Capital: Quick Facts

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Photos

Capital styles for the five major orders of Classical architecture.

Illustration showing seven types of architectural column capitals: Egyptian, Greek, Persian (Achaemenian Dynasty), Roman, Islamic, Romanesque, and Early English Gothic, each with distinct decorative styles.

Stone capitals at Philae island in southern Egypt, each carved with the face of Hathor, featuring detailed headdresses and decorative floral elements.

Greek Revival: capital

Islamic capital

Rampurva bull capital

Romanesque and Gothic capitals

column ornament

Capitals and lintels of the massive hypostyle hall, Great Temple of Amon at Karnak in Thebes, Egypt.

India: lion capital

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Topics

volute capital cushion capital abacus echinus Aeolic capital necking Order Entablature Dado plinth Superposed order Colossal order Tuscan order Ionic order Corinthian order Composite order Doric order

Key People

west portal of Saint-Lazare

Gislebertus

French sculptor

Hagia Sophia. Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople. Church of the Holy Wisdom. Church of the Divine Wisdom. Mosque.

Architecture: The Built World