Has it the proper capital and other parts as in the true Doric style？
Men have tried ever since the time the Parthenon was built to improve on the Doric temple，but it seems impossible to do so.Every change they make from the original is less beautiful.
One of my earliest recollections is a picture of the Parthenon that hung on the wall of my school room.I had seen it day after day for months.One day I asked my teacher what the picture was.
“It’s a picture of the most beautiful building in the world，”she replied.
“What！That old wreck？”I exclaimed.“I don’t see anything beautiful about it.”
“You wouldn’t，”she answered.
That expression “You wouldn’t”rankled.I wanted to argue why it wasn’t beautiful，but she wouldn’t argue.
“Wait until you grow up，”she said.
I hated to be treated as a child who couldn’t understand what was beautiful and what wasn’t，so I set about trying to find out why the Parthenon was not beautiful.But the more arguments Itried to find，the less I found.
And then one day，twenty-five years later，when I first looked upward at that great Doric temple itself，standing against the blue sky，a traveler at my side remarked，“I don’t see anything beautiful about that broken down old ruin.”
No.63-2DORIC
COLUMN
（陶立克柱式）
And at that，I turned and just kept myself from saying，“You wouldn’t.”
Even a young child can tell whether a person is beautiful or ugly，but even oldpeople can’t tell whether a building is beautiful or ugly，otherwise we shouldn’t have so many ugly buildings.Any one can tell when a person is too tall or too fat，when his ears are too big or his nose too small，whether his proportions，as we call them，are right or wrong，but it takes a good eye to tell when a building’s proportions are right or wrong.Any one can tell that a wart or crossed eyes or a double chin or bow legs are not beautiful.
Now，some buildings have just as ugly things as warts，double chins，or bow legs，but often even old people can’t see them.But the Greeks had what we call “a good eye，”not only for people’s looks，but for a building’s looks.
Some people can’t tell when a picture is hanging straight on the wall.They may even measure the distance and declare it straight，but a person with a “good eye”can detect what the ruler may not show—that it is tipped the smallest bit，just a hair’s breadth perhaps.
There are two important tools that every builder nowadays uses—a plumb bob and a level.A plumb bob tells whether a wall or a column or anything else supposed to be straight up and down is really straight up and down or vertical，as it is called.A level，which has a little bubble in a glass on its edge，tells whether a floor or a sill or anything else supposed to be level is really level or horizontal，as it is called.You can’t fool a plumb bob or a level.
But the Greeks said you couldn’t believe the plumb bob or the level.for columns that are really vertical seem to lean out and floors that are really horizontal seem to sag in the middle.That’s because our eyes make them seem so，but as it is our eyes that have to see buildings，the Greek builders of the Parthenon built it as they wanted the eyes to see it，and so，though all lines may seem to be vertical，horizontal，level，or straight，there is really not a vertical line or a horizontal line or a perfectly straight line in the Parthenon.That’s one of the things that makes the Parthenon so extraordinary！
The columns were not made of single blocks of stone，but of drum-shaped pieces which，however，were cut with such exactitude that they fitted perfectly and no crack showed.It is even said the pieces have grown together like a broken bone that is well set！
【中文阅读】
在做数学题或写作文时，如果犯了错误，可以立马改正，或干脆撕了重写。如果一幅画或一座雕像看着极其碍眼，你可以把它藏起来，或直接毁掉。但如果一座建筑物造得难看，那可是在众目睽睽之下，无法隐藏的。它的缺点遮盖不住，也掩饰不了，除非把它给拆了或等它倒塌了！曾经有一个建筑师在他设计的一座大神庙刚建好后便自杀了。他临死前留下了一张纸条，说他所主建的神庙犯了五个毛病，因为无法改正，不能弥补，又永远在人们的眼皮底下，使他无法忍受这种耻辱。
大多数造好的建筑物都有许多毛病，不是这里就是那里总有一些不足之处，只不过没有人能看出问题。
但是有座两千多年前的建筑物，却没有任何弊病。它是世界上仅存的完美无瑕的建筑物之一。它是男人们为一个女人，准确地说，是为纪念一位女神建造的——一位名叫雅典娜.帕台农的智慧女神。这座建筑物也是以她的姓——帕台农——命名的。它坐落在希腊雅典的一座高高的山坡上。尽管它已部分受损，但却仍吸引着来自世界各地的游客到此来瞻仰她的完美容颜。
埃及的神庙多为平顶型。由于埃及雨水少，屋顶不需要建成能排雨水的斜坡。而希腊多雨，所以希腊神庙的顶部多为斜坡型。帕台农神庙的庙顶也是呈斜坡状的。
埃及神庙的柱子多藏在里面，希腊却截然相反，所有的柱子都立在外面。希腊的神庙不是用来接纳人，而只用来供奉神像。人们不像我们今天去教堂那样到教堂里面去敬拜，他们站在神庙外完成祭祀事宜。希腊神庙里的柱式与埃及的也不尽相同。希腊神庙的柱式更简约，更美观。
希腊神庙有三种圆柱，但是帕台农神庙的柱式是属于男性风格的柱式。这是以希腊一古老的部族——陶立克——命名的。不单单是柱子，整座建筑的风格都简约、坚固、朴素。这就是为什么把它称作男性风格的原因。希腊有许多“陶立克式”的建筑，但帕台农神庙绝对是最壮丽的。
陶立克式建筑多建于梯状平台上，神庙通体都由坚硬的石头，通常是大理石建成，不像两河流域的人用土坯，涂上石膏或瓷砖为材料来建造神庙。希腊的建筑没有一点偷工减料的现象，都是名副其实的。
你知道，女人的衣帽风格总是造型百变，但陶立克风格的建筑却能持续两千多年之久，且沿用至今。下面我将尽我所能为你描述这种柱式，以便你在见到这种柱式时能立马认出来。
陶立克柱式不打地基，整个柱身虽然不是完全笔直，但却直接由平台支撑，就像树干一样自下往上慢慢变细。它们看似如此，实际上却略微膨胀。这种膨胀叫做“微凸状”。柱子之所以刻上隆起的曲线，是因为笔直的柱身没有隆起的曲线就会看起来两头粗中间细。
一些现代的建筑师注意到陶立克柱式这一微微隆起的特征，于是就考虑使隆起更加突出来增添美观，就像有些病人在医生让服用一粒药的时候偏偏要服用两粒，因为他们认为，如果服用一粒就有效的话，那么服用两粒岂不是见效更快？但是希腊柱子上的纹路实际上是不多也不少的。如果隆起太多的话反而会显得臃肿，就像一个挺着啤酒肚的胖子。
陶立克式柱式的周边刻有多条凹槽，以使柱身看起来纤细、光滑、完美，并且有光影参差错落的感觉，一脱平庸造型。当今大多数柱式都没有这种凹槽造型。可以想象，要在大理石柱上一毫不差地刻下这些槽线在当时是多么困难的一件事。关键是一点小小的差错就会毁了整根柱子，万劫不复。柱子的顶端叫做柱头，而柱头就意指顶端。柱头看起来像是一个托盘，上面是一个小小的方状构造。如图所示。在你的身边或许会有陶立克式建筑，因为如我所述，这种样式沿用至今。它可能是一家银行，一座图书馆，一家法院，或其他别的某个建筑物。你可以仔细观察一下，看看它们是否具有陶立克式建筑所具有这些特征。就如：
这些柱子是石头做的，还只是木头做的？柱身刻有凹槽吗？或只是普普通通的平面呢？上有适当的柱头吗？其他部位也都符合真正的陶立克风格吗？自帕台农神庙建成以来，人们就开始尝试对陶立克式神庙作进一步完善，但这似乎都以失败而告终。每一次的尝试都只能算是画蛇添足。我早年的记忆之一就是在我的教室的墙上挂了一幅帕台农神庙的画。我一连几个月就这么每天都能看见它。有一天我问老师这幅画画的是什么。“这幅画画的是世界上最美的建筑物啊。”老师答道。“什么？就那破房子？”我惊呼，“我可看不出它有什么好看的。”“你是不会看出来的。”她说。她的“你是不会看出来的”激怒了我。我想跟她争辩为什么我就看不出来，但她显然没有兴趣。“等你长大了就会明白。”她说。
我讨厌她把我当成不分美丑的小孩，所以我就要努力寻找帕台农神庙不美的证据。我越是寻找，就越是找不到。
二十五年后的一天，当我第一次抬头仰望这座伟大的陶立克式神庙背靠蓝天的风姿时，听到旁边的一位游客在嘀咕：“我可看不出这堆倒塌的破烂废墟有什么好看的。”我反驳道：“你是不会看出来的。”