What is a Corinthian Column?

• The Corinthian style of classical Greek column is an architectural column--a support structure found on Greek and Greek-style temples and buildings.
  
  

Age and Origins

• The Corinthian order dates from about 350 B.C, and is thought to have first appeared in Athens.
  
  

Base

• The Corinthian column begins with a multi-layered, thin base.
  
  

Column

• The tall, main, vertical body of the column is known as the shaft, and the Corinthian column is marked by its slender shaft and the closely spaced vertical grooves that cover it all the way around.
  
  

Capital

• The top, decorative piece of the Corinthian column is called the capital, and is easily recognizable because it depicts the elaborate leaves of the acanthus flower. The curving acanthus design is topped by a very thin, final, fluted concrete layer called the abacus.
  
  

Example

• The Monument of Lysicrates, on the famous Acropolis of Athens, was built around 330 B.C., and is a good example of the Corinthian column.