Definition:
The word Corinthian describes a column style developed in ancient Greece and set down in the Classical Orders for Architecture. The Corinthian style is more complex and elaborate than the earlier Doric and Ionic styles. The capital, or top, of a Corinthian column has lavish ornaments carved to resemble leaves and flowers.
Features of a Corinthian Column:
- Fluted (grooved) shaft
- Capital decorated with scrolls, acanthus leaves, and flowers
- Ornaments on the capital flare outwards, suggesting a sense of height
- Probably invented by Callimachus, a Greek sculptor and architect who lived in the 5th century BC
- Named after Corinth, a city in Greece
- Developed in Athens, Greece
- Rarely used in Greece, but common in Rome, Italy
- The Pantheon in Rome
- The Colosseum in Rome (Doric columns on the first level, Ionic columns on the second level, and Corinthian columns on the third level)
- The US Supreme Court Building
- The New York Stock Exchange Building, Broad Street, NYC
- The Vanderbilt Marble House
- Classical Corinthian Capital--Agora, Athens
Common Misspellings: corenthian, corinthean, coranthian
