xl

this latter poem, although neither the word itself, nor thething signified, is to he found in the pages of the Iliad. Itmay be recpiisite here to pay some attention to the columnsin the palace of Ulysses ; more especially as from a bareallusion to the fact of their existence, it might be thoughtunjustifiable to exclude them from the appellation ofarchitectural ornament. It is first to be observed, thatthese columns form no part of the exterior building; theiruse is not only confined to the interior, but for any thingthat appears to the contrary, exclusively to the great hall ofthe palace. Their employment in that situation was obviouslydictated by necessity. From the ample space of the apartment,some support, in addition to the lateral walls, was requiredto give security to the beams which composed the roof; thissecurity, we may conclude, was obtained by the insertion ofa row of columns passing longitudinally through the centreof the chamber 1 . Such was the cause and mode of theirintroduction. According to the general opinion, the materialof which they were formed was wood : and the accuracy ofthis opinion is confirmed by the nature of their origin anduse, as well as by a combination of circumstances whichunite for this purpose. Throughout the Odyssey themention of columns is purely incidental : they are neverdescribed in detail, nor do they make part of any description

1 It is remarkable that, in the Odyssey , frequent mention is made of the ‘ loftycolumn,’ or the ‘ great column,’ as a single object: indeed if it were not for thepassage (xix. 36.) in which the columns are distinctly referred to in the pluralnumber, we might almost be tempted to imagine that Homer intended to describean apartment in which the beams of the roof were supported by a single column.