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A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element which transmits, by compression, the weight of the above structure to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. The term column applies particularly to large round support (the stem of the column) with a capital and a base or pedestal, which is made of stone or which seems to be. A small wooden or metal support is generally called a post and supports with a rectangular or other non-round section are generally called pillars.

For wind or earthquake engineering purposes, the columns can be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression elements are often called “columns” due to similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, “column” refers to such a structural element which also has certain proportional and decorative characteristics. A column can also be a decorative element not necessary for structural purposes; many columns are engaged, that is to say, part of a wall.

In ancient Egyptian architecture, from 2600 BC, the architect Imhotep used stone columns, the surface of which was sculpted to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds, such as the papyrus, the lotus and the palm tree. In late Egyptian architecture, faceted cylinders were also common. Their shape is believed to derive from archaic shrines built of reeds. Carved in stone, the columns were very decorated with carved and painted hieroglyphs, texts, ritual images and natural patterns. Egyptian columns are famous in the great hypostyle hall of Karnak (circa 1224 BC), where 134 columns are aligned in sixteen rows, some columns reaching a height of 24 meters.

One of the most important types is the papyriform columns. The origin of these columns dates back to the 5th dynasty. They are made up of lotus stems (papyrus) which are joined together in a bundle decorated with bands: the capital, instead of opening in the shape of a bellflower, swells and then shrinks again like a flower in bud. The base, which tapers to take the form of a half-sphere like the stem of the lotus, has a decoration of stipules constantly recurring.

Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of the Persians, in particular, the massive stone columns erected at Persepolis. They included double bull structures in their capitals.

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