Doric Measure and Architectural Design 2: A Modular Reading of the Classical Temple

Abstract

The Doric temple is one of the ancient Greeks' most celebrated achievements and one of the great archetypes of architectural history. Not only was it the ultimate reference for other typologies (propylaea, stoas, and miscellaneous civic buildings), it was also, especially in its fifth-century form, a highly influential source for the later practice of classical architecture. Yet the methods used to design the ancient Doric temple remain a largely unresolved question despite the considerable scholarly effort dedicated to its investigation. This lack of resolution reflects to some extent lapses of regularity and symmetry in Doric temple plans, lapses that Vitruvius called "the faults and incongruities" that flowed from the notorious problem associated with the configuration of the peristyle and its frieze at the corner. This problem was also compounded in the archaic period by the prevailing reliance on rules of thumb and a successive approach toward making individual decisions. But by the second quarter of the fifth century, architects had acquired a greater control over the design process, becoming able to instill their projects with improved coherence and precision, as well as neater proportions. The most striking manifestation of this shift is the widespread adoption of a 2:3 ratio between the widths of triglyphs and metopes, a relationship that automatically generated column spacings equivalent to 5 triglyph widths. This analysis of the facades of 10 relatively well preserved hexastyle temples shows that the triglyph width was much more than just one consideration out of many; it constituted the very lynchpin of a fully-fledged modular design method. Such an interpretation helps to explain the consistency of temple facades while also, significantly, tallying with the evidence of Vitruvius, our sole ancient authority. Vitruvius described Doric design in modular terms, and he also chose a module equal to the triglyph width. In the past, scholars have tended either to trace Vitruvius's account only as far back as the Hellenistic period, or alternatively to doubt its legitimacy altogether. It now emerges that Vitruvius perpetuated principles and practices that went well back into the fifth century.

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