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tian gods, and with a great number of the hieroglyphics.There have been various opinions as to the antiquity of thismonument: some have supposed that it was engraved longbefore the time when the Egyptians worshipped the figuresof men and women. Champollion judged it to be the workof an uninitiated artist, little acquainted with the true wor-ship of the goddess Isis, and probably of the age of Hadrian .Others, among whom is Bishop Warburton, apprehend, thatit was made at Rome , by persons attached to the worship, ofIsis. Dr. Warburton considers it as one of the most modernof the Egyptian monuments, on account of the great mixtureof hieroglyphic characters which it bears.

ISLE. See Aisle.

ISODOMUM, a species of walling used by the Greeks.See Wall .

ISOSCELES TRIANGLE, a triangle with two of its sidesequal.

ISOTHERMAL LINES, curves supposed to be traced onthe surface of the earth, so that each may pass through a seriesof points, at which the mean annual temperature is the same.

ISTHMIAN GAMES : these were one of the four greatnational festivals of Greece ; the others being the Olympian,Pythian, and Nemean . They were celebrated under thepresidency of the Corinthians, near Corinth , on the isthmusconnecting Peloponnesus with the continent—hence theirname,—and were performed at intervals of four years, cor-responding with the recurrence of the other festivals abovementioned, so that each year had its solemnity. The Isth-mian games were first established in honour of Melicertes, theson of Ino (Paus. i. 44) ; but were reorganized by Theseus in honour of Neptune, the presiding deity of the Isthmus.The crowns bestowed on victors were of pine leaves. SeeOlympian Games, and Circus.

ISIS, one of the chief deities of the Egyptians, the sisterof Osiris , was represented as the goddess of fecundity, andthe cow was therefore sacred to her. She was said to havefirst taught men the art of cultivating corn. Heads of Isisare a frequent ornament of Egyptian capitals on the pillars ofthe temples. See Egyptian Architecture.

ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE. —A style of architectureprevalent in Italy during the fourteenth and two followingcenturies, but more especially during the fifteenth, fromwhich circumstance it obtained another designation, beingknown likewise under the name of the Cinque-cento style. Theterm “ Italian ” does not include every style and class of build-ing to be found in Italy , but is restricted to that style whichwas deduced from the ancient Roman or classical manner ofbuilding. To attempt to affix to this style anything like aprecise or definite character would be perhaps impossibleowing to the many varieties of design and different modes oftreatment which it exhibits ; all we can do is, to give somegeneral notion of the prevailing character of the style.

After the fall of the Roman empire, its architecture declinedinto a state of semi-barbarism, and degenerated into what iscommonly termed the Romanesque style ; the cities of Italy were adorned with edifices in either the Byzantine or Lom-bardic manner, as their intercourse preponderated withByzantium or Rome . Gothic architecture did not make itsappearance in Italy until a comparatively late period, noreven then did it possess any decided or lasting influence ; itwas, however, in vogue to some extent during the thirteenthcentury, and, although of a mixed character, may be said tohave been the prevailing style of that date. Of the build-ings of the Pointed style in existence previous to the revivalof the Roman method, the palace of the doge at Venice willform a fair example..

This edifice consists of three stories, the flower two

of which are comprised in the lower half of the build-ing. The first or lowermost story contains eighteensimple pointed arches springing from low stunted columns,above which, and forming the second story, is an open galleryof thirty-six small pointed ogee arches having the intradosformed in the shape of a trefoil. In the centre of the upperarcade is a large balcony with tabernacle-work above, to theright and left of which the wall is formed of masonry jointeddiagonally, and containing six large pointed windows. Inthe centre of the building is an attic crowned by statues, andthe horitonzal cornice is terminated with a pierced battlement.

This style of building was not, however, destined to prevailmuch longer. At the close of the thirteenth century, a newcathedral was to be built at Florence, and was commenced ona grand scale in,A.D. 1298, by Arnulfo di Cambio da Colle, or,as stated by other authorities, by Arnulfo di Lapo. The designof this architect was, at the outset, of an original character,and differed materially from the style then in use; this diffe-rence, however, was much increased by the alterations of suc-ceeding architects who were engaged upon the work, amongstwhom may be enumerated the names of Giotto, Taddeo Gaddi ,Andrea Orgagna , and Felippo di Lorenzo. In 1408, a meet-ing of architects was called by the citizens, to discuss the bestmeans for completing the cathedral, and it was at this timethat Brunelleschi made his bold proposal to raise the dome,and it was he who completely effected the alteration of style.This building, which was of unusual size and magnificence,had great influence in effecting a change of style throughoutItaly , and led ultimately to what is called the revival ofRoman art. This, however, is not a fair designation of themode of building prevalent in Italy in the fifteenth century;it was not a re-introduction of the old classic styles, butrather an adaptation of classical details to buildings of entirelydifferent character, disposition, and arrangement. It is truethat the artists who introduced this style adopted the classicorders, reduced them to a system, and determined their formand proportions most minutely, yet, nevertheless, applied themin a very different manner to the ancients, and to buildings ofentirely different composition. Even in their delineation ofthe orders, they were guided rather by the writings ofVitruvius , than by existing Roman examples, and endeavouredrather to make the latter agree with the former, than thedescriptions of the writer with actual examples.

It would be difficult, as we before observed, to give adefinite description of Italian architecture ; we can, however,attempt to give some general notion of a few of its leadingcharacteristics. One of the main points in which it differsfrom purely classical art, is its partiality for fenestration or theintroduction of windows, so as to form a marked feature inthe design. The employment of lighting apertures hadbecome indispensable, and in some Italian buildings wascarriedto great excess, so that, what with the windows and theexternal ornamentation, little space was left of naked walling.Now, the employment of windows, especially to such anextent, at once furnishes us with a feature of very greatimportance, and it is questionable whether it is not of greaterimportance than that of columniation : it is at least equallyif not more strongly marked. The two systems of fenes-tration and columniation form two grand distinctions in archi-tectural design, and are in a certain sense antagonistic inprinciple, nor can they readily be made to harmonize together;for fenestration either interferes with the effect aimed at bycolumniation, as in the case of a colonnade, where the simpl®and chaste effect produced by the repetition of a range ofcolumns receding one behind the other, is marred and broken,and the unity of the composition destroyed; or otherwise itreduces columniation to an inferior and secondary position a*