The image heading this article shows traditional Greek-style marble columns toppling over as if they are rigid single objects.

Greek columns can't topple like that because they aren't single objects. They are built of horizontal sections in a vertical stack.

In Imperial Rome, the very most prestigious kind of column was a rather ugly type made of Egyptian granite. Columns like this were prestigious because they were staggeringly expensive, and I believe the shipping cost -- of a column that was in fact just one piece -- was a major contributor to the exorbitant price.