Greek Columns

We see Greek columns on many important buildings. This is especially true of government buildings, since democracy is an idea from ancient Greece. It is named for Democritus, who also thought of the idea of atoms. There are three orders of Greek columns, Doric, Ionic and, Corinthian. The name of the Corinthian Order, named for the city of Corinth, will be familiar to readers of the Bible.

All images are from Google Earth or Street View.

The simplest order is the Doric. These two images are of the Buffalo Historical Society. The triangular peak above the columns, which may be decorated with figures, is called the pediment.

The Parthenon has columns of the Doric Order. These three images are of the copy of the Parthenon in Nashville.

The columns with the "scrolls" at the top is the Ionic Order, which seems to be the most common of the three. This image is of the AKG art museum in Buffalo. 

The White House has a Neoclassical variation of the Ionic Order, with four scrolls instead of two. 

Buffalo City Hall has the Corinthian Order. 

La Madeleine, in Paris, looks like a copy of the Parthenon except that it has columns of the Corinthian Order, instead of Doric.