The structure of the ancient Greek temple followed different types or styles called orders* because they were repeated in every detail with some canonical order. One is the Doric order preferred by mainland Greeks, another was the Ionic order preferred by the Greeks of Asia. Later a third style appeared, the Corinthian order which only differed from the Ionic by the shape of the column’s capital. All major national buildings of Greece were built in the first two orders: the temples of Olympia, Delphi, Athens, Corinth, Sicily, and Southern Italy were all Doric while the great Greek sanctuaries of Asia like the temples of Ephesus, Sardis, Samos, Miletus, and Halicarnassus were all Ionian.

Lets first describe the Doric order*. In this order the building stands on a base called stylobate* which is reached through a stepped platform (crepidoma*) that sometimes was supplemented with a ramp due to the number and size of the steps, the remaining steps of the crepidoma are called stereobate*. Over the stylobate were the columns of the portico, these columns didn’t have bases or plinths* and their ribbed shafts* had 16 or 20 vertical grooves cut in sharp edge. These grooves on the shaft ended in the top of the column in a series of slots forming the so-called necking* over which the capital rests. The form of the Doric capital was very characteristic: a simple convex molding called echinus* that looked like a cushion. The form of the echinus changed with time: flattened at first, then it raised gracefully. The column was also thicker and lower in the oldest temples and eventually became more slender and with more grooves.

The columns supported a horizontal band called entablature* formed by a first horizontal lintel without decoration that ran above the columns and formed a smooth area called architrave*. On top of the architrave ran a strip called frieze* divided into squares decorated at intervals with vertical grooves called triglyphs*. The other squares were painted or adorned with sculptures and were called metopes*. This alternating structure of triglyphs and metopes on the frieze is one of the characteristics of the Doric order. Above the frieze was the cornice* which protected the inferior parts of the building from the rain.

The temple was covered by wooden beams that in turn were covered with tiles, these tiles were initially made of clay but later were carved in marble. In the two main temple facades the double-sloped roof framed a triangular zone called pediment* which was usually decorated with sculptures. The slope of the pediments changed with time and its three angles were decorated with several pieces of carved marble or ceramic called acroterion*. Initially acroterion were simple geometric shapes but later represented female figurines, gryphons, or small winged victories.

Initially, the Doric temples must have been built with brick (walls) and wood (the top parts). The light came inside the temples exclusively through the door, so the Greek temple had a semi-dark cella (or inner chamber of the temple) full of votive offerings, and in the background stood the statue of the divinity. Devotees rarely had access to the sanctuaries. Ceremonies, sacrifices, and rites of public worship were held outside besides the altar located in front of the door.

The temple was always polychromed, both outside and inside. Initially, the brick walls were covered with a thin layer of stucco, but from the V century BCE they were built generally in marble. The necking of the capitals was painted in red. The architrave was almost always free of color, triglyphs were always blue with its grooves painted in black, the background of the metopes was also painted with a combination of palmettes* and frets as also were certain parts of the cornice. The acroterion were also brightly colored and the background of the pediment was painted black or red to highlight its sculptural decoration. Inside the cella, the polychromed decoration was located mainly in the frieze and ceiling to hide the wooden beams.

The second architectural style, the favorite of Asian Greeks is called Ionic order*. In this order, the temple also stood on a pedestal or stylobate. The column no longer rested directly on the ground but had a base or plinth formed by a series of circular moldings. The bases of the Ionic column were varied. Sometimes, as in the temple of Ephesus, below the base there was a square pedestal on which the whole column rested. The shaft was cylindrical and its grooves met at the top in bezel not in sharp cuts as in the Doric order. These grooves ended at the top forming a spherical convex area.  Then was the capital. This had a strip (the astragal*) decorated with egg-and-dart* moldings, and on either side it had two spirally twisted moldings called volutes*. Volutes were the most characteristic part of the Ionic capital  as the echinus was for the Doric order. This capital with volutes is of Eastern origin: it is seen in abundance in many Assyrian reliefs and can be found in Cyprus and Phoenicia. Initially these Ionic capitals had simple volutes with a few laps in their spiral, as they appeared in eastern style capitals.

The Ionic entablature is in broad sense similar to the one of the Doric style though they differ in several aspects. First, the architrave is not smooth but divided into three bands by simple re-entrant moldings. The frieze didn’t have a geometric grid divided into metopes and triglyphs, but was a zone in which the sculptural decoration was freely developed. The cornice was not as protruded as in the Doric order and was characterized by some egg-moldings and dentils. The cornice was built in stone and ended in a molding with sculpted palmettes.

A clear separation of these Doric and Ionic orders cannot be made following detailed geographic zones.  Although initially they were confined to its region of origin, after the Greco-Persian Wars the Ionic order was adopted by mainland Greeks and Doric temples were found also in Asia. Sometimes different orders were combined into a single building. In the Propylaea, the monumental gateway of the Acropolis of Athens, the columns of the exterior walls are Doric while the interior columns are Ionic. The Parthenon, though Doric in style, has an Ionic frieze over the colonnade.  The two orders were also combined in the temple of Apollo at Figalia.

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Acroterion: An architectural ornament placed on a flat base called the acroter and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the classical style. It may also be placed at the outer angles of the pediment.

Architrave: The lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.

Astragal: A moulding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes. An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus. It can be an architectural element used at the top or base of a column, but is also employed as a framing device on furniture and woodwork. 

Classical orders: (Also known as Architectural Orders). Coming from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilizations, the classical orders are the styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. The three orders of architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—originated in Greece. To these the Romans added, in practice if not in name, the Tuscan, which they made simpler than Doric, and the Composite, which was more ornamental than the Corinthian. 

Crepidoma: In Classical Greek architecture refers to the platform on which the whole temple or building is erected. The crepidoma usually has three levels thus forming a stepped platform. The levels typically decrease in size incrementally, forming a series of steps along all or some sides of the building.

Doric Order: One of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. It was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above. The Doric frieze included two features originally unique to the order, the triglyph and guttae or small water-repelling, cone-shaped projections used in the architrave,  both represented reminiscent elements of the beams and retaining pegs of the wooden constructions that preceded stone Doric temples.

Echinus: One of the parts of a column‘s capital. The echinus is a circular block that bulges outward at its uppermost portion in order to better support the abacus, it rests on the column’s necking.

Egg-and-dart: An ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo (convex) mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is found in ancient Greek architecture at the Erechtheion in Athens and was used also by the Romans. The motif was also common employed in neoclassical architecture.

Ionic Order: One of the three classical orders of classical architecture. Of the three canonic orders, the Ionic order has the narrowest columns. The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes. The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform; the cap is usually enriched with an astragal of egg-and-dart.

Metope: In classical architecture, a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze. Metopes often had painted or sculptural decoration.

Necking: A short, plain, concave section between the capital and the shaft of a classical Doric or Tuscan column.

Palmette:  A motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree, hence its name. It originated in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art of most of Eurasia. It is found in most artistic media, but especially as an architectural ornament, whether carved or painted, and painted on ceramics. It is very often a component of the design of a frieze or border.

Sphinx: A mythical creature with human’s head and a lion’s body. In Greek tradition, it was represented with human’s head, lion’s haunches, and sometimes the wings of a bird. It was mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who couldn’t answer its riddle were eaten and killed by it. Unlike the Greek sphinx, which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is typically represented as a man. In addition, the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolent, but having a ferocious strength. Sphinxes depictions are generally associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples.

Stereobate: Refers to the remaining steps of the platform or crepidoma under the stylobate upon which the whole structure of a Classical temple rested.

Stylobate: In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate is the top step of the crepidoma, the platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed. The floor of the temple.

Triglyphs: The vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze intercalating with the metopes.

Entablature: The complete structure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals in classical architecture.

Pediment: An architectural element typical of classical architecture, consisting of a gable (or the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches), placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature, and typically supported by columns.

Plinth: The base (or platform) upon which a column,  pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. The plinth usually rests directly on the ground or stylobate.

Shaft: The middle part of a column, between the base and the capital. In classical architecture, the column shaft is sometimes articulated with vertical hollow grooves known as fluting.

Volute: A spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. An Ionic capital has typically four volutes.