Greek revival

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Art and Architecture > Architecture > ...

Greek Revival

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Literature 1995, originally published by Oxford University Press 1995. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Greek Revival, neoclassical movement in architecture and the arts, occurred in Europe and the U.S. during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and was directly influenced by archaeological excavations in Greece, and at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Although Jefferson's design for the Virginia state capitol (1785) had the plan of a Roman temple, the revival was really Greek, and had as its most influential architects Latrobe, Mills, Strickland, and T.U. Walter. The Capitol and most other federal and state buildings were created under the influence of this style, which later shared supremacy (c. 1850–60) with that of the Gothic Revival.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O123-GreekRevival" title="Facts and information about Greek revival">Greek revival</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Greek Revival." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Greek Revival." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GreekRevival.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Greek Revival." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-GreekRevival.html

Learn more about citation styles

Greek Revival

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | © A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Greek Revival. Style of architecture in which accurate copies of Ancient Greek motifs were incorporated in the design of buildings from the 1750s. It was essentially part of Neo-Classicism in that it drew upon scholarly studies of Antique buildings, especially the work of Stuart (who designed the early Doric garden-temple at Hagley, Worcs. (1758), the first example of the Doric Revival) and Revett in the Antiquities of Athens (from 1762). In the mid-C18 Greece and most of what had been Greek territories were part of the Ottoman Empire, and therefore relatively unknown in the West. Curiously, the accessible Greek temples at Paestum in Italy and in Sicily had never really been studied, and were not taken seriously until relatively late, because baseless Greek Doric was seen as primitive and uncouth. Early admirers of Greek architecture included Winckelmann, Ledoux, and Soane, but the Revival was not universally adopted until after the Napoleonic wars, when it was associated with national aspirations. Unlike older styles, it was not tainted with discredited ideas or regimes, and was widely used in the USA, the British Isles, Prussia, and Bavaria. Among its most accomplished practitioners were Hamilton, Hansen, von Klenze, Playfair, Schinkel, Smirke, Strickland, Thomson, and Wilkins.

Bibliography

Crook (1972a);
J. Curl (2001, 2002a);
Honour (1977, 1979);
Kennedy (1989);
Middleton & and Watkin (1987);
Windsor-Liscombe (1980);

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O1-GreekRevival" title="Facts and information about Greek revival">Greek revival</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Greek Revival." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Greek Revival." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-GreekRevival.html

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Greek Revival." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2000. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-GreekRevival.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Greek revival; Local fraternities, sororities reshape media image.(LOCAL NEWS)
Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 9/17/2007
Free Article The French rococo revival along the Mississippi River.(Cover Story)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 8/1/2004
Free Article Remarks at a dinner honoring President Stephanopoulos. (Pres. Bill Clinton and Greek Pres. Konstandinos Stephanopoulos)(Transcript)
Newspaper article from: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents; 5/13/1996

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

OWNERS' ALBATROSS IS TOWN'S TREASURE PLANS TO RAZE GREEK REVIVAL BLOCKED BY PANEL
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 2/24/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Historic Commission sees a Greek Revival that whispers the stories...lot in Berlin, where Greek Revival homes have a foundation...The facade is simple Greek Revival trim, typical for Berlin...village," Eager said of Greek Revivals. "It has a peculiar floor...
Greek Revival shows eternal style.(Neighbor)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 6/5/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...Victorian, before Prairie, there was Greek Revival. This spring, the McHenry County...what they wanted," said Trost. Greek Revival buildings have a number of common...multiple sections of smaller panes. Greek Revival homes feature windows with six...
AMERICAN CLASSIC GREEK REVIVAL ARCHITECTURE SETS THE NATION APART IN A STYLE IT CAN CALL ITS OWN.(AT HOME)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 10/12/1997; 700+ words ; ...by the great Hellenic temples, Greek Revival architecture was the first style...So many fine examples of Greek Revival architecture remain, because...Gold Rush of 1849 that took the Greek Revival style of architecture west to...
Athens in America A young democracy, modeling itself on a classical one, built chaste white temples in what it called the Greek Revival style.
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 12/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...urban architecture. The Greek Revival style in architecture arrived...American, you built in the Greek Revival, you were making at...kings and nobles of Europe. Greek Revival was an architectural...It's no coincidence that a Greek war for independence from Turkey...and they ...
GREEK REVIVAL DOMINATED AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE FROM 1818 TO 1850. WITH ITS DEMOCRATIC IDEALS, DORIC COLUMNS, HIGH CEILINGS, AND NEAR-PERFECT SYMMETRY, THE BUILDING DESIGNS OF ANCIENT GREECE CAUGHT THE YOUNG NATION'S IMAGINATION. MANSION IN QUINCY COMES WITH PEDIGREE
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 5/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...photograph accompanying a story about Greek Revival houses in Sunday's Real Estate...yet been sold.] QUINCY - The Greek Revival atop President's Hill...on top of four rooms is classic Greek Revival. A Grecian key pattern adorns...
TOUR FEATURES GREEK REVIVAL STYLE THE FOCUS WILL BE ON ARCHITECTURAL AND ORNAMENTAL DETAILS.(PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS)
Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot; 9/22/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...highlight the best of Portsmouth's Greek Revival architecture. While Stokes was...century, the building features a Greek Revival portico. Hartt House, 320 Court...and expanded over the years. The Greek Revival portico was added in the...
A modern classic For his own home an architect revives Greek Revival - with a dose of whimsy
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 1/7/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...a deliberate 19th-century revival of the Gothic style of the Middle...to work in the style called Greek Revival -- a fashion that swept...Still, the house is basically Greek Revival. It features the usual...motif that's utterly alien to Greek Revival. The tower is a memory...
GREEK REVIVAL DOMINATED AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE FROM 1818 TO 1850. WITH ITS DEMOCRATIC IDEALS, DORIC COLUMNS, HIGH CEILINGS, AND NEAR-PERFECT SYMMETRY, THE BUILDING DESIGNS OF ANCIENT GREECE CAUGHT THE YOUNG NATION'S IMAGINATION. CARLISLE GEM DRAWS 'THIS OLD HOUSE'
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 5/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...latter days of the height of the Greek Revival movement in this country, the home...and pattern books that popularized Greek Revival across the United States...section with windows reminiscent of the Greek Revival style that span from floor...
A Greek Revival: A New Take on Classicism
Newspaper article from: International Herald Tribune; 10/9/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...Ribeiro, is behind the recent revival of the Greek spirit. ''Last year we were...who called the design duo. Greek style has long been a fountain...eventually came round as a certain Greek element appeared on more and...different dimension in the hands of Greeks, whether they are working...
A Greek revival.(What They're Reading)(Eleftheroudakis, Sofia)(Interview)
Magazine article from: Foreign Policy; 7/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...Eleftheroudakis is a keeper of the Greek culture and character...some of the best books Greeks are reading? Sofia Eleftheroudakis: The last Greek book I read was actually...wonderful drama about the revival of a family's bee...Greek town. A lot of Greek townspeople lived ...
Click to see an enlarged picture
Greek revival. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Popular on Newser: