Architrave, Frieze, and Cornice: The Hidden Geometry Above Every Greek Column

Every classical column tells a story, but the real action happens above the capital. That horizontal band spanning from column to column, the entablature, follows rules established in ancient Greece and refined through centuries of practice. Understanding its three components, the architrave, frieze, and cornice, reveals the hidden geometry that makes classical buildings so satisfying to the eye.

The Architrave: Foundation of the System

The architrave is the lowest section of the entablature, resting directly on the column capitals. The term comes from the Italian “archi” (chief) and “trave” (beam), acknowledging its structural origins as the main beam spanning between columns.

In Doric buildings, the architrave presents a plain, unadorned face. This simplicity reflects the order’s emphasis on structural clarity and visual strength. Ionic and Corinthian architraves typically divide into three horizontal bands called fasciae, each projecting slightly beyond the one below, creating subtle shadows that articulate the surface.

The architrave’s height relates mathematically to the column below. Classical architects established proportional systems linking every element to fundamental measurements, ensuring that a building designed according to these rules would achieve visual harmony regardless of its absolute size.

The Frieze: Canvas for Meaning

Above the architrave lies the frieze, the section that most clearly distinguishes the three orders and often carries sculptural decoration:

Doric frieze: Features alternating triglyphs and metopes. Triglyphs are vertical elements with three channels (hence the name). Metopes are the square panels between them, often carved with reliefs. This pattern derives from ancient wooden construction, where the triglyph represented beam ends and the metope filled the space between. Though Greek architecture had long since shifted to stone, the vocabulary persisted.

Ionic frieze: Presents a continuous flat surface, often decorated with a running sculptural relief. The Parthenon frieze, depicting the Panathenaic procession, exemplifies this approach. The continuous format allows for narrative storytelling impossible in the compartmentalized Doric system.

Corinthian frieze: Follows the Ionic model with a continuous band, though often more elaborately decorated with foliage, figures, or other ornament befitting the order’s lavish character.

The Cornice: Crowning Glory

The cornice, the topmost section of the entablature, projects outward to shed water away from the wall below. This practical origin shaped its aesthetic development: the projection creates dramatic shadows that crown the composition with emphatic definition.

The cornice typically consists of several moldings stacked and projected at carefully calculated angles. These moldings, each with its own name (cyma recta, cyma reversa, ovolo, cavetto, scotia), follow precise profiles that create distinctive shadow patterns. Classical architects knew that the effect of a building depended as much on the shadows cast by its moldings as on the forms themselves.

A key element of many cornices is the corona, the main projecting section, and the soffit, its underside. The soffit often features decorative panels or coffers that reward viewers who look upward while passing beneath.

The Mathematics of Beauty

Classical architects developed proportional systems relating every element of the entablature to the column below. A column’s diameter at its base, called a module, became the unit of measurement for the entire building. The architrave might be one module high, the frieze slightly taller, the cornice projecting a specified fraction of the column height.

These relationships weren’t arbitrary. Generations of architects refined the proportions, seeking combinations that produced the most harmonious effects. Different theorists advocated different systems, but all agreed that mathematical relationships governed beauty and that departing from proven proportions risked aesthetic failure.

Reading the Entablature Today

The next time you encounter a classical building, look above the columns. Identify the three sections: the plain or banded architrave at bottom, the frieze with its triglyphs or continuous surface in the middle, the projecting cornice at top. Notice how shadows articulate each transition. Consider how the proportions relate to the columns below.

This vocabulary, developed 2,500 years ago, remains the foundation of classical architectural design. Understanding it connects you to a tradition that spans from the Parthenon to the Supreme Court, from ancient Athens to your neighborhood bank. The hidden geometry, once revealed, makes the classical world speak.