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
Classical order while the Corinthian or the Composite order was used for the top story. The Colossal order was invented by architects in the Renaissance. The Colossal order is characterized by columns that extend the height of two or more stories. The Tuscan order has a very plain design, with a plain shaft, and a simple capital, base, and frieze. It is a simplified adaptation of the Doric order by the Greeks. The Tuscan order is characterized by an unfluted shaft and a capital that only consists of an echinus and an abacus. In proportions it is similar to the Doric order,