Greek Doric Temples

This site formulates how the temple ground plan evolved from its Mycenaean megaron origin to its final peripteral colonnaded form in the Classical Period. It details the theory behind its earliest wooden prototype to that of a massive stone structure.

Vitruvius [1] wrote how he descovered the secret of designing Doric temples, a method he learned from his masters. He points to geometrical rules which later became enshrined as the formal solution to temple architecture. It is a mathematical scheme that has bewildered art historians for centuries since the Vitruviun formula does not work in most Greek examples. What this site attempts to bridge is the gap between generally accepted proportional rules laid out by Vitruvius and the 2000 year old secret Pythagoras [2] used to implement the Doric Order blueprint. This site, therefore, outlines both ancient and modern concepts of Doric temple configuration culminating in irrational number theory adapted by the ancient architects.

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Doric temple architecture clearly follows a set standard in its form and configuration. The statistical results verify as to what lengths the ancient architects went in order to create the temple design and proportion, and to what standards those architects were required to conform. The results are revolutionary in outlining the direct role Pythagoras had in determining just how ridged those restraints were.