DOE

296

DOR

a diameter and half apart, were it not that the shafts convergeso rapidly towards the upper diameter as to leave a spaceunder the soffit of the architrave, even in such instances equalto more than twice the upper diameter.

The peculiar position of the extreme triglyph has alreadybeen noticed in speaking of that member, as also the effectproduced by it in lessening the extreme intercolumn by thespace of half a triglyph ; but there still remains to noticeanother peculiarity, which was first published by Mr.Donaldson ;—we allude to the inward inclination of theouter columns.

“ The axis of the columns of the Parthenon, ” says he,“ both on the flanks and on the fronts, as well as those of thetemple at Egina, and of Concord at Agrigentum , have a con-siderable inclination inwards ( a circumstance I am not awareto have been before noticed) though not to such a degree asrequired by Vitruvius , and not confined, as he directs, to thecolumns of the peristyles only.” Vitruvius thus directed:—“ The bases being thus completed, we are to raise thecolumns on them. Those of the pronaos and posticum areto be kept with axes perpendicular: the angular onesexcepted, which, as well as those on the flanks right and left,are to be so placed, that their interior faces towards the cella beperpendicular. The exterior faces will diminish upwards, asabove mentioned. Thus the diminution will give a pleasingeffect to the temple.”

Mr. Bartholomew alludes to the same circumstance thus:—

“ The ancients, knowing how much more secure weretheir fabrics when made to settle together and consolidate bytheir own gravity, set the lateral columns of their templeswith their axes falling towards the cells, so that the innerfaces of the shafts of the columns should be perpendicular,and the outer faces of them receding the whole quantity ofcolumnar diminution, in order to afford to the building a moresolid, pyramidal, and graceful appearance; and by this shrewddevice they rendered the avenues between the side-wallsand the colonnades of their temples no wider next the soffitsof the architraves, than down upon the pavement; and itis not improbable, that the preservation of this symmetry ledto the omission of the inner columns of the ancient Pseudo-dipteral temples; whereas the moderns, in general, notattending to this dynamic and optical nicety in architecture,so set their columns, that when we walk down a moderncolonnade, we cannot divest ourselves of the idea that theaxes of all the columns are falling outwards: and, indeed,accurate admeasurement would often find this to be no illu-sion, since the work, not erected so as to fall together, will,in general, with the slightest inevitable settlement, expandat its upper part.” It is worthy of remark, that, in manyinstances, the angular columns are made somewhat thickerthan the others, so as to give them an appearance of muchgreater strength.

Having arrived thus far, we cannot do better than givedescriptions of some of the more noted edifices belonging tothis order, amongst which are the Parthenon , Theseum,the ancient temple at Corinth, the Propylma at Athens , andthe Poseidonium at Psestum. The following accounts areselected from Mr. Godwin’s lectures on “ ArchitecturalAntiquities.”

“ The Parthenon , or the temple dedicated to the virgin-goddess Minerva (the Greek word irapdevoQ, signifying avirgin), was designed by Ictinus and Callicrates , about theyear 438 b.c, whilst Phidias wrought the marble figures intolife by his magic touch. This temple, erected upon the siteof the old Hecatompedon destroyed by the Persians , isjustly looked upon as the finest example of the GrecianDoric , and has excited for 22 centuries the admiration and

- rds 01 t

delight of all who have seen it. With the ' v ® ree , ‘■’ (l

noble author before quoted, all will probably a 8 ^ ra n<l etl {the majestic simplicity of its general design, theof its proportions and the exquisite taste and ski j oU j,teWin the execution of its ornamental parts ; it i s un e j e bra ted ’the most perfect, as well as deservedly the m° st , c j n qLiir}'’production of Grecian art.’ (Lord Aberdeen sp. 142.)

“ When Sir George Wheeler and Dr. Sponedifice, a.d. 1676, the temple was entire.

visited

In ti' ewhen

tin 3

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1687 Athens was besieged by the Venetians , , to .falling on the structure, the Parthenon was rede ^ Tinstate in which it was seen by Stuart and _ £ V c0 iu ® n9 'celebrated temple had at each end a portico of ^ t o * 1front, and on the sides were 30 more, making T>>

colonnade which surrounded the cell of the bui lenS *breadth of the front of the building is 101 *??’f e et. V s227 feet on the upper step, and the height 6o ^ anfP 'columns are 6 feet 1 inch in diameter, those a ^ coln 0 ^are 2 inches more, and the distance from colunin^^en 0 ^is 7 feet 11 inches. The sculptures ofextended to a range of 1,100 feet, consisting o ^ a re * j600 figures. Behind the great porticos, the ^ na0 gof smaller dimensions, which are called the ^juio 0posticus; these inner porticos have in eacn , nB gThe portion of the building inclosed by the ^ ^ iedivided by a cross wall into two parts, where ^ aV6 ■ lcalled the cella or naos (ship,) answered i°n°rv. "-a 3 c >smaller part, in which was the public treasu y> ^

the opisthodomus. In this part, according to Ti* 6 .flu,six columns, but no vestige remains of the 111, f’h'Vjewhere was placed the famous statue of Minerva ^ te^P

id <

fieri

was open to the sky in the centre (whence an ,was called hypaethral from the Greek vttu, un ^

(ether, air), having a colonnade round it, supp 01 rpj, e se 9 ^above, in which was a second row of columns. yac e “ ^all likewise disappeared, but the circles we O fco1 u - r jiStuart on the pavement whereon the lower rang t j, e ei‘ s t j l6had stood. The sculptures in the pediment aII1 °ng. gyfront represented the introduction of .Minem*^ jjiS

assembled gods, giving us an admirable idea o - s j, e d *V ee iiof the ancients, each of the deities being ^* 9 ^”p a0 es k et,V j,iidor her peculiar symbols. The metopes or ,Cen taUrS t9 1 ' 3

the triglyphs, recorded the battles between t n g P°f e );9>the Lapithae, a fruitful subject of illustration < Qi ^

well as sculptors, and a favourite theme nn^ g wa 11

♦ K ai« Birwriiin hnwAnc LTotinnlDQ 51T1CL •*" _-

from their famous heroes Hercules and 1 tn et0 ^in^prominent part in the contest ; fifteen of t c 0 >’ ‘ flI1 d

in the British Museum . The western p e 1 y[ine r '® ylfa representation of the contest between^ _ O® ^,05*Neptune (in the opinions of Colonel Leake an . ^this contest was in the eastern pedimen ’ p a0 a Jcelebrated sculpture is that which represenprocession : this composition is 3 feet 4 ou ts ' . 0 ap' 1 ’was continued in the frieze quite round on t |, e ge 6 j t°of the cell of the temple. The figures jjy til>°which occupy a length of 520 feet, are g e . , gjl ys

be of finer execution than those in the me re lie v ’ jt > 3“ ‘ With respect to the beauty of the n atur e ^ th* 3 /the great Flaxman, ‘ they are as per e ^| e jn ; ' v Via 1 * 1 **possible to put into the compass of the niaare executed, and that of the most elega 0 f

sculptor, Rossi, calls them ‘jewels.’ -.ft nI) , f 0 '

“ The Panathenaic procession, which, pai'th 6 fig 1 ,metopes, formerly likewise belonging to ae of 1adorns the British Museum , under t ? miffT .

Marbles, consists, as before observe »