1. Why did Greek architects begin to make the

move from ephemeral materials (wood, mud

brick, and thatch) to permanent materials

(namely, stone) ?

The Greeks built the temples in honor of divinities, first, they were made from wood and mud brick, those materials were ephemeral because they did not survive long. The Greeks maintained the forms of the temples but changed the materials from wood to permanent materials such as stone.

The Greeks changed the materials because from the 6th century BCE forward the City-States started to invest more resources into temple building and spent more on better materials. For example, Athens spent enormous resources to construct the Acropolis, this also aimed to make people more confident that the temples built to honor their gods surpassed anything that any other states could offer, so they always would be blessed.