To the classical world, architecture meant much more than the mere construction of buildings. It embodied notions of order, proportion and symmetry, and from the earliest times its aesthetic quality - architecture as an art - had priority. This book traces the development of classical architecture around the Mediterranean, Europe and Asia Minor from teh earliest buildings to the definitive Greek `orders'. It also shows how the Romans continued and enhanced the Greek and Hellenistic traditions in Italy and throughout the Empire, and how different materials led to changes in the form of building design.