Classicalwisdom.com Website Review

What’s in a column? To the Ancient Greeks, the standing pillar was more than just a way to hold up the roof. Every section, from capital to base, was integral to the entire structure. It was a piece of art that followed very detailed specifications, an architectural order. In fact, you only need a fragment of molding to recreate a whole building. The ancients weren’t just constructing a safe place in the rain, they were attempting to achieve perfection in architecture. This meant nothing was left up to chance. It was never, Kyriakos – the average workman and heavy, choosing to put the pediment a “little the right”. The buildings were carefully designed using principles in harmony and symmetry and all overseen by a respected architect. The man in charge presided over every detail, from materials selected to choosing expert sculptors. The order of the universe, believed so fervently by the Ancient Greeks, was reflected in the buildings themselves. Living sometime between the 8th and 6th century BCE, Thales of Miletus is often considered one of the very first of the Greek philosophers. It was Thales who initially attempted to decipher the world without reference to mythology, and he was impressively influential in this followed his thinking as they tried to unravel the universe. For this, many say ‘Greek philosophy begins with Thales’. Around this time period, the people of the ancient Greek peninsulas began to settle into established city-states was Thales who revolutionized a way of reasoning and endeavored to explain the world around him. Until this time, Greek men and women lived by the whim of the gods. All natural phenomenon such as rain, thunder and even earthquakes were believed to be the result of temperamental and powerful deities. Thales, however, being the bold individual that he was, concluded that While the rest of Greece prayed to the gods for healthy crops and peaceful seas, Thales diligently studied geometry and astronomy.