DORIC, in architecture, is the second of the five orders; being that between the Tuscan and Ionic. It is usually placed upon the Attic base, though originally it had no base. See ARCHITECTURE, n° 43.
At its first invention it was more simple than at present; and when in after-times they came to adorn and enrich it more, the appellation Doric was restrained to this richer manner, and the primitive simple manner they called by a new name, the Tuscan order, which was chiefly used in temples; as the former, being more light and delicate, was for porticos and theatres. The tradition is, that Dorus, king of Achaia, having first built a temple of this order at Argos, which he dedicated to Juno, occasioned it to be called Doric; though others derive its name, from its being invented or used by the Dorians.
The moderns, on account of its solidity, use it in large strong buildings; as in the gates of cities and citadels, the out-sides of churches, and other massive works, where delicacy of ornaments would be unsuitable. The gate of Burlington-house in Piccadilly is of the Doric order.
The most considerable ancient monuments of this order, are the theatre of Marcellus at Rome; wherein the capital, the height of the frize, and its projecture, are much smaller than in the modern architecture; and the Parthenion, or temple of Minerva at Athens, in which the short and massive columns bear upon the pavement without a base; and the capital is a simple torus, with its cincture, and a square, plain, and solid abacus.