Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Greek or classical architecture; the other two orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric order was the earliest of these, known from the 7th century BC and reaching its mature form in the 5th century.

Doric columns stood on the porch of a temple without a base; their vertical shafts were fluted with parallel grooves; and they were topped by a smooth capital that flared from the column to meet a square abacus at the intersection with the horizontal beam they carried.

Early examples of the Doric order include the temples at Paestum, in southern Italy, a region settled by Greek colonists.

The Parthenon, the largest temple in classical Athens, is in the Doric order, although it has some Ionic elements.