TAMU ARCH 249 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE
WITH SOLVED SOLUTIONS 2026/2027
UPDATE.
abacus - Answer A tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in
supporting the architrave
acanthus - Answer An ambigious flower and a style of plant used for the caps of the corinthian
columns
Acropolis - Answer A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city
Acroterion or acroterium (plural = acroteria) - Answer An upright ornament placed at the apex
and eaves of gabled roofs in Greek Architecture
Greek Agora - Answer Public square; evolved into market place, courts, and public buildings
Anathyrosis - Answer Smooth dressing of the margin of ashlar stone or the drums comprising
the shaft of a classical column to ensure an accurate masonry joint
Anta (plural = antae) - Answer slightly projecting column at the end of a wall, produced by
either a thickening of the wall or attachment of a separate strip
Architrave (or epistyle) - Answer In Classical architecture, the bottom portion of an
entablature.
Ashlar masonry - Answer carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in
construction, fitted together without mortar
Capital - Answer In Classical architecture, the termination of the column, generally given
decorative carving.
Caryatid - Answer a pier carved in the shape of a standing woman and used in the place of a
column.
Cella (or naos) - Answer The shrine room in the center of the temple
,Choragic monument - Answer a monument built to honor the winner of a choral contest in
ancient Greece
Chryselephantine - Answer fashioned of gold and ivory
Clamp - Answer Large mass of bricks or limestone arranged for burning
Classical period (c. 480- 323 BCE) - Answer The architectural grammar based on the classical
orders of ancient Greece and Rome
Column inclination - Answer An element of entasis found at the Parthenon. Instead of
standing straight up, the columns lean slightly inwards.
Corinthian - Answer A Greek column symmetrical on all four sides, with acanthus leaves for
decoration.
Cornice (or geison) - Answer The uppermost element of an entablature, which projects
beyond the plane of the exterior wall; more generally, the overhanging molding atop any
building.
Dentils - Answer A type of cornice molding composed of rectangular blocks set in a row like
teeth, hence the name
Doric - Answer the Greek order that has a fluted shaft no base, and an echinus molding
supporting the abacus. Roman Doric columns have a base.
Doric frieze - Answer A frieze containing alternating triglyphs and metopes.
Dowel - Answer Headless peg, in, or bolt of wood used to fashion two members together by
being set into each part
Echinus - Answer In the Doric Order, the round, cushion-like element between the top of the
shaft and the abacus. The top slopes down to the bottom.
Empolion - Answer Vertical iron dowels for ashlar blocks, wooden empolia for column drums
- Mason's marks
- Empolian cutting edge
• A dowel made of wood and you put it in two
, columns
• Sealed core
Engaged columns - Answer a half-round column attached to a wall
Entablature - Answer In Classical architecture, the part of a building above the columns and
below the roof. This part of a Classical temple includes the architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Entasis - Answer In classical architecture, the slight swelling or bulge in the center of a column,
which corrects the illusion of concave tapering produced by parallel or straight lines
Epistyle (or architrave) - Answer In Classical architecture, the bottom portion of an
entablature.
Flute - Answer Vertical grooves incised in the shaft of a classical column
Frieze - Answer The horizontal element above the architrave and below the cornice in an
entablature.
Geison (or cornice) - Answer The part of the entablature that projects outward from the top of
the frieze in the Doric order and from the top of the frieze course of the Ionic and Corinthian
orders; it forms the outer edge of the roof on the sides of a structure with a sloped roof.
Greek theater - Answer Open-air structure in which plays were performed. The stage faced the
afternoon sunlight to illuminate the performance while allowing the audience to view the action
without squinting.
Grid plan - Answer A plan that arranges spaces on a pre-defined, regular pattern of points or
intersecting parallel lines
Hellenistic period (c. 323-31 BCE) - Answer - Alexander's empire is divided up by his followers
- Fallen under political control by Rome (by 31 BCE)
Hippodamos (Hippodamus)
*ARCHITECT* - Answer • (498-408 BCE)
• Born in Miletus, west coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) in the 5th century BCE
• Hippodemus was credited with "adding" innovative ciy design principles to the orthogonal
plan
WITH SOLVED SOLUTIONS 2026/2027
UPDATE.
abacus - Answer A tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in
supporting the architrave
acanthus - Answer An ambigious flower and a style of plant used for the caps of the corinthian
columns
Acropolis - Answer A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city
Acroterion or acroterium (plural = acroteria) - Answer An upright ornament placed at the apex
and eaves of gabled roofs in Greek Architecture
Greek Agora - Answer Public square; evolved into market place, courts, and public buildings
Anathyrosis - Answer Smooth dressing of the margin of ashlar stone or the drums comprising
the shaft of a classical column to ensure an accurate masonry joint
Anta (plural = antae) - Answer slightly projecting column at the end of a wall, produced by
either a thickening of the wall or attachment of a separate strip
Architrave (or epistyle) - Answer In Classical architecture, the bottom portion of an
entablature.
Ashlar masonry - Answer carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in
construction, fitted together without mortar
Capital - Answer In Classical architecture, the termination of the column, generally given
decorative carving.
Caryatid - Answer a pier carved in the shape of a standing woman and used in the place of a
column.
Cella (or naos) - Answer The shrine room in the center of the temple
,Choragic monument - Answer a monument built to honor the winner of a choral contest in
ancient Greece
Chryselephantine - Answer fashioned of gold and ivory
Clamp - Answer Large mass of bricks or limestone arranged for burning
Classical period (c. 480- 323 BCE) - Answer The architectural grammar based on the classical
orders of ancient Greece and Rome
Column inclination - Answer An element of entasis found at the Parthenon. Instead of
standing straight up, the columns lean slightly inwards.
Corinthian - Answer A Greek column symmetrical on all four sides, with acanthus leaves for
decoration.
Cornice (or geison) - Answer The uppermost element of an entablature, which projects
beyond the plane of the exterior wall; more generally, the overhanging molding atop any
building.
Dentils - Answer A type of cornice molding composed of rectangular blocks set in a row like
teeth, hence the name
Doric - Answer the Greek order that has a fluted shaft no base, and an echinus molding
supporting the abacus. Roman Doric columns have a base.
Doric frieze - Answer A frieze containing alternating triglyphs and metopes.
Dowel - Answer Headless peg, in, or bolt of wood used to fashion two members together by
being set into each part
Echinus - Answer In the Doric Order, the round, cushion-like element between the top of the
shaft and the abacus. The top slopes down to the bottom.
Empolion - Answer Vertical iron dowels for ashlar blocks, wooden empolia for column drums
- Mason's marks
- Empolian cutting edge
• A dowel made of wood and you put it in two
, columns
• Sealed core
Engaged columns - Answer a half-round column attached to a wall
Entablature - Answer In Classical architecture, the part of a building above the columns and
below the roof. This part of a Classical temple includes the architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Entasis - Answer In classical architecture, the slight swelling or bulge in the center of a column,
which corrects the illusion of concave tapering produced by parallel or straight lines
Epistyle (or architrave) - Answer In Classical architecture, the bottom portion of an
entablature.
Flute - Answer Vertical grooves incised in the shaft of a classical column
Frieze - Answer The horizontal element above the architrave and below the cornice in an
entablature.
Geison (or cornice) - Answer The part of the entablature that projects outward from the top of
the frieze in the Doric order and from the top of the frieze course of the Ionic and Corinthian
orders; it forms the outer edge of the roof on the sides of a structure with a sloped roof.
Greek theater - Answer Open-air structure in which plays were performed. The stage faced the
afternoon sunlight to illuminate the performance while allowing the audience to view the action
without squinting.
Grid plan - Answer A plan that arranges spaces on a pre-defined, regular pattern of points or
intersecting parallel lines
Hellenistic period (c. 323-31 BCE) - Answer - Alexander's empire is divided up by his followers
- Fallen under political control by Rome (by 31 BCE)
Hippodamos (Hippodamus)
*ARCHITECT* - Answer • (498-408 BCE)
• Born in Miletus, west coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) in the 5th century BCE
• Hippodemus was credited with "adding" innovative ciy design principles to the orthogonal
plan
