Year 3 - I’m still standing

For our topic this week Year 3 looked at Ancient Greek architecture and focused specifically on the types of columns that they used. We first discussed what they were made of and concluded that like the majority of their buildings, they were made from stone. This was to make them very strong as well as to ensure that they would last a long time. It is because of this reason that we are lucky enough to still be able to see and visit the ruins of so many Ancient Greek buildings.

The Ancient Greeks used three main types of columns for their building. Of the three columns, Doric columns are the simplest. 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 style column. The Doric style is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design.

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 bases were large and looked like a set of stacked rings. Ionic capitals consist of scrolls above the shaft. The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.

The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is usually the one most modern people like best. The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves below a small scroll. The shaft has flutes and the base is like the Ionic column.

As you can see from our drawing we had lots of fun drawing the different styles of columns and some of us even came up with our own designs.