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders

2. The Doric Order
The Doric Order is the simplest of columns found in Ancient Greece. It is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design.
They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square.
The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides.
There is no base in the Doric order.
The area above the column, called the frieze [pronounced "freeze"], had simple patterns.

3. The Doric Order
There are many examples of ancient Doric buildings. Perhaps the most famous one is the Parthenon in Athens, which is probably the most famous and most studied building on Earth.
Buildings built even now borrow some parts of the Doric order.

4. The Ionic Order
Ionic shafts were taller than Doric ones. This makes the columns look slender.
They also had flutes, which are lines carved into them from top to bottom.
The shafts also had a special characteristic: entasis, which is a little bulge in the columns make the columns look straight, even at a distance.
The frieze is plain.
The bases were large and looked like a set of stacked rings.
Ionic capitals consist of a scrolls above the shaft.
The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.

5. The Ionic Order
The Temple of Athena Nike in Athens, shown above, is one of the most famous Ionic buildings in the world. It is located on the Acropolis, very close to the Parthenon
This is one of the columns at the British Museum – look at for it when we are there!

6. The Ionic Order
The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.

7. The Corinthian Order
The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best.
Corinthian also uses entasis to make the shafts look straight.
The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves below a small scroll.
The shaft has flutes and the base is like the Ionian.
Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are at a slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat.

8. The Corinthian Order

9. The Corinthian Order
The Corinthian order is the most decorative. This is the post office in New York.

10. Can you work out which style these columns are?
The White House, Washington D.C.

11. Can you work out which style these columns are?
The Reichstag, Berlin

12. Can you work out which style these columns are?
The British Museum, London

13. Can you work out which style these columns are?
Temple of Zeus, Athens