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Ancient Greek Architecture Comparison Table
 * Buildings to be Compared || Temple of Zeus || Supreme Court Building ||
 * Location || Greece || Washington D.C. ||
 * Year Built || 456 B.C. || 1935 ||
 * Type of Columns || Corinthian || Corinthian ||
 * Materials used to build the columns || Marble, mostly from Vermont, Georgia, and Alabama, but the marble for the 24 columns inside the courtroom were ordered special from Italy. || The Supreme Court building is primarily made of marble, both inside and out. Much of the exterior stone was quarried domestically in Vermont, Georgia and Alabama. Some interior architectural details are carved from imported Italian marble. ||
 * Purpose of the building || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">To pay worship to the Greek god, Zeus || <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">The US Supreme Court building holds the courtroom where cases are argued; has chamber suites where the Justices, their law clerks and other employees conduct business of the Court; contains conference rooms for discussion; and is also used for public education programs and tours. ||

Ancient Greek Influence Want to know how an ancient Greek temple and a court building, which were built several thousand years apart, are extremely similar in design? Here’s how. Architecture has been around for many generations, and has also been changing over those generations. Some of the earliest forms of architecture came from the Greeks. Greek life was dominated by religion, so many of their buildings were built for religion. They also had a political purpose, as they were also built to celebrate civic power and pride. You've probably noticed that some buildings in the United States have columns on them. Those columns came from the Greeks, and there are three different kinds of columns made by the Greeks. One is the Doric column, which is sturdy and its top has nothing on it. This style of column was used in the mainland of Greece. The second column is the Ionic column, which you've probably seen before. Ionic columns are the columns with the swirl pattern on the top of it. It is also thinner that the Doric column. This style of column was found in eastern Greece. The third and final column is the Corinthian column, which was rarely used. It was elaborately decorated at the top with acanthus leaves. The Corinthian column was said to have been invented by an architect, named Callimachus. The name "Corinthian" is derived from the Greek city of Corinth, although the order first appeared used externally at Athens Two buildings that have a similar design are Greece's Temple of Zeus, and Washington DC’s Supreme Court Building. You're probably wondering, “How are these two buildings similar, weren't they built thousands of years apart?” Yes, these two buildings were built thousands of years apart, but they have the same type of column design, which is Corinthian. The Temple of Zeus was built between 472 BC and 456 BC. The temple was constructed by the Greek architect Libon. It housed the Statue of Zeus which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Chryselephantine statue was approximately 43 ft. high and was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias The US Supreme Court Building is the head of the Supreme Court of the United States, and is situated in Washington D.C. It was designed by architect, Cass Gilbert. In 1810, the Supreme Court first occupied the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol. As the Senate expanded, it progressively outgrew its quarters. In 1860, the Supreme Court moved to the Old Senate Chamber (as it is now known) where it remained until it moved to the current Supreme Court building. In conclusion, the ancient Greeks’ architectural designs still thrive throughout the whole world, including Rome, Italy and even the United States. I believe that these designs will continue to thrive for many, many generations to come.

Citations:

· "Architecture in ancient Greece:." //ancientgreece.com//. University Press Inc., 2008. Web. 16 Oct. 2010. < [] >. · "GREEK ARCHITECTURE." //european-architecture.info//. www.essential-architecture.com, Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.european-architecture.info/A-HIST_GREEK.htm>. · "Temple of Zeus." //en.wikipedia.org//. Wikipedia, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Zeus>. · "United States Supreme Court Building." //en.wikipedia.org//. Wikipedia, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building>. · "The Court Building." //www.supremecourt.gov//. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. [].
 * Craven, Jackie. "The US Supreme Court Building." //architecture.about.com//. architecture.about.com, 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. [].
 * McCullagh, Delcan. "DECLAN MCCULLAGH PHOTOGRAPHY ." //mccullagh.org//. www.mccullagh.org, 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. [].