Column

There are many different styles of columns. The most popular columns are the Classical-era columns, from Greek and Roman architecture, though columns or pillars were used by several cultures.

The top of a column is called the capital. Some columns have a base, which is called the plinth. Running up and down the sides (or shafts) of some types of columns are grooves called flutes. Entasis is the way that collums are swollen, or that their sides are not perfectly straight vertically, causing that in perspective, they look perfectly straight using optical illusion. The part of the building that column's support is called the entablure, and the part of the building that the column stands on is called the styloblate.

Types of Columns
Different cultures developed different styles of Columns.

Egyptian Columns
Ancient Egyptian Columns were seen rarely and weren't a very major element of Egyptian architecture. The columns were molded to represent Papyrus Reeds found in the Nile River and water lilies. Only a few temples used such columns. Egyptian Columns were also usually laden with heiroglyphic carvings.

Classical Columns
There are five styles of Classical Columns, which are called Orders. Each Order was developed differently. There are three main Orders, which are the most commonly seen in classical architecture. These such five Orders are:
 * Doric Order: The Doric Order is the simplest and oldest Classical Order and was invented in the western Dorian region of Greece. It didn't have any plinth, so it stood directly out of. It is one of the three main Classical Orders. See the page Doric Order for more information on this Order.
 * Ionic Order: The Ionic Order is considerably more complex and elaborate than the Doric or Tuscan Orders, and is characterized by it's scroll-like volutes spiraling out from the sides of the capital. This Order usually had Ionic-Capital.jpg plinth. It is one of the three main Classical Orders. See the page Ionic Order for more information on this Order.
 * Corinthian Order: The Corinthian Order was the most elaborately carved and decorated column. It was associated with the Greek city-state called Corinth, to which it was connected at that period. The Corinthian Order wasn't used or developed as much in Greece as it was in the time of the Roman Empire, when it became more popular. It is one of the three main Classical Orders. See the page Corinthian Order for more information on this Order.
 * Tuscan Order: The Tuscan Order is also known as the Roman Doric Order because of it's simple design. It was invented by the Romans and though the proportions slightly differed from the Doric Order types of columns, it was generally very similar if not a Roman variation on the Doric Order itself. The columns were almost never fluted in this Order. See the page Tuscan Order for more information on this Order.
 * Composite Order: The Composite Order was invented by the Romans combines the capital volutes of the Ionic Order and the elaborate acanthus leaf carvings on the Corinthian Order. The name comes from it's composite of the two other Orders. See the page Composite Order for more information on this Order.