Types of Classical Architectural Columns

Doric Columns

• The preferred style in southern Italy and in its birthplace of Greece, the Doric column is the oldest and the plainest. The style was developed by the Dorians, one of the two Greek races, according to the Guide to Columns website. The column's capital, which is also called the top or the crown, is made of square on top of a circle. The shaft, the long vertical part of the column, has 20 flutes, which are called sides and are grooves cut vertically into the column, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Ionic Columns

• The Ionic column is more complex and decorative than its near relative, the Doric column, as noted by the Guide to Columns website. The slender shaft is cut with deeper facets or flutes, and its column sports two ram-like horns or volutes, which enclose the capital on two sides. The base is often a large set of circular rings, though it is sometimes more ornately designed, and the frieze, or the area above the column and capital, is plain.

Corinthian Columns

• This most decorative column is the one modern civilizations prefer, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Historic Landmarks Commission. The Corinthian column, like the Ionic column, uses entasis, which is a small bulge in the columns, in order to make them appear straight, even at a distance. Characteristics that set the Corinthian column apart from Doric and Ionic are most notably in the capital, which is inscribed with foliage and flowers, and flows upward into a bell shape to enhance the height of the column, according to the Guide to Columns website.