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The term Classical Architecture has a specific archaeological meaning, relating to the architecture of Classical Greece. However the term is used by architectural historians to refer to a number of styles derived, directly or loosely, from this source.

Classical architecture can be divided into:

• Greek architecture before Alexander the Great
• Hellenistic architecture
• Roman architecture

Only Greek architecture in the time before Alexander (who died in 323 BC) carries an authentic, ethnic designation. The ancient Greeks were notoriously dismissive of barbaroi – those who spoke Greek non-natively or not at all. The incredible conquests of Alexander and the subsequent application of a veneer of Greek city states to a base of Egyptian, Semitic, and even Iranian populations produced an important change. Though speaking Greek remained the touchstone of whether one was a member of civilized culture or not, the ethnic diversification of the Hellenistic world is clear. The formal elements of classical Greek architecture were applied to temples for gods never worshipped in Greece.

The Romans can be seen as the latest Hellenistic empire. Pre-imperial architecture is more or less Etruscan with some Greek elements. By the time the Romans conquered mainland Greece in the 2nd century BC they were importing Greek craftsmen to build major public buildings. The term Roman Art and Roman Architecture has no ethnic meaning relating to Italic Romans. Most art historians assume that it has the ethnic meaning of "Greek-speaking slave" or "Greek-speaking free laborer," in fact.

Most of the many styles originating in post-renaissance Europe can be described as classical architecture. This broad use of the term is employed by Sir John Summerson in The Classical Language of Architecture.

The "elements" of classical architecture have been applied in radically different architectural contexts than those for which they were developed. The classical orders – Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian – have meaning in the stylistic history of 5th century BC Greece, shifting to the developments in 1st century AD Gaul, with the styles revived over and over again since then.

• List of classical architecture terms
• Classical orders
• Neoclassicism
• Architectural style

• Sir John Summerson (rev 1980) The Classical Language of Architecture ISBN 978-0500201770. The best brief introduction.

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