Figure 2: Detail of the conjectural color reconstruction of the Parthenon Panathenaic frieze and fascia (StudyBlue). I hope it might encourage the application of this timeless, visually engaging detail as an ornamental accent for contemporary classical architecture. This illustrated essay is intended to show the early origins of the complex Greek meander and to offer examples of its use as an embellishment for more than two millennia.

The designation is my own since I can find no specific definition for this distinctive form of Greek fret. What I define as the complex Greek Meander consists of two parallel strips of meandering fillets crossing one another at continuous intervals. The unbroken, interlocking pattern made it a symbol of both unity and infinity. The labeling of it as a meander results from its continuous back and forth progression, recalling the winding course of the Meander River in Asia Minor, now present-day Turkey. It has been called a Greek key because an individual section vaguely resembles a primitive key. At its most basic, it is a band consisting of short horizontal and vertical fillets connected to each other at right angles. The terms Greek key, fret, and meander are all names for a decorative device employed on buildings and objects beginning in ancient Greece and continuing to modern times. Figure 1: The Complex Greek Meander: Abraham Swan, The British Architect, (1758), Plate LV (detail). Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and Member of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Council of Advisors.

Meander symbol