A stone cold Neoclassic. #Art #ArtHistory #AncientGreece #AncientRome #History

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]This is the Parthenon in Athens. It's over 2,000 years old and the English have been obsessed with it for centuries. So much so that they absolutely pillaged it. Don't worry, Mark, I'm not stealing stuff the British stole. But have you ever wondered why so many far more recent buildings look like this? We call this style neoclassical, literally meaning new classical. And it's been popular since the 18th century, so not very new anymore. But although the original classical style was most commonly used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for places of religious worship like temples, in our time the neoclassical style is more commonly found in buildings that purport to be secular, like museums and government buildings. So why is this?

[00:00:37]Well, in the 18th century when neoclassicism was really popping off, there was this idea that the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome were founded on democracy and rationality. Ideals that the 18th century Europeans really liked the sound of, regardless of how historically accurate these impressions of the ancient world were. The neoclassical style also became incredibly popular in interior design, art, and fashion as a way to express these enlightened values.

[00:01:02]But also was a way to position the West as superior to all those other unenlightened and undemocratic and irrational people and cultures. And this style is to this day still associated with power, especially in the colonial era architecture of Australia, where we can see neoclassical buildings across the country.