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Washington, George (1732-1799)

On his death bed he final words were – “‘Tis well.” George Washington was a hero of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. Some have claimed that Washington requested a Bible with his dying breath, but neither his doctors nor his private secretary recorded any such request, and they were all with him until the moment he died. Washington did tell one of his physicians, “Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. My breath cannot last long.” A short time later, he expressed concern that he not be buried alive, “I am just going. Have me decently buried, and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. Do you understand?” “Yes, sir,” the doctor replied. “‘Tis well,” answered Washington.

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Greek Columns

Parthenon

Greek Columns

Greek Columns

Three Greek columns; Ionic, Corinthian and Doric made up of the capital, shaft and base. Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric columns are the simplest. They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square. The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides.

There is no base in the Doric order. The Doric order is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design. Doric, like most Greek styles, works well horizontally on buildings, that’s why it was so good with the long rectangular buildings made by the Greeks. The area above the column, called the frieze [pronounced “freeze”], had simple patterns.

Above the columns are the metopes and triglyphs. The metope [pronounced “met-o-pee”] is a plain, smooth stone section between triglyphs. Sometimes the metopes had statues of heroes or gods on them. The triglyphs are a pattern of 3 vertical lines between the metopes.

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