How does Greek Architecture teach us about their society?
Greek architecture was mainly outward driven, that is, the perception from the outside mattered the most to them. That is why Greek buildings pay so much attention to harmony, symmetry, and proportions. Look at the columns of the Parthenon, they are in reality curved and imbalanced from top to bottom to give the appearance of straight linearity when seen from afar. This can correlate to their society in that they were searching for the ideal beauty and was very much tuned to mathetmatics. By contrast, Romans were very much inward driven. Although stylistically Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks, the Romans were much more concerned with the space inside and the potential of that space conveying a sense of awe and inspiration for the observer. For example, look at the Parthenon. From outside, it just looks like an out of scale mass of rectilinear porch and cylindrical volume smashed together but once you come inside, you are astounded by the theatrical play of light and space.
