Ionic order Ionic order The Ionic order forms one of the three classical orders of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite order, both added by 16th-century Italian architectural writers, based on Roman practice. Of the three canonic orders, the Ionic order has the narrowest columns. The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes. The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform; the
Doric Greek (shortened to "-s-" in Attic). Initial "w" (ϝ) is preserved in earlier Doric (lost in Attic). Literary texts in Doric and inscriptions from the Hellenistic age have no digamma. For information on the peculiarities of Doric accentuation, see Ancient Greek accent#Dialect variation Numeral "tetores" ~ Attic "tettares", Ionic "tesseres" "four". Ordinal "prātos" ~ Attic–Ionic "prōtos" "first". Demonstrative pronoun "tēnos" "this" ~ Attic–Ionic "(e)keinos" "t" for "h" (from Proto-Indo-European "s") in article and demonstrative pronoun. Third person plural, athematic or root aorist "-n" ~ Attic "-san". First person plural active "-mes" ~ Attic–Ionic "-men". Future "-se-ō" ~ Attic "-s-ō". Modal particle