Greek Revival architecture (fl. 1800-1860) is a style related to Neoclassical architecture that more literally revived the Doric and Ionic temples of ancient Greece in particular. It was a reaction against what was perceived as more frivolous classical architecture in France and Italy, and the values of ancient Greece were appealing to democratic countries such as the United States. Greek Revival architecture was employed at many different scales, from large government buildings to vernacular houses.
It is difficult to characterize the exact beginnings of Greek Revival architecture, largely due to the coexistence of the preeminent flavors of Neoclassicism at the time, such as Regency and Empire architecture. It was also a global style and was popular in different countries at different times.
Greek Revival architecture probably began in Great Britain, when clients began to ask architects to design country houses using the Doric order in the mid-18th century. Benjamin Latrobe and John Soane were among the earlier practitioners of the style. Greek Revival architecture was perceived as a more restrained national style by 1800, leading to numerous public buildings and the Commissioners' Churches being built in the first few decades of the 19th century.
In Germany, an early and well-known design is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, completed in 1791. Though its monumentality and gate-like nature were influenced by the Roman triumphal arch, its Doric order and ornamentation were inspired by the Propylea (the gate to the Acropolis). Notable German Greek Revival architects include Leo von Klenze and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Again, like in Britain, Greek Revival architecture was perceived to reflect the nation's values.
In the United States, Greek Revival architecture also quickly caught on at the beginning of the 19th century. Northern states (again) felt it represented freedom and democracy, while those in the South thought it symbolized the power and affluence of a slave-owning society. President Thomas Jefferson appointed Benjamin Latrobe, who had immigrated to the United States in 1795, as Surveyor of Public Buildings, and Latrobe designed various public buildings across the country. Latrobe's students William Strickland, Thomas U. Walter, and Robert Mills followed in their master's footsteps, leading to notable commissions such as the Second Bank of the United States and Washington Monument. Residential buildings in the Greek Revival were often plantation houses in the most prominent commissions, but smaller vernacular farmhouses were spread across the country.
Most Greek Revival architecture uses the Doric order, specifically the Archaic Doric subset marked by thick, steeply tapering columns. However, some examples may employ the Ionic order. Greek Revival architecture is very simple and symmetrical, just like the classical temples it imitates. Buildings are often defined by a temple-front, of which a single entablature may form the entire facade or a series of temple-fronts. However, the sides have a more conventional expression with windows. Since Greek Revival buildings are influenced by ruins, they lack the polychromy that classical temples originally had, and they are often missing ornamental features such as pediment sculpture, friezes, or acroteria in favor of a more pared-down composition. Houses are generally simpler and lack the expensive masonry construction of larger Greek Revival buildings, but they are still symmetrical and have roof profiles in the shape of a pediment.
Greek Revival architecture went out of fashion with the beginning of the Civil War, being supplanted by the Italianate and Gothic Revival styles.