Helenistic Period
The rise of Macedonia and the conquests of Alexander the Great heralded the Hellenistic period (usually dated 323-86 BC), when royal patrons favored the Panhellenic sanctuaries, founded new cities in Syria and Egypt, and embellished such cities as EPHESUS and PERGAMON in Anatolia. Old building types became more complex: altars, gate buildings, council houses, stoas with two or three levels, and theaters with large attached stage buildings.

Many new building types were introduced, including the nymphaeum (a sculptured facade with fountains), monumental tomb, columned hall, choragic monument (a circular tower celebrating the winners of a choral dance competition), clock tower, and lighthouse. Many of these structures were decorated with dramatic marble sculpture. Hellenistic architects made imaginative variations on the standard temple forms, introducing APSES, high podia (stepped or square platforms), and subtle combinations of Doric and Ionic features. Several temples had exterior Corinthian columns, such as the colossal temple of Zeus Olympius in Athens, begun in 174 BC.

In the Ionic order, Hermogenes of Priene evolved new canons of proportion concerning the temple plan and the height and spacing of columns. His writings were also passed down to Roman architects who emulated his designs. Long after the Roman army captured Athens, the principles of Greek architecture continued to govern building designs in mainland Greece and in Anatolia and strongly influenced ROMAN ARCHITECTURE throughout the empire.

Bibliography: Berve, Helmut, and Gruben, Gottfried, Greek Temples, Theatres and Shrines (1963); Boardman, John, et al., The Art and Architecture of Ancient Greece (1967); Coulton, J. J., Ancient Greek Architects at Work (1977); Dinsmoor, William B., The Architecture of Ancient Greece, 3d ed. (1950; repr. 1975); Lawrence, Arnold W., Greek Architecture, rev. ed. (1975); Pollitt, J. J., Art and Experience in Classical Greece (1972); Robertson, D. S., Greek and Roman Architecture, 2d ed. (1969); Scranton, Robert L., Greek Architecture (1962); Scully, Vincent, The Earth, the Temple and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture, rev. ed. (1970); Wycherley, R. E., How the Greeks Built Cities (1976).

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