Capital (architecture)
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In architecture, the capital or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column. It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surfac
Illustration of papyriform capitals, in The Grammar of Ornament, 1856
Nine types of capitals, from The Grammar of Ornament
Columns with Hathoric capitals, at the Temple of Isis from island Philae
Egyptian composite columns from Philae
Doric order
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The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the s
Capital (architecture)
…as it rises to support the abacus, joins the usually square abacus and the usually circular shaft of the column. The capital may be convex, as in the Doric order; concave, as in the inverted bell of the Corinthian order; or scrolling out, as in the Ionic order. These form the three principal types on which all…
The Doric order of the Parthenon. Triglyphs marked "a", metopes "b", guttae "c" and mutules under the soffit "d"
The Roman Doric order from the Theater of Marcellus: triglyphs centered over the end column
Original Doric polychromy
Upper parts, labelled