Incredible Architecture That We Imitate Nowadays
Even if you’re not a fan of Greek culture, you have no choice but to accept that the Parthenon is one the most perfectly designed and built structures in the history of humankind. It’s no secret that Classic Greek architecture has been imitated more than any other architectural style and buildings such as the Louvre in Paris, the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, and the US Capitol among others are nothing but copies of ancient Greek temples and structures. Furthermore, ancient Greek architecture has influenced many world architectural movements throughout the centuries, such as the movement of Renaissance and the Neoclassical style.
For that matter, the neoclassical architectural style became so popular during the 19th century in Greece to the point that several architects at the time referred to it as the revival of the classical architecture. The Greek Revival architecture went on becoming a global phenomenon and during the mid-1800s it became known as the national style in the United States as well. The first major public building constructed in this style was the Second Bank of the United States, built in Philadelphia between 1819 and 1824. The architect used the Doric order as a model, but without sculptural decoration. This plainer look became fairly common.
However, various architecture surveys and studies conducted by the biggest universities have shown that even with modern technology we can only imitate the appearance of the Parthenon, not design and build again such a marvelous feat of architectural craftsmanship nearly 2,500 years later. Despite many of the modern masterpieces around the world being inspired by the architecture in Greece, particularly the ancient Greek style of Doric, Ionic or Corinthian rhythm, experts describe them as plain imitations.
Ancient Greek architecture, on the other hand, is distinguished by its highly formalized characteristics, both of structure and decoration that makes it incomparable. This is particularly so in the case of temples where each building appears to have been conceived as a sculptural entity within the landscape, most often raised on high ground so that the elegance of its proportions and the effects of light on its surfaces might be viewed from all angles. Nikolaus Pevsner, a decorated German scholar of the history of art (especially that of architecture), said it best, “the plastic shape of the [Greek] temple … placed before us with a physical presence more intense, more alive than that of any later building.”