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three styles, or orders. Each order consists of an upright support called a column that extends from a base at the bottom to a shaft in the middle and a capital at the top — much like the feet, body, and head of the human figure.

The oldest, simplest, and most massive of the three Greek orders is the Doric, which was applied to temples beginning in the 7th century B.C. As shown in Figure 2, columns are placed close together and are often without bases.

To make their columns look straight, they bowed them slightly outward to compensate for the optical illusion that makes vertical lines look curved from a distance.

The Ionic was used for smaller buildings and interiors. It's easy to recognize because of the two scrolls, called volutes, on its capital. The volutes may have been based on nautilus shells or animal horns.

tiny Temple to Athena Nike at the entrance to the Athens Acropolis.

but its capital is far more ornate, carved with two tiers of curly acanthus leaves. The oldest known Corinthian column stands inside the 5th-century temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae.

The Doric order reached its pinnacle of perfection in the Parthenon.

Bleeding and the use of leeches to draw "bad blood" from the patient were typical. Some surgeries were performed to cure patients of hernias, cataracts, for the removal of gallstones. Surgery was often more precarious than the actual problem. Folk cures and poultices made from herbs were options for the peasant class. There were those who would risk being called "witch" to provide these remedies, although many found themselves tied to a burning stake.

the Church was often called to exorcise demons and say prayers and incantations over the patient.