Ancient Greek Architecture: Crete, Mycenae & Temple Design
Ancient Greece: A Cultural and Architectural Overview
Background: Crete and the Aegean
Crete, an island situated between the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, boasts a rich history. The Cretan civilization (Neolithic, Bronze Age) thrived through trade, exploration, and naval supremacy, influencing the Peloponnese and the culture of Mycenae.
Architectural Characteristics
Cretan architecture is characterized by:
- Palaces, mansions, private homes, and tombs resembling labyrinths.
- Well-planned layouts with windows.
Oceanic Lithosphere, Plate Boundaries, and Mountain Formation
Mid-Ocean Ridges and Oceanic Lithosphere
Mid-ocean ridges are seamounts rising above the abyssal plain, broken by transform faults. The Atlantic Ridge features a central rift valley.
Oceanic lithosphere forms in a column. Subduction zones, often located near deep ocean trenches, are areas where the lithosphere is recycled back into the Earth’s interior.
Lithospheric Plate Boundaries
The boundary between two lithospheric plates is called a plate boundary. There are three main types:
- Oceanic ridges: Boundaries
Landscapes, Hazards, and Human Impacts
Landscapes and Their Formation
A landscape is what we perceive of a territory that has been modeled by natural processes and human activities.
Natural Hazards and Environmental Impacts
Natural hazards refer to the probability that a natural process may inflict damage on people and their property within a given landscape.
Environmental impacts are the effects, both positive and negative, that human actions have on the landscape.
Landscape Types
Landscapes can be broadly categorized into: natural landscapes,
Read MoreRaw Materials and Energy Sources in Spain
Raw Materials
Raw materials can be classified by their origin:
- Organic: Sourced from farming, forestry, or livestock.
- Minerals: Extracted from deposits. These are further divided into:
- Metallic minerals: Used in basic industry.
- Non-metallic minerals: Used in the construction and chemical industries.
- Industrial rock: Used in construction.
Insufficient domestic production necessitates reliance on foreign trade. Spanish mining policy, aligned with EU targets, aims to increase competitiveness, improve the
Read MoreOrogenic Theories and Plate Tectonics: A Comprehensive Study
Orogenic Theories
Fijist Theories
Fijist theories assumed that the geographical position of continents and oceans do not vary with time, and that the causes of internal processes are vertical movements of elevation and subsidence. The theory of greater importance was Dana’s. He considered that from an initial molten earth, the planet suffered a gradual cooling and consequent contraction. According to this theory, as the interior cooled and contracted, the external solid surface was deformed by crumpling
Read MoreGeothermal Energy: Sources, Availability, and Environmental Impact
Where Does Geothermal Energy Come From?
Geothermal reservoirs are naturally occurring areas of hydrothermal resources. They are deep underground and are largely undetectable above ground. Geothermal energy finds its way to the Earth’s surface in three ways:
- Volcanoes and fumaroles (holes where volcanic gases are released)
- Hot springs
- Geysers
Geothermal energy also comes from volcanically active places such as Iceland and New Zealand.
Most of the geothermal power plants in the United States are located
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