actors could dress. Th e theater at Epidaurus is one of the best-
known Greek theaters, and it survives almost entirely as it
was when it was built beginning in the fourth century b.c.e.
Greek towns of any size were also likely to have a g ymna-
sium, oft en with an attached palaestra, or facility for training
in wrestling and boxing. Th e palaestra had a fairly standard
architectural style. Surrounding a rectangular open-air court
were colonnades. Adjoining rooms served a variety of func-
tions, including bathing, storage, and socializing. One of the
most famous surviving palaestrae can be found at Olympia
as part of the original site of the Olympic Games. Th e famous
arena at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is
called the Palestra, named when it was completed in 1927 by
one of the university’s professors of Greek.
Other common architectural forms include the tholos.
Th is was a circular building used for religious purposes. Th e
tholos at the city of Delphi, built to honor the goddess Athena
in about 380 b.c.e., is one of the best examples. Th e propylon
was a porchlike structure that typically served as an entrance
to the grounds of a temple; one of the best preserved is the
propylon at the Acropolis in Athens, built from 437 to 432
b.c.e. Th e bouleuterion was a council chamber found in many
towns that also served as a courthouse. Finally, the stoa was
a narrow hallway oft en found in the commercial districts of
Greek towns. Th e stoa consisted of a na rrow ha l l w it h a n open
colonnade, where merchants would set up shops. In Athens
the Stoa of Attalus has been completely restored.
Many of the best surviving examples of Greek archi-
tecture are temples. Th ese temples, though, did not serve
the same function as modern-day churches, temples, or
mosques. Generally, the altar was placed outside in a sacred
area called the temenos. Th e temple itself served more of a
storage function for off erings made to the local god, artwork,
and a treasury. Inside the temple was a cella, or an inner room
or sanctuary that housed the statue of the local god and was
typically surrounded by a row of columns. Th e most famous
example of a surviving temple is the Parthenon in Athens,
built from 447 to 432 b.c.e.ORDERS OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE
Archaeologists, architects, and art historians have identifi ed
three main orders, or styles, of ancient Greek architecture.
Th ese styles can be seen on modern buildings, including those
in the United States. Government buildings, courthouses,
and even homes, many of them built in the early years of the
United States, incorporated the Greek orders, in large part
because Greek architecture for early Americans symbolized
the birth of democracy. Wanting to incorporate democraticA widely known story from Roman mythology is that of Daedalus and his son, Icarus. Icarus fl ew too close to the sun
with wings his father had made. The sun melted the wings, and Icarus fell to his death. This myth has a strong con-
nection with the palace at Knossos.
After the spread of the Roman Empire, the legend grew up that the palace, because of its large number of rooms
and confusing layout, was the labyrinth King Minos had built to house the Minotaur. The story goes as follows. Mi-
nos, the king of Crete, boasted that the gods would grant him anything he wished. He believed that the sea god Posei-
don would give him a magnifi cent bull if he offered an appropriate sacrifi ce of one of his own bulls. When a white
bull miraculously emerged from the sea, Minos sacrifi ced a bull to Poseidon, but the bull was inferior. Poseidon was
annoyed, so he caused Minos’s wife, Queen Pasiphaë, to fall in love with the white bull. To consummate her love for
the bull, she enlisted the support of Minos’s chief builder and architect, Daedalus. Daedalus’s solution was to build
a wooden cow into which Pasiphaë could be lowered. Later, to everyone’s horror, Pasiphaë gave birth to a creature
that was half-man and half-bull, called the Minotaur.
Minos was eager to hide this evidence of his wife’s infi delity. He consulted with the oracle at Delphi, which coun-
seled him to build a labyrinth where he could hide the Minotaur. That labyrinth, according to Roman myth, was the
palace at Knossos. Later, Minos’s son was killed by the Athenians, leading to war between Crete and Athens. With
the help of the god Zeus, Minos won the war. To put an end to the confl ict they were losing, the Athenians agreed to
provide Minos with seven stalwart young men and seven maidens every nine years. These people would be sent into
the labyrinth, where they would be consumed by the fl esh-eating Minotaur. Eventually, the Athenian hero Theseus
killed the Minotaur with help from Minos’s daughter, Ariadne.
Minos later learned that Daedalus had helped Pasiphaë in her wickedness. In anger he imprisoned Daedalus and
his son, Icarus, in the labyrinth, but Pasiphaë got them out. Daedalus and Icarus wanted to fl ee Crete, but they knew
that doing so would be impossible, for the king had all the harbors watched. Accordingly, Daedalus made wings out
of feathers that were held together with wax so the two could fl y away. He and Icarus fl ew north, but Icarus was so
intoxicated with his ability to fl y that, despite his father’s warnings, he fl ew too near the sun. The wax in his wings
melted, and he fell to his death in the sea near an island that was named Icaria in his honor.FROM ANCIENT GREEK HISTORY TO ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
architecture: Greece 75