Descriptions, discussion and images (including virtual reconstructions) of the architecture of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, which developed its classical form from the 6th century BC. Classical architecture is characterized by concern with proportion and adherence to accepted modes: the Doric, Tuscan, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite Orders.
For later revivals of the style see: Renaissance, Neo-Classical and Greek Revival.
Greek (as opposed to Roman) classical architecture began to influence Western architects in the 1780s. The movement to revive the pure Greek style (see Classical) culminated in the 1820s and 1830s.
The term is used here to refer to the revival of pure Classical architecture starting in late 17th-century France and early 18th-century England and spreading to the rest of Europe, North America and other European colonies, and continuing into the early 20th century. The early phase in England is also known as Palladianism.
The style adopted by the civilization centred on ancient Rome and culminating in the Roman Empire. While it borrowed heavily from the ancient Greeks in the use of the three orders, there were innovations, notably the use of arches, vaults and concrete.