While visiting the Capitol Square, I felt like I had stepped back into an ancient From the colossal pillars supporting the building to the bronze statues ofGreek goddesses among our “war heroes” it is easy to mistake the Capitol building for aGreek temple. I want to share with you what the architecture communicated to me, whatthe subject of the art was that I observed, and why the building was placed where it nowstands.Anyone who possesses basic knowledge about ancient Greece could surely see thesimilarities between Greek temples and the Capitol building. There is even an inscriptionon the Capitol building stating it is a “Greek revival structure”. The building has manysimilarities to a Greek temple such as: the building appears to be symmetrical (Greeksstrived for perfection), has large pillars for support, and looks the same from every angle.A perfect example of these characteristics from Greek history is the “Temple of Artemisat Ephesus around 356 BC, which was great in size, symmetrical and elaboratelyornamented” according to the Stars of History webpage. On the inside of the Capitol youcan also see how much detail was put into the construction of the building. There arebunches of grapes carved into solid wood at every door, all of the tiles and stairways aremade of marble, everything on the interior matches perfectly, there are elaborate carvingsall over the building, as well as beautiful brass light fixtures that give off a beautifulgolden glow. Yet another building that exemplifies the previously stated characteristics isThe Mausolus of Halicarnassus, built mostly of marble and highly detailed and decoratedin bronze and wood carvings by the leading Greek sculptor of the age (around 353 BC) asa tomb for King Mausolus of Caria (Mckay, Hill, and Buckler). What all this detail saysto me is that this is a place where powerful people work and where many importantfunctions of the city take place. ...
