# Column

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Column
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Column.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column
> Source revision: 1356112354
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Structural element that transmits weight from above to below

This article is about the structural construction elements that bear and transmit vertical loads (weight). For other uses, see [Column (disambiguation)](/source/Column_(disambiguation)).

"Pillar" redirects here. For other uses, see [Pillar (disambiguation)](/source/Pillar_(disambiguation)).

[National Capitol Columns](/source/National_Capitol_Columns) at the [United States National Arboretum](/source/United_States_National_Arboretum) in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.)

Columns of the [Parliament House](/source/Parliament_House%2C_Helsinki) in [Helsinki](/source/Helsinki), [Finland](/source/Finland)

Column of the [Gordon Monument](/source/Gordon_Monument) in [Waterloo](/source/Waterloo%2C_Belgium)

A **column** or **pillar** in [architecture](/source/Architecture) and [structural engineering](/source/Structural_engineering) is a structural element that transmits, through [compression](/source/Compression_(physical)), the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a [compression member](/source/Compression_member). The term *column* applies especially to a large round support (the shaft of the column) with a [capital](/source/Capital_(architecture)) and a base or [pedestal](/source/Pedestal),[1] which is made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is typically called a [post](/source/Post_(structural)). Supports with a rectangular or other non-round section are usually called [piers](/source/Pier_(architecture)). Throughout [architectural history](/source/History_of_architecture), especially in [Classical](/source/Classical_architecture) and [Rennaisance](/source/Renaissance_architecture) styles, the column has been central to building design.

For the purpose of [wind](/source/Wind_engineering) or [earthquake engineering](/source/Earthquake_engineering), columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression members are often termed "columns" because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support [beams](/source/Beam_(structure)) or [arches](/source/Arch) on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, "column" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and decorative features. These columns are available in a broad selection of styles and designs in round tapered, round straight, or square shaft styles.[2] A column might also be a decorative element not needed for structural purposes; many columns are [engaged](/source/Engaged_column), that is to say form part of a wall. A long sequence of columns joined by an [entablature](/source/Entablature) is known as a [colonnade](/source/Colonnade). In Classical architecture, columns have historically had a few different "[orders](/source/Orders_of_architecture)", notably the [Doric](/source/Doric_order), [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order), [Corinthian](/source/Corinthian_order), [Tuscan](/source/Tuscan_order), [Composite](/source/Composite_order), and [Solomonic](/source/Solomonic_column).

## History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Column" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Dragon pillar from the *[Yingzao Fashi](/source/Yingzao_Fashi)*, [Song dynasty](/source/Song_dynasty)

### Antiquity

All significant [Iron Age](/source/Iron_Age) civilizations of the [Near East](/source/Near_East) and [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean) made some use of columns.

#### Egyptian

Main article: [Ancient Egyptian architecture § Columns](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_architecture#Columns)

In [ancient Egyptian architecture](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_architecture) as early as 2600 BC, the architect [Imhotep](/source/Imhotep) made use of stone columns whose surface was carved to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds, like [papyrus](/source/Papyrus), [lotus](/source/Nymphaea) and [palm](/source/Palm_tree).[3] In later Egyptian architecture faceted cylinders were also common. Their form is thought to derive from archaic reed-built shrines. Carved from stone, the columns were highly decorated with carved and painted [hieroglyphs](/source/Egyptian_hieroglyphs), texts, ritual imagery and natural motifs. Egyptian columns are famously present in the [Great Hypostyle Hall](/source/Great_Hypostyle_Hall) of Karnak (c. 1224 BC), where 134 columns are lined up in sixteen rows, with some columns reaching heights of 24 metres.

One of the most important type are the papyriform columns. The origin of these columns goes back to the [5th Dynasty](/source/5th_Dynasty). They are composed of lotus (papyrus) stems which are drawn together into a bundle decorated with bands: the capital, instead of opening out into the shape of a [bellflower](/source/Campanula), swells out and then narrows again like a flower in bud. The base, which tapers to take the shape of a half-sphere like the stem of the lotus, has a continuously recurring decoration of stipules.

	- Examples of Egyptian columns

		- Illustration of papyriform capitals, in *[The Grammar of Ornament](/source/The_Grammar_of_Ornament)*

		- Illustration of various types of capitals, drawn by the egyptologist [Karl Richard Lepsius](/source/Karl_Richard_Lepsius)

		- Columns with [Hathoric](/source/Hathor) capitals

		- Papyriform columns of the [Luxor Temple](/source/Luxor_Temple)

#### Greek and Roman

See also: [Classical order](/source/Classical_order) and [Minoan civilization § columns](/source/Minoan_civilization#columns)

Illustration of Doric (left three), Ionic (middle three) and Corinthian (right two) columns

Very detailed illustrations of the [Tuscan](/source/Tuscan_order), [Doric](/source/Doric_order), [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order), [Corinthian](/source/Corinthian_order) and [Composite](/source/Composite_order) orders

Very simple detailed of the [Doric](/source/Doric_order), [Tuscan](/source/Tuscan_order), [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order), [Corinthian](/source/Corinthian_order) and [Composite](/source/Composite_order) orders

The [Minoans](/source/Minoans) used whole tree-trunks, placed on a stylobate (floor base) and topped by a simple round pillow-like capital. These were then painted as in the most famous Minoan palace of [Knossos](/source/Knossos). The Minoans employed columns to create large open-plan spaces, light-wells and as a focal point for religious rituals.

These traditions were continued by the later [Mycenaean civilization](/source/Mycenaean_civilization), particularly in the [megaron](/source/Megaron) or hall at the heart of their palaces. The importance of columns and their reference to palaces and therefore authority is evidenced in their use in heraldic motifs such as the famous lion-gate of [Mycenae](/source/Mycenae) where two lions stand each side of a column. While these early wooden columns have not survived, their stone bases have and it is through these that we may see their use and arrangement in palace buildings.

The Egyptians, Persians, and other civilizations used columns for the practical purpose of holding up the roof inside a building, preferring outside walls to be decorated with [reliefs](/source/Relief) or painting, but the Ancient Greeks, followed by the Romans, used them on the outside as well, and the extensive use of columns on the interior and exterior of buildings is one of the most characteristic features of classical architecture, in buildings like the [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon). The Greeks developed the [classical orders](#Classical_orders) of architecture, which are most easily distinguished by the form of the column and its various elements. Their [Doric](/source/Doric_order), [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order), and [Corinthian](/source/Corinthian_order) orders were expanded by the Romans to include the [Tuscan](/source/Tuscan_order) and [Composite](/source/Composite_order) orders.

		- Minoan columns at the West Bastion of the Palace of [Knossos](/source/Knossos)

		- Illustration of the end of a Mycenaean column, from the [Tomb of Agamemnon](/source/Tomb_of_Agamemnon)

		- Illustration of the [Tuscan order](/source/Tuscan_order)

		- Illustration of the [Doric order](/source/Doric_order)

		- Illustration of the [Ionic order](/source/Ionic_order)

		- Evolution of the [Corinthian order](/source/Corinthian_order)

		- Illustration of the [Composite order](/source/Composite_order)

		- Praying Woman between two ionic columns, 2nd century, marble, in the [Louvre](/source/Louvre)

#### Persian

Main article: [Persian column](/source/Persian_column)

Plan, front view and side view of a typical [Persepolis](/source/Persepolis) column, of [Persia (Iran)](/source/Iran)

Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of the [Persians](/source/Persia), especially the massive stone columns erected in [Persepolis](/source/Persepolis). They included double-bull structures in their [capitals](/source/Capital_(architecture)). [The Hall of Hundred Columns](/source/Apadana) at Persepolis, measuring 70 × 70 metres, was built by the [Achaemenid](/source/Achaemenid) king [Darius I](/source/Darius_the_Great_of_Persia) (524–486 BC). Many of the ancient [Persian columns](/source/Persian_column) are still standing, particularly at sites such as Persepolis; some were originally around 20–24 metres tall, making them among the tallest columns of the ancient world.[4] Tall columns with bull's head capitals were used for porticoes and to support the roofs of the hypostyle hall, partly inspired by the ancient Egyptian precedent. Since the columns carried timber beams rather than stone, they could be taller, slimmer and more widely spaced than Egyptian ones.

#### South Asia

[Indo-Corinthian capitals](/source/Indo-Corinthian_capital) are [capitals](/source/Capital_(architecture)) crowning **columns** or [pilasters](/source/Pilaster), which can be found in the northwestern [Indian subcontinent](/source/Indian_subcontinent), and usually combine [Hellenistic](/source/Classical_architecture) and [Indian](/source/Indian_architecture) elements. These capitals are typically dated to the first centuries of the [Common Era](/source/Common_Era), and constitute an important aspect of [Greco-Buddhist art](/source/Greco-Buddhist_art). Indo-Corinthian capitals display a design and foliage structure which is derived from the academic [Corinthian capital](/source/Corinthian_order) developed in Greece. Its importation to India followed the road of Hellenistic expansion in the East in the centuries after the conquests of [Alexander the Great](/source/Alexander_the_Great). In particular the [Greco-Bactrian kingdom](/source/Greco-Bactrian_kingdom), centered on [Bactria](/source/Bactria) (today's northern [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan)), upheld the type at the doorstep of India, in such places as [Ai-Khanoum](/source/Ai-Khanoum) until the end of the 2nd century BCE. In India, the design was often adapted, usually taking a more elongated form and sometimes being combined with scrolls, generally within the context of Buddhist [stupas](/source/Stupa) and temples.[5]

### Middle Ages

Main article: [Medieval architecture](/source/Medieval_architecture)

Columns, or at least large structural exterior ones, became much less significant in the architecture of the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages). The classical forms were abandoned in both [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine_architecture) and [Romanesque architecture](/source/Romanesque_architecture) in favour of more flexible forms, with capitals often using various types of foliage decoration, and in the West scenes with figures carved in [relief](/source/Relief).

During the Romanesque period, builders continued to reuse and imitate ancient Roman columns wherever possible; where new, the emphasis was on elegance and beauty, as illustrated by twisted columns. Often they were decorated with mosaics.

	- Examples of columns

		- Byzantine columns from [Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo](/source/Basilica_of_Sant'Apollinare_Nuovo) ([Ravenna](/source/Ravenna), Italy)

		- The capital of a Byzantine column from [Hagia Sophia](/source/Hagia_Sophia) ([Istanbul](/source/Istanbul), Turkey)

		- Romanesque columns from the 12th century

		- Gothic columns of a church from [Neuwiller-lès-Saverne](/source/Neuwiller-l%C3%A8s-Saverne) (France)

		- Slender Gothic columns at a portal of [Marienkirche Gelnhausen](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marienkirche_Gelnhausen&action=edit&redlink=1) [[de](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marienkirche_(Gelnhausen))] ([Gelnhausen](/source/Gelnhausen), Germany)

		- Column use is common in [Ottoman architecture](/source/Ottoman_architecture), an example in [Topkapı Palace](/source/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace) ([Istanbul](/source/Istanbul), Turkey)

### Mesoamerica

Main article: [Mesoamerican architecture](/source/Mesoamerican_architecture)

In [Teotihuacan](/source/Teotihuacan)'s unique grid-planned layout, elaborate palace compounds such as the Palace of [Quetzalpapálotl](/source/Quetzalpap%C3%A1lotl), located southwest of the [Pyramid of the Moon](/source/Pyramid_of_the_Moon), featured facades and columns decorated with low-relief carvings. This palace's open patio was surrounded by heavy stone columns incised on three sides with bas-reliefs, adorned with water symbols on cornices painted red and white.[6][7]

At [Tula](/source/Tula_(Mesoamerican_site)), the [Pyramid of the Atlanteans](/source/Atlantean_figures#Toltec_Atlantean_figures_from_Tula) was supported by huge stone columns carved as warriors bearing atlatls, sheaves of arrows, butterfly breast plates, and solar discs, while the nearby Great Vestibule featured an L-shaped platform with dozens of stubbed columns.[8]

[Puuc](/source/Puuc) [Maya architecture](/source/Maya_architecture) is distinguished by round columns with entasis and square capitals placed in doorways, as seen at [Sayil](/source/Sayil)'s Palace with its porticoed chambers featuring round columns, and at [Labna](/source/Labna), where freestanding, round columns with capitals appear alongside carved stone facades.[9][10] At [Chacmultun](/source/Chacmultun), the Puuc style is expressed with colonettes (small columns) on upper facades, columned doorways, and rounded columns at Building 1.[11]

Columns at [Chichen Itza](/source/Chichen_Itza) appear in several architectural forms, most notably colonnaded halls, which are long masonry structures fronted by a series of columns that functioned as administrative buildings for the elite, and gallery‑patios, which combine a long, open colonnaded gallery with a rectangular patio that uses interior columns to widen the interior space.[12] Both types are common at Chichen Itza but rare elsewhere in Yucatán.[12] Columns are also found at elite residences and, in decorative form, within Puuc‑style architecture.[12] Many columns were carved with figures in elaborate costumes of military significance, and warrior columns represent a new artistic form introduced during the Early [Postclassic period](/source/Mesoamerican_chronology#Postclassic_period).[13][12] In the Group of the Thousand Columns (dating to ca. 950/980–1050/1100), the [Mercado](/source/Chichen_Itza#El_Mercado) features alternating piers and columns that were painted with yellow, red, and blue registers and once supported a vaulted roof, while other columns in the structure framed a shallow [impluvium](/source/Impluvium).[14]

		- Courtyard of the [Quetzalpapalotl](/source/Quetzalpapalotl) Palace in [Teotihuacan](/source/Teotihuacan) with square columns adorned with mythological birds

		- The [Atlantean figures](/source/Atlantean_figures#Toltec_Atlantean_figures_from_Tula) and the remaining column drums in the shape of [feathered serpents](/source/Feathered_serpent) in [Tula](/source/Tula_(Mesoamerican_site)). Originally, they provided the support for the roof of a structure on top of Pyramid B.

		- Load bearing columns and engaged columns in the facade of the Grand Palace of [Sayil](/source/Sayil)

		- Columns in the [Group of a Thousand Columns](/source/Chichen_Itza#Group_of_a_Thousand_Columns), an architectural complex in Chichen Itza

### Renaissance and later styles

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (June 2025)

[Renaissance architecture](/source/Renaissance_architecture) was keen to revive the classical vocabulary and styles, and the informed use and variation of the classical orders remained fundamental to the training of architects throughout [Baroque](/source/Baroque_architecture), [Rococo](/source/Rococo) and [Neo-classical architecture](/source/Neo-classical_architecture).

## Structure

Further information: [Fluting (architecture)](/source/Fluting_(architecture))

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Column" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Early columns were constructed of stone, some out of a single piece of stone. Monolithic columns are among the heaviest stones used in architecture. Other stone columns are created out of multiple sections of stone, mortared or dry-fit together. In many classical sites, sectioned columns were carved with a centre hole or depression so that they could be pegged together, using stone or metal pins. The design of most classical columns incorporates [entasis](/source/Entasis) (the inclusion of a slight outward curve in the sides) plus a reduction in diameter along the height of the column, so that the top is as little as 83% of the bottom diameter. This reduction mimics the parallax effects which the eye expects to see, and tends to make columns look taller and straighter than they are while entasis adds to that effect.

There are flutes and fillets that run up the shaft of columns. The flute is the part of the column that is indented in with a semi circular shape. The fillet of the column is the part between each of the flutes on the Ionic order columns. The flute width changes on all tapered columns as it goes up the shaft and stays the same on all non tapered columns. This was done to the columns to add visual interest to them. The Ionic and the Corinthian are the only orders that have fillets and flutes. The Doric style has flutes but not fillets. Doric flutes are connected at a sharp point where the fillets are located on Ionic and Corinthian order columns.

### Nomenclature

Most classical columns arise from a basis, or base, that rests on the [stylobate](/source/Stylobate), or [foundation](/source/Foundation_(engineering)), except for those of the [Doric order](/source/Doric_order), which usually rest directly on the stylobate. The basis may consist of several elements, beginning with a wide, square slab known as a [plinth](/source/Plinth). The simplest bases consist of the plinth alone, sometimes separated from the column by a convex circular cushion known as a [torus](/source/Molding_(decorative)#types). More elaborate bases include two toruses, separated by a concave section or channel known as a scotia or trochilus. Scotiae could also occur in pairs, separated by a convex section called an [astragal](/source/Astragal), or bead, narrower than a torus. Sometimes these sections were accompanied by still narrower convex sections, known as [annulets](/source/Annulet_(architecture)) or fillets.[15][16]

At the top of the shaft is a [capital](/source/Capital_(architecture)), upon which the roof or other architectural elements rest. In the case of Doric columns, the capital usually consists of a round, tapering cushion, or echinus, supporting a square slab, known as an abax or [abacus](/source/Abacus_(architecture)). [Ionic capitals](/source/Ionic_order) feature a pair of [volutes](/source/Volute), or scrolls, while [Corinthian capitals](/source/Corinthian_order) are decorated with reliefs in the form of acanthus leaves. Either type of capital could be accompanied by the same moldings as the base.[15][16] In the case of free-standing columns, the decorative elements atop the shaft are known as a [finial](/source/Finial).

Modern columns may be constructed out of steel, poured or precast concrete, or brick, left bare or clad in an architectural covering, or veneer. Used to support an arch, an [impost](/source/Impost_(architecture)), or pier, is the topmost member of a column. The bottom-most part of the arch, called the springing, rests on the impost.

### Equilibrium, instability, and loads

Main article: [Buckling § columns](/source/Buckling#columns)

Mechanical failure modes Buckling Cavitation Corrosion Corrosion fatigue Creep Fatigue Fouling Fracture Hydrogen embrittlement Impact Liquid metal embrittlement Mechanical overload Metal-induced embrittlement Stress corrosion cracking Sulfide stress cracking Thermal shock Wear Yielding v t e

Table showing values of K for structural columns of various end conditions (adapted from Manual of Steel Construction, 8th edition, American Institute of Steel Construction, Table C1.8.1)

As the axial load on a perfectly straight slender column with elastic material properties is increased in magnitude, this ideal column passes through three states: stable equilibrium, neutral equilibrium, and instability. The straight column under load is in stable equilibrium if a lateral force, applied between the two ends of the column, produces a small lateral deflection which disappears and the column returns to its straight form when the lateral force is removed. If the column load is gradually increased, a condition is reached in which the straight form of equilibrium becomes so-called neutral equilibrium, and a small lateral force will produce a deflection that does not disappear and the column remains in this slightly bent form when the lateral force is removed. The load at which neutral equilibrium of a column is reached is called the critical or [buckling](/source/Buckling) load. The state of instability is reached when a slight increase of the column load causes uncontrollably growing lateral deflections leading to complete collapse.

For an axially loaded straight column with any end support conditions, the equation of static equilibrium, in the form of a differential equation, can be solved for the deflected shape and critical load of the column. With hinged, fixed or free end support conditions the deflected shape in neutral equilibrium of an initially straight column with uniform cross section throughout its length always follows a partial or composite sinusoidal curve shape, and the critical load is given by

f c r ≡ π 2 E I m i n L 2 ( 1 ) {\displaystyle f_{cr}\equiv {\frac {\pi ^{2}{\textit {E}}I_{min}}{{L}^{2}}}\qquad (1)}

where *E* = [elastic modulus](/source/Elastic_modulus) of the material, *Imin* = the minimal moment of inertia of the cross section, and *L* = actual length of the column between its two end supports. A variant of (1) is given by

f c r ≡ π 2 E T ( K L r ) 2 ( 2 ) {\displaystyle f_{cr}\equiv {\frac {\pi ^{2}E_{T}}{({\frac {KL}{r}})^{2}}}\qquad (2)}

where *r* = [radius](/source/Radius) of gyration of column cross-section which is equal to the square root of (I/A), *K* = ratio of the longest half [sine](/source/Sine) wave to the actual column length, *E**t* = tangent modulus at the stress *F*cr, and *KL* = effective length (length of an equivalent hinged-hinged column). From Equation (2) it can be noted that the buckling strength of a column is inversely proportional to the square of its length.

When the critical stress, *F*cr (*F*cr =*P*cr/*A*, where *A* = cross-sectional area of the column), is greater than the proportional limit of the material, the column is experiencing inelastic buckling. Since at this stress the slope of the material's stress-strain curve, *E**t* (called the [tangent modulus](/source/Tangent_modulus)), is smaller than that below the proportional limit, the critical load at inelastic buckling is reduced. More complex formulas and procedures apply for such cases, but in its simplest form the critical buckling load formula is given as Equation (3),

f c r ≡ F y − F y 2 4 π 2 E ( K L r 2 ) ( 3 ) {\displaystyle f_{cr}\equiv {F_{y}}-{\frac {F_{y}^{2}}{4\pi ^{2}E}}\left({\frac {KL}{r^{2}}}\right)\qquad (3)}

A column with a cross section that lacks symmetry may suffer torsional buckling (sudden twisting) before, or in combination with, lateral buckling. The presence of the twisting deformations renders both theoretical analyses and practical designs rather complex.

Eccentricity of the load, or imperfections such as initial crookedness, decreases column strength. If the axial load on the column is not concentric, that is, its line of action is not precisely coincident with the centroidal axis of the column, the column is characterized as eccentrically loaded. The eccentricity of the load, or an initial curvature, subjects the column to immediate bending. The increased stresses due to the combined axial-plus-flexural stresses result in a reduced load-carrying ability.

Column elements are considered to be massive if their smallest side dimension is equal to or more than 400 mm. Massive columns have the ability to increase in carrying strength over long time periods (even during periods of heavy load). Taking into account the fact, that possible structural loads may increase over time as well (and also the threat of progressive failure), massive columns have an advantage compared to non-massive ones.

### Extensions

When a column is too long to be built or transported in one piece, it has to be extended or spliced at the construction site. A [reinforced concrete column](/source/Reinforced_concrete_column) is extended by having the steel reinforcing bars protrude a few inches or feet above the top of the concrete, then placing the next level of reinforcing bars to overlap, and pouring the concrete of the next level. A steel column is extended by welding or bolting splice plates on the flanges and webs or walls of the columns to provide a few inches or feet of load transfer from the upper to the lower column section. A timber column is usually extended by the use of a steel tube or wrapped-around sheet-metal plate bolted onto the two connecting timber sections.

### Foundations

A column that carries the load down to a foundation must have means to transfer the load without overstressing the foundation material. Reinforced concrete and masonry columns are generally built directly on top of concrete foundations. When seated on a concrete foundation, a steel column must have a base plate to spread the load over a larger area, and thereby reduce the bearing pressure. The base plate is a thick, rectangular steel plate usually welded to the bottom end of the column.

## Orders

Main article: [Classical order](/source/Classical_order)

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Column" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The [Roman](/source/Ancient_Rome) author [Vitruvius](/source/Vitruvius), relying on the writings (now lost) of [Greek](/source/Ancient_Greece) authors, tells us that the ancient [Greeks](/source/Hellenic_civilization) believed that their Doric order developed from techniques for building in wood. The earlier smoothed tree-trunk was replaced by a stone cylinder.

### Doric order

Main article: [Doric order](/source/Doric_order)

The [Doric order](/source/Doric_order) is the oldest and simplest of the classical orders. It is composed of a vertical [cylinder](/source/Cylinder_(geometry)) that is wider at the bottom. It generally has neither a base nor a detailed [capital](/source/Capital_(architecture)). It is instead often topped with an inverted [frustum](/source/Frustum) of a shallow cone or a cylindrical band of carvings. It is often referred to as the masculine order because it is represented in the bottom level of the [Colosseum](/source/Colosseum) and the [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon), and was therefore considered to be able to hold more weight. The height-to-thickness ratio is about 8:1. The shaft of a Doric Column is almost always [fluted](/source/Fluting_(architecture)).

The Greek Doric, developed in the western Dorian region of Greece, is the heaviest and most massive of the orders. It rises from the [stylobate](/source/Stylobate) without any base; it is from four to six times as tall as its diameter; it has twenty broad flutes; the capital consists simply of a banded necking swelling out into a smooth echinus, which carries a flat square abacus; the Doric entablature is also the heaviest, being about one-fourth the height column. The Greek Doric order was not used after c. 100 B.C. until its “rediscovery” in the mid-eighteenth century.

### Tuscan order

Main article: [Tuscan order](/source/Tuscan_order)

The [Tuscan order](/source/Tuscan_order), also known as Roman Doric, is also a simple design, the base and capital both being series of cylindrical disks of alternating diameter. The shaft is almost never fluted. The proportions vary, but are generally similar to Doric columns. Height to width ratio is about 7:1.

### Ionic order

Main article: [Ionic order](/source/Ionic_order)

The [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order) column is considerably more complex than the Doric or Tuscan. It usually has a base and the shaft is often fluted (it has grooves carved up its length). The capital features a [volute](/source/Volute), an ornament shaped like a [scroll](/source/Scroll_(parchment)), at the four corners. The height-to-thickness ratio is around 9:1. Due to the more refined proportions and scroll capitals, the Ionic column is sometimes associated with academic buildings. Ionic style columns were used on the second level of the Colosseum.

### Corinthian order

Main article: [Corinthian order](/source/Corinthian_order)

The Corinthian order is named for the Greek [city-state](/source/City-state) of [Corinth](/source/Ancient_Corinth), to which it was connected in the period. However, according to the architectural historian [Vitruvius](/source/Vitruvius), the column was created by the sculptor [Callimachus](/source/Callimachus_(sculptor)), probably an [Athenian](/source/Athens), who drew [acanthus](/source/Acanthus_(genus)) leaves growing around a votive basket. In fact, the oldest known Corinthian capital was found in [Bassae](/source/Bassae), dated at 427 BC. It is sometimes called the feminine order because it is on the top level of the Colosseum and holding up the least weight, and also has the slenderest ratio of thickness to height. Height to width ratio is about 10:1.

### Composite order

The [Composite order](/source/Composite_order) draws its name from the capital being a composite of the Ionic and Corinthian capitals. The acanthus of the Corinthian column already has a scroll-like element, so the distinction is sometimes subtle. Generally the Composite is similar to the Corinthian in proportion and employment, often in the upper tiers of [colonnades](/source/Colonnade). Height to width ratio is about 11:1 or 12:1.

### Solomonic

A [Solomonic column](/source/Solomonic_column), sometimes called "[barley sugar](/source/Barley_sugar)", begins on a base and ends in a capital, which may be of any order, but the shaft twists in a tight spiral, producing a dramatic, serpentine effect of movement. Solomonic columns were developed in the ancient world, but remained rare there. A famous marble set, probably 2nd century, was brought to [Old St. Peter's Basilica](/source/Old_St._Peter's_Basilica) by [Constantine I](/source/Constantine_I), and placed round the saint's shrine, and was thus familiar throughout the Middle Ages, by which time they were thought to have been removed from the [Temple of Jerusalem](/source/Temple_of_Jerusalem).[17] The style was used in bronze by [Bernini](/source/Bernini) for his spectacular [St. Peter's baldachin](/source/St._Peter's_baldachin), actually a [ciborium](/source/Ciborium_(architecture)) (which displaced Constantine's columns), and thereafter became very popular with [Baroque](/source/Baroque) and [Rococo](/source/Rococo) church architects, above all in [Latin America](/source/Latin_America), where they were very often used, especially on a small scale, as they are easy to produce in wood by [turning on a lathe](/source/Woodturning) (hence also the style's popularity for [spindles](/source/Spindle_(furniture)) on furniture and stairs).

### Caryatid

Main article: [Caryatid](/source/Caryatid)

A Caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an [entablature](/source/Entablature) on her head. The [Greek](/source/Greek_language) term *karyatides* literally means "maidens of [Karyai](/source/Karyes)", an ancient town of [Peloponnese](/source/Peloponnese).

### Engaged columns

Main article: [Engaged column](/source/Engaged_column)

In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi or three-quarter detached. Engaged columns are rarely found in classical Greek architecture, and then only in exceptional cases, but in Roman architecture they exist in abundance, most commonly embedded in the [cella](/source/Cella) walls of [pseudoperipteral](/source/Pseudoperipteros) buildings.

## Pillar tombs

[Pillar tombs](/source/Pillar_tomb) are monumental graves, which typically feature a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures. In the [ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greece) colony of [Lycia](/source/Lycia) in [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia), one of these edifices is located at the tomb of [Xanthos](/source/Xanthos). In the town of [Hannassa](/source/Hannassa) in southern [Somalia](/source/Somalia), ruins of houses with archways and [courtyards](/source/Courtyard) have also been found along with other pillar tombs, including a rare octagonal tomb.[18]

## Gallery

	- Different columns

		- Decorated pillars. Mosque. [Kashgar](/source/Kashgar)

		- The [Great Hypostyle Hall](/source/Great_Hypostyle_Hall) from [Karnak](/source/Karnak) (Egypt)

		- Columns found at the [Temple of Apollo in Delphi](/source/Temple_of_Apollo_(Delphi))

		- [Rococo](/source/Rococo) detail of a column from [St. Peter's Church](/source/St._Peter's_Church%2C_Mainz) ([Mainz](/source/Mainz), Germany)

		- At right, two of the [Solomonic columns](/source/Solomonic_column) brought to Rome by Constantine, in their present-day location on a pier in [St. Peter's Basilica](/source/St_Peter's%2C_Rome) (Rome). In the foreground at left is part of [Bernini's Baldachin](/source/St._Peter's_baldachin), inspired by the original columns.

		- Ionic [capital](/source/Capital_(architecture))

		- Tuscan columns can be seen at the [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia)

		- Church of [San Prospero](/source/San_Prospero) ([Reggio Emilia](/source/Reggio_Emilia), [Italy](/source/Italy))

		- Construction of [Sigismund's Column](/source/Sigismund's_Column) in [Warsaw](/source/Warsaw), detail of the 1646 engraving.

		- These are composed of stacked segments and finished in the [Corinthian](/source/Corinthian_order) style, at the [Temple of Bel](/source/Temple_of_Bel) (Syria)

		- The pillars of [Bankstown Reservoir](/source/Bankstown_Reservoir) ([Sydney](/source/Sydney), Australia)

		- [Reused](/source/Spolia) [Roman](/source/Roman_architecture) columns and capitals in the [Great Mosque of Kairouan](/source/Great_Mosque_of_Kairouan)

		- Engaged columns embedded in the side walls of the [cella](/source/Cella) of the [Maison Carrée](/source/Maison_Carr%C3%A9e) in [Nîmes](/source/N%C3%AEmes) (France)

## See also

- [Columnar jointing (geology)](/source/Columnar_jointing)

- [Core (architecture)](/source/Core_(architecture))

- [Huabiao](/source/Huabiao)

- [Linga](/source/Linga)

- [Lingodbhava](/source/Lingodbhava)

- [Load-bearing wall](/source/Load-bearing_wall)

- [Marian and Holy Trinity columns](/source/Marian_and_Holy_Trinity_columns)

- [Our Lady of the Pillar](/source/Our_Lady_of_the_Pillar)

- [Post (structural)](/source/Post_(structural))

- [Pylon (architecture)](/source/Pylon_(architecture))

- [Spur (architecture)](/source/Spur_(architecture))

- [Structural engineering](/source/Structural_engineering)

- [Votive Column of Lisieux](/source/Votive_Column_of_Lisieux)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Column - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/column?show=0&t=1355360075). Merriam-webster.com. 2012-08-31. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131004235839/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/column?show=0&t=1355360075) from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-07-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Architectural Columns by Melton Classics | Call 800-963-3060"](https://meltonclassics.com/products/columns/). *Melton Classics Incorporated | Hand Crafted, Classically Inspired Architectural Columns, Balustrades & Details*. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2024-06-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Baker, Rosalie; Baker, Charles (2001). [*Ancient Egyptians: People of the Pyramids*](https://archive.org/details/ancientegyptians0000bake/page/23). Oxford University Press. p. [23](https://archive.org/details/ancientegyptians0000bake/page/23). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0195122213](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0195122213).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Persian Column"](https://persianempire.org/structures/persian-column). PersianEmpire.org. Retrieved 26 December 2025. ["Columns, Architectural"](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/columns-architectural). *Encyclopaedia Iranica*. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved 26 December 2025. ["Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes"](https://smarthistory.org/persepolis-the-audience-hall-of-darius-and-xerxes/). Smarthistory. Retrieved 26 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EE156_5-0)** Errington, Elizabeth (2017). [*Charles Masson and the Buddhist Sites of Afghanistan: Explorations, Excavations, Collections 1832–1835*](https://zenodo.org/record/3355036). British Museum. pp. 156–159. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5281/zenodo.3355036](https://doi.org/10.5281%2Fzenodo.3355036).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. p. 22. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. p. 29. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. pp. 34−35. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. p. 179. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. p. 193. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Ferguson, William M.; Adams, Richard E. W. (2001). [*Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mesoamerica_s_Ancient_Cities/Ef1EYezJfFkC). UNM Press. pp. 200−202. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-2801-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-2801-4). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Itza1_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Itza1_12-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Itza1_12-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Itza1_12-3) Wren, Linnea; Kristan-Graham, Cynthia; Nygard, Travis; Spencer, Kaylee (12 December 2017). [*Landscapes of the Itza: Archaeology and Art History at Chichen Itza and Neighboring Sites*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Landscapes_of_the_Itza/p37SEAAAQBAJ). University Press of Florida. pp. 140–141. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8130-5203-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8130-5203-8). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Wren, Linnea; Kristan-Graham, Cynthia; Nygard, Travis; Spencer, Kaylee (12 December 2017). [*Landscapes of the Itza: Archaeology and Art History at Chichen Itza and Neighboring Sites*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Landscapes_of_the_Itza/p37SEAAAQBAJ). University Press of Florida. p. 52. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8130-5203-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8130-5203-8). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Wren, Linnea; Kristan-Graham, Cynthia; Nygard, Travis; Spencer, Kaylee (12 December 2017). [*Landscapes of the Itza: Archaeology and Art History at Chichen Itza and Neighboring Sites*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Landscapes_of_the_Itza/p37SEAAAQBAJ). University Press of Florida. pp. 230–233. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8130-5203-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8130-5203-8). Retrieved 26 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Clarke_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Clarke_15-1) [Hewson Clarke](/source/Hewson_Clarke) and [John Dougall](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Dougall_(writer)&action=edit&redlink=1), *The Cabinet of Arts*, T. Kinnersley, London (1817), pp. 271, 272.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Architectural_Glossary_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Architectural_Glossary_16-1) "Architectural Glossary", in *The Universal Decorator*, Francis Benjamin Thompson, Ed., vol. III (1859).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** J. Ward-Perkins, "The shrine of St. Peter's and its twelve spiral columns" *Journal of Roman Studies* **42** (1952) p 21ff.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Arotssc_18-0)** Sanseverino, Hilary Costa (1983). "Archaeological Remains on the Southern Somali Coast". *Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa*. **18** (1): 151–164. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/00672708309511319](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00672708309511319).

## Sources

- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Engaged Column". Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 404–405.

- Stierlin, Henri. *The Roman Empire: From the Etruscans to the Decline of the Roman Empire*, TASCHEN, 2002

- Alderman, Liz (7 July 2014). "Acropolis Maidens Glow Anew". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

- Stokstad, Marilyn; Cothren, Michael (2014). *Art History* (Volume 1 ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. p. 110.

## External links

- Media related to [Column](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Column) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Rooms and spaces of a house Shared rooms Bonus room Common room Den Dining room Family room Garret Great room Home cinema Keeping room Kitchen dirty kitchen kitchenette Living room Gynaeceum harem Andron man cave Quiet room Recording studio Recreation room billiard room Shrine Study Sunroom Private rooms Bathroom toilet Bedroom closet Bedsit Boudoir Cabinet Nursery Spaces Atrium Balcony Gallery Breezeway Conversation pit Cubby-hole Deck Elevator dumbwaiter Entryway/Genkan Fireplace hearth Foyer Hall Hallway Inglenook Lanai Loft Loggia Baldresca Overhang Patio Porch screened sleeping Ramp Secret passage Stairs/Staircase Terrace Veranda Vestibule Technical, utility and storage Attic Basement Carport Cloakroom Closet Crawl space Electrical room Equipment room Furnace room / Boiler room Garage Janitorial closet Larder Laundry room / Utility room / Storage room Mechanical room / floor Pantry Root cellar Semi-basement Storm cellar / Safe room Studio Wardrobe Wine cellar Wiring closet Workshop Great house areas Antechamber Ballroom Kitchen-related butler's pantry buttery saucery scullery spicery still room Conservatory / Orangery Courtyard Peristyle Quadrangle Drawing room Great chamber Great hall Library Long gallery Lumber room Parlour Sauna Servants' hall Servants' quarters Smoking room Solar State room Swimming pool Turret Undercroft Other Furniture Hidden room House house plan styles types Multi-family residential Secondary suite Duplex Terraced Detached Semi-detached Townhouse Studio apartment Architectural elements Arch Arcade Balconet Baluster Belt course Bressummer Ceiling Chimney Colonnade / Portico Column Cornice / Eaves Dais Dome Door Ell Floor Foundation Gable Gate Portal Lighting Molding Ornament Podium Plumbing Quoins Roof shingles Roof lantern Sill plate Style list Skylight Threshold Transom Tribune Vault Wall Window Related Backyard Driveway Fence Front yard Garden roof garden Home Home improvement Home repair Shed Tree house Category: Rooms

Authority control databases International GND National United States Japan Czech Republic Spain Latvia Israel Other İslâm Ansiklopedisi Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Column](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.