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Triglyph

 
Triglyph

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Triglyph



 
 
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze
Frieze

In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or?in the Ionic order or Corinthian order?decorated with bas-reliefs....
, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one.






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Romandoricorderengraving
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze
Frieze

In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or?in the Ionic order or Corinthian order?decorated with bas-reliefs....
, so called because of the angular channels in them, two perfect and one divided, the two chamfered angles or hemiglyphs being reckoned as one. The square recessed spaces between the triglyph
Glyph

A glyph is an element of writing. Two or more glyphs representing the same symbol, whether interchangeable or context-dependent, are called allographs; the abstract unit they are variants of is called a grapheme or character ....
s on a Doric frieze are called metopes
Metope (architecture)

In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric order frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order....
.

The triglyph is largely thought to be a tectonic representation in stone of the wooden beam ends of the typical primitive hut
Primitive hut

The primitive hut had been standard in architectural theory since Vitruvius. Marc-Antoine Laugier brought the idea to life with an image of the hut as the frontpiece for the second edition of Laugier's Essay on Architecture ....
, as described by Vitruvius
Vitruvius

File:Vitruvius.jpgMarcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Ancient Rome writer, architect and engineer , active in the 1st century BC. By his own description Vitruvius served as a Ballista , the third class of arms in the military offices....
 and other Classical and Renaissance writers. The wooden beams were notched in three separate places in order to cast their rough-cut ends mostly in shadow. Greek architecture (and later Roman architecture) preserved this feature, as well as many other features common in original wooden buildings, as a tribute to the origins of architecture and its role in the history and development of man.

In terms of structure, a triglyph may be carved from a single block with a metope, or the triglyph block may have slots cut into it to allow a separately cut metope (in stone or wood) to be slid into place, as at the Temple of Aphaea
Temple of Aphaea

The Temple of Aphaia is located within a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Aphaea on the Greek island of Aigina, which lies in the Saronic Gulf....
. There may be some variation in design within a single structure to allow for corner contraction, an adjustment of the column spacing and arrangement of the Doric frieze in a temple to make the design appear more harmonious.

Images of triglyphs


See also

  • Classical architecture
    Classical architecture

    Classical architecture is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire....
  • Classical order
    Classical order

    A classical order is one of the ancient styles of building design in the Classical antiquity, distinguished by their proportions and their characteristic profiles and details, but most quickly recognizable by the type of column and capital employed....
  • Doric order
    Doric order

    The Doric order was one of the Classical order of Architecture of Ancient Greece or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic order and the Corinthian order....