Ancient Greek Structures Provide an Education in Structural Integrity

By Diane S. Kukich

For most American college students, monuments like the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Acropolis, and the Temple of Poseidon are the stuff of mythology and ancient history.  But thanks to a new Study Abroad program, a group of engineering students at the University of Delaware had the chance not only to see these places but also to learn about their construction history and structural details. 

“This Study Abroad program was a first for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,” says Prof. Tripp Shenton, who led the group and taught the required engineering mechanics class, CIEG212 – Solid Mechanics.  The 19 students—all sophomore civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering majors—also took a three-credit general education course, HIST 367 – Athenian Democracy.

“We chose Greece as the site for the program because it enabled us to use temples and other classical Greek structures as examples in the discussion of stress and deformation of solids, properties of materials, and basic design,” Shenton says.

“The ancient Greeks built all of these fabulous monuments and temples that are still standing, and they didn’t have the modern calculation and design tools that we have,” he continues.  “From an engineering perspective, I wanted the students to get some understanding of why these structures are still standing.”

Shenton’s teaching was augmented by guest lectures delivered by faculty from the University of Athens and the University of Patras.

Prof. Tassio from the University of Athens provided the students with some interesting insights into early public works in Greece.  Extensive documentation shows the development of specifications and a formal bidding process with cost and scheduling details.  “Management of the entire construction process was really quite advanced in ancient Greece,” Shenton says.

Prof. Makris from the University of Patras gave an on-site lecture about the detailed and painstaking work involved in the reconstruction of historically significant structures such as the Temple at Nemea.  “The Greeks make a concerted effort to use as many of the original materials as possible in the reconstruction process,” Shenton says.

Makris is also conducting research on the seismic behavior of ancient Greek structures.  Seismic activity in Greece is comparable to that in California, and the students discovered that much can be learned about earthquake resistance from studying these structures that have held up for centuries.  The lesson may have come a little too close to home, however, as a strong earthquake rattled southern Greece on the Sunday after the group arrived in Athens.  Centered about 80 miles southwest of the city, the tremor had a magnitude of 6.5.  But it occurred at 7:14 a.m., and according to Shenton, most of the students slept right through it.

The Athenian Democracy course explored the emergence, evolution, and operation of the Athenian democratic political institutions to the end of the fifth century B.C., with a special emphasis on the ancient literary and epigraphical sources.  To this end, in-class lectures and textbooks readings were augmented by field trips and excursions to ancient sites, including Marathon, Olympia, and Delphi. 

The students also saw the Rio-Antirio Bridge, which crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese to Antirio on mainland Greece.  Completed in 2004, the cable-stay bridge is almost two miles long and carries six lanes of traffic, with additional lanes for bicycles and pedestrians.  Unlike bridges in the U.S., which are largely government owned, the Rio-Antirio Bridge is owned by a private consortium, an increasingly common phenomenon in Europe, according to Shenton.

Teaching assistant D.J. Helmstetter was particularly impressed with the engineering aspects of the bridge, which was designed for seismic resistance. But he admits that his admiration for this modern structure was overshadowed by his awe for the ancient sites.  “I loved hearing about the history and the myths,” he said.  “It was great seeing the ancient temples built for the gods of Greek mythology.  The Greeks seem to have a myth to explain almost everything.”

Undergraduate Kelly Ambrose found value in relating the history and the engineering of the area, while classmate Sarah Dalton benefited from the combination of classroom learning and site visits, which provided concrete examples rather than just pictures in a textbook.

“It was a life-changing experience,” Dalton says, “and it gave me greater appreciation for what we have in this country.”

“I agree with that,” Ambrose says, “but at the same time, I got a new appreciation for Greece and its long history, which we don’t have in the United States.”

All of the students were awed by the breathtakingly beautiful scenery in Greece, and many commented on the great food offered in tavernas and by street vendors.  Especially popular were souvlaki, which consists of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer and eaten off the skewer or on flatbread, and gyros, which are pita breads filled with meat, vegetables, and sauces.  According to Shenton, these Greek versions of fast food were filling and inexpensive, so the students ate them daily.

Although the language barrier was an issue, the students enjoyed the exposure to a different culture and found the Greek people to be friendly.  They also enjoyed the camaraderie of the group and the chance to get to know other engineers better. 

“We don’t usually meet mechanical engineers in our classes,” Ambrose says, “so it was nice to get to know some of them over in Greece.  But there was still a rivalry between the CEs and the MEs.”