Greek Civilization

Greek civilization played a huge role towards todays modern designs. The Greeks were intrigued by philosophy, science,art, geography, medicine, and astronomy. To say the least they were very advanced in their technology which led their architecture to be outstanding. Like the Egyptians, many of their architecture evolved around the gods. One of their most famous temples is the Parthenon, temple of Athena (below).

As you can see these massive columns are very detailed and intricate. This temple had many optical and functional effects. For one, each column or shaft is wider a third of the way down and is smaller at the ends. They also do not stand perfectly vertical, they lean in towards the center. Because it is a temple it was meant for worshipping.

Many of their artwork comes out in everyday, functional things like dishware, furniture, and other household items. For instance Klismos chair is a signature piece of Greek furniture. It is made from wood and hand crafted very well. His chair was reconstructed from a leather stool to a priceless piece of work (left).

The Greeks also made artwork in the form of bowls, plates, vases, and many more but one vase that struck me was a red- figured hydria that portrayed everyday life. We see many designs like the one in this vase (above, right).

To give you an idea of how we use Greek designs in our interior designs today is a picture below.

The details in this home are very intricate, the use of color, and the pillars in the back of  the room.

I looked at Dana's blog for the Greek civilization. She did a fantastic job of explaining how important and detailed the Parthenon was to the Greeks. What I liked most from her blog was she mentioned the use of tile. Today we see tile being used in the kitchen as a back splash, in bathrooms, or on living room floors. She did an amazing job of how mosaics from Ancient Greece is portrayed in the tile.