Column is a freestanding vertical architectural element. When used for structural purposes, columns are often arranged in rows to permit the thickness of walls to be reduced by supporting weight from above. Some columns, erected for decorative or memorial purposes, stand alone. Columns are constructed of various materials, including wood, stone, brick, metal, and concrete.
A typical column consists of three parts: base, shaft, and capital. The base is the lowest part of the column. It supports the central upright shaft, which is usually cylindrical. The shaft is crowned by the capital. The horizontal area above the column and supported by it is called the entablature. The base, column, and entablature together compose an order (see Architecture (Architectural terms)). Through the centuries, architects have used various kinds of columns. The ancient Egyptians favored heavy, massive columns. The Persian column was generally tall and slender.
The Greek orders.
The ancient Greeks refined the column to a high degree. They developed three basic classical orders—Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The shaft diameter of each type of column decreases gradually as the shaft rises, and each type has a subtle outward curve called entasis.
The Doric column
is the oldest and simplest of the three types. It developed primarily on Greece’s mainland and in its western colonies. The Doric style has no base. Usually, the shaft tapers upward to a height of 5 to 7 times its lower diameter. Along the shaft, 16 to 20 shallow vertical grooves called flutes meet in sharp ridges. One or several horizontal grooves, called necking, mark the meeting of the shaft and the capital. The capital has two parts of almost equal thickness. The upper, a flat square block called the abacus, rests on a round pillowlike tablet called the echinus. A celebrated building using the Doric order is the Parthenon, on the Acropolis of Athens (see Parthenon).
The Ionic column
is more slender and decorative than the Doric. It was invented by the Greeks of the Aegean Islands and Asia Minor. The Ionic shaft stands on a circular base, which sometimes includes a square block at the bottom called a plinth. Its height is usually 9 to 10 times its lower diameter. Ordinarily, 24 flutes, divided by narrow fillets (flat surfaces), run along the shaft. The capital consists of volutes (scrolls) that separate the echinus from the abacus. Ionic columns stand on the Erechtheum at Athens (see Acropolis).
The Corinthian column
is the most ornamental of the Greek orders. A variation of the Ionic, it has a similar fluted shaft, but it has a more elaborate capital. The capital consists of a central core resembling an inverted bell. The core is surrounded by carvings of acanthus leaves arranged in rows. From these leaves, four volutes project to meet the corners of the abacus. The monument of Lysikrates at Athens has Corinthian columns.
The Roman orders.
The ancient Romans based their column designs on those of the Greeks. They also created two new orders—the Tuscan and the Composite. The Roman Doric order resembles the Greek but adds a simple molded base. The Tuscan order is an elementary version of the Doric without flutes. The Romans adopted the Greek Ionic with little change, but they elaborated and enriched the Corinthian. The Composite order combines features of both the Ionic and the Corinthian.
The Romans also erected independent, isolated columns as memorials to famous people and events. Sculptors decorated many of these massive, towerlike columns with carved or molded horizontal or spiraling bands called friezes that portray events related to the memorial. An example is Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Columns of later periods.
During early Christian and medieval times, architects freely adapted the classical orders for use in basilicas and cloisters. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has a combination of classical and medieval styles. The Renaissance and baroque periods revived the use of Roman-style columns, as in the colonnades of St. Peter’s Square in Rome. In the 1800’s and 1900’s, all types of columns were used, particularly on public buildings.
