Ancient Greek temple three steps, the "crepidoma". The uppermost level of the "crepidoma" provides the surface on which the columns and walls are placed; it is called stylobate. Placed on the stylobate are the vertical column shafts, tapering towards the top. They are normally made of several separately cut column drums. Depending on the architectural order, a different number of flutings are cut into the column shaft: Doric columns have 18 to 20 flutings, Ionic and Corinthian ones normally have 24. Early Ionic columns had up to 48 flutings. While Doric columns stand directly on the stylobate, Ionic and Corinthian ones possess a
Ionic Greek city of Miletus. This alphabet eventually became the standard Greek alphabet, its use becoming uniform during the Koine era. It was also the alphabet used in the Christian Gospels and the book of Acts. Proto-Greek "ā" > Ionic "ē"; in Doric, Aeolic, "ā" remains; in Attic, "ā" after "e, i, r", but "ē" elsewhere. Proto-Greek "e, o" > Ionic "ei, ou": compensatory lengthening after loss of "w" in the sequences "enw-, erw-, onw-, orw-". In Attic, "e, o" is not lengthened. Ionic sometimes removes initial aspiration (Proto-Greek hV- > Ionic V-). Ionic contracts less often than Attic. Proto-Greek "*kʷ" before