In the Doric order the column has no separate base, but rises direct from the top step of the platform on which the building it belongs to stands. It is of massive form and has what is known as an entasis or slightly convex surface, it is generally fluted, that is to say, cut into parallel perpendicular channels, several rings called annulets connecting it with the capital, which consists of an echinus or rounded moulding and an abacus or unrounded slab resting on the echinus. The Doric entablature is equally simple, the architrave being perfectly plain, whilst the frieze is adorned with triglyphs or three upright projections with grooves between them, set at equal distances from each other, the spaces separating them, known as metopes, being as a rule enriched with fine sculptures of figure subjects. The frieze is connected with the cornice by narrow bands called mutules resting on the triglyphs and metopes, and the cornice itself has a plain lower band known as the corona, surmounted by more or less decorated courses of stone or marble.
The Ionic and Corinthian orders are alike characterised by lightness and grace rather than massiveness and simplicity. In both, the columns, instead of rising direct from the platform, have a complex base consisting of a number of circular mouldings above another, the fluted shafts are comparatively slim and tapering, and the channels in them are divided by spaces called fillets. In the Ionic order the flat abacus of the Doric capital is replaced by two coiled volutes projecting beyond the echinus on either side, and the horizontal portion between the volutes is surmounted by finely carved leaf mouldings. The Corinthian order is specially distinguished by the ornate decoration of the capitals, that represent calices of flowers and leaves, chiefly those of the acanthus, arranged so as to point upwards and curve outwards in much the same style as they do in nature. The architrave in both the Ionic and the Corinthian orders consists of plain slabs, but the frieze—which is not divided as in Doric buildings into triglyphs and metopes—is in nearly every case enriched with a series of beautiful figure subjects, and is therefore known as the Zoophorus or figure-bearer.
Among the most ancient remains of sacred Greek architecture are those of the Heræon or Sanctuary of the Goddess Hera at Olympia; of the temple that preceded the Parthenon at Athens; and of those at Assos in Asia Minor, Selinus in Sicily, and Corcyra in Corfu, the last a very typical example of archaic Doric, with a pediment in which are primitive sculptures of a gorgon flanked by lions. Of somewhat later date are the ruined temples at Girgenti, Syracuse, and Segesta, all in Sicily, the last the best preserved of all; the group at Pæstum in Southern Italy, of which that of Neptune is the finest, the pediments having been originally filled in with beautifully executed sculptured figures. The Temple of Athene in the island of Ægina marks the transition from the extreme severity of early Doric to the more ornate buildings of the Golden Age of Greek architecture, its decorative sculptures being of exquisite design and execution. The Temple of Jupiter at Athens, begun in the Doric style by Pisistratus about 540 B.C. and not completed until about 174 B.C., has Corinthian capitals on some of its columns, and the Temple of Theseus, of uncertain date, in the same city, that consists entirely of white marble, ranks, in spite of its severe simplicity, even with that of Neptune at Pæstum on account of its fine proportions and the admirable finish of every detail.
