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ILLUSTRATED IIANDBOOI-CS OF ART HISTORY
OF ALL AGES.
ARCHITECTURE
CLASSIC AND EARLY CHRISTIAN
BY PROFESSOR T. ROGER SMITH, F.R.I.B.A.
AND
JOHN SLATER, B.A., F.R.I.B.A.
ILLUSTRATED HAND-BOOKS OF ART HISTORY
OF ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES.
EDITED BY
R J. POYNTER, II.A., Professor ROGER SMITH, T.R.I.B.A., and others.
EACH IN CROWN 8V0, CLOTH EXTRA, PER VOLUME, 5^.
ARCHITECTURE : CLASSIC AND EARLY CHRISTIAN". By
Professor T. Roger Smith and John Slateh, B.A. Comprising the Egyptian, Assyrian,
Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Christian. llhistrated with roc Engravings, in-
chiding the Parthenon, and Erechtheum at Athens ; Colosseum, Baths of Diocletian at
Rome ; Saint Sophia at Constantinople ; the Sakhra Mosque at Jerusalem, &c.
ARCHITECTURE : GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE. By Pro-
fessor T. Roger Smith and Edward J. Poynter, R.A. Showing the Progress of
Gothic Architecture in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and of Ren.iissance
Architecture in the same Countries. Illustrated with lOO Engravings, including many of
the principal Cathedrals, Churches, Palaces, and Domestic Buildings on the Continent.
SCULPTURE: EGYPTIAN, ASSYRIAN, GREEK, AND RO-
MAN. By George Redford, F. R.C.S. With i6o Illustrations of the most celebrated
Statues and BasReliefs of Greece and Rome, a Map of Ancient Greece, and a Chrono-
logical List of Ancient Sculptors and their Works.
SCULPTURE : GOTHIC, RENAISSANCE AND MODERN. By
Leader Scott. Illustrated with numerous Engravings of Works byGhiberti, Donatello,
Delia Robbia, Michelangelo, Cellini, and other celebrated Sculptors of the Renaissance.
And with Examples of Canova, Thorwaldsen, Flaxman, Chantrey, Gibson, and other
Sculptors of the i8th and 19th centuries.
PAINTING : CLASSIC AND ITALIAN. By Edward J. Poynter,
R.A., and Percy R. Head, B.A. Including Painting in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and
Pompeii; the Renaissance in Italy; Schools of Florence, Siena, Rome, Padua, Venice,
Perugia, Ferrara, Parma, Naples, and Bologna. Illustrated with to Engravings of many
of the finest Pictures of Italy. ^
PAINTING: SPANISH AND FRENCH. By GERARD Smith,
Exeter Coll., Oxon. Including the Lives of Ribera, Zurbaran, Vel.izquez, and Muriilo;
Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Le Sueur, Watteau, Chardin, Greuze, David, and Prud'hon ;
Ingres, Vernet, Delaroche, and Delacroix; Corot, Diaz, Rousseau, and Millet; Courbet,
Regnault, Troyon, and many other celebrated artists. With about So Illustrations.
PAINTING : GERMAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH. By H. J.
Wilmot Bl'xton, M.A., and Edward J. Poynter, R.A. Including an account of the
Works of Albrecht Diirer, Cranach, and Holbein ; Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, and
Memlinc ; Rubens, Snyders, and Van Dyck ; Rembrandt, Hals, and Jan Steen; Wynants,
Ruisdael, and Hobbema ; Cuyp, Potter, and Berchem ; Bakhnisen, Van de Velde, Vaa
Huysum, and other celebrated Painters. Illustrated with too Engravings.
PAINTING : ENGLISH AND AMERICAN. By H. J. WiLMOT
Buxton, M.A., and S. R. Koehi.er. Including an Account of the Earliest Paintings
known in England ; the works of Holbein, Antonio Moro, Lucas de Heere, Zuccaro, and
Marc Garrard ; the Hilliards and Olivers ; Van Dyck, Lely, and Kneller ; Hogarth,
Reynolds, and Gainsborough ; West, Romney, and Lawrence ; Constable, Turner, and
Wiikie ; Maclise, INIulready, and Landseer, and other celebrated Painters. With a
Chapter on Painting ia America. With So Illustrations.
ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOKS OF ART HISTORY.
ARCHITECTURE
CLASSIC AND EARLY CHRISTIAN
BY T. ROGER SMITH, F.R.I.B.A.
Professor of Anhikciure, University Coll.., Lojidon
JOHN SLATER, B.A., RRJ.B.A.
Aiitiuii Of A IioilA^' iia;;sxo5.
LONDON
iAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, Ltd.
St. puustiui's %)a\i%z
Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.G.
1888
APR 1 5 ^053
{All rigid s reserved)
Richard Claij <£• Soin, Limited, London & Bungay.
PREFACE.
This handbook is intended to give sucli an outline of tlie
Architecture of the Ancient World, and of that of Christen-
dom down to the period of the Crusades, as, without
attempting to supply the minute information required
by the professional student, may give a general idea of
the works of the great building nations of Antiquity
and the Early Christian times. Its chief object has been
to place information on the subject within the reach of
those persons of literary or artistic education who desire
to become in some degree acquainted with Architecture.
All technicalities which could be dispensed with have
been accordingly excluded ; and when it has been un-
avoidable that a technical Avord or phrase should occur,
an explanation has been added either in the text or in
the glossary; but as this volume and the companion one
on Gothic and Renaissance Architecture are, in effect,
two divisions of the same work, it has not been thought
necessary to repeat in the glossary given Avith this part
the words explained in that prefixed to the other.
In treating so very wide a field, it has been felt that
the chief prominence should be given to that great
sequence of architectural styles Avhich form the links
of a chain connecting the architecture of modern Europe
with the earliest specimens of the art. Egypt, Assyria,
and Persia combined to furnish the foundation upon
which the splendid architecture of the Greeks was based.
Vm PREFACE.
Eomau arcliitecture was founded on Greek models Avitli the
addition of Etruscan construction, and Avas for a time
universally prevalent. The break-up of the Eoman
Empire was followed by the appearance of the Basilican,
the Byzantine, and the Eomauesque phases of Christian
art; and, later on, by the Saracenic. These are the styles
on which all mediceval and modern European architecture
has been based, and these accordingly have furnished the
subjects to which the reader's attention is chiefly directed.
Such styles as those of India, China and Jap.in, Vv'hich lie
quite outside this series, are noticed much more briefly; and
some matters — such, for example, as prehistoric architecture
■ — Avhich in a larger treatise it would have been desirable
to include, have bean entirely left out for want of room.
In treating each style the object has not been to men-
. tion every phase of its development, still less every build-
ing, but rather to describe the more prominent buildings
with some approach to completeness. It is true that
much is left uunoticed, for which the student who wishes
to pursue the subject further will have to refer to the
Avritings specially devoted to the period or country. But
it has been possible to describe a considerable number of
typical examples, and to do so in such a manner as, it is
hoped, may make some impression on the reader's mind.
Had notices of a much greater number of buildings been
compressed into the same space, each must have been so
condensed that the volume, though useful as a catalogue
for reference, would have, in all probability, become
iniinteresting, and consequently unserviceable to the class
of readers for whom it is intended.
As far as possible mere matters of oj)iaion have been
excluded from this handbook. A few of the topics which
it has been necessary to ajqiroach are subjects on which
rnEFACE. IX
lii,L,'li authorities slill more or less disa;^rco, auJ it has
Lecn impossible to avoid these in every instance ; but,
as far as practicable, controverted points have been left
untouched. Controversy is imsuited to the province of
such a manual as this, in Avhich it is quite sufficient for
the authors to deal -with the ascertained facts of the
history which Ihey have to unfold.
It is nut jiroposed here to refer to the autlioiities for
the various statements made in these pages, but to this
rule it is impossible to avoid making one exception.
The Avriters feel bound to acknowledge how much
tlioy, in common with all students of the art, are in-
debted to the patient research, the profound learning,
and the admirable skill in marshalling facts displayed
by jNIr, Fergusson in his various writings. Had it been
possible to devote a larger space to Eastern architecture,
Pagan and IMohanimcdan, the indebtedness to him, in a
field where he stands all but alone, must of necessity
have been still greater.
The earlier chapters of this volume were chiefly written
by Mr. Slater, Avho very kindly consented to assist in the
preparation of it; but I am of course, as editor, jointly
responsible with him for the contents. The Introduction,
Chapters Y, to YIL, and from Chapter X. to the end, have
been written by myself: and if our Avork shall in any
degree assist the reader to understand, and stimulate him
to admire, the architecture of the far-off jiast; above all,
if it enables him to apiireciate our vast indebtedness to
Greek art, and in a lesser degree to the art of other nations
Avlio have occupied the stage of the world, the aim which
tlie writers have kept in view will not have been missed.
T. PiOGER Smitu.
University College, London.
May, 18S2.
i™illll!lllllllllllillllll|iillllllllllill!ll!lllllllilll|l|||||ilininilll'llll^
Feieze from CHORcn AT Denkesdorp.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I,
INTRODUCTION
PAGE
1
CHAPTER II.
EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Pyramids. Tombs. Temples. Analysis of Bull Jiiigs . 14
CHAPTER III.
WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE.
Babylonian. Assyrian. Persian. Analysis of Buildings . 43
CHAPTER IV.
ORIENTAL ARCHITECTURE.
Hindu. Chinese and Japanese . , , , , . C-1
CHAPTER V.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE.
Buildings of the Doric Order
SO
CHAPTER VI.
Buildings of the Ionic and Corinthian Orders , . . 102
COXTEN'TS. XI
CIIAriER VII.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE (continurd)—
PAOE
Analysis of Greek Architecture. The Plan. The Wnlls. The
Roof. The Openings. The Columns. The Onuuuents.
Architectural Character . . . . . .117
CHAPTER VI IT.
ETRUSCAX AND ROMAN ARCHITECTURE.
Historical and General Sketch ... ... 1C3
CHAPTER IX.
The Euildings of the Romans. Basilicas. Theatres nml
Amphitheatres. Batlis (Therm;e). Bridges and Aiiue-
ducts. Commemorative Monuments. Domestic Arclii-
tecture .....,■..• 147
CHAPTER X.
Analysis of Roman Architecture. The Plan. The Walls.
The Roofs. The Openings. The Columns. The Orna-
ments. Architectural Character ..... 182
CHAPTER XI.
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Basilicas in Rome and Italy 133
CHAPTER XII.
BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE 210
CHAPTER XIII.
ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE 2-22
CHAPTER XIV.
CHRISTIAN ROUND-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
Analysis of Basilican, Byzantine, and Romanes(iuo . , 240
CHAPTER XV.
MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE.
Egypt, Syria and Palestine, Sicily and Spain, Persia and India 252
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.
The rARTiiEXON AT Athens, as it was in the time of
Pericles, circn B.C. 438 . . . Fronti'ipicce
Atrium of a Kojian Mansion . . . {on titlc-'pagc)
Frieze from Church at Denkendorf . . . . x
EocK-cuT Tomb at Myra, in Lycia. Imitation of Timber
Construction in Stone xviii
The Temi'le of Vesta at Tivoli xxiv
1. Opening SPANNED BY A Lintel. Arch of the Goldsmiths,
Rome 3
2. Opening spanned by a Semicircular Arch. Roman
Triumphal Arch at Pola 4
3. Openings spanned by Pointed Arches. Interior of
St. Front, Perigueux, France .... 5
4. Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Restored according to
Adler 8
5. Part of the FiXTERiOR of the Colosseum, Rome . 10
6. Timber Architecture. Church at Borgund . . 12
7. An Egyptian Cornice 14
8. SectionacrosstheGreat Pyramid (of Cheops or Supiiis) 17
9. Ascending Gallery' in the Great Pyramid . . .19
10. The Sepulchral Chamber in the Pyramid of Cephren
AT Gizeh 19
11. The Construction of the King's Chamber in the Great
Pyramid 19
12. Imitation of Timber Construction in Stone, from a
Tomb at Memphis 21
13. Imitation of Timber Construction in Stone, from a
Tomb at Memphis 21
1 i. Plan and Section of the Tomb at Beni-Hassan . 23
15. Rock-cut Facade of the Tomb at Beni-Hassan . 24
16. Ground-plan of the Temple at Karnak ... 26
17. The Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, showing the Clere-
story 27
18. Entrance to an Egyptian Temple, showing the Pvlons 27
19. Plan of the Te.mple at Edfou 30
LIST OF 1LLUSTR.VTI0X3,
xm
20. Example of one of the Mammisi at Edfotj
21. Grounp-plan of the Kocic-cut Temple at Ii'sami:
22. Section of the Rock-cut Temple at Ipsameoul
23. Egyptian Column with Lotus Bud Capital
24. Egyptian Column with Lotus Flowep Capital
25. Palm Capital
26. Sculptured Capital
27. Isis Capital from Denderaii ....
28. Fanciful Column from painted Decoration at T
29. Crowning Cornice and Bead
30. Painted Decoration from Thebes
31. Sculptured Ornament at Nineveh
32. Palace at Khoesabad. Built ey King Sargon .
710 E.c
33. Pavement from Khoyunjik ....
34. Proto-Ionic Column from Assyrian Sculpture
34a. Proto-Ionic Capital from Assyrian Sculpture
34b. Proto-Corinthian Capital from Assyrian Sculp
35. Tomb of Cyrus
35a. General Plan of the Buildings at Persepolis
35b. Column from Persepolis— East and West Porj
36. Column from Persepolis — North Portico .
37. The Eock-cut Tomb of Darius
38. Sculptured Ornament at Allahabad .
39. Dagoba from Ceylon
40. Chaitya near Poona
41. The Kylas at Ellora. A Rock-cut Monument
42. Plan of the Kylas at Ellora
43. ViMANA FROM MaNASARA
44. Bracket Capital
45. Column from Ajunta
46. Column from Ellora . ...
47. Column from Ajunta
48. A SMALL Pagoda
49. Greek Honeysuckle Ornament
50. Plan of a small Greek Temple in Antis .
50a. Plan op a small Greek Temple .
51. Ancient Greek Wall of Unwrought Stone from Samo-
thrace
52. Plan of the Treasury of Atreus at MvcENiE
30
31
31
33
34
34
3.)
35
3'J
42
43
48
51
53
53
53
54
56
58
58
60
64
66
68
69
70
71
73
76
80
82
83
86
XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
62a. Section of the Treasury of Atreus at Mycex^ . 86
53. Greek Doric Capital from Selinus .... 87
53a. Greek Doric Capital from the Theseum ... 87
63b. Greek Doric Capital from Samothrace ... 87
54. The Ruins of the Parthenon at Athens ... 89
55. Plan of the Parthiwon 90
56. The Hoof of a Greek Doric Temple, showing the
Mardle Tiles 91
56a. Section of the Greek Doric Temple at P^stum. As
RESTORED BY HuTTICHER 92
57. The Greek Doric Order from the Theseum . . I'S
58. Plan of a Greek Doric Column 'Ji
59. The Fillets undkr a Greek Doric Capital . . 94
60. Capital of a Gri-,ek Doric Column from ^Egina, with
Coloured Dj-.coration 95
61. Section of the Entablature of the Greek Doric Order 96
62. Plan, looking up, of part of a Greek Doric Peristyle 96
63. Details of the Triglypii 97
64. Details of the Mutules 97
65. Elevation and Section of the Capital of a greek Anta,
WITH Coloured Decoration 99
66. Palmette and Honeysuckle 102
67. Shaft of an Ionic ColUxMN, showing the Flutes . 103
68. Ionic Capital. Front Elevation 103
69. Ionic Capital. Side Elevation 103
70. The Ionic Order. From Priene, Asia Minor . . 105
71. The Ionic Order. From the Erechtheium, Athens . 106
72. North-west View of the Erechtheium, in the time of
Pericles 107
73. Plan of the Erechtheium 108
74. Ionic Base from the Temple of the Wingless Victory
(NiKi: Apteros) 108
75. Ionic Base Mouldings from Priene .... 108
76. The Corinthian Order. From the Monument of Lysi-
CRATEs at Athens Ill
77. Corinthian Capital from the Monument of Lysicrates 112
78. Monument of Lysicrates, as in the time of Pericles . 113
79. Capital of an Anta from Miletus. Side View , . 114
SO. Eestoration of the Greek Theatre of Segesta . .115
81. Capital of an Anta from Miletus 117
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV
PAGE
82. Greek Doorway, showing Cornice .... 123
83. Greek. Doorway. Front View. (From the Erechtheium) 123
84. The Acanthus Leaf and Stalk 128
85. The Acanthus Leaf 129
86. Metope from the Parthenon. Conflict between a
Centaur and one of the LAPmiiE . . • .130
87. Mosaic from the Temple of Zeus, Olympia . . . 131
88. Section of the Portico of the Erechtheium . . 132
89. Plan of the Portico of the Erechtheium, looking up 132
90. Capital of Ant^ from the Erechtheium . . . 133
91-96. Greek Ornaments in Kelief 134
97-104. Greek Ornaments in IIehef 135
105-110. Greek Ornaments in Colour 136
111-113. Examples of Honeysuckle Ornament . . . 137
114. Combination of the Fret, the Egg and Dart, the Bead
and Fillet, and the Honeysuckle . ... . 137
115. guilloche 137
116-120. Examples of the Fret 137
121. Elevation of an Etruscan Temple (restored from
Descriptions only) 138
122. Sepulchre at Corneto 140
123. The Cloaca Maxima 142
124. "Incantada" IN Salonica 147
125. The Ionic Order from the Temple of Foktuna Virilis,
EoME 148
126. Roman-Corinthian Temple at NImes (Maison Carr]!;e).
Probably of the time of Hadrian . . . .150
127. Ground-plan of the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli . . 151
128. The Corinthian Order from the Temple of Vesta at
Tivoli 152
129. The Temple of Vesta at Tivoli. Plan, looking up,
AND Section of Part of the Perlstyle . . .153
130. Ground-plan of the Basilica Ulpia, Rome . . . 155
131. Plan of the Colosseum, Rome 157
132. The Colosseum. Section and Elevation . . . 158
133. Plan of the principal Building, Baths of Caracalla,
Rome 163
134. Interior of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome . .165
135. The Pantheon, Rome. Ground-plan . . . ,166
136. The Pantheon. Exterior 167
XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
137. The Pantheon. Interioh ...... 168
138. The Corinthiax Order from the Pantheoh . . 169
139. The Arch of Coxstantine, PiOME 172
140. Ground-plan of the House of Pansa, Pompeii . . 176
141. Ground-plan OF the House OF THE Tragic Poet, Pompeii 177
142. The Atrium of a Pompeian House . . . .178
143. Wall Decoration from Pompeii 180
144. Carving from the Forum of Nerva, Pome . , . 182
145. Eoman-Corinthian Capital and Base. From the Temple
of Vesta at Tivoli 183
145a. a PiOMAN Composite Capital 188
146. Part of the Theatre of Marcellus, Rome. Showing
THE Combination of Columns and Arched Openings 190
147. From the Ruins of the Forum of Nerva, Rome.
Showing the Use of an Attic Story . . . 191
143. From the Baths of Diocletian, Rome. Showing a
fragmentary Entablature at a he starting of
part of a Vault 192
149. From the Palace of Diocletian, Spalatro. Showing
AN Arch springing from a Column .... 192
150. Mouldings and Ornaments from various Roman Build-
ings 193
151. Roman Carving. An Acanthus Leaf . . . , 194
152. The Egg and Dart Enrichment— Roman . . . 194
153. "Wall-Decoration of (so-called) Arabesque Character
from Pompeii 195
154. Decoration in Relief and Colour of the Vault of a
Tomb in the Via Latina, near Rome . . . 197
155. Basilica-Church of San Miniato, Florence . .198
156. Interior of a Basilica at Pompeii. Restored, from
Descriptions by various Authors .... 200
156a. Basilica, or Early Christian Church, of Sant' Agxese
at Rome 202
157. Sant' Apollinare, Ravenna, Part of the Arcade
AND Apse 205
158. Apse of the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome 207
158a. Frieze from the Monastery at Fulda . . . 210
159. Church of Santa Sophia at Constantinople. Longi-
tudinal Section 212
160. Plan of San Vitale at Ravenna .... 216
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XVII
• PAGR
Ifil. San Vitat.e at Ravf.xna. Longitudinal Section . 216
1(32. Plan of St. Mark's at Vexick 217
163. ScuLPTUiiED Ornament from the Golden Door of
Jerusalem 219
164. Church at Turmanin in Syria 220
165. Tower of a Russian Church 221
166. Tower of Earl's IJarton Church . , . . 22:5
167. Cathedral at Piacenza 225
168. Vaults of the excavated Roman Baths in the Muske
DE Cluny, Paris 227
169. Church of St. Sernin, Toulouse . . . .228
170. Nave Arcade at St. Sernin, Toulouse . . . 229
171. Arches in receding Planes at St. Sernin, Toulouse 230
172. Norman Arches in St. Peter's Church, Northampton 234
173. Nave Arcade, Peterborough Cathedral . . . 236
174. Decorative Arcade from Canterbury Cathedral . 237
175. Hedingham Castle 238
176. Interior of Hedingham Castle 239
177. Rounded Arch of Church at Gelnhausen . . 240
178. Plan of the Church of the Apostles at Cologne • 241
179. Spire of Spires Cathedral 242
180. Church at Rosheim. Upper Portion of Facade . 244
181. Cubic Capital 246
182. Doorway at Tind, Norway . . . . . . 247
183. Mouldings of Portal OF St. James's Church AT Koesfeld 248
184. Byzantine Basket-work Capital from San Michele
in Affricisco at Ravenna 251
185. Arabian Capital. From the Aliiambra . . . 252
186. Horse-shoe Arch 254
187. Exterior of Santa Sophia, Constantinople. Showing
THE Minarets added after its Conversion into
a Mosque 255
138. Alhambra. Hall op the Abencerrages . , . 257
189. Mosque "El Moyed" at Cairo 259
190. Arabian Wall Decoration 260
191. Plan of the Sakhra Mosque at Jerusalem . . 261
192. Section of the Sakhra Mosque at Jerusalem . . 262
193. Doorway in the Alhambra 264
194. Grand Mosque at Delhi, built by Shah Jehan . 267
195. Entrance to a Moorish Bazaar 269
b
Rock-cut Tojib at Mska. in Lvcia.
Imitation of Timber Construction in Stone.
GLOSSARY.
Abacus, a square tablet which crowns the capital of the column.
Acanthus, a ])lant the foliage of which was imitated iu the ornament
of the Corinthian cajjital.
Agoiia, the place of general assembly in a Greek city.
Al.e {Lat. wings), recesses opening out of tlie atrium of a Eoman
house,
Aliiambra, the palatial fortress of Granada (from al liamra — the red).
Am BO, a fitting of early Christian churches, very similar to a pulpit.
Amphitheatke, a Roman place of public eutcrtainmeut in which
combats of gladiators, &c. were exhibited.
Ant.e, narrow piers used in connection with columns in Greek archi-
tecture, for the same purpose as pilasters in Roman.
Arabesque, a style of very light ornamental decoration.
Archaic, jjrimitive ; so ancient as to be rude, or at least extremely
simple.
Archivolt, the series of mouldings which is carried round an arch.
Arena, the space in the centre of an amphitheatre where the combats,
&c. took place.
Arrxs, a sharp edge.
Astragal, a small round moulding.
Atrium, the main quadrangle in a Roman dwelling-house ; also the
cuclosed couit in front of an early Christian basilican church.
Baptistery, a building, or addition to a building, erected for the
purposes of celebrating the rite of Christian baptism.
Basement, the lowest stoiy of a building, applied also to the lowest
part of an architectural design.
Bas-relief, a piece of sculpture in low relief.
Bird's-beak, a moulding in Greek architecture, used iu the capitals of
Autaj.
XX GLOSSARV.
Byzantine, the style of Christian architecture which had its origin
at IJyzautium (Constantinople).
Carceres, in the ancient racecourses, jroals and starting-points.
Cartouche, in Egyptian buildings, a liioroglyphic signifying the name
of a king or other important person.
CARYATiDiE, human figures made to carry an entablature, in lieu of
columns in some Classic buildings.
Cav-f.diam, another name for the atrium of a Tioman house.
Cavea, the i^art of an ancient theatre occupied by the audience.
Cavetto, in Classic archiiecture, a hollow moulding.
Cella, the principal, often the only, apartment of a Greek or Roman
temple.
Chaitya, an Indian temple, or hall of assembly.
Circus, a Roman racecourse.
Cloaca, a sewer or drain.
Columbarium, literally a pigeon-house — a Roman sepulchre built in
many compartments.
Columnar, made with columns.
CoMPLUViuM, the open space or the middle of the roof of a Roman
atrium.
Corona, in the cornices of Greek and Roman architecture, the plain
unmoulded feature which is supported by the lower part of the
cornice, and on which the crowning mouldings rest.
Cornice, the horizontal series of mouldings crowning the ton of a
building or the walls of a room.
Cuneiform, of letters in Assyrian inscriptions, wedge-shaped.
Cy'clopean, applied to masonry constructed of vast stones, usually not
hewn or squared.
Cyma (recta, or reversa), a moulding, in Classic architecture, cf an out-
line partly convex and partly concave.
Dagoba, an Indian tomb of conical shape.
Dentil-band, in Classic architecture, a series of small blocks re-
sembling square-shaped teeth.
DoMUS {Lot.), a house, applied usually to a detached residence.
Dwarf-wall, a very low wall.
Echinus, in Greek Doric architecture, the principal moulding of the
capital placed immediately under the abacus.
Entablature, the superstructure— comprising architrave, frieze and
cornice — above the columns in Classic architecture.
GLOSSARY. XXI
Entasis, in the sliaft of a column, a curved outline.
Ei'UEDEUM, the large hall in rtonuin Luhs iu wliich youths practised
gymnastic exercises.
Facia, in Classic architecture, a narrow flat band or face.
Fauces, the passage from the atrium to the peristyle in a Roman
house.
Flutes, the small channels which run from top to bottom of the shaft
of most columns in Classic arcliitecture.
FouuM, the place of general assembly in a Roman city, as the Agora
was in a Greek.
FiiEsco, painting executed upon a plastered wall while the plaster is
still wet.
Fr.ET, an ornament made up of squares and L-shaped lines, in use in
Greek architecture.
Garth, the central space round which a cloister is carried.
Girder, a beam.
GuoUTED, said of masonry or brickwork, treated with liiiuid mortar to
fill up all crevices and interstices.
GUTT.E, small pendent features iu Greek and Eoniau Doric cornices,
resembling rows of wooden pegs.
Hexastyle, of six columns.
Honeysuckle Ornament, a decoration constantly introduced into
Assyrian and Greek architecture, founded upon the flower of the
honeysuckle.
Horseshoe Ancii, an arch more than a semicircle, and so wider above
than at its springing.
Hypostyle, literally "under columns," but used to mean filled by
columns.
Impluvium, the space into which the rain fell in the centre of the
atrium of a Roman house.
Insula, a block of building surrounded on all sides by streets, literally
an island.
Intercolumniation, the space between two columns.
Keyed, secured closely by interlocking.
Kibla, the most sacred part of a Mohammedan mosipie.
Lats, in Indian architecture, Buddhist inscribed pillars.
XXU GLOSSARY.
JMammisi, small Egj-ptinn temples.
]\Iastaba, tlie most usual form of Egj^ptian tomi).
MAUSOLEUJr, a magnificent sepulchral monument or tomb. From the
tomb erected to Mausolus, by his wife Artemisia, at Halicaruassus,
379 E.G.
Metopes, literally faces, the square spaces between trigly^ihs in Doric
architecture ; occasionally applied to the sculptures fitted into
these spaces.
Minaret, a slender lofty tower, a usual appendage of a Mohammedan
mosque.
Monolith, of one stone.
Mortise, a hollow in a stone or timber to receive a corres[)onding
projection.
IMosQUE, a Mohammedan place of worship,
MuTULE, a feature in a Classic Doric cornice, somewhat resembling
the end of a timber beam.
Karthex, in an early Christian church, the space next the entrance.
Obelisk, a tapering stone pillar, a feature of Egyptian architecture.
Opus Alexandrinum, the mosaic work used for floors in Byzantine
and Romanesque churches.
Ovolo, a moulding, the profile of which resembles the outline of an
egg, used in Classic architecture.
Pendent! VE, a feature in Byzantine and other domed buildings,
employed to enable a circular dome to stand over a square space.
Peristylar, or Peripteral, with columns all round.
Peristylium, or Peristyle, in a Roman house, the inner courtyard ;
also any space or enclosure with columns all round it.
Piscina, a small basin usually executed in stone and placed within a
sculptured niche, fixed at the side of an altar in a church, with a
channel to convey away the water poured into it.
Polychromy, the use of decorative colours.
Precincts, the space round a church or religious house, usually
enclosed with a wall.
Presbytery, the eastern part of a church, the chancel.
Profile (of a moulding), the outline which it would present if cut
across at right angles to its length.
Pronaos, the front jjortion or vestibule to a temple.
PropyLjEA, in Greek architecture, a grand portal or state entrance.
GLOSS A ICY. ^'"
Pkotiiyiium, in a Iioiiiaii liousn, llic porch or entrance.
PsKUDO-rKiiii'TERAL, reseniblinj,', but not really being peristylar.
Pylon, or Pko-Pylux, the portal or front of an Egyptian tcniplo.
Quadriga, a four-horse chariot.
PiO.MANESQUE, tlic Style of Christian architecture which was founJuil on
Koman work.
TJoTUNUA, a building circuhrr in plan.
Sacristy, the part of a church where the treasures belonging to the
church are preserved.
Shinto Temvles, temples (in Japan) devoted to the Shinto religion.
Span, the space over which an arch or a roof extends.
Spina, the central wall of a Pionian racecourse.
Stilted, raised, usually applied to an arch when its centre is above
the top of the jambs from which it springs.
Stuuts, projis.
Stupa, in Indian architecture, a mound or tope.
Stylobate, a series of steps, usually those leading up to a Clasoic
temple.
Taas, a pagoda.
Tablinum, in a Pioman house, the room between the atrium and the
peristyle.
Talar, in Assyrian architecture, an open u])per story.
Tenoned, fastened with a projection or tenon.
Tesselated, made of small squares of material, applied to coarse mosaic
work.
Tetrastyle, with four columns.
TiiEiiM^, the great bathing establishments of the Komans.
Topes, in Indian architecture, artificial mounds.
Trabeated, constructed with a beam or beams, a term usually cmjdoyed
in contrast to arches.
Triclinium, in a Roman house, the dining-room.
Trigly^ph, the channelled feature in the frieze of the Doric order.
Tumuli, mounds, usually seinilchral.
Typiionia, small Egyi)tian temples.
Velarium, a great owning. •
Vestibule, the outer hall or ante-room.
XXIV GLOSS \RY.
Volutes, in Classic architecture, the curled ornauients of the Ionic
capital.
VoussoiRS, the wedge-sliapud stones of which arches are made.
N.]J. For the explanation of other technical words found in this
volume, consult the Glossaiy given with the companion volume on
Gothic and llcnaissance Architecture.
The Temple of Vesta at Tivou.
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
ArtCHITECTUEE may be described as bnil.ling at its
best, and when Ave talk of the architecture of any
city or country "we mean its best, noblest, or most beautiful
buildings ; and we imply by the use of the word that these
buildings possess merits which entitle them to rank as
works of art.
The architecture of the civilised world can be best
understood by considering the great buildings of each im-
portant nation separately. The features, ornaments, and
even forms of ancient buildings differed just as the speech,
or at any rate the literature, differed. Each nation wrote
in a different language, though the books may have been
2 ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
devoted to tlie same aims ; and precisely in the same way
each nation built in a style of its own, even if the build-
ings may have been similar in the purposes they had to
serve. The division of the subject into the architecture of
Egypt, Greece, Eome, &c., is therefore the most natural
one to follow.
But certain broad groups, rising out of peculiarities of
a physical nature, eilher in the buildings tbeniselves or
in the conditions under which they were erected, can
hardly fail to be suggested by a general view of the
subject. Such, for example, is the fourfold division to
Avliich the reader's attention will now be directed.
All buildings, it will be found, can be classed under one
or other of four great divisions, each distinguished by a
distinct mode of building, and each also occupying a
distinct phice in history. The first series embraces
the buildings of the Egyptians, the Persians, and the
Greeks, and was brought to a pitch of the highest per-
fection in Greece during tlie age of Pericles. All the
buildings erected in these countries during the many
centuries which elapsed from the earliest Egyptinn to the
latest Greek works, however they may have differed in
other respects, agree in this — that the openings, be they
doors, or be they spaces between columns, were spanned
by beams of wood or lintels of stone (Fig. 1). Hence
this architecture is called architecture of the beam, or, in
more formal language, trabeated architecture. This mode
of covering spaces required that in buildings of solid
masonry, where stone or marble lintels were employed,
the supports should not be very far apart, and this
circumstance led to the frequent use of rows of columns.
The architecture of this period is accordingly sometimes
called columnar, but it has no exclusive claim to the
INTRODUCTION.
epithet; tlie column survived long after the exclusive
iise of the beam had beeu superseded, and tlio twui
Fia. L— Opening spasxed by ▲ Lintel. Aklu of tue GuLiJaiiiiui, XtuiiE.
columnar must accordingly be shared with buildings
forming part of the succeeding series.
The second great group of buildings is that in "which
the semicircular arch is introduced into construction, and
li 2
4 AXCIEXT ARCHITECTURE.
used eitlier together with the beam, or, as mostly happened,
instead of the beam, to span the openings (Fig. 2). This
use of the arch began with the Assyrians, and it reap-
peared in the works of the early Etruscans. The round-
arched series of styles embraces the buildings of the
Eomans from their earliest beginnings to their decay ; it
also includes the two areat schools of Christian architec-
FiG. 2.— Opexikg spanned by a Se.micihcular Arch. Koman Tbiumphai, Akcu
AT POLA.
tnre which were founded by the Western and the Eastern
Church respectively, — namely, the Romanesque, Avhich,
originating in Eome, extended itself through Western
Europe, and lasted till the time of the Crusades, and the
Byzantine, which spread from Constantinople over all
the countries in which the Eastern (or Greek) Church
flourished, and which continues to our own day.
INTRODUCTION.
The third group of buildings is that in which the
pointed arch is employed instead of the semicircular arch
to span the openings (Fig. 3). It began with the rise of
';^^-^'
Fig. 3.— Opesixgs spanned bt Pointed Ahches. Isteeiob of Si. Feost,
Pebigueux, France.
!Mohammedan architecture in the East, and embraces all
tlie buildings of Western Europe, from the time of the
First Crusade to the revival of art in the fifteenth century.
G ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
This grcfit series of buildings constitutes what is known
as Pointed, or, more commonly, as Gothic architecture.
The fourth group consists of the buildings erected
during or since the Eenaissance {i. e. revival) period, and
is marked by a return to the styles of past ages or distant
countries for the architectural leatures and ornaments of
buildings ; and by that luxury, complexity, and ostenta-
tion -which, with other qualities, are well comprehended
under the epithet Modern. This group of buildings
forms what is known as Eenaissance architecture, and
extends from the epoch of the revival of letters in the
iifteenth century, to the present day.
The first two of these styles — namely, the architecture
of the beam, and that of the round arch — are treated of in
this little volume. They occupy those remote times of
pagan civilisation which may be conveniently included
under the broad term Ancient; and the better known
work of the Greeks and liomans— the classic nations —
and they extend over tlie time of the establishment of
Christianity down to the close of that dreary period
not incorrectly termed the Dark ages. Ancient, Classic,
and early Christian architecture is accordingly an appro-
priate title for the main subjects of this volume, though,
for the sake of convenience, some notices of Oriental
architecture have been added, Gothic and Eenaissance
architecture form the subjects of the companion volume.
It may excite surprise that what appears to be so small
a difference as that which exists between a beam, a round
arch, or a pointed arch, should be employed in order to
distinguish three of the four great divisions. But in reality
this is no pedantic or arbitrary grouping. The mode in
which spaces or openings are covered lies at the root of
most of the essential differences between styles of archi-
IXTRODUCTIOX. 7
tccturo, nnd tlio distinction thus drawn is one of a real,
not of a fanciful nature.
Every buildini^ ^vllen roduccd to its elomonts, as will
be done in both these volumes, may be consiilered as iiia'lo
lip of its (1) floor or plan, (2) walls, (3) roof, (4) open-
ings, (5) columns, and (6) ornaments, and as marked by
its distinctive (7) character, and the student must bo
prepared to find that the openings are by no means tho
least important of these elements. In fact, the moment
tho metliod of covering openings was changed, it Avould
be easy to show, did space permit, that all the other
elements, except the ornaments, were directly affected by
the change, anel the ornaments indirectly ; and Ave thus
find such a correspondence between this index feature and
the entire structure as renders this primary division a
fccientitic though a very broad one. The contrast between
the trabeated style and tlie arched style maj'" be avcU
understood by comparing the illustiation of the Partha-
non which forms our frontispiece, or that of the great
temple of Zeus at Olympia (Fig. 4), with the exterior of
the Colosseum at Rome (Fig. 5), introduced here for the
l)urposes of this comparison.
A division of buildings into such great series as thcso
cannot, however, supersede tiie more obvious historical
and geographical divisions. The architecture of every
ancient country was partly the growth of the soil,
i.e. adapted to the climate of the country, and the
materials found there, and partly the outcome of the
national character of its inhabitants, and of such influ-
ences as race, colonisation, commerce, or conquest brought
to bear upon them. These influences produced strong
distinctions between the work of different peoples, espe-
cially before the era of the Roman Empire. Since that
INTRODUCTIO-V. i)
perioJ of universal dominion all buildings and styles have
been inlluenced more or less by Roman art. We accord-
ingly find the buildings of the most ancient nations
separated from each other by strongly marked lines of
demarcation, but those since the era of the Empire sliowing
a considerable resemblance to one another. The circum-
stance that the remains of those buildings only which
received the greatest possible attention from their builders
have conie down to us from any remote antiquity, has
perhaps served to accentuate the differences between
different styles, for these foremost buildings were not
intended to serve the same purpose in all countries.
jS'othing but tombs and temples have survived in Egypt.
Palaces only have been rescued from the decay of Assyrian
and Persian cities ; and temples, theatres, and places of
public assembly are the chief, almost the only remains of
architecture in Greece.
A strong contrast between the buildings of different
ancient nations rises also frum the differing point of view
for which they Avere designed. Thus, in the tombs and,
to a large extent, the temples of the Egyptians, we find
structures chiefly planned for internal effect; that is to
say, intended to be seen by those admitted to the sacred
precincts, but only to a limited extent appealing to the
admiration of those outside. The buildings of the Greeks,
on the other hand, were chiefly designed to please those
who examined them from without; and though no doubt
some of them, the theatres especially, were from their
very nature planned for interior effect, by far the greatest
works which Greek art produced were the exteriors of
the temples.
The works of the Eomans, and, following them, those
of almost all "Western Chiistian nations, were designed
Fin 5— PaKT of toe EXTERIOa OF THE COLOSSEUM, IlOME. (NoW IS RUISS.)
IXTRODUCTION. 11
to unite external ami internal effect; but in many cases
external Avas evidently most sought after, and, in the
JS'orth of Europe, many expedients — such, for example,
as towers, high-pitched roofs, and steeples — were intro-
duced into architecture with the express intention of
increasing external effect. On the other hand, the Eastern
styles, both Mohammedan and Christian, especially when
practised in sunny climates, show in many cases a com-
l)arative disregard of external effect, and that tlieir archi-
tects lavished most of their resources on the interiors of
their buildings.
Passing allusions have been made to the influence of
climate on architecture ; and the student whose attention
has been once called to this subject will find many
interesting traces of tins influence in the designs of
buildings erected in various countries. Where the power
of the sun is great, flat terraced roofs, which help to keep
buildings cool, and thick walls are desirable. Sufficient
light is admitted by small windows far apart. Over-
hanging eaves, or horizontal cornices, are in such a climate
the most effective mode of obtaining architectural effect,
and accordingly in the styles of all Southern peoples
these peculiarities appear. The architecture of Egypt,
for example, exhibited them markedly. Where the sun
is still powerful, but not so extreme, the terraced roof
is generally replaced by a sloping roof, steep enough to
throw off water, and larger openings are made for light
and air ; but the horizontal cornice still remains the most
appropriate means of gaining effects of light and shade.
This description will apply to the architecture of Italy
and Greece. When, however, we pass to Xorthern coun-
tries, where snow has to be encountered, where light is
precious, and where the san is low in the heavens for the
12
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
greater part of tlie day, a complete change talces place.
Eoofs become much steeper, so as to tlirow off snow.
The horizontal cornice is to a large extent disused, but
the buttress, the turret, and other vertical features, from
which a level sun will cast shadows, begin to appear ;
Fig. 0.— Timber Architecture. CuuRtn at Borgusd.
and windows are made numerous and spacious. This
description applies to Gothic arcliitecture generally — in
other words, to the style which rose in Northern Europe.
The influence of materials on architecture is also Avorth
notice. Where granite, which is worked wiih difficulty,
INTRODUCTION. 13
is tlie material ol>t;iinable, architecture lias invariably
been severe and simple; Aviiere soft stone is obtainable,
exuberance of ornament makes its appearance, in conse-
quence of the material lending itself readily to the carver's
chisel. AVherc, on the other hand, marble is abundant
and good, refinement is to be met ^vitll, for no other
building material exists in ^vhich very delicate mouldings
or verj' slight or .slender projections may be employed
with the certainty that they will be effective. Where
stone is scarce, brick buildings, with many arches, roughly
constructed cornices and pilasters, and other peculiarities
both of structure and ornamentation, make their appear-
ance, as, for example, in Lombardy and Xorth Germany.
Where materials of many colours abound, as is the case, for
example, in the volcanic distiicts of France, polycliromy
is sought as a means of ornamentation. Lastly, where
timber is available, and stone and brick are both scarce,
the result is an architecture of which both the forms and
the ornamentation are entirely dissimilar to those proper
to buildings of stone, marble, or brick, as may be seen by
a glance at our illustration of an early Scandinavian
church built of timber (Fig. 6), Avhich presents forms
appropriate to a timber building as being easily con-
structed of wood, but which would hardly be suitable to
any other material whatever.
Fig. 7.— Egyptian Cornice.
CHAriER 11.
EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
THE origin of Ej.^yptian architecture, like tliat of
Egyptian history, is lost in the mists of antiquity.
The remains of all, or almost all, other styles of architecture
enable us to trace their rude beginnings, their development,
their gradual jn'ogress up to a culminating point, and
thence their slow but certain decline ; but the earliest
remains of the constructions of tiie Egyptians show their
skill as builders at the height of its perfection, their archi-
tecture highly develojDcd, and their sculpture at its very
best, if not indeed at the commencement of its decadence ;
for some of the statuary of the age of the Pyramids was
never surpassed in artistic effect by the work of a later
era. It is impossible for us to conceive of such scientific
skill as is evidenced in the construction of the great pyra-
mids, or such artistic power as is displayed on the walls of
tombs of the same date, or in the statues found in them,
as other than the outcome of a vast accumulation of ex-
perience, the attainment of which must impl}' the lapse of
very long periods of time since the nation which produced
EGYPTIAN DYNASTIES. i^
such works eir.erged from barbarism. It is natural, Avliere
so remote an antiquity is in question, that Ave should
feel a great diliiculty, if not an impossibiUty, in fixing
exact dates, but the whole tendency of modern explora-
tion and research is rather to push back than to advance
the dates of Egyptian chronology, and it is by no means
impossible that Ihe dynasties of Manetho, after being
derided as apocryphal for centuries, may in the end be
accepted as substantially correct. ]\Ianetho was au
Egyptian priest living in the third century B.C., who
wrote a history of his country, which he compiled
from the archives of the temples. His work itself is
lost, but Josephus quotes extracts from it, and Eusebius
and Julius African us reproduced his lists, in Avhich the
monarchs of Egypt are grouped into thirty-four dynasties.
These, however, do not agree with one another, and in
many cases it is difficult to reconcile them with the records
displayed in the monuments themselves.
The remains with wliich we are acquainted indicate
four distinct periods of great architectural activity in
Egyptian histor}', viz. : (1) the period of the fourth
dynasty, when the Great Pyramids were erected (pro-
bably 3500 to 3000 B.C.); (2) the period of the twelfth
dynasty, to Avhich belong the remains at Beni-Hassan ;
(3) the period of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynas-
ties, when Thebes was in its glory, which is attested by
the ruins of Luxor and Karnak ; and (4) the Ptolemaic
period, of which there are the remains at Denderah,
Edfou, and Philte. The monuments that remain are
almost exclusively tombs and temples. The tombs are,
generally speaking, all met with on the east or right
bank of the Nile : among them must be classed those
grandest and oldest monuments of Egyptian skill, the
IG ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
Pyramids, whicli appear to have been all designed as
royal burying-])laces. A large nnmber of pyramids have
been discovered, but those of Gizeh, near Cairo, are the
largest and the best known, and also probably the oldest
which can be authenticated.* The three largest pyramids
are those of Cheops, Ceplu-en, and Mycerinus at Gizeh
(or, as the names are more correctly written, Suphis, Sen-
suphis, and Moscheris or Mencheris). These monarchs
all belonged to the fourth dynasty, and the most probable
date to be assigned to them is about 3000 B.C. The pyra-
mid of Suphis is the largest, and is the one familiarly
known as the Great Pyramid ; it has a square base, the
side of which is 7G0 feet long,t a height of 484 feet, and
an area of 577,600 square feet. In this pyramid the angle
of inclination of the sloping sides to the base is 51° 51',
but in no two pyramids is this angle the same. There
can be no doubt that these huge monuments Avere erected
each as the tomb of an individual king, whose efforts were
directed towards making it everlasting, and the greatest
pains were taken to render the access to the burial chamber
extremely hard to discover. This accounts for the vast
disproportion between the lavish amount of material used
for the pyramid and the smalluess of the cavity enclosed
in it (Fig. 8).
The material employed Avas limestone ca«ed Avith syenite
(granite from Syene), and the internal passages A;vere lined
Avith granite. The granite of the casing has entireh'
* Some Egyptologists incline to the opinion that the pyramid of Saq-
qura is the most aucienr, while ethers think it much more recent than
those of Gizeh.
t Strictly speaking, the base is not an exact square, the four sides
measuring, according to the Royal Engineers, north, 760 ft. 75 in. ; south,
7(J1 ft. «-5 in. ; east, 7(30 ft. 9o in. ; and west, 764 ft. 1 iu.
EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS.
17
disappeared, but tliat employed as linings is still in its
place, and so skilfully -worked that it would not be possible
to introduce even a sheet of paper between the joints.
The entrance D to this pyramid of Suphis was at a height
of 47 ft, 6 in. above the base, and, as was almost invariably
-y'
EiG 8.— Sectioij acboss the Great Pyramid (of Cheops ok Sfpnis).
the case, on the north face ; from the entrance a passage
slopes downward at an angle of 26° 27' to a chamber cut
in the rock at a depth of about 90 feet below the base
of the pyramid. This chamber seems to have been in-
tended as a blind, as it Avas not the place for the deposition
c
18 ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
of the corpse. From the point in the ahove descrihed
passage — marked A on our illustration of this pyramid
■ — another gallery starts upwards, till it reaches the
point Cj from which a horizontal passage leads to another
small chamber. This is called the Queen's Chamber, but
no reason has been discovered for the name. From this
point C the gallery continues upwards till, in the heart of
the pyramid, ihe Royal Chamber, E, is reached. The walls
of these chambers and passages are lined with masonry
executed in the hardest stone (granite), and with an
accuracy of fitting and a truth of surface that can
liardly be surpassed. Extreme care seems to have been
taken to prevent the great weight overhead from crush-
ing in the galleries and the chamber. The gallery from C
upwards is of the form shown in Fig. 9, where each layer
of stones projects slightly beyond the one underneath it.
Pig. 11 is a section of the chamber ilself, and the succession
of small chambers shown one above the other was evi-
dently formed for the purpose of distributing the weight
of the superincumbent mass. From the point C a narrow
Avell leads almost perpendicularlj' downwards to a point
nearly at the bottom of the first-mentioned gallery ; and
the purpose to be served by this well was long a subject
of debate. The probability is that, after the corpse had
been placed in its chamber, the workmen completely
blocked up the passage from A to C by allowing large
blocks of granite to slide down it, these blocks having
been previously prepared and deposited in the larger
gallery ; the men then let themselves down the well, and
by means of the lower gallery made their exit from the
pyramid. The entrances to the chamber and to the pyra-
mid itself were formed by huge blocks of stone which
exactly fitted into grooves prepared for them with the
Fig. 9. — AscKNniNO
Gallery in thb
GUEAT FvliAMlU.
Pi_
i''lG. 10.— TuR M:rui.ciiKAL
Chamber in thk Pyramid
ov Cbfbben at Giz£H.
.«!^,
^-''
i^.
.^1i¥''
. r-tn ' M
i*ilWa!(S,,1!iilll|i|;lll!jii^ 1 ,^^
^
Pig. U.— Thb Cokstrtjctiom of the King's Chajiber in thb
Great PrKAsriD.
C 2
20 ANCIENT AnCIllTECTUIlE.
most beautiful mathematical accuracy. The chief interest
attaching to the pyramids lies in their extreme antiquity,
and the scientific method of their construction ; for their
effect upon the spectator is by no means proportionate to
their immense mass and the labour bestowed upon them.
In the neighbourhood of the pyramids are found a large
number of tombs which are supposed to be those of private
persons. Their form is generally that of a mastaha or
truncated pyramid with sloping walls, and their construc-
tion is evidently copied from a fashion of Avooden arclii-
tecture previously existing. The same idea of making an
everlasting habitation for the body ^jrevailed as in the
case of the pyramids, and stone was therefore the material
employed ; but the builders seem to have desired to indulge
in a decorative style, and as they were totally unable to
originate a legitimate stone architecture, we find carved in
stone, rounded beams as lintels, grooved posts, and — most
curious of all — roofs that are an almost exact copy of
the early timber liuts when unsquared baulks of timber
were laid across side by side to form a covering. Figs. 12
and 13 show this kind of stone-work, which is peculiar to
the old dynasties, and seems to have had little influence
upon succeeding styles,
A remarkable feature of these early private tombs con-
sists in the paintings Avith which the walls are decorated,
and which vividly portray the ordinary every-day occu-
l)ations carried on during his lifetime by the person who
was destined to be the inmate of the tomb. These
paintings are of immense value in enabling us to form
an accurate idea of the life of the people at this early
age.
It may possibly be open to doubt whether the dignified
appellation of architecture should be applied to buildinfs
Tig. I'J— Imitation of Timber Coxstrictio.n in
Si'ONE. FROM A ToMb AT MEMPHIS.
iiG i;— Imitation op Timbcr Construction
SioNE, FROM A Tomb at Memphis.
T2 ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
of the Ivind we have just been describing ; but ^Yhen we
come to the series of remains of the twelfth dynasty at
Beni-Hassan, in middle Egypt, we meet with the earliest
known examples of that most interesting feature of all
subsequent styles — the column. Whether the idea of
columnar architecture originated with the necessities of
quarrying — square piers being left at intervals to support
the superincumbent mass of rock as the quarry was gradu-
ally driven in — or whether the earliest stone piers were
imitations of brickwork or of timber posts, we shall pro-
bably never be able to determine accurately, though the
former supposition seems the more likely. We have here
monuments of a date 1400 years anterior to the earliest
known Greek examples, with splendid columns, both
exterior and interior, which no reasonable person can
doubt are the prototypes of the Greek Doric order.
Fig. 14 is a plan with a section, and Fig. 15 an exterior
view, of one of these tombs, which, it Avill be seen, con-
sisted of a portico, a chamber with its roof supported by
columns, and a small space at the farther end in which
is formed the opening of a sloping passage or well, at the
bottom of which the vault for the reception of the body
was constructed. The walls of the large chamber are
lavishly decorated with scenes of every-day life, and it
has even been suggested that these places Avere not erected
originally as tombs, but as dwelling-places, which after
death were appropriated as sepulchres.
The columns are surmounted by a small square slab,
technically called an abacus, and heavy square beams or
architraves span the spaces between the columns, while
the roof between the architraves has a slightly segmental
form. The tombs of the later period, viz. of the eighteenth
and nineteenth dynasties, are very diti'erent from those of
EGYPTIAN TEMPLES.
23
the twelfth dynasty, and present few features of archi-
tectural interest, though they are remarkable for their
vast extent and the
variety of form of their
various chambers and
galleries. They con-
sist of a series of
cliambers excavated in
the rock, and it ap-
pears certain that the
tomb was commenced
on the accession of each
monarch, and was
driven farther and
farther into the rock
during the continuance
of his reign till his
death, when all work
abruptly ceased. All
the chambers are pro-
fusely decorated with
paintings, but of a kind
very different from
those of the earlier
dynasties. Instead of
depicting scenes of ordi-
nary life, all the paint-
ings refer to the sup-
posed life after deatli,
and are thus of very
great value as a means
of deteruiining the re-
ligious opinions of tlie
-Plas asd Section of the Tomb
Ai Besi-Uassan.
24
ANCIENT ARCUITECTL'RE.
Egyptians at this time. One of the most remarkable
of these tombs is tliat of Manephtliah or Sethi I., at
Bab-el-Molouk, and known as Belzoni's tomb, as it was
discovered by him ; from it was taken the alabaster sarco-
phagus now ill the Soane Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
To this relic a new interest is given by the announcement,
Avlnle these pages are passing through the press, of the
discovery of the mummy of this very JVIanephthah, with
thirty-eight other royal mummies, in tlie neighbourhood
of Thebes.
Tig. lo.— Rock-cci Fai ade of Tu.mb at Bexi-IIassas
Of the Ptolemaic period no tombs, except perhaps a few
fit Alexandria, are known to exist.
TEMPLES.
It is very doubtful whether any remains of temples of
the time of the fourth dynasty — i.e. contemporaneous with
the pyramids — exist. One, constructed on a most extra-
ordinary plan, was supposed to have been discovered about
a quarter of a century ago, and it was described by I*ro-
EGYPTIAN' TEMPLES. 25
fo'sov Donaldson at the Royal Institute of Biitish Archi-
tects in 1861, but later Ecjyptologists rather incline to
the belief that this was a tomb and not a temple, as in one
of the chambers of the interior a number of compartments
■were discovered one above the otlier which were apparently
intended for the reception of bodies. This singular build-
ing is close to the Great Sphinx ; its plan is cruciform,
and there are in the interior a number of rectangular
piers of granite supporting very simple architraves, but
there are no means of determining Avhat kind of roof
covered it in. The walls seem to have been faced on the
interior with polished slabs of granite or alabaster, but no
sculpture or hieroglyphic inscriptions were found on them
to explain the purpose of the building. Leaving this
building — which is of a type quite unique — out of the
question, Egyptian temples can be generally classed
under two heads : (1) the large principal temples, and (2)
the small subsidiar}'' ones called Typhonia or Mammisi.
Both kinds of temple vary little, if at all, in plan from
the time of the twelfth dynasty down to the Roman
dominion.
The large temples consist almost invariably of an entrance
gate flanked on either side by a large mass of masonry,
called a pylon, in the shape of a truncated pyramid
(Fig. 18). The axis of the ground-plan of these j^ylons is
frequently obliquely inclined to the axis of the plan of the
temple itself; and indeed one of the most striking features
of Egyptian temples is the lack of regularity and sym-
metry in their construction. The entrance gives access
to a large courtyard, generally ornamented with columns :
beyond this, and occasionally approached by steps, is
another court, smaller than the first, but much more
splendidly adorned with columns and colossi ; beyond this
26
AXCIEXT ARCUITECTURE.
a^'ain, in the finest examples, occurs what is called the
Hypostyle Hall, i.e. a hall with two rows of lofty columns
down the centre, and at the sides other rows, more or less
in number, of lower columns ; the object of this arrange-
ment being that the central portion might be lighted by a
kind of clerestory above the roof of the side portions.
Fig. 17 shows this arrangement. This hypostyle hall
stood with its greatest length transverse to the general
axis of the temple, so that it was entered from the side.
Be^'ond it were other chambers, all of small size, the
innermost being generally the sanc-
tuary, while the others were pro-
bably used as residences by the
priests. Homer's hundred-gated
Thebes, which was for so long the
capital of Egypt, offers at Karnak
and Luxor the finest remains of
temples ; Avhat is left of the former
evidently showing that it must
have been one of the most magni-
ficent buildings ever erected in
any country. Fig. 16 is a plan of
the temple of Karnak, which was
about 1200 feet long and 348 feet
wide. A is the entrance between
the two enormous pylons giving
access to a large courtyard, in
which is a small detached temple,
and another larger one breaking
into the courtyard obliquely. A
gateway between a second pair of pylons admits to B, the
grand Hypostyle Hall, 334 feet by 167 feet. Beyond this
are additional gateways Avith pylons, separated by a sort
Fio. IB.— Ground-Plan op the
Palace at Kakjjak.
Fig. 17.— Tub IlyrosTyiE ILvll at K.vuxak. showing the Clekestort.
l'"lG. 16.— JiXTliAXCE TO AS KgYPTIAS TC H'LE, ^H0\VI>"G THE I'i'LOSS
28 AXCIENT ARCniTEOTURE.
of gallery, C, in which were two gigantic obelisks ; D, an-
other grand hall, is called the Hall of the Caryatides, and
beyond is the Hall of the eighteen columns, through which
access is gained to a number of smaller halls grouped round
the central chamber E. Beyond this is a large courtyard,
in the centre of which stood the original sanctuary, which
has disappeared down to its foundations, nothing but some
broken shafts of columns remaining. At the extreme east
is another hall supported partly by columns and partly
by square piers, and a second series of pillared courts and
chambers. The pylons and buildings generally decrease
in height as we proceed from the entrance eastwards-
This is due to the fact that the building grew by succes-
sive additions, each one more magnificent than the last,
all being added on the side from which the temple was
entered, leaving the original sanctuary unchanged and
undisturbed.
Besides the buildings shown on the plan there were
many other temples to the north, south, and east, entered
by i^ylons and some of them connected together by avenues
of sphinxes, obelisks, and colossi, which altogether made
up the most wonderful agglomeration of buildings that
can be conceived. It must not be imagined that this
temple of Ivarnak, together with the series of connected
temples is the result, of one clearly conceived plan; on
the contrary, just as has been frequently the case with
our own cathedrals and baronial halls, alterations were
made here and additions there by successive kings one
after the other without much regard to connection or
congruity, the only feeling that probably influenced them
being that of emulation to excel in size and grandeur
the erections of their predecessors, as the largest buildings
are almost always of latest date. The original sanctuary,
EGVPTIAX TEMPLES. 20
or nnclens of the temple, was built by Usertesen I., the
second or third king of the twelfth dynasty. Onienophis,
the first king of the Shepherd dynasties, built a temple
round the sanctuary, which has disappeared. Tlmthmes
I. built the Hall of the Caryatides and conimeiiced the
next Hall of the eighteen columns, ■which was finished
bj- Thothmes II. Thothmes III. built that portion sur-
rounding the sanctuary, and he also built the courts on
the extreme east. The pylon at C was built by Omenophis
III., and formed the facade of the temple before the
erection of the grand hall. Sethi I. built the Hypostyle
Hall, which had probably been originated by Rhamses I.,
who commenced the pylon west of it. Sethi II. built the
small detached temple, and Ehamses III. the intersecting
temple. The Bubastites constructed the large front court
by building walls round it, and the Ptolemies commenced
the huge western pylon. The colonnade in the centre of
the court was erected by Tahraka.
Extensive remains of temples exist at Luxor, Edfou
(Fig. 19), and Philce, but it will not be necessary to give
a detailed description of them, as, if smaller in size, they
are very similar in arrangement to those already described.
It should be noticed that all these large temples have the
mastaba form, i.e. the outer walls are not perpendicular
on the outside, but slope inwards as they rise, thus giving
the buildings an air of great solidity.
The Mammisi exhibit quite a different form of temple
from those previously described, and are generally found
in close proximity to the large temples. They are
generally erected on a raised terrace, rectangular on plan
and nearly twice as long as it was wide, approached by
a flight of steps opposite the entrance ; they consist of
oblong buildings, usually divided by a Avail into two
30
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
chambers, and surrounded on all sides by a colonnade
composed of ciri nlar columns or square piers placed at
intervals, and tlie whole is roofed in. A dwarf wall is fre-
FiG. 20.— Plan op oxe op the
iUAlIillSI AT EdFOU.
Fig. 19.— Plan of the Teiiple at Edjou.
qucntly found between the piers and columns, about half
the height of the shaft. These temples differ from the larger
ones in having their outer walls perpendicular. Fig. 20
EGYPTIAN TEMPLES.
31
is a plan of one of tliose small temples, and no one can
fail to reiunrk the striking
temples ; there can indeed
be little doubt that this
nation borrowed the peri-
stylar form of its temples
from the Ancient i^gyp-
tians.
Although no rock-cut
tomi^les have been dis-
covered in Egypt proper,
Xubia is very rich in such
remains. The arrangement
of these temples hewn out
of the rock is closely analo-
gous to that of the detached
one?. Figs. 21 and 22 show
a plan and section of the
likeness to some of the Greek
Fig. 21.— Ground-plan of the Rock-cci
Tt.Ml'LE AT 1PbA.ME0L1..
^-^^ijWLW
.#v
^u\ psmti^ "^^liAli,
Fig. 22. — SrcTTfiN of the INck-cvt Temple at Ipsa.mbhul.
32 ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
largest of the rock-cut temples at Ipsamboul, which
consists of two extensive couits, with smaller chamhers
beyond, all connected by galleries. The roof of the large
court is supported by eight huge piers, the faces of which
are sculptured into the form of standing colossi, and the
entrance is adorned by four splendid seated colossi,
G8 ft. 6 in. high. As was the case with the detached
temples, it will be noticed that the height of the
various chambers decreases towards the extremity of the
excavation.
The constructional system pursued by the Egyptians,
which consisted in roofing over spaces with large horizontal
blocks of stone, led of necessity to a columnar arrangement
in the interiors, as it was impossible to cover large areas
without frequent upright supports. Hence the column
became the chief means of obtaining effect, and the varieties
of form which it exhibits are very numerous. The earliest
form is that at Beni-Hassan, which has already been noticed
as the prototype of the Doric order. Figs. 23 and 24 are
views of two columns of a type more commonly employeil.
In these the sculptors appear to have intended as closely
as possible the forms of the plant-world around them, as
is shown in Fig. 23, which represents a bundle of reeds
or lotus stalks, and is the earliest type known of the lotus
column, which was afterwards developed into a number of
forms, one of which will be observed on turning to our
section of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak (Fig. 17), as
employed for the lateral columns. The stalks are bound
round with several belts, and the capital is formed by
the sli,i;htly bulging unopened bud of the flower, above
which is a small abacus with the architrave resting upon
it : the base is nothing but a low circular plinth. The
square piers also have Irequently a lotus bud carved on
them. At the bottom of the shatt is frequently found
EOYPTIAX TEMPLES,
33
a decoration imitateil from the sheath of leaves from
which the plant sprin.c;s. As a furtlier development of
tliis capital we have the oj^ned lotus flower of a very
graceful bell-like shape, ornamented with a similar sheath-
like decoration to that at the base of the shaft (Fig. 2i).
This decoration was originally painted only, not sculptuied,
-C:;VV
lr^4 s'^
Fig. 2:;. — l.bVi'UA.N CnLf.MS
WITH Lotus Bud Capital.
Fig. 2t.— Egyptian Coium.v
WITH Lotus Flower Capital.
but at a later period we find these sheaths and buds worked
in stone. Even more graceful is the palm cipital, Avhich
also had its leading lines of decorfition painted on it at first
(Fig. 25), and afterwards sculptured (Fig. 26). At a later
period of the style we find the plant foims abandoned, and
caj)itals were formed of a fantastic combination of the head
D
34
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
of Isis with a pylon resting xipon it (Fig. 27). Consider-
able ingenuity was exercised in adapting the capitals of the
columns to the positions in which they were placed : thus
in the hypostyle halls, the lofty central row of columns
generally had capitals of the form shown in Fig. 24, as
the light here was sufficient to illuminate thoroughly the
underside of the overhanging bell; but those columns
which were farther removed from the light had their
Fig. 25.— Palm Capital.
Tig. 2G.— ScuLPiuacD Capital.
capitals of the unopened bud form, Avhich was narrower
at the top than at bottom. In one part of the temple at
Karnak is found a very curious capital resembling tlie
open lotus flower inverted. The proportion which tlie
height of Egyptian columns bears to their diameter difi'ers
so much in various cases that there was evidently no
regular standard adhered to, but as a general rule they
have a heavy and massive character. The wall-paintings
of the Egyptian buildings show many curious forms of
EGYPTIAN TEMPLES.
35
columns (Fig. 28), but we have no reason for thinking
that these fantastic shapes were really executed in stone.
Almost the only sculptured ornaments worked on the
exteriors of buildmgs were the curious astragal or bead at
all the angles, and the cornice, which consisted of a very
large cavetto, or hollow moulding, surmounted by a fillet.
Fig. 27.— Isis Capital fhom
Z)£NC£fiAH.
Fig. 28.— Fanciful Coiu.mn phom
PaISIED DjECOSAIIOIC at TH£BEi.
These features are almost invariable from the earliest to
the latest period of the style. This cavetto was generally
enriched, over the doorways, Avith an ornament repre-
senting a circular boss with a wing at each side of it.
(Fig. 29).
One other feature of Egyptian architecture Avhich was
peculiar to it must be mentioned; namely, the obelisk.
D 2
36
AXCIEN'T ARCIIITECTUltE.
Obelisks were nearly always erected ia pairs in front
of the pylons of the temples, and added to the dignity of
the enti'ance. They were invariably monoliths, slightly
tapering in outline, carved with the most perfect accuracy ;
they must have existed originally in very large numbers,
^^ot a few of these have been transported to Europe, and
at least twelve are standing in Kome, one is in Paris, and
one in London.
Fig. 29.— Caow.NiSG CoB.NiCB and Bjsao.
The most striking features, and the most artistic, in the
decoration of Egyptian buildings, are the mural paintings
and sculptured pictures, which are found in the most lavish
profusion, and which exhibit the highest .skill in conven-
tionalising the human figure and other objects.* Tombs
and temples, columns and obelisks are completely covered
with graphic representations of peaceful home ])ursuiis,
Avarlike expeditions and battle scenes, and — though not
till a late period — descriptions of ritual and mythological
delineations of the supposed spirit-world which the soul
has entered after death. These pictures, together with the
* Couventionalisiug may be dcscibed as representing apart only of the
visible qualities or features of au object, omitting the remaiuder or very
slightly indicating them. A black si honette portrait is aa extreme
instance of convention, as it displays absolutely nothing but the outline
of a profile. For decorative purposes it is almost always necessary to
conventio'ia'.ise to a greater or le s extent whatever is represented.
il
EGVrTlAX DECORATIONS. 37
hieroglyphic inscriptions — wliich are in themselves a scries
of picUues — not only relieve the hare wall surface, hut,
Avluit is far more important, enahle us to realise the kind
of existence Avhich was led hy this ancient people ; and
as in nearly every case the cartouche (or synihol represent-
ing the name) of the monarch under -whose reign the
building was erected was added, Ave should be able to fix
tlie dates of the buildings with exactness, were the chro-
nology of the kings made out beyond doubt.
The following dejcription of the manner in which the
Egyptian paintings and sculptures were executed — from
the pen of Owen Jones— will be read with interest : —
" The wall was first chiselled as smooth as possible, the
imperfections of the stone were filled up with cement or
plaster, and the whole was rubbed smooth and covered
Avith a coloured Avash ; lines Avere then ruled perpendi-
cularly and horizontally Avith red colour, forming squares
all over the Avail corresponding Avith the proportions of
the figure to be drawn upon it. The subjects of the
painting and of the hieroglyphics Avere then drawn on
the Avail Avith a red line, most probably by the priest or
chief scribe, or by some inferior artist, from a document
divided into similar squares; then came the chief artist,
Avho Avent over every figure and hieroglyphic with a black
line, and a firm and steady hand, giving expression to each
curve, deviating here and confirming there the red line.
The line thus traced Avas then folloAved by the sculptor.
The ii"xt process Avas to paint the figure iii the prescribed
colours."
Although Egyptian architecture Avas essentially a tra-
beated style, — that is to say, a style in Avhich beams or
lintels Avere usually employed to cover openings, — there is
strong ground for the belief that the builders of that time
OQ ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
Avere acquainted with the nature of the arch. Dr. Birch
mentions a rudimentary arch of the time of the fifth
dj'nasty : at Abydos there are also remains of vaulted
tombs of the sixth dynasty ; and in a tomb in the neigh-
bourhood of the Pyramids there is an elementary arch of
three stones surmounted by a true arch constructed in four
courses. The probability is that true brick arches were
liuilt at a very early period, but in the construction of
their tombs, where heavy masses of superincumbent
masonry or rock had to be supported, the Egyptians
.seem to have been afraid to risk even the remote possi-
bility of their arches decaying ; and hence, even when
they preserved the form of the arch in masonry, they
constructed it with horizontal courses of stone projecting
one over the other, and then cut away the lower angles.
One dominating idea seems to have influenced them in
the whole of their work — esfo perpetua was their motto ;
and though they have been excelled by later peoples in
grace and beauty, it is a question whether they have ever
been surpassed in the skill with which they adapted their
means to the end which they always kept in view.
ANALYSIS OF BUILDINGS.
Plan.
Floor (technically Plan). — The early rock-cut tombs
were, of course, only cajiable of producing internal effects ;
their floor presents a series of halls and galleries, vary-
ing in size and shape, leading one out of the other, and
intended by their contrast or combination to produce
architectural effect. To this was added in the later rock-
cut tombs a facade to be seen directly in front. Much
the same account can be given of the disposition of the
EGYPTIAN. ANALYSIS. 39
built temples. Tliey possess one front, which the spectator
approaches, and they are disposed so as to produce varicMl
and impressive interiors, but not to give rise to external
display. The supports, such as walls, columns, piers, are
all very massive and very close together, so that the only
wide open spaces are courtyards.
The circle, or octagon, or other polygonal forms do not
appear in the plans of Egyptian buildings ; but though all
the lines are straight, there is a good deal of irregularity
in spacing, walls which face one another are not alfl'ays
parallel, and angles which appear to be right angles very
often are not so.
The later buildings extend over much space. The
adjuncts to these buildings, especially the avenues of
sphinxes, are plmned so as to jtroduce an air of stately
grandeur, and in them some degree of external effect is
aimed at.
Walls.
The walls are uniformly thick, and often of granite or
of stone, though brick is also met with ; e.g. some of the
smaller pyramids are built entirely of brick. In all pro-
bability the walls of domestic buildings were to a great
extent of biick, and less thick than those of the temples;
hence they have all disappeared.
The surface of walls, even when of granite, was usually
plastered with a thin fine plaster, which was covered by
the profuse decoration in colour already alluded to.
The Avails of the pro pylons tapered from the base towards
the top, and the same thing sometimes occurred in other
walls. In almost all cases the stone walls are built of
very large blocks, and they show an unrivalled skill in
masonry.
40 ANCIENT AnCIIlTECTCUE.
Iloofs.
The roofing wliicli remains is executed entirely in stone,
Lut not arclied or vaulted. Tlie rock-cut tombs, however,
as has been stated, contain ceilings of an arched shape,
and in some cases forms which seem to be an imitation of
timber roofing. The roofing of the Hypostyle Hall at
Karnak jirovides an arrangement for admitting light very
similar to the clerestory of Gothic cathedrals.
Oiieniiigs.
The openings were all covered by a stone lintel, and
consequently were uniformly squaredieaded. The inter-
spaces between columns Avere similarly covered, and hence
Egyptian architecture has been, and correctly, classed
as the first among the styles of trabeated architecture.
AViudow-openings seldom occur.
Cuhunns.
The columns have been already described to some extent.
They are almost always circular in plan, but the shaft is
sometimes channelled. They are for the most part of
sturdy proportions, but great grace and elegance are
sliown in the profile given to shafts and capitals. The
design of the capitals especially is full of variety, and
admirably adapts forms obtained from the vegetable king-
dom. The general effect of the Egyptian column, wher-
ever it is used, is that it api>ears to have, as it really has,
a great deal more strength than is required. The fact
that the abacus (the square block of stone introduced
between the moulded part of the capital and Avhat it
carries) is often smaller in width than tlie diameter of
the column aids very much to produce this effect.
'S~S>
EGYTTIAN'. — ANALYSIS. 41
Ornaments.
!Mouldin;;;s are very rarely employed ; in fact, tlie large
1^'ud running up the angles of the pylons, &c., and a lieavy
hollow moulding doing duty as a cornice, are all that are
usually met with. Sculpture and carving occur occa-
sionally, and are freely introduced in later works, where
Ave sometimes find statues incorporated into the design of
the fronts of temples. Decoration in colour, in the shape
of hieroglyi)hic inscriptions and paintings of all sorts,
was profusely employed (Figs. 27-30), and is executed
with a truth of drawing and a beauty of colouring that
have never been surpassed. As has been pointed out,
almost every object drawn is partly conventionalised, in
t'tie most skilful nuinner, so as to ma'.ce it fit its place
as a piece of a decorative system.
Arch Uedural Charnder.
This is gloomy, and to a certain extent forbidding,
owing to the heavy walls and })iers and columns, and the
great masses supported by them ; but when in its fresli-
ness and quite uninjured by decay or violence, the exquisite
colouring of the walls and ceilings and columns must have
added a great deal of beauty : this must have very much
diminished the oppressive effect inseparable from such
massive construction and from the gloomy darkness of
many portions of the buildings. It is also noteworthy
that the expenditure of materials and labour is greater in
proportion to the effect attained than in any other style.
The pyramids are the most conspicuous exanqile of this
jn-odigality. Eefore condemning this as a defect in the
style, it must be remembered that a stability which should
defy enemies, earthquakes, and the tooth of time, was far
42
AN'CIEXT ARCHITECTURE,
more aimed at than architectural character; and that,
had any mode of construction less lavish of material, and
less perfect in workmanship, been adopted, the buildings
of Egypt might have all disappeared ere this.
flG. 30.— PaISIED l>£C0RiT10>" FROII THElliii.
Fio. 31.— ScciPTURED Ornament at NiSEVEn.
CHAPTER III.
WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE.
THE arcliitftcturnl styles of the ancient nations which
ruled over the countries of Western Asia watered
by the Tigris and tlie Euphrates, from a period about
2200 B.C. down to 330 B.C., are so intimately connected one
with another, and so dependent one upon the other, that it
is almost impossible to attempt an accurate discrimination
between the Babylonian or ancient Chaldean, the Assyrian
and the Persian. A more intelligible idea of the archi-
tecture of this long period will be gained by regarding
the three styles as modifications and developments of one
original style, than by endeavouring to separate them.-''
Their sequence can, however, be accurately determined.
First comes the ohl Chaldfean period, next the Assyrian,
during which the great city of Xiueveh was built, and
* In any such endeavour we should be met by the further difficulty,
that the writers of antiquity differ widely in the precise limits which they
give to the Assyrian Kingdom. Some make it include Babylon, other
writers say that it was bounded on the south by Babylon, and altogether
the gre;itest confusion exists in the accounts that have come down to us.
44 ANX'lENT ARCHITECTURE.
finally the Persian, after Cyrus liad subdued the ohler
monarchies; and remains exist of all these periods. An
to the origin of the Chaldajan Kingdom, however, all is
obscure ; and the earliest date Avhich can be fixed Avith
the slightest apjDroach to probability is 2234 B.C., when
Ninirod is supposed to have founded the old Chaldtean
dynast}^ This seems to have lasted about 700 years, and
Avas then overthrown by a conquering nation of Avhich
no record or even tradition remains, the next two and a
half centuries being a complete blank till the rise of the
great Assyrian Monarchy about 1290 B.C., which lasted
till its destruction by Cyrus about 538 B.C. The Persian
Monarchy then endured till the death of Alexander the
Great, in 333 B.C., after Avliich great confusion arose, the
empire being broken up among his generals and rapidly
falling to pieces.
It is only within a comparatively recent period that we
have had any knowledge of the architecture of the.se
countries ; but the explorations of M. Botta, commenced
in 1843 and continued by M. Place, and those of Mr. (now
Sir A. H.) Layard in 1845, combined with the succepsful
attempts of Prof. Grotefend, Prof. Lassen, and Col. Piaw-
linson at deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions, have dis-
closed a new world to the ar ■hitectural student, without
which some of the developments of Greek architecture
must have remained ob.ecure. The authentic remains of
buildings of the early Chakhijan period are too few and in
too ruinous a condition to allow' of a reproduction of their
architectural features with any certainty. The buildings,
whether palaces or temples, appear to have been con-
structed on terraces, and to have been several storeys in
height ; and in one instance, at Mugheyr, the walls sloped
inwards in a similar manner to those of Egyptian build-
EADYLOXU.V. 4o
ing^, a peculiarity •which is not met with in other exampli-s
of West Asiatic architoctiue. The materials employcil
were bricks, both sun-dried and kihi-buriit, which seem
to have been coated witli a vitreous enamel for purposes
of interior decoration. Fragments of carved limestone
were discovered by Sir A. H. Layard, but the fact that
ti)e fragments found have been so few orght not to
load us too hastily to the conclusion that stone was not
ustd as facing for architectural purposes, as after the
buildings became ruined the stone would eagerly be sought
for and carried away before the brickwoik was touched.
Jlitumen seems to have been employed as a cement. Al-
though original buildings of this era cannot be found,
it has been shown that in all probability we have, in a
building of a later date — the I5irs-i-Xiiuruil — a type of the
old Bibylonian temiJe. This in its general disposition
must have resembled that of the Tou)b of Cyrus, described
and figured later on, though on a vastly larger scale. Th-3
lowest storey appears to have been an exact square of
272 ft. ; each of tiie higher storeys was 42 ft. less horizon-
tally than the one below it, and was placed 30 It. back
from the front of the storey below it, but equidistant
from tlie two sides, where the platforms were 21 fr. widi;.
The three upper storeys were 45 ft. in heightal together,
the two below these Avere 26 ft. each, and the heigiit of
the lowest is uncertain. The topmost storey probably hail
a tower on it which enclosed the shiine of the temi)le.
This edifice was for a long time a bone of contention
among savants, but Colonel Eawliuson's investigations
have brought to light the f;ict that it was a temple dedi-
cated to the seven heavenly spheres, viz. Saturn, Jupiter,
Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, in the
order given, starling from the bottom. Access to the
46 A.N'CIENT AnCHITECTURB.
various platforms was obtained by stairs, and the -wliole
building was surrounded by a Availed enclosure. From
remains found at Wurkha we may gather that the walls
of the buildings of this period were covered with elaborate
plaster ornaments, and that a lavish use was made of
colour in their decoration.
Of the later Assyrian j^eriod several ruins of buildings
believed to be palaces have been excavated, of Avhich the
large palace at Khorsabad, the old name of which was
Hisir-Sargon, now a small village between 10 and 11 miles
north-east of Nineveh, has been the most completely
explored, and this consequently is the best adapted to ex-
plain the general plan of an Assyrian edifice. M. Botta,
when French Consul at Mosul, and M Victor Place con-
ducted these explorations, and the following details are
taken from their works. Like all other Assyrian palaces,
this was reared on a huge artificial mound, the labour
of forming which must have been enormous. The reason
for the construction of these mounds is not far to seek.
Just as the chiefs of a mountainous country choose the
loftiest peaks for their castles, so in Assyria, which
was a very flat country, the extra defensive strength
of elevated buildings was clearly appreciated ; and as
these absolute monarchs ruled over a teeming popula-
tion and had a very large number of slaves, and only had
to direct their taskmasters to impress labour whenever
they wanted it, no difficulty existed in forming elevated
platforms for their palaces. These were frequently close
to a river, and it is by no means improbable that this was
turned into the excavation from which the earth for the
mound was taken, and thus formed a lake or moat as an
additional defence. A farther reason for these terraces
may be found in the fact that in a hot climate buildings
ASSYRIAN. 4 /
erected some 20 or 30 ft. above the level of the phiiu
catch the breezes much more quickly than lower edifices.
In the case of Ivhorsabad the terrace was made of sun-
dried brides, about 15 7 in. square and 2 in. thick. These
bricks were made of the most carefully prepared clay.
The terrace was faced by a retaining wall of coursed
masonry, nearly 10 ft. in thickness. On this terrace
the palace was built, and. it consisted of a series of open
courts arranged unsymmetrically, surrounded by state or
private apartments, storehouses, stables, &c. Great care
seems to have been exercised in the accurate orientation of
the building, but in rather a peculiar manner. Instead
of any one facade of the building facing due north,
the corners face exactly towards the four points of the
compass. The courts were all entered by magnificent
portals flanked by gigantic figures, and were approached
by flights of steps. Fig. 32 is a plan of the palace of
Kliorsabad, whicli was placed close to the boundary of the
city; in fact it was partly outside the city wall proper,
though surrounded by a wall of its own. The grand
south-east portals or propylsea were adorned with huge
human-headed bulls and gigantic figures, and gave access
to a large court, 315 ft. by 280 ft., on the east side of which
are the stables and out-houses, and on the west side the
metal stores. On the north of this court, though not
approached directly from it, was the Seraglio (not to be
confounded with the Harem), the grand entrance to which
was from a second large court, access to which was obtained
from a roadway sloping up from the city. The portals
to this portion of the palace were also adorned with
human-headed bulls. From the second court a vaulted
passage gave access to the state apartments, which appear
to have had a direct view across the open country, and
Fig. 3l'.— Palace of Khorsabad. Bdilt bt King Sargon abuut no B.C.
A, Steps. B, Chief portal. C, Cliief entninee-couit. D—H, Wmiien's apartments (H.irem). J, Centre
oourt of iHiiUliiis;. K, Cliief court of royal residence. L, Portal with caiveil bulls as guMi.is.
M, Centre court of royal resilience. N, Temple (?). 0, Pyramid of steps.- S, Entrance to chief court.
T, Plan of terraces with wall and towers.
ASSrRIAN. 49
vcre qiiito outside the city Avails. The Harem has Lccn
excavated; it stood just outside the palace proper, hohind
the metal stores. The remains of an observatory exist,
and the oudines of what is supposed to have been a
temple have also been unearthed, so that we have here a
complete plan of the palace. Altogether 31 courts and
198 chambers have been discovered.
It will be noticed that great disproportion exists between
the length of the various apartments and their breadth, none
being more than 40 ft. wide ; and it is probable that this
was owing to structural necessities, the Assyrian builders
liuding it impossible, with the materials at their disposal,
to cover wider spaces than this. The walls of this palace
vary from 5 to 15 ft. in thickness, and are composed of
sun-dried bricks, faced in the principal courts and state
apartments witli slabs of alabaster or Mosul gypsum to a
height of from 9 to 12 ft., above which kiln-burnt bricks
were used. The alabaster slabs were held together by
iron, copper, or wooden cramps or plugs, and were covered
with sculptured pictures representing scenes of peace and
war, from which, as was the case with the Egyptian
remains, we are able to reconstruct for ourselves the daily
life of the monarchs of those early times. Above the
alabaster slabs plastered decorations were used ; in some
cases painted frescoes have been found, or mosaics formed
with enamelled bricks of various colours. In the out-
buildings and the more retired rooms of the palace, the
alabaster slabs were omitted, and plaster decorations used,
from the ground upwards. The researches of MM. Botta
and Place have shown that colour was used with a lavish-
ness quite foreign to our notions, as the alabaster statues
as well as the plaster enrichments were coloured. M. Place
says that in no case were the plain bricks allowed to face
E
50 AXCIEXT ARCniTECTLTRE.
the walls of an apartment, the joint being always con-
cealed either by colour or plaster : in fact, he remarks that
after a time, if he found walls standing showing the brick-
work joints, he invariably searched with success among
the debris of the chamber for remains of the sculptured
decorations which had been used to face the walls.
Xot the least interesting of these discoveries was that
of the drains under the palace, portions of which were
iu very good preservation; and all were vaulted, so that
there can be no doubt whatever that the Assyrians were
acquainted with the use of the arch. This was furtlier
proved by the discovery by jM. Place of the great arched
fates of the city itself, with an archivolt of coloured
enamelled bricks forming various patterns, with a semi-
circular arch springing irom plain jambs. Extreme care
was taken by the Assyrian builders in laying the pave-
ments to ensure their being perfectly level : first a layer
of kiln-burnt bricks was laid on the ordinary sun-dried
bricks forming the terrace ; then came a layer of fine sand,
upon which the bricks or slabs of the pavement proper
were laid, forming in many cases an elegant pattern (see
Fig. 33).
Great difference of opinion exists as to the manner in
which the various apartments of the palace were lighted.
M. Place suggests that the rooms were all vaulted on the
inside, and the spandrels filled in with earth afterwards to
form perfectly flat roofs, and he gives a restoration of the
building on such an arrangement ; but if he is correct,
it is impossible to see how any light at all can have pene-
trated into the interior of many of the apartments, and
as these apartments are decorated with a profusion of
paintings it is very difficult to believe that artificial light
alouQ wa^ used in them. M. Place thinks, however, that
ASSYniA>f.
51
ill some cylindrical tcrra-cotta vessels wliicli ho found lie
has hit upon a species of skylight which passed completely
through the vault over the rooms, and thus admitted tho
light from above. This, however, can hardly be considereil
as settled yet. Mr. Fergusson, on the other hand, suggests
that the thick main walls weve carried to a height of about
18 or 19 ft., and that above this were tAvo rows of dwarf
columns, one on the inner and the other on the outer ed"0
i'lo. 33.— Pavemesi from Khoyu.njik.
of the Willi, these columns supporting a flat terrace roof, and
the walls thus forming galleries all round the apartments.
Then to cover the space occupieil by the apartments them-
selves it is necessary to assume the existence of rows of
columns, the capitals of Avhich were at the same level as
those of the dwarf columns on the walls. "Where one
apartment is surrounded on all sides by olher.s, the roof
over it may have been carried up to a higher level, forming
i: 2
52 AXCIEXT ARCHITECTURE.
a sort of clerest-;ry. This tlieoiy no doubt accounts for
many things which are very hard to explain otherwise,
and derives very strong support from the analogy of Per-
sepolis, where slender stone columns exist. Such columns
of cedar Avood Avould add enormously to the magnificence
and grandeur of the building ; and if, as seems likely, most
of these Assyrian palaces were destroyed by fire, the
absence of the remains of columns offers no difficulty.
On the other hand, in many parts of the palace of Kiiorsa-
bad no trace of fire remains, and yet here no suggestion
of detached columns can be found, and, moreover, it is
extremely difficult to arrange columns symmetrically in the
various apartments so that doorways are not interfered
with. There is also another difficulty, viz. that if the
building called the Harem at Khorsabad was built in this
way, the apartments would have been open to the view of
any one ascending the lofty building called the observatory.
It is quite possible that further explorations may tend to
elucidate this difficult question of rooting, but at present
all that can be said is that none of these theories that have
been put forward is wholly satisfactory.
As no columns at all exist, w^e cannot say what capitals
were employed, but it is probable that those of Persepolis,
which will be shortly described, were copied from an
earlier wooden form, which may have been that used by the
Assyrian builders. There is, however, capping the terrace
on which the temple Avas erected at Khorsabad, a good
example of an Assyrian cornice, which is very similar
indeed to the forms found in Egypt, and some of the
sculptured bas-reliefs which have been discovered depict
rude copies of Assyrian buildings drawn by the people
themselves ; and it is most interesting to notice that just
as we found in the Egyptian style the proto-Doric column.
PERSIAN.
53
SO in the Assyrian we find the proto-Ionic (Figs. 34, 34a),
and possibly also tlie proto-Corinthian (Fig. 34b).
The third branch of West Asiatic architecture is the
Persian, -which was developed after Cyrus had conquered
tlie older monarchies, and which attained its greatest mag-
nificence under Darius and Xerxes. The Persians were
originally a brave and hardy race inhabiting the moun-
tainous region south of Media, which slopes down to the
Persian Gulf. Until the time of Cyrus, who was the founder
Fig. Ma.— Pboto-Ionic
CiPITAL FRO.M AssVaiAS
Sculpture.
Fir,. 3JB.— I'KOTO-
CuRlNTHIAN CaPIT.\L
FROM Assyrian
Sculpture.
Fig. 34.— PaoTO-
loxic Column.
of the great kingdom of Persia, they inhabited small towns,
had no architecture, and were simple barbarians. But after
Cyrus had vanquished the wealthy and luxurious Assyrian
monarchs, and his warriors hnd seen and wondered at tlie
opulence and splendour of the Assyrian palaces, it was
natural that his successors should strive to emulate for
themselves the display of tlieir vassals. Therefore, having
no indigenous style to fall back upon, the artisans who
were summoned to build the tomb of the founder of the
monarchy and the palaces of his successors, simply copied
5i
AN'OENT ARCHITECTURE.
tlie forms with which they were acquainted. Portunately,
the sites for the uew palaces were in a locality where build-
ing stone was good and abundant, and the presence of this
material had a modifying effect upon the architecture.
The best known of the remains which date as far back
as the earlier Persian dynasties is the so-called tomb of
Cyrus at Pasargadte, near jMurgliab (Fig. 35). This may
Fig. 35— Tomb of CrKUS.
be looked upon as a model in white marble of an old
Chaldsean temple, such as the Lirs-i-Ximrud. There
are the same platforms diminishing in area as the top is
approached, and on the topmost platform is a small cella
or temple with a gabled stone roof, which probably
originally contained the sarcophagus. It is, however, at
Persepolis, the real capital of the later Persian kings,
whose grandeur and wealth wore such that Alexander is
PERSIAN. 00
said to liave found there treasure to the amount of thirty
millions of pounds sterling, that we find the most magnifi-
cent series of ruins. These were carefully measured and
drawn by Baron Texier in 1835, and his Avork and that of
]\i]\I. Flandrin and Coste are those from which the best
information on this subject can be obtained.
Persepolis is about 35 miles north east of Shiraz, close to
the main highway to Ispahan, at the foot of the mountain
range which bounds the extensive plain of Nurdusht. The
modern inhabitants of the district call the ruins Taldit-i-
Jamshid (or the building of Jamshid), but the inscriptions
that have been deciphered prove that Darius and Xerxes
were the chief builders. Just as was the case witii the
Assyrian ruins, these stand on an immense platform
Avhich rises perpendicularly from the plain and abuts in
the rear against the mountain range. Instead, however,
of this platform being raised artificially, it was cut out of
the rock, and levelled into a series of terraces, on which
the buildings were erected. The platform, whose length
from north to south is about 1582 ft., and breadth from
east to west about 938 ft., is approached from the plain
by a magnificent double staircase of black marble, of very
easy rise, not more than 4 in. each step. Its general
lieight above the level of the plain was originally
34 ft. 9 in. The retaining Avall of the platform is not
straight, but has in it 40 breaks or set-ofis of unequal
dimensions. At the top of the staircase are the remains of
a building Avith four columns in the centre and with large
portals both back and front, each of which is adorned Avith
gigantic bulls, strikingly resembling those found at Khorsa-
bad. Those in the front have no Avings, but those in the
rear have Avings and human heads. It has been suggested
that these are the ruins of one of those large coA'^ered gates
5G
ANCIEN'T ARCmTECTURE.
frequently mentioned in the Bible, under the shelter of
■which business was transacted, and which probably formed
the entrance to the whole range of courts and buildini,'s.
After passing through this gateway and turning south-
I
-General Plah of the Bcildirgs at Persepolis.
wards, at a distance of 177 feet from it, another terrace
is reached, 9 ft. 2 in. higher than the first one. This ter-
race also is approached by four flights of steps profusely
decorated wuth sculptured bas-reliefs, and on it are the
remains of the Cheliil Miuar, tlie grand hexastyle Hall of
PERSIAN. 57
Xerxes, wliicli must have been one of the most magnificent
huildings of ancient times. This building is marked A on
the general plan. It consisted of a central court, contain-
ing thirty-six columns, the distance from centre to centre
of the outside columns being 142 ft. 8 in. This court was
surrounded by walls, of wliich nothing now remains but
the jambs of three of the doorways. On three sides of
this court, to the north, east and west, were porticoes of
twelve columns each, precisely in a line witli those of the
central court, the distance from centre to centre of the
columns being 28 ft. 6 in. These columns, both in their
proportions and shape, suggest an imitation of timber con-
struction. On the south the court was probably termi-
nated by a wall, and Mr. Fergiisson suggests that the
corners between the porticoes were filled up with small
chambers. The most striking feature of this hall or palace
must have been its loftiness, the height of the columns
varying from 63 ft. 8 in. to 64 feet from bottom of base to
top of capitah The shafts were slightly tapering and had
48 flutings, and were 4 ft. 6 in. in diameter in the upper
part. The bases of the columns show hardly any variations,
and consist of a series of mouldings such as is shown in
Fig. 36 ; the lowest part of this moulded base is enriched
with leaves, and rests on a low circular plinth at the
bottom : the total height of the base averages 5 feet.
The capitals show considerable variations. Those of the
east and west porticoes represent the heads and fore part
of the bodies of two bulls* placed directly on the shaft
back to back, with their forelegs doubled under them,
* As a matter of fact there is a marked distinction between the heads
of the animals of the east and west porticoes : those of the west are un-
doubtedly bulls, bat tho'-e of the east are grotesque mythological creatures
somewhat resembling the fabled unicorn.
Fl'; 3JB- — CuLf.MK FKUM PbRSK-
puLis, East and West Ponxicojis.
Fig. .iU.— GyLlM.\ from
PiiRSEPOLIS, iJOKTH PuKTICO.
PERSIAN. 59
the feet resting on the shaft and the knees projecting;
the total height of those capitals is 7 ft. 4 in. Between
the necks of the bulls rested tlie ■wooden girder whicli
supported the cross-bearers of the roof. In the north
portico and, so far as can be ascertained, in the central
court, the shaft of the column was much shorter, and
supported a fantastic elongated capital, consisting of a
sort of inverted cup, supporting an elegant shape much
resembling the Egyptian palm-leaf capital, above which,
on all the four sides, are double sjdrals resembling the
ornaments of the Greek Ionic capital known as volutes, but
jilaced perpendicularly, and not, as in the Ionic capital,
horizontally. These volutes again may have supported
double bulls, which would make the total height of the
columns the same as those of the east and west porticoes.
The doorways have cornices enriched with leaves, similar
to those found at Khorsabad, which have already been
noticed as bearing a decided resemblance to the Egyptian
doorways.
On other terraces, slightly raised above the main plat-
form, exist the remains, in a more or less ruined condition,
of numerous other courts and halls, one of which has no
less than one hundred columns to support its roof, but the
height of this building was much inferior to that of the
Chehil Minar. The existence of these columns leaves no
doubt that these buildings were covered with flat roofs ;
and that over part of them was a raised talar or prayer-
platform is rendered probable from the introduction of such
a feature into the sculptured representation of a palace
fa§ade which forms the entrance to the rock-tomb of
Darius, which was cut out of the mountain at the back
of the terrace of Persepolis. The position of this tomb
on the general plan is marked B, and Eig. 37 is a view
GO
ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.
of the entrance;, which was proLably intended as a copy
of one of the halls. All tlie walls of the palaces were
profusely decorated with sculptured pictures, and various
indications occur which induce the belief tliat painting;
was used to decorate those portions of the walls that were
not faced with sculptured slabs.
Fig. 37.— Tiik Kncic-cui To.mb of Darics.
The superior lightness and elegance of the Perscpolitan
ruins to those of an earlier epoch will not fail to be noticed,
but there is still a certain amount of Ijarbaric clumsiness
discernible, and it is not till we come to Greek archi-
tecture that we see how an innate genius for art and
V^£ST ASIATIC. — ANALYSIS. Gl
beauty, such as was possessed by that people, could cull
from previous styles everything capable of being used
with effect, and discard or prune off all the unnecessary
exuberances of those styles which olfend a criticall}' artistic
taste.
ANALYSIS OF BUILDINGS.
Flan.
The floor-space of a great Assyrian or Medo-Persiau
building was laid out on a plan quite distinct from that of
an Egyptian temple ; for the rooms are almost always
grouped round cpiadrangles. The buildings are also placed
on terraces, and no doubt would secure external as well
as internal etfects, to which the imposing flights of stairs
provided would largely contribute. We find in Assyrian
palaces, halls comparatively narrow in juoijortion to their
great length, but still so wide tliat the roofing of them
must have been a serious business, and we find them
arranged side by side, often three deep. In the Persian
buildings, halls nearly square on plan, and filled by a
multitude of columns, occur frequentl3% In the j^lan of
detached buildings like the Eirs-i-]S"imrud, we are reminded
of the pyramids of Egypt, which no doubt suggested the
idea of pyramidal mojiuments to all subsequent building
peoples.
Walls.
The magnificently worked granite and stones of Egypt
give place to brick for the material of the walls, with the
result that a far larger space could be covered with build-
ings by a given number of men in a given time, but of
62 AN'CIEXT AUCHITECTURE.
course the structures were far more liable to decay.
Accordingly, sturdy as their walls are, we find them at
the present day reduced to mere shapeless mounds, but of
prodigious extent.
Roofs.
We can only judge of the roofs hy inference, and it has
already been stated that a difference of opinion exists
respecting them. It appears most probable that a large
proportion of the buildings must have been roofed by
throwing timber beams from wall to wall and ibrmin"
a thick platform of earth on them, and must have been
lighted by some sort of clerestory. At any rate the
stone roofs of the Egyptians seem to have been discarded,
and with them the necessity for enormous columns and
piers placed very close together. In some bas-reliefs,
buildings with roofs of a domical shape are represented.
Openings.
Doorways are the openings chiefly met with, and it is
not often that the superstructure, whether arch or lintel,
remains, but it is clear that in some instances, at least,
openings were arched. Great attention was paid to im-
portant doorways, and a large amount of magnificent
sculpture was employed to enrich them.
Columns.
The columns most probably were of wood in Assyrian
palaces. In some of the Persian ones they were of marble,
but of a proportion and treatment which point to an imi-
tation of forms suitable for wood. The bases and capitals
WEST ASIATIC. — ANALYSIS. 63
of tliese slender shafts are beautiful in themselves, au(l
very interesting as sug.c;'estiug tho source from whicli
some of the forms in Greek architecture were derived ;
and on the 'bas-reliefs other architectural forms are repre-
fecnted which were afterwards used by the Greeks.
Ornaments.
Sculptured slabs, painted wall decorations, and terra-
cotta ornamentation were used as enrichments of the walls.
These slabs, Avhich have become familiarly known through
the attention roused by the discoveries of Sir A. H. Layard
and the specimens sent by him to the British Museum,
are objects of the deepest interest ; so are the carved bulls
from gateways. In the smaller and more purely orna-
mental decorations the honeysuckle, and other forms
familiar to us from their subsequent adoption by Greek
artists, are met with constantly, executed with great
taste.
Arch itedund Ch arader.
A character of lavish and ornate magnificence is the
quality most strongly displayed by the architectural
remains of AVestern Asia; and could we have beheld any
one of the monuments before it was reduced to ruin, we
should probably have seen this predominant to an extent
of which it is almost impossible now to form an adequate
idea.
f^SMJ
i^^s^jfei^M&a
Fig. 38.— Scitlptl'red Oena.ment at Allahabad.
CHAPTER IV
OniENTAL AECHITECTURE.
Hindu Architecture.
HINDU architecture is not only unfamiliar but uncon-
genial to Western tastes ; and as it has exercised no
direct influence upon the later styles of Europe, it will be
noticed ia far less detail than the magnitude and import-
ance of many Indian buildings which have been examined
and measured during the last few years Avould otherwise
claim, although the exuberant wealth of ornament exhibited
in these buildings denotes an artistic genius of very higli
order, if somewhat uncultured and barbaric. As by far the
largest number of Hindu buildings are of a date much later
than the commencement of our era, a strict adherence to
chronological sequence would scarcely allow the intro-
duction of this style so early in the present volume ; but
Ave know that seve:al centuries before Christ powerful
kingdoms and wealthy cities existed in India; and as it
seems clear also that in architecture and art, as well as in
INDIAX. C5
manners and customs, hardly any cliange * has occurred
from remote antiquity, it appeared allowable, as well as
convenient, that the short description we have to otter
should precede rather than follow that of the classical
styles properly so called. Here, as always when we
attempt to penetrate farther back than a certain date,
all is obscure and mythical. We find lists of kings
and dynasties going back th(nisands of years before our
era, but nothing at all to enable us to judge how much of
this may be taken as solid fact. !Mr. Tergusson believes
he has discovered in one date, viz. 3101 B.C., the first Aryan
settlement ; but be tiiis as it may, it is useless to look for
any architectural remains until after the death of Gotama
Buddha in 543 B.C. ; in fact, it is very doubtful Avhethcr
remains can be authenticated imtil the reign of King
Asoka (e.g. 272 to b.c. 23G), when Buddhism had spread
over almost the whole of the country, where it remained
the predominant cult until Brahmanism again asserted its
supremacy in the 14th century a.d.
The earliest, or among the earliest, architectural re-
mains are the inscribed pillars called Lats, which are
found in numerous localities, but have heen almost always
overthrown. Many of these were erected by the above-
named Asoka : tliey were ornamented with bands and
mouldings separating tlie inscriptions, and crowned by a
sort of capital, wdiich Avas generally in the form of an
animal. One very curious feature in these pillars is the
* It is not intended to imply that Hindustan Las been without change
in her ruKng dynasties. These have been continually changing ; but the
remarkable fact is that, numerous as have been the nations that have
poured across the Indus attracted ly " the wealth of Ind," there has been
no reflux, as it were : the various peoples, with their arts, religions, aud
manners, have been swallowed up and assimilated, leaving but here and
there slight traces of their origin.
P
G6
OPJENTAL AllCHlTECTURE.
constant occurrence of a precise imitation of the well-knowri
lioneysuckle ornament of the Greeks ; this was probably
derived from the same source whence the Greeks obtained
it, namely Assyria. It is most probable that these pillars
served to ornament the approaches to some kind of sacred
enclosure or temple, of Avhich, however, no remains have
been found.
Extremely early in date are some of the tumuli or topes
Avhich exist in large numbers in various parts of India.
wm
Fig. 39.— Daguba fkom Ceilos.
Tliese are of two kinds, — the topes or stupas proper, which
Avere erected to commemorate some striking event or 1o
mark a sacred spot ; and the dagobas, Avhich were built
to cover the relics of Buddha himself or some Buddhist
saint. These topes consist of a slightly stilted hemi-
spherical dome surmounting a substructure, circular in
plan, which fonns a sort of terrace, access to which is
obtained by steps. The domical shape was, however, ex-
INDIAN. 07
ternal only, as on tlio inside the masonry Avas almost colid,
a few small cavities only being left for the protection of
various jewels, &c. The dome was probably surmounted
by a pinnacle, as shown in Fig. 39. In the neighbourhood
of Bhilsa, in Central India, there are a large number of
these topes, of which the largest, that of Sanchi, measures
121 ft. in diameter and 55 ft. in height; it was erected
by King Asoka.
Two kinds of edifices which are not tombs remain,
the chaityas (temples or halls of assembly) and viharas
or monasteries, which were generally attached to the
chaityas. These erections were either detached or cut
ill the rock, and it is only the rock-cut ones of Avhich
remains exist of an earlier date than the commencement of
the Christian era. The earliest specimen of a rock-cut
chaitya is in the jSTigope cave, near Behar, constructed
about 200 B.C. This consists of two compartments, an
outer rectangular one 32 ft. 0 in. by 19 ft. 1 in., and
an inner circular one 19 ft. in diameter. The Lomas
Eishi cave is of a slightly later date : both of these
rock-cut temples exhibit in every detail a reproduction
of wooden forms. In the doorway the stone piers slope
inwards, just like raking wooden struts, and the upper
part represents the ends of longitudinal rafters support-
ing a roof. Later on the builders emancipated them-
selves to a certain extent from this seivile adhesion to
older forms, and Fig. 40 gives a plan and section of a
later chaitya at Ivarli, near Pooua. This bears a striking-
resemblance to a Christian basilica : * there is first the fore-
court; then a rectangular space divided by columns into
nave and aisles, and terminated by a semicircular apse.
* See Chap. X. for an illustration of a Christian Basilica.
F 2
G8
ORIENTAL jSRCHITECTUIIK.
The nave is 25 ft. 7 in. wide, and the aisles 10 ft. each;
the total length is 126 ft. Fifteen columns seijarate the
nave from the aisles, and these have bases, octagonal shafts,
and rich capitals. Eound the apse the columns are replaced
by piers. The side aisles have flat roofs, and the central
nave a stilted semicircular one, practically a vault, ivhich
Fig. 40.— Chaitya near Poona.
at the apse becomes a semicircular dome, under which
is the dagoba, the symbol of Buddhism. The screen,
separating the forecourt from the temple itself is richly
ornamented with sculpture.
The older viharas or monasteries were also cut in the rock
(Figs. 41, 42), and were divided into cells or chambers;
INDIAN'.
6D
tliey wore sevfral storr-ys in heip;ht, and it is pmhaLle that
the cells wei-e used by devout Buddhists as habitations for
the purposes of meditation.
Amonf^ the most remarkable, and in fact almost unique
Pig. 41.— The Kylas at Ellora. A Rockcut Mo.numext.
features of Hindu Architecture are the so-called rails
■which form enclosures sometimes round the topes and
sometimes round sacred trees. Occasionally they are
found standing alone, though when this is the case -it is
70
ORIENTAL AKCniTECTCRE.
probably on account of the object which Avas the cause of
Iheir erection having perished. They are built of stone,
curved so as to represent a succession of perpendicular and
horizontal bands or rails, separated by a soit of pierced
panels. The carving is of the most elaborate description,
both human and anininl forms being depicted ^Yitll great
Fig. 42 —Plan op the Ktias at Elloea. A Eock-ctjt Monumekt.
fidelity, and representations occur of various forms of tree
worship which have been of the greatest use in elucidating
the history of this phase of religious belief. Occasionally
the junctions of the rails are carved into a series of discs,
separated by elaborate scroll-work. These rails are fre-
INDIAN'.
■I
qncntly of very large diiucnsions, that at Lliarhut — whicli
is one of the most recently discoverL-d — measuring 275 ft.
in cireumierence, with a lieight of 22 ft. 6 in. The date
of tlie?e erections is frequently v^ry difficult to determine,
but the cliicf authorities genirally concur in tlie opinion
^j.M$\-''^
■^s^^=^
Tig. 43.— Timasa from Maxasaka.
that none are found dating earlier than about 250 B.C., nor
later than 500 a.d., so that it is pretty certain they must
liave been appropriated to some form of Buddhi-st Avorship.
All the buildings that we have mentioned were devoted
/2 ORIENTAL ARCH[TKCTURE.
to the worship of Buddha, hut the Jain schism, Brahmanism,
and other cults had their representative temples and build-
ings, a full description of which Avould require a volume
many times larger than the present one. Many of the
late detached buildings display rich ornamentation aud
elaborate workmanship. They are generally of a pynimidal
shape, several storeys in height, covered with intricately
cut mouldings and other fantastic embellishments.
Columns are of all shapes and sizes, brackets frequently
take the place of capitals, and Avhere cajntals exist almost
every variety of fantastic form is found. It has been
stated that no fixed laws govern the plan or details of
Indian buildings, but there exists an essay on Indian
Architecture by Ram Eaz — himself a Hindoo — which tends
to show that such a statement is erroneous, as he quotc^s
original works of consideraTjle antiquity which lay down
stringent rules as to the planning of buildings, their height,
and the details of the columns. It is probable that a more
extended acquaintance with Hindu literature will throw
further light on these rules.
Of the various invasions which have occurred some have
left traces in the architecture of India. None of these are
more interesting than certain semi-Greek forms which are
met with in the Northern Provinces, and which without
doubt are referable to the influence of the invasion under
Alexander the Great. A far more conspicuous and wide-
spread series of changes followed in the wake of the
!Mohammedan invasions. "\Ve shall have an opportunity
later on of recuriing to this subject,* but it is one to which
attention should be called at this early stage, lest it should
be thought that a large and splendid part of Indian archi-
tecture had been overlooked.
* See chapter on Saraceuic Arcliitecturc.
ljPi|'B»riiiiiiiiiii'ri«iiiiiT'i"rin
^':,^^,M«te ill-
ij'lG. 40.— COIUMH FKO.M ElluHA.
.i^>;>^Nxv^s;^;^ -
k'iO. 47.— COLUJIN FHoil
Aju.n'ta.
74 ORIENTAL ARCniTECTURE.
Chinese and JajKinetr, Arcli'dcdure.
Although the Chinese have existed as a nation con-
tinuously for between two and three thousand years, if
not longer, and at a very early period had arrived at a
high state of artistic and scientific cultivation, yet none
of their buildings with which we are acquainted has any
claim on our attention because of it^ antiquity. Several
reasons may be assigned for this, the principal being that
the Chinese seem to be as a race singularly unsusceptible
to all emotions. Although they reverence their dead
ancestors, yet this reverence never led them, as did that
of the Egyptians, Etruscans, and other nations, to a
lavish expenditure of labour or materials, to render
their tombs almost as enduring as the everlasting hills.
Though waves of religious zeal must have flowed over
the country when Confucius inculcated his simple and
practical morality and gained an influential following,
and again when Buddhism was introduced and speedily
became the religion of the greater portion of the people,
their religious emotion never led them, as it did the Greeks
and the Mediaival builders, to erect grand and lasting
monuments of sacred art. When most of the Western
nations were still barbarians, the Chinese had attained a
settled system of government, and Avere acquainted with
numerous scientific truths which we have prided ourselves
on rediscovering within the last two centuries; but no
thought ever seems to have occurred to them, as it did to
the Eomans, of commemorating any event connected with
their life as a nation, or of handing down to posterity a
record of their great achievements. Peaceful and pros-
perous, they have pursued the even tenor of their way at
a high level of civilisation certainly, but at a most mono-
tonous one.
CHINESE AND JAPANESE. i O
Tlie Euddhist temples of China have a strong afFiuity
ti^ those of India. The kri;est is that at Hoiian, the
southern suburb of Canton. This is 306 ft. long by 174 ft.
Avide, nnd consists of a series of courts surrounded by co-
lonnades and cells for the bonzes or priests. In the ceiitie
of the courtyard is a series of pavilions or temples con-
ntcted by passages, and devoted to the worship of the idols
contained in them. On each side of the main court, against
the outer wall, is another court, with buildings roujid it,
consisting of kitchen and refectories on the one side, and
hospital wards on the other. It is almost certain that this is
a reproduction of the earlier forms of chaityas and viharus
Avhich existed in India, and have been already referred to.
The temple of Honan is two storeys in height, the building
itself being of stone, but the colonnade surrounding it is of
Avood on marble bases. On the second storey the columns
are placed on two sides only, and not all round. The
columns have no capitals, but have projecting brackets.
The roof of each storey projects over the columns, and
has a curved section, which is, in fact, peculiar to Chinese
roofs, and it is enriched at the corners with carved beasts
and foliage. This is a very common form of temple
throughout China.
The Taas or Pagodas are the buildings of China best
known to Europeans. These are nearly always octagonal
in plan, and consist generally of nine storeys, diminish-
ing both in height and breadth as they approach the top.
Each storey has a cornice composed of a lillet and large
hollow moulding, supporting a r^of which is turned up
at every corner and ornamented with leaves and bells.
On the top of all is a long pole, forming a sort of spire,
surrounded by iron hoops, and supported by eight chains
attached to the summit and to each angle of the roof of
llie topmost sturey. The beat known pagoda is that of
•G
ORIEN'TAL ARCrilTECTUnE.
I^ankin, which is 40 ft. in diameter at its base, and is faced
inside and outside with wliite glazed porcelain shibs keyed
into the brick core. The roof tiles are also of porcelain,
in bands of green and yellow, and at each angle is a mould-
ing of larger tiles, red and green alternately. The effect
of the whole is wonderfully brilliant and dazzling. Apart
from the coloured porcelain, nearly every portion of a
Chinese temple or pagoda is painted, colour forming the
i'"lG. 4S.— A b.MALL PAlyUDA.
cliitf means of producing effect ; but as nearly everything
is constructed of Avood, there was and is no durability in
these edifices.
In public works of utility, such as roads, canals —
one of which is nearly 700 miles in length — and boldly
designed bridges, the Chinese seem to have shown a
more enlightened mind; and the Great Wall, which was
CHINESE AXD JATANESE. 77
Luilt to protect the iiortliern boundary of the kingdom,
about 200 B.C., is a wonderful example of engineering skill.
This wall, which varies from 15 to 30 ft. in height, is
about 25 ft. thick at the base, and slopes oil to 20 ft. at
the top. It is defended by bastions placed at stated
intervals, which are 40 ft, square at the base, and about the
same in height ; the Avail is carried altogether through a
course of about 1400 miles, following all the sinuosities of
the ground over which it passes. It is a most remarkable
fact that a nation should have existed 2000 years ago
capable of originatinc: and completing so great a work ; but
it is still more remarkable that such a nation, possessijig
moreover, as it docs, a great faculty in decorative art
applied to small articles of use and fancy, should be still
leading a populous and prosperous existence, and yet should
have so little to show in the Avay of architecture, properly
so termed, at the present time.
Japan, like China, possesses an architecture, but one
exclusively of wood ; for although the use of stone for
bridges, walls, &c., had been general, all houses and temples
■were invariably built of wood until the recent employment
of foreigners led to the erection of brick and stone buildings.
The consequence has been that nearly all the old temples
have been burnt down and rebuilt several times ; and though
it is probable that the older forms Avere adhered to when
the buildings were re-erected, it is only by inference that
we can form an idea of the ancient architecture of the
country. The heavy curved roofs which are so character-
istic of Chinese buildings are found also in Japan, but only
in the Buddhist temples, and this makes it probable that
this form of roof is not of native origin, but was introduced
with the P.uddhist cult. The earlier Shinto temples have
a different form of roof, which is without the upward,
curve, but which has nearly as much projection at the
78 ORIEXTAL ARCHITECTURE.
eaves as the curved roofs. "Where the buildings are more
than one storey in height tne upper is always set some-
what back, as we saw was the case in the Chinese pagodas,
and considerable and pleasing variety is obtained by treat-
ing the two storeys differently. Very great skill in carving
is shown, all the posts, brackets, beams, and projecting
rafters being formed into elaborate representations of ani-
mals and plants, or quaintly conceived grotesques"; and the
tiat surfaces have frequently a shallow incised arabesque
pattern intertwined -with foliage. The roofs are always
covered with tiles, and a curious effect is produced by
enriching the hips and ridges Avith several courses of tiles
in cement, thus making them rise considerably above
the other portions of the roof. A peculiar feature of
Japanese houses is that the walls, Avhother external or
internal, are not filled in -with plaster, but are constructed
of movable screens ■which slide in giooves formed in the
framing of the partitions. Thus all the rooms can easily
be thrown together or laid open to the outer air in hot
weather. All travellers in Japan remark upon the im-
possibility of obtaining privacy in the hotels in conse-
quence of this.
The Shinto temples are approached through what might
be termed an archway, only that the arch does not enter
into its composition. This erection is called a Torii, and
is thus described by Professor Conder :* — " It is composed
of two upright posts of great thickness, each consisting
of the whole trunk of a tree rounded, about 15 ft. high,
and placed 12 ft. apait. Across the top of these is p)laced
a wooden lintel, projecting considerably and curving
upwards at the ends. Some few feet below this another
horizontal piece is tenoned into the uprights, having a
* Paper commuuicated to the Royal Institute of Architects.
CHINESE AXD JAPANESE. 79
little post in tlie centre helping to support the upper
lintel." These erections occasionally occur in front of a
Euddliist temple, when they are built of stone, exactly
imitating, however, the wooden originals. This is interest-
ing, as offering anotlier proof, were one needed, that the
curious forms of masonry exhibited in much of the work of
the early nations, some of which has been described, is the
result of ah imitation of earlier wooden forms.
The cliief effect in the buildings of the Japanese is
intended to be produced by colour, which is profusely
used ; and they have attained to a height of perfection
in the preparation of varnishes and lacquers that has
never been equalled. Their lacquer is used all over their
buildings, besides forming their chief means of decorating
small objects. It is, however, beginning to be questioned
Avhether the old art of lacquering is not becoming lost by
the Japanese themselves, as the modern work appears by
no means equal to the old. One curious form of decora-
tion, of which the Japanese are much enamoured, consists
in forming miniature representations of country scenes and
landscapes; waterfalls, bridges, &c., being reproduced on
the most diminutive scale. It is much lo be feared that
our small stock of knowledge of ancient Japanese art will
never be greatly increased, as the Avhole country and the
people are becoming modernised and Europeanised to such
an extent that it appears probable there will soon be little
indigenous art left in the country.
It has not beeu thought necessary to append to this chapter
analyses of the Eastern styles similar to those which are given in the
case of the great divisions of "Western Architecture. The notice of
these styles must unavoidably be condensed into very small space.
l-ia. 43.— Geeek H(J^•£YsL■CKLE Obsajiexi.
CHAPTEE Y.
GHEEK ARCHITECTURE.
Buildings of the Doric Order.
THE arcliitecture of Greece lias a value far higher than
that attaching to any of the styles which preceded
it, on account of the beauty of the buildings and the
astonishing refinement which the best of them display.
This architecture has a further claim on our attention, as
being virtually the paieut of that of all the nations of
Westera Europe. AVe cannot put a finger upon any features
of Egyptian, Assyrian, or Persian architecture, the influence
of which has survived to the present day, except such as
were adopted by the Greeks. On the other hand, there is
no feature, no ornament, nor even any principle of design
which the Greek architects employed, that can be said to
hav3 now become obsolete. Not only do we find direct
reproductions of Greek architecture forming part of the
practice of every European country, but we are able to
trace to Greek art the parentage of many of the forms and
features of Roman, Byzantine, and Gothic architecture,
A
GREEK DORIC. 81
especially those connected with the cokimn and which grcu'
out of its artistic use. Greek architecture did not inchidc
the arch and all the forms allied to it, such as the vault
and the dome ; and, so far as we know, the Greeks ab-
stained from the use of tlic tower. Examples of both
these features were, it is almost certain, as fully within
the knowledge of the Greeks as were those features of
Egyptian, Assy;ian, and Persian buildings which they
employed; consequently it is to deliberate selection that
we must attribute this exclusion. Within the limits by
which they confined themselves, the Greeks worked with
such power, learning, taste, and skill that we may fairly
claim for their •'highest achievement — the Parthenon —
that it advanced as near to absolute perfection as any
work of art ever has been or ever can be carried.
Greek architecture seems to have begun to emerge from
the stage of archaic simplicity about the beginning of the
sixth century before the Christian era (600 B.C. is tho
reputed date of the old Doric Temple at Corinth). All
the finest examples were erected between that date and
the death of Alexander the Great (333 B.C.), after which
period it declined and ultimately gave place to Eoman.
The domestic and palatial buildings of the Greeks have
decayed or been destroyed, leaving but few vestiges. We
know their architecture exclusively from ruins of public
buildings, and to a limited extent of sepulchral monuments
remaining in Greece and in Greek colonies. By far the
most numerous and excellent among these buildings are
temples. The Greek idea of a temple was different from
that entertained by the Egj^ptians. The building was to
a much greater extent designed for external effect than
internal. A comparatively small sacred cell was provided
for the reception of the image of the di\-inity, usually with
82
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
one other cell Leliind it, Avliicli seems to Lave served as
treasury or sacristy ; Lut tlure were no surrounding
chambers, gloomy lialls, or enclosed courtyards, like those
of the Egyptian temples, visible only to persons admitted
within a jealously guarded outer wall. The temple, it is
true, often stood within some sort of precinct, hut it was
accessible to all. It stood open to the sun and air ; it
invited the admiration of the passer-by; its most telling
features and best sculpture were on the exterior^ Wliether
this may have heen, to some extent, the case with Persian
buildings, we have few means of knowing, but certainly
the attention paid by the Greeks to the outside of their
temples offers a striking contrast to the practice of the
Egyptians, and to what we know of that of the Assyrians.
TiG. 50.— Plan of a bjiali Greek Temple ix Amis.
The temple, however grand, was always of simple form,
with a gable at each end, and in this respect differed
entirely from the series of halls, courts, and chambers of
wl,ich a great Egyptian temple consisted. In the very
smallest temple at least one of the gables was made into a
portico by the help of columns and two pilasters (Fig. 50).
JMore important temples had a larger number of columns,
CREEB: DORIC.
83
and often a portico at each end (Figs. 50a and 55). Tlic
most important had columns on the flanks as well as at tho
front and rear, the sacred cell being, in fact, surrounded
hy them. It Avill be apparent form this that the column,
together with the superstructure -svhich rested upcn it,
must have played a very important part in Greek temple-
architecture, and an inspection of any representations of
Greek buildings will at once confii-m the impression.
h
m
-m
F,G. soa.— Plan op a small Gkeee Temple.
"We find in Greece three distinct manners, distinguished
largely by the mode in which the column is dealt witlu
These it would be quite consistent to call " styles," were
it not that another name has been so thoroughly appro-
priated to them, that they would hardly now be re-
cognised were they to be spoken of as anything else than
" orders." The Greek orders are named the Doric, Ionic,
and Corinthian. Hach of them presents a different series
of proportions, mouldings, features, and ornaments, though
the main forms of the buildings are the same in all. The
column and its entablature (the technical name for the
frieze, architrave, and cornice, forming the usual super-
structure) being the most prominent features in every
Si CLASSIC AnCIIITECTURE.
such building, liave come to be regarded as the index or
characteristic from an inspection of which the order and
the degree of its development can be recognised, just as
a botanist recognises plants by their flowers. By repro-
ducing the column and entablature, almost all the (diarac-
tcristics of either of the orders can be copied ; and hence
a technical and somewhat unfortunate use of the word
"order" to signify these features only has crept in, and has
overshadowed and to a large extent displaced its wider
meaning. It is difficult in a book on architecture to
avoid employing the word "order" wlien we have to speak
of a column and its entablature, because it has so often
been made use of in Ihis sense. The student must, how-
ever, always bear in mind that this is a restricted and
artificial sense of the word, and that the column belonging
to any order is always accompanied by the use throughout
the building of the appropriate proportions, ornaments,
and mouldings belonging to that order.
The origin of Greek architecture is a very interesting
subject for inquiry, but, owing to the disappearance of
almost all very early examples of the styles, it is neces-
sarily obscure. Such information, however, as we possess,
taken together with the internal evidence allbrded by the
features of the matured style, points to the influence of
Egypt, to that of Assyria and Persia, and to an earl 3^
manner of timber construction — the forms proper to
which were retained in spite of the abandonment of
timl^er i'or marble — as all contributing to the formation
of Greek architecture.
In Asia Minor a series of monuments, many of them
rock-cut, has been discovered, which throw a curious
light upon the early growth of architecture. We refer
to tombs found in Lycia, and attributed to about the
Cr.EEK DORIC. 85
seventh century e.c. In thc^e "\vc oltvionsly have tlio
first work in stone of a nation of ship-bnilders. A Lycian
tomb — such as the one now to be seen, accurately restored,
in tlie Eritish jMuseum — represents a structure of beams
of wood framed together, surmounted by a roof which
closely resembles a boat turned upside down. The planks,
tlie beams to which they were secured, and even a ridge
similar to the keel of a vessel, all reappear here, showing
that the material in use for building Avas so universally
timber, that when the tomb was to be "graven in the rock
for ever" the forms of a timber structure Avere those that
presented themselves to the imagination of the sculptor.
In other instances the resemblance to shipwrights' work
disappears, and that of a carpenter is followed by that of
the mason. Thus we find imitations of timber beams
framed together and of overhanging low-pitched roofs,
in some cases carrieil on iiu^quared rafters lying side by
side, in several of these tombs.
What happened on the Asiatic shore of the Egean must
have occurred on the Greek shores; and though none of
the very earliest specimens of reproduction in stone of
timber structures has come down to us, there are abundant
traces, as Ave shall presently see, of timber originals in
buildings of the Doric order. Timber originals Avere not,
however, the only sources from Avhich the early inhabit-
ants of Greece drew their inspiration.
Constructions of extreme antiquity, and free from any
appearance of imitating structures of timber, mark the sites
of the oldest cities of Greece, ^Mycenre and Orchomenos for
example, the most ancient being vPelasgic city Avails of un-
Avrought stone (Fig. 51). The so-called Treasury of Atreus
at Mycenae, a circular underground chamber 48 ft. 6 in.
in diameter, and with a pointed vault, is a Avell-known
specimen of more regular yet archaic building. ^ Its vault
86
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
is constructed of stones corbelling over one another, and
is not a true arch (Figs. 52, 52a). The treatment of an
ornamental column found here, and of the remains of
Fig ol— Ancient Gt Wall of UNwaouGHi S'O^E fbom bAMJTHRAtE
Fig. :.;;.— I'lax of tiii; TkkasL'ki
OF AXllEUS AT MvCES^Ji.
I'iG. o2a.— Section op the Tkea=uuy op
AtREUS at MVCES.E.
sculptured ornaments over a ne'ghhouring gateway called
the Gate of the Lions, is of v.'ry Asiatic cliaracter, and
seems to show that -whatever influences had Leen brought
to bear on their design were Oriental.
GUELK DORIC.
87
A ^vi.lc interval of time ami a great contrast in tasto
separate tlio early works of Pelasgic masonry and even
the chainl)er at Mycenrc from even the rudest and most
nrcliiuc of the remaining Hellenic works of Greece. Tl:e
r^'
i'lO. 53.— Obf.eit Piu'C C.\r:TAt
Fio. 53a.— GuF.F.K Dome
C.'.riT.\L FROM TU3 TUEStUX
Via. 53B.— Greek Doric Capital from Sa.vothracb.
Doric temple at Corinth is attributed, as has heen stated,
to the seventh century B.C. This was a massive masonry
structure with extremely short, stumpy columns, and
strong mouldings, hut presenting the main features of tlie
Doric st}le, as we know it, in its earliest and rudest form.
bo CLASSIC ARCniTECTURE.
Successive examples (Figs. 53 to 53b) show increasing
slenderness of proportions ami refinement of treatment,
and are accompanied by sculpture which approaches nearer
and nearer to perfection ; but in the later and best build-
ings, as in the earliest and rudest, certain forms are
retained for which it seems impossible to account, except
on the supposition that they are reproductions in stone or
marble of a timber construction. These occur in the en-
tablature, while the column is of a type which it is hard to
believe is not copied from originals in use in Egypt many
centuries earlier, and already described (chap. ii.).
We will now proceed to examine a fully-developed
Greek Doric temple of the best period, and in doing so
we shall be able to recognise the forms referred to in the
preceding paragraph as we come to them. (The most com-
plete Greek Doric temple Avas the Parthenon, the Avork of
the architect Ictinus, the temple of the Virgin Goddess
Athene (Minerva) at Athens, and on many accounts this
building will be tlie best to select for our purpose.*
The Parthenon at Athens stood on the summit of a lofty
rock, and within an irregularly shaped enclosure, something
like a cathedral close ; entered through a noble gateway.t
The temple itself was of jjerfectly regular jilan, and stood
quite free from dependencies of any sort. It consisted of
/a, cella, or sacred cell, in which stood the statue of the
goddess, with one chamber (the treasury) behind. In the
cella, and also in the chamber behind, there Avere columns.
/A series of columns surrounded this building, and at
either end was a portico, eight columns Avide, and two
deeji. There Avere two ]:iediments, or gables, of flat
pitch, one at each end. The Avhole stood on a basement
* See Frontispiece and Fi^s. 54 and 55. t The P.-opylica.
V-!',.;,''JiHif
90
CLASSIC ARCinTECTURE.
of steps ; the building, exclusive of the stops, being
228 ft. long by 101 ft. wide, and G4 ft. high. The columns
/'
T7
/
Fia. 55.— Plan op the PAnroENON at Atiiesj.
were each 34 ft. 3 in. high, and more than 6 ft. in diamotov
at the base ; a portion of the shaft and of the capital of
GUEEK DORIC.
91
one is in the Lritisli Museum, and a magnificent repro-
duction, full size, of the column and its entabhxture may
be seen at the Ecolo des Eeaux Arts, Paris. The oriia-
nionts consisted almost exclusively of sculpture of the
very finest quality, executed by or under the supeiin-
icndence of Phoidias. Of this sculpturu many speciuieiLS
are now in the Pritish jMuseum.
Fig. 5G.— Toe Roof op a Greek Doric Tumple, showim; the Marble Tilhs.
The construction of this temple was of the most solid
and durable kind, marble beiii<; the material used ; and
tlie -workmanship was most careful in every ])art of Avhich
remains have come down to us. The roof was, no doubt,
made of timber and covered with marble tiles (Fig. 5G),
carried on a timber framework, all traces of which have en-
tirely perished ; and the mode in which it was constructed
is a subject upon Avhich authoriiies diifer, . especially as
92
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
to what provision was made for tlie admission of light.
The internal columns, found in other temples as well
as in the Parthenon, were no doubt employed to support
tliis roof, as is sliown in Eotticher's restoration of the
Temple at Piestum which we reproduce (Fig. 56a), though
Avithout pledging ourselves to its accuracy ; for, indeed, it
i'lo. oGa.— Slction op the Greek Doric Temple at P^stua:. A5 restukes Br
lioTTICUEit.
SGcms prohahle that sometliing more or less like the clere-
story of a Gothic church must have been employed to
admit light to these buildings, as we know was the case
in the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. But this structure, if
it existed, has entirely disapjieared.*
The order of the Parthenon was Doric, and the lead-
ing proportions were as follows : — The column Avas 5-5G
* Mr. Fergussou's investigations, soon, it is understood, to be published
ill a complete form, clearly show that the clerestory and roof can be
restored with the greatest probability.
Corona
^ / Mutulcs . ,
Fhal't or Cjluran
Fig. 57.— The Celek Doric Orplb froji tde Tuecium.
94 CLASSIC ARCniTECTURB.
diameters bigli ; the whole height, including the stylohate
or steps, might be divided into nine parts, of which two
go to the stylobate, six to the column, and one to the
entablature.
The Greek Doric order is without a base ; the shaft of
the column springs from the top step and tapers towards
the top, the outline being not. however, straight, but of a
subtle curve, known technically as the entasis of the
column. This shaft is channelled with twenty shallow
channels,* the ridges separating one from another being
Fig. G9.— The Fillets
V^'L/EB A Ukeek Uuiiic
Capitai.
Tig. 5S.— Plan op a Gkeek
Doric Columm.
very fine lines. A little below the moulding of the
capital, fine sinkings, forming lines rounil the shaft, exist,
and above these the channels of the flutes are stopped
by or near the commencement of the projecting moulding
of the capital. This moulding, which is of a sectioa
calculated to convey the idea of powerful support, is
called the echinus, and its lower portion is encircled by a
series of fillets (Fig. 59), which are cut into it. Above
the echinus, which is circular, like tlie shaft, comes the
highest member — the abacus, a square stout slab of
marble, which completes the capital of the column. The
* In a few iustauces a smaller number is fouad.
GREEK DOaiC.
95
■whole is most skilfully designed to convey the idea ci
sturdy support, and yet to clothe the support -with grace.
Tlie strong proportions of the shaft, the slight curve
of its outline, the lines traced upon its surface by the
channels, and even the vigorous uncompromising planting
of it on the square step from Avhich it springs, all contri-
hute to made the column look strong. The check given
to the vigorous upward lines of the channels on the shaft
hy the first sinkings, and their arrest at the point -where
tlie capital spreads out, intensified as it is hy the series of
Tic CO.— Capitat, of a Greek Doric Cni.r.MN rr.oji JEr,isk,
WUll COLuUJiKD ljl.t01lAXlU.N.
horizontal line=5 drawn round the echinus hy the fillets
cut into it, all seem to convey the idea of spreading the
supporting energy of the column outwards;; and the abacus
appears naturally fitted, itself inert, to receive a burden
placed upon it and to transmit its pressure to the capital
and shaft below.
The entablature which formed the superstructure con-
sisted first of a square marble beam — the architrave,
■which, it may be assumed, represents a square timber
96 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
beam that occujiicd the same position in the primitive
5-^
^3S^..^^^^5^ ^^^^
jji^'ij^^t^Tg^^i^ j^i.^.dri3^LC^Q^Tc^JLg^
FMEUSuSMy
kia. 01.— Sectijx of the Entablati-:;e or the Griies Doric Older.
Fig. 02.— Plan, looking up, of part op a Greek Doric Peeistile.
structures. On this rests a second member called the
frieze, the prominent feature of which is a series of
GREEK DOUIC.
97
slightly projecting features, known as triglypLs (three
channels) (Fig. 63), from the channels running down
their face. These closely resemble, and no doubt actually
represent, the ends of massive timber beams, which must
have connected the colonnade to the wall of the cell in
earlier buildings. At the bottom of each is a row of
small pendants, kno^vn as guttte, which closely resemble
wooden pins, such as would be used to keep a timber
beam in place. The panels between the triglyphs are
Fig. G3.— Details op the Tkiglvpu
Fig. Gl.— Details op the
MniuLES.
usually as wide as they are high. They are termed
metopes, and sculpture commonly occupies them. The
third division of the entablature, the cornice, represents
the overhanging eaves of the roof.
The cornices employed in classic architecture may be
almost invariably subdivided into three parts : the support-
ing part, which is the lowest, — the projecting part, which is
the middle, — and the crowning part, which is the highest
division of the cornice. The supporting part in a Greek
Doric cornice is extremely small. There are no mouldings,
H
98 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
such as we sliall find in almost every other cornice,
calculated to cou\^ey the idea of contributing to sustain
the projection of the cornice, but there are slabs of marhle,
called mutules (Fig. 6i), dropping towards the outer end,
of which one is placed over each triglyph and one between
every two. These seem to recall, by their shape, their
jiosition, and their slope alike, the ends of the rafters of
a timber roof; and their surface is covered with small pro-
jections which resemble the heads of wooden pins, similar
to those already alluded to. The projecting part, in this
as in almost all cornices, is a plain upright face of some
height, called ** the corona," and recalling probably a
"facia" or flat narrow board such as a carpenter of the
present day would use in a similar position, secured in the
original structure to the ends of the rafters and support-
ing the eaves. Lastly, the crowning part is, in the Greek
Doric, a single convex moulding, not very dissimilar in
profile to the ovolo of the capital, and forming what we
commonly call an eaves-gutter.
At the ends of the building the two upper divisions of
the cornice — namely, the projecting corona and the croAvn-
ing ovolo — are made to follow the sloping line of the gable,
a second corona being also carried across horizontally in a
manner which can be best understood by inspecting a
diagram of the corner of a Greek Doric building (Fig. 57) ;
and the triangular space thus formed was termed a pedi-
ment, and was the position in which the finest of the sculp-
ture with which the building was enriched was placed.
In the Parthenon a continuous band of sculpture ran
round the exterior of the cell, near the top of the walL
One other feature was employed in Greek temple-arclii-
tccture. The anta was a square pillar or pier of masonry
attached to the wall, and corresponded very closely to our
GREEK DORIC. 09
pilaster; but its capital always differed from tliat of the
columns in the neighbourhood of "vvhich it was emjiloyed.
The antse of the Greek Doric order, as employed in the
Parthenon, have a moulded bas^ which it Avill be re-
membered is not the case Avith the column, and their
capital has for its principal feature an under-cut mould-
ing, known as the bird's beak, quite dissimilar from the
ovolo of the capital of the column (Fig. 65). Sometimes
the portico of a temple consisted of the side walls pro-
longed, and ending in two antfe, with two or more columns
standing between them. Such a portico is said to be iu
autis.
F;g. C5.— Elevation and Section op the Capital of a Greek Anta,
with coloured decoratiuss.
The Parthenon presents examples of the most extra-
ordinary refinements in order to correct optical illusions.
The delicacy and subtlety of these are extreme, but there
can be no manner of doubt that they existed. The best
known correction is the diminution in diameter or taper,
and the entasis or convex curve of the tapered outline of the
shaft of the column. ^Vithout the taper, which is per-
ceptible enough in the order of this building, and much
more marked in the order of earlier buildings, the columns
Avould look top-heavy ; but the entasis is an additional
optical correction to prevent their outline from appearing
hollowed, which it would have done had there been no curve.
The columns of the Parthenon have shafts that are over
31 ft. high, and diminish from a diameter of 6-15 ft. at
H 2
100 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE,
the "bottom to 4 "81 ft. at the top. The outline hetweeu
these points is convex, but so slightly so that the curve
departs at the point of greatest curvature not more than
f in. from the straight line joining the top and bottom.
This is, however, just sufficient to correct the tendency to
look hollow in the middle.
A second correction is intended to overcome the appa-
rent tendency of a building to spread outwards towards
the top. This is met by inclining the columns slightly
inwards. So slight, however, is the inclination, that were
the axes of two columns on opposite sides of the Par-
thenon continued upwards till they met, the meeting-
point would be 1952 yards, or, in other words, more than
one mile from the ground.
Another optical correction is applied to the horizontal
lines. In order to overcome a tendency which exists in all
long lines to seem as though they droop in the middle,
the lines of the architrave, of the top step, and of other
horizontal features of the buildings, are all slightly curved.
Tiie difference between the outline of the top step of the
Parthenon and a straight line joining its two ends is at
the greatest only just over 2 inches.
The last correction Avhich it is necessary to name here
■was applied to the vertical proportions of the building.
The princi[>les upon which this correction rests have been
demonstrated by Mr. John Pennethorne ; * and it would
hardly come within the sco2:)e of this volume to attempt
to state them here : suffice it to say, that small addi-
tions, amounting in the entire height of the order to less
than 5 inches, were made to the heights of the various
members of the order, with a view to secure that from
one definite point of view the effect of foreshortening
* ' Geometry and Optics of Ancient Architecture.'
GREEK Dorac. 101
should be exactly compensated, and so the huilJing should
appear to the spectator to be perfectly proportioned.
The Parthenon, like niany, if not all Greek buildings,
Avas profusely decorated with coloured ornaments, of which
nearly every trace has now disappeared, but which must
have contributed largely to the splendid beauty of the
building as a whole, and must have emi)hasised and set
off its parts. The ornaments known as Doric frets were
largely employed. They consist of patterns made entirely
of straight lines interlacing, and, while preserving the
severity which is characteristic of the style, they permit
of the introduction of considerable richness.
The principal remaining examples or fragments of Greek
Doric may be enumerated as follows: —
Ix Greece.
Temple of (':') Athena, at Corinth, ab. 650 B.C.
Tem le of (?) Zeus, in the island of -iEijioa, ab. 550 B.C.
Temple of Theseus (Theseium), at Athens, 465 B.C.
Temple of Athena (Parthenon), on the Acropolis at Atliens, fin. 438 e.g.
The Propylrea, on the Acropolis at Athens, 436—431 B.C.
Temple of Zeus at Olympia.
Temple of Apollo Epicurius, at Basspe,* in Arcadia (designed by Ictinus).
Temple of Apollo Epicurius, at Phigaleia, in Arcadia (built by Ictinus).
Temple of Athena, on the rock of Suuium, in Attica.
Temple of Nemesis, at Khainuus, in Attica.
Temple of Demeter (Ceres), at Eleusis, in Attica.
In Sicily and South Italy.
Temple of (?) Zeus, at Agrigentum, in Sicily (begun B.C. 4S0).
Temple of .lEgesta (or Segesta), in Sicily.
Temple of (?) Zeus, at Seliuus, in Sicily (? ab. 410 B.C.).
Temple of (?) Athena, at Syracuse, in Sicily.
Temple of Poseidon, at Poestum, in South of Italy (? ab. 550 B.C.).
* ? Exterior Doric — Interior Ionic.
Fig. ee.— Paljieite and Hoseysucklk.
CHAPTEE YI.
GREEK ARCHITECTURE.
Buildings of the Ionic and Corinthian Orders.
THE Doric was the order in uliicli the full .strengtli and
the complete refinement of the artistic character of
the Greeks "were most completely shown. There was a great
deal of the spirit of severe dignity proper to Egyptian
art in its aspect ; but other nationalities contributed to
the formation of the many-sided Greek nature, and we
must look to some other country than Eg^^pt for the spirit
which inspired the Ionic order. This seems to have been
brought into Greece by a distinct race, and shows marks
of an Asiatic origin. The feature Avhich is most dis-
tinctive is the one most distinctly Eastern — the capital of
the column, ornamented always by volutes, i.e. scrolls,
which bear a close resemblance to features similarly
employod in the columns found at Persepolis. The same
resemblance can be also detected in the moulded bases,
and even the shafts of the columns, and in many of the
oroaments employed throughout the buildiii"'?.
GREEK 10. Via
103
In form and disposition an ordinary Ionic toniplo was
similar to one of the Doric order, but the general propor-
tions are more slender, and the mouldings of the onler
are more numerous and more profusely enriched. Tlio
column in the Ionic order had a base, often elaborately
Fio. 67.— Shaft op Ionic
CoLUiirr sHowisG the Flutes.
±10. 09.— Ionic Capital. Sius
ELETATIOIf.
1
"1
i
... 1
1
n
1
^
!
Fio. 68.— losic Capital. Fkoni Klevatio:?.
and sometimes singularly moulded (Figs. 74, 75). The
shaft (Figs. 67, 70) is of more slender proportions than
the Doric shaft. It was fluted, but its channels are more
numerous, and are separated from one another by broader
104 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
fillets than in the Doric. The distinctive feature, as in
all the orders, is the capital (Figs, G8, 69), Avhich is
recognised at a ghmce by the two remarkahle ornaments
already alluded to as like scrolls, and known as volute_s.
These generally formed the faces of a pair of cushion-
shaped features, which could be seen in a side view of
the capital ; but sometimes volutes stand in a diagonal
position, and in almost every building they differ slightly.
The abacus is less deep than in the Greek Doric, and
it is always moulded at the edge, \yhich was never the
case with the Doric abacus. The entablature (Fig. 70)
is, generally speaking, riclier than that of the Doric order.
The architrave, for example, has three facias instead of
being plain. On the other hand, the frieze has no triglyphs,
and but rarely sculpture. There are more members in
the cornice, several mouldings being combined to fortify
the supporting portion. These have sometimes been
termed "the bed mouldings ; " and among them occurs one
wdiich is almost typical of the order, and is termed a
dentil band. This moulding presents the appearance of
a plain square band of stone, in which a series of cuts had
been made dividing it into blocks somewhat resembling
teeth, whence the name. Such an ornament is more
naturally constructed in Avood than in stone or marble, bu:
if the real derivation of the Ionic order, as of the Doric,
be in fact from timber structures, the dentil band is
apparently the only feature in which that origin can noAv
be traced. The crowning member of the cornice is a
partly hollow moulding, technically called a " cyma recta,"
less vigorous than the convex ovolo, of the Doric : this
moulding, and some of the bed mouldings, were com-
monly enriched with carving. Altogether more slender-
ness and less vigour, more carved enrichment and less
painted decoration, more reliance on architectural orna-
i^-..i . - -^.-^i:!
Tig. 70.— The losic Oedek. TfiOii Peiexe, Asia JIi.nob.
Cjma rrct.T.
Jio. 71. —Ionic Ukuhk. t'iiui» liiii KKtcuxHKiDM, Atul»n3,
GREKK IONIC.
107
mciit and less on the work of the sculptor, appear to
distinguish those examples of Greek Ionic which havo
come down to us, as compared with Doric buildings.
The most numerous examples of the Ionic order of
which remains exist are found in Asia ]\linor, but the
most refined and complete is the Erechtheium at Athens
Fig. "2.— Noeth-west View op the Erechtheium, i.n tue Time nr r:,;i:cLE3
(Figs. 72, 73), a composite structure containing three
temples built in juxtaposition, but differing from one
another in scale, levels, dimensions, and treatment. The
principal order from the Erechtheium (Eig. 71) shows a
large amount of enrichment introduced with the most
refined and severe taste. Specially remarkable are the
ornaments (borrowed from the Assyrian honeysuckle)
108
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
Avliicli encircle the upper part of the sliaft at the point
where it passes into the capital, and the splendid spirals
of the volutes (Fi-s. G8, GO). The basis of the columns
Fig. 73.— riAN op the ERrcniHEiCM.
.^,
J
Fig. 74.— Ionic Base from thb
TEilPLE OF THE WiNULESS VlC-
loEY (Nike Apteros).
Fig. 75.— Toxic Base Mouldings
FROM Priene.
in tlie Erechtheium example are models of elegance and
beauty. Those of some of the examples from Asia ]\Iinor
GUEEK lOXIC, 100
are overloaded with a vast number of mouLlings, by no
means always producing a pleasing effect (Figs. 74, 75).
Some of them bear a close resemblance to the bases of the
columns at Persopolis.
The most famous Greek building -which was erected in
the Ionic style -was tlie Temple of Diana at Ephesus.
This temple has been all but totally destroyed, and the
very site of it had been for centuries lost and unknown
till the energy and sagacity of an English architect (i\[r.
AVood) enabled him to discover and dig out the vestiges
of the building. Fortunately sufficient traces of the
foundation have remained to render it possible to recover
the plan of the temple completely ; and the discovery of
fragments of the order, together with representations on
ancient coins and a description by Pliny, have rendered
it possible to make a restoration on paper of the general
appearance of this famous temple, which must be very
nearly, if not absolutely, correct.
The Avails of this temple enclosed, as usual, a cella (in
which was the statue of the goddess), with apparently
a treasury behind it : they Avere entirely surrounded by a
double series of columns, with a pediment at each end.
The exterior of the building, including these columns, was
about twice the Avidth of the cella. The Avhole structure,
Avhich Avas of marble, Avas planted on a spacious platform
Avith steps. The account of Pliny refers to thirty-six
columns, Avhich he describes as " columnce celafce " (sculp-
tured columns), adding that one Avas by Scopas, a very
celebrated artist. The fortunate discovery by Mr. "Wood
of a fcAV fragments of these columns shoAvs that the lower
part of the shaft immediately above the base Avas enriched
by a group of figures — about life-size — carved in the
boldest relief and encircling the column. One of these
groups has been brought to the British Museum, and its
110 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
beauty and vigour enable the imagination partly to restore
this splendid feature, vdiich. certainly was one of the most
sumptuous modes of decorating a building by the aid of
sculpture which has ever been attempted ; and tlae etTuct
must have been rich, beyond description.
It is worth remark that the Erechtheium, which has
been already referred to, contains an example of a different,
and perhaps a not less remarkable, mode of combining
sculpture with architecture. In one of its three porticoes
(Fig. 72) the columns are replaced by standing female
figures, known as caryatids, and the entablature rests on
their heads. This device has frecp^iently been repeated in
ancient and in modern architecture, but, except in some
comparatively obscure examples, the sculptured columns
of Ephesus do not appear to have been imitated.
Another famous Greek Avork of art, the remains of
which have been, like the Temple of Diana, disinterred by
the energy and skill of a learned Englishman, belonged
to the Ionic order. To Mr. Newton we owe the recovery
of the site, and considerable fragments of the architectural
features, of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the
ancient wonders of the world. The general outline of
this monument must have resembled other Greek tombs
which have been preserved, such, for example, as the Lion
Tomb at Cnidus ; that is to say, tho plan was square :
there was a basement, above this an order, and above that
a steep pyramidal roof rising in steps, not carried to a
point, but stopjiing short to form a platform, on which
was placed a quadriga (or four-horsed chariot). This
building is known to have been richly sculptured, and
many fragments of great beauty have been recovered.
Indeed it was probably its elaboration, as Avell as its
very unusual height (for the Greek buildings were seldom
lofty), which led to its being so celebrated.
^Y<IICPATH< A/*IGEIAOY KIKYNEY* EXOPHTEI
ftKAMANTIt nAIAONENIKAO EnNHY\EI
AYtlAAHSA9HNAI0SEil6A«KEfYAINET0SHPXE
IC^
Fig. 70.— The Coeisthias Obdee. From the Mosumest op Ltsiceates at Atuess.
112
CLASSIC ARCniTECTURE.
The Corintliian order, the last to make its appearance,
■was almost as much Eoman as Greek, and is hardly found
ill any of the great temples of the best period of which
remains exist in Greece, though we hear of its use. For
example, Pausanias states that the Corinthian order "was
employed in the interior of the Temple of Athena Alea at
Tegea, built by Scopas, to which a date shortly after the
year 394 B.C. is assigned. The examples which Ave possess
Fig. 77.— Corinthias Capital from iue Mo.nd.mexi of Ltsichates at Athens.
are comparatively small works, and in them the order
resembles the Tonic, but with the important exceptions
that the capital of the column is quite different, that the
proportions are altogether a little slenderer, and that the
enrichments are somewhat more florid.
The capital of the Greek Corinthian order, as seen in
the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens (Fig. 78)
— a comparatively miniature example, but the most perfect
we have — is a work of art of marvellous beauty (Fig. 77).
Fig. 7S.-Mo.NnJiiisi to Lysicrates at Aihenb, as im ihb Timb op Pericles.
114
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
It retains a feature resembling the Ionic voliile, but
} educed to a very small size, set obliquely and appear-
ing to spring from tlie sides of a kind of long bell-shaped
termination to the column. This bell is clothed with
foliage, symmetrically arranged and much of it studied,
but in a conventional manner, from the graceful foliage
of the acanthus ; between the two small volutes appears
an Assyrian honeysuckle, and tendrils of honeysuckle,
conventionally treated, occupy part of the upper portion
of the capital. The abacus is moulded, and is curved on
plan, and the base of the capital is marked by a very
unusual turning-down of the flutes of the columns. The
entire structure to which this belonged is a model of
elegance, and the large sculj^tured mass of leaves and
tendrils with which it is crowned is especially noteworthy.
%;M^ikJ>lJZKil t u, L la; L
^"f-T- ''y ^ r-- ^
Fjc. "9.— Capitai of Ant^ from Miletus. Side View.
A somewhat simpler Corinthian capital, and another of
very rich design, are found in the Temple of Apollo Didy-
mteus at Miletus, where also a very elegant capital for the
antse — or pilasters — is employed (Figs. 79, 81). A more
ornamental design for a capital could hardly be adopted
than that of the Lysicrates example, but there was room for
more elaboration in the entablature, and accordingly large
1 2
IIG CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
riclily-sculptured brackets seem to have been introduced,
and a profusion of ornament was employed. The examples
of this treatment which remain are, however, of Iloman
origin rather than Greek.
The Greek cities must have included structures of
great beauty and adapted to many purposes, of which in
most cases few traces, if any, have been preserved. We
have no remains of a Greek palace, or of Greek dwelling-
houses, although those at Pompeii were probably erected
and decorated hy Greek artificers, for Eoman occupation.
The agora of a Greek city, which was a place of public
assembly something like the Eoman Forum, is knowji to
ns only by descriptions in ancient "writers, but Ave possess
some remains of Greek theatres ; and from these, aided by
Eoman examples and written descriptions, can understand
what these buildings were. The auditory was curved
in plan, occupying rather more than a semicircle ; the
seats rose in tiers one behind another; a circular space
was reserved for the chorus in the centre of the seats,
and behind it Avas a raised stage, bounded by a Avail
forming its back and sides : a rough notion of the arrange-
ment can be obtained from the lecture theatre of many
modern colleges, and our illustration (Fig. 80) gives a
general idea of Avhat must have been the appearance of
one of these structures. ]\Iuch of the detail of these
buildings is, however, a matter of pure speculation, and
consequently does not enter into the scheme of this
manual.
on: VX>'7))'7ID30)DIi3IDTjD])l>JljIuI
f
i'lG. 81.— Capital op A.m^ prom Miletus
CHAPTER VII.
CREEK ARCniTECTURE.
Ajicclijsis.
THE Ph.oi or floor-disposition of a Greek building
was always simple however great its extent, was
well judged for effect, and capable of being understood
at once. The grandest results were obtained by simple
means, and all confusion, uncertainty, or complication
were scrupulously avoided. Pielined precision, order, sym-
metry, and exactness mark tlie plan as well as every part
of the work.
The plan of a Greek temple may be said to present
many of the same elements as that of an Egyptian temple,
but, so to speak, turned inside out. Columns are relied on
by the Greek artist, as they were by the Egyptian artist,
as a means of giving effect ; but they are jilaced by him
outside the building instead of within its courts and halls.
The Greek, starting Avith a comparatively small nucleus
formed by tlie cell and the treasury, encircles them by
118 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
a magnificent girdle of pillars, and so makes a grand
ptructure, the first hint or suggestion being in all proha-
hility to be found in certain small Egyptian buildings to
"which, reference has already been made. The disposition
of these columns and of the great range of steps, or
stylobate, is the most maiked feature in Greek temple
plans. Columns also existed, it is true, in the interior of
the building, but these were of smaller size, and seem to
have been introduced to aid in carrying the roof and the
clerestor}', if there was one. They have in several in-
stances disappeared, and there is certainly no ground for
supposing that in any Greek interior the grand but
oppressive effect of a hypostyle hall was attempted to be
reproduced. That was abandoned, together with the
complication, seclusion, and gloom of the long series of
chambers, cells, &c., placed one behind another, just as
the contrasts and surprises of the series of courts and
lialls following in succession were abandoned for tlie one
simple but grand mass built to be seen from without
rather than from within. In the greater number of Greek
buildings a degree of precision is exhibited, to which the
Egyptians did not attain. All right angles are absolutely
true ; the setting-out (or spacing) of the different columns,
piers, openings, &c., is perfectly exact ; and, in the Par-
thenon, the patient investigations of JMr. Penrose and other
skilled observers have disclosed a degree of accuracy as
well as refinement Avhich resembles the precision with
which astronomical instruments are adjusted in Europe
at the present day, rather than the rough-and-ready
measurements of a modern mason or bricklayer.
What the plans of Greek palaces miglit have exhibited,
did any remains exist, is merely matter for inference
and conjecture, and it is not proposed in this volume to
ANALYSIS — GREEK. 119
pnss far beyoml asccvtainod and observed facts. Tlioro
can bo, however, little doubt that the palaces of the "West
Asiatic style must have at least contributed suggestions
as to internal disposition of the later and more magni-
ficent Greek mansions. The ordinary dwelling-houses of
citizens, as described by ancient writers, resembled those
now visible in the disinterred cities of Pompeii and
Herculaneum, ■which "will be referred to under Eoman
Architecture.* The chief characteristic of the plan of
these is that they retain the disposition which in the
temples was discarded ; that is to say, all the doors and
Avindows looked into an inner court, and the house was
as far as possible secluded within an encircling wall.
The contrast between the openness of the public life
led by the men in Greek cities, and the seclusion of the
women and the families when at home, is remarkably
illustrated by this difference between the public and
private buildings.
The plan of the triple building called the Erechtheiura
(Fig. 72) deserves special mention, as an example of an
exceptional arrangement which appears to set the ordinary
laws of symmetry at defiance, and which is calculated to
produce a result into which the ] icturesque enters at least
as much as the beautiful. Though the central temple is
symmetiical, the tw'o attached porticoes are not so, and
do not, in position, dimensions, or treatment, balance one
another. The result is a charming group, and we cannot
doubt that other examples of freedom of planning would
have been found, had more remains of the architecture of
the great cities of Greece come down to our own day.
In public buildings other than temples — such as the
* See Chap. IX.
120 CLASSIC ARCHITECTUnB.
theatre, the agora, and the basilica — the Greek architects
seem to have had great scope for their genius ; the plan-
ning of the theatres shows skilful and thoroughly com-
plete provisions to meet the requirements of the case. A
circular disjiosition was here introduced — not, it is true,
for the first time, since it is rendered probable by the re-
presentations on sculptured slabs that some circular build-
ings existed in Assyria, and circular buildings remain in
the archaic works at Mycense ; but it was now elaborated
with remarkable completeness, beauty, and mastery over
all the difficulties involved. Could we see the great
theatre of Athens as it was when perfect, we should
])robably find that as an interior it Avas almost unrivalled,
alike for convenience and for beauty; and for these ex-
cellences it was mainly indebted to the elegance of its
planning. The actual floor of many of the Greek temples
appears to have been of marble of different colours.
r/,e Walls.
The construction of the walls of the Greek temples
rivalled that of the Egyptians in accuracy and beauty
of workmanship, and resembled them in the use of solid
materials. The Greeks had within reach quarries of
marble, the most beautiful material Avhich nature has
provided for the use of the builder ; and great fineness of
surface and high finish were attained. Some interesting
examples of huUow walling occur in the construction of
the Parthenon. The wall was not an element of the
building on which the Greek architect seemed to dwell
with pleasure ; much of it is almost invariably over-
shadowed by the lines of columns which form the main
features of the builJiu'^.
ANALYSIS — GUEEK. 121
The pciliment (ov gablu) of a temple is a grand dcvolop-
inent of the "vvalls, and perhaps the most striking of the
additions which the Greeks made to the resources of the
arcliitect. It offers a tine iield for sculpture, and adds real
and apparent heiglit beyond anything that the Egyptians
ever attempted since the days of the Pyramid-builders;
and it lias remained in constant use to the present hour.
"We do not hear of towers being attached to buildings,
and, although such monumental structures as the ]\Iauso-
Icura of Ilalicarnassus approached the projiortions of a
tuwer, height does not seem to have commended itself to
the mind of the Greek architect as necessary to the build-
ings which he designed. It was reserved for Roman and
Christian art to introduce this element of architectural
etfect in all its power. On the other hand, the Greek,
like the Persian architect, emphasised the base of his
building in a remarkable maimer, not only by base mould-
ings, but by i)lanting the whole structure on a gieit
range of steps which formed an essential part of the
composition.
The Roof.
The construction of tlie roofs of Greek temples has
been the subject of much debate. It is almost certain
that they were in some way so made as to admit light.
They were framed of timber and covered by tiles, often,
if not always, of marble. Although all traces of the
timber framing have disappeared, Ave can at least know
that the pitch was not steep, by the slojje of the outline
of the pediments, which formed, as has already been said,
l)erhaps the chief glory of a Greek temple. The flat stone
roo!s sometimes used by the Egyptians, and necessitating
the placing of columns or other supports close together,
122 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
seem to Lave become disused, with the exception that
wliere a temple was surrounded by a range of columns
the space between the main wall and the columns was so
covered.
The vaulted stone roofs of the archaic buildings, of
wliich the treasury of Atreus (Figs. 52, 52a) was the
type, do not seem to have prevailed in a later period, or,
so far as we know, to have been succeeded by any similar
covering or vault of a more scientific constiuction.
It is hardly necessary to add that the Greek theatres
were not roofed. The Romans shaded the spectators in
their theatres and amphitheatres by means of a velarium
or awning, but it is extremely doubtful whether even
this expedient was in use in Greek theatres.
T/ie Openings.
The most important characteristic of the openings in
Greek buildings is that they were flat-topped, — covered
by a lintel of stone or marble, — and never arched. We
Lave already * shown that this circumstance is really of
the first importance as determining the architectural
character of buildings. Doors and window openings were
o'ten a little narrower at the top than the bottom, and
were marked by a band of mouldings, known as the archi-
trave, on the face of the wall, and, so to speak, framing
in the opening. There was often also a small cornice over
each (Figs. 82, 83). Openings Avere seldom advanced
into prominence or employed as features, in the exterior
of a building; in fact, tlie same effects which windows
produce in otlier styles were in Greek buildings created
by the interspaces between the columns.
* Chap. I.
AXAL1SIS — GREEK.
The Cohnnm.
These features, togetlier uitli the superstructure or
entaLlature, "which they customarily carried, were the
prominent parts of Greek architecture, occupying as they
did tlie entire height of the building. The development
of tlie orders (which we luive explained to be really deco-
rative systems, each of -which involved the use of one sort
of column, thnigh the term is constantly understood as
meaning merely the column and entablature) is a very
interesting subject, and illustrates the acuteness -with
■which the Greeks selected from those models which were
accessible to them, exactly what was suited to their
Fig. 8;i — GKtJiK
Doorway, show-
isg coksice.
Pig. SC— Greek Doorway, Front Vie'.t.
(From the Erechiheiuai.)
purpose, and the skill with which they altered and
refined, and almost redesigned, everything which they
so selected.
During the whole period when Greek art was being
developed, the ancient and polished civilisation of Egypt
124 CLASSIC AnCIIITECTURE,
constituted a most powerful and most stable influence,
always present, — always, comparatively speaking, within
reach, — and always the same. Of all tlie forms of column
and capital existing in Egypt, the Greeks, however, only
selected that straight-sided fluted type of "wbicli the
Beni-Hassan example is the best known, but by no
means the only instance. We first meet with these fluted
columns at Corinth, of very sturJy proportions, and
having a wide, swelling, clumsy moulding under the
abacus by way of a capital. By degrees the proportions
of the shaft grew more slender, and the proMle of the
capital more elegant and less bold, till the perfected per-
fections of the Greek Doric column were attained. This
column is the original to Avhich all culumns with moulded
capitals that have beeu used in architecture, from the
age of Pericles to our own, may be directly or indirectly
referred ; while the Egyptian types wliich the Greeks did
not select — such, for example, as the lotus-columns at
Karnak — have never been perpetuated.
A ditferent temper or taste, an I partly a difl'erent
history, led to the selection of the West Asiatic types
of column by a section of the Greek people ; but great
alterations in proportion, in the treatment of the capital,
and in the management of the mmilded base from wliich
the columns sprang, were made, even in the orders which
occur in the Ionic buildings of Asia INIinor. This was
carried further when the Ionic order was made use of in
Athens herself, and as a result the Attic base and the
perfected Ionic capital are to be found at their best in the
Erechtheiura example. The Ionic order and the Corin-
thian, which soon followed it, are the parents, — not, it is
true, of all, but of the greater part of the columns with
foliated capitals that have been used in all styles and
ANALYSIS — GREEK. 125
poiioJs of arcliitccture since. It Avill not be forgotten
tliat rude types of "both orders are found represented on
Assyrian bas-reliefs, but still the Corinthian capital and
orvler must be considered as the natural and, so to speak,
inevitable development of the Ionic. From the Corinthian
capital an nnbroken series of foliated capitals can be triced
down to our own day ; almost tlie only new ornamented
type ever devised since being that which takes its origin
in the Komanesque block capital, known to us in England
as the early Kornian cushion capital : this was certainly
the parent of a distinct scries, though even these owe not
a little to Greek originals.
"We have alludetl to the Ionic base. It was derived
from a very tali one in use at Persepolis, and we meet
with it first in the rich but clumsy forms of the bases in
the Asia Minor examples. In them we find the height of
the feature as used in Persia compressed, while great, and
to our eyes eccentric, elaloration marked the mouldings :
these the refinement of Attic taste afterwards simplified,
till the profile of the well-known Attic base was produced
— a base Avhich has had as wide and lasting an influence
as either of the original forms of capital.
The Corinthian order, as has been above remarked, is
the natural sequel of the Ionic. Had Greek architecture
continued till it fell into decadence, this order would
have been the badge of it. As it was, the decadence of
Greek art was Roman art, and the Corinthian order was the
favourite order of the Eomans ; in fact all the important
examples of it which remain are Eoman work.
If we remember how invariably use was made of one
or other of the two great types of the Greek order in all
the buildings of the best Greek time, with the addition
towards its close of the Corinthian order, and that these
126 CLASSIC ARCIIITECTUrvE.
orders, a little more subdivided and a good deal modified,
have formed the substratum of Eomaa architecture and of
that in use during the last three centuries ; and if we also
bear in mind that nearly all the columnar architecture of
Early Christian, Byzantine, Saracenic, and Gothic times,
owes its forms to the same great source, we may well
admit that the invention and perfecting of the orders of
Greek architecture has been — with one exception — the
most important event in the architectural history of the
world. Tliat exception is, of course, the introduction of
the Arch,
The Ornaments.
Greek ornaments have exerted the same wide influence
over the whole course of Western art as Greek columns ;
and in their origin they are equally interesting as spe-
cimens of Greek skill in adapting existing types, and of
Greek invention where no existing types would serve.
Few of the mouldings of Greek architecture are to be
traced to anterior styles. There is nothing like them
in Egyptian work, and little or nothing in Assyrian ; and
though a suggestion of some of them may no doubt be
found in Persian examples, we must take them as having
been substantialiy originated by Greek genius, which felt
that they were wanted, designed them, and brought them
far towards absolute perfection. They were of the most
refined form, and when enriched were carved wilh con-
summate skill. They were executed, it must be remem-
bered, in white marble, — a material having the finest
surface, and capable of responding to the most delicate
variations in contour by corresponding changes in shade
or light in a manner and to a degree which no other
material can equal. In the Doric, mouldings were few,
ANALYSIS — GREEK. 127
and almost always convex; they became much more nunie-
ruus ill the later styles, and then included many of
concave profile. The chief are the ovoLO, which formed
the curved part of the Doric capital, and the crowning
moulding of the Doric cornice ; the cyma ; the bird's beak,
employed in the capitals of the anta3 ; the fillets under
the Doric capital ; the hollows and torus mouldings of
the Ionic and Corinthian bases.
The profiles of these mouldings -were very rarely seg-
ments of circles, but lines of varying curvature, capable of
producing the most delicate changes of light and shade,
and contours of the most subtle grace. Many of them
correspond to conic sections, but it seems probable that
the outlines were drawn by hand, and not obtained by
any mechanical or mathematical method.
The mouldings were some of them enriched, to use the
. technical word, by having such ornaments cut into them
or carved on them as, tliough simple in form, lent them-
selves well to repetition.* "Where more room for ornament
existed, and especially in the capitals of the Ionic and
Corinthian orders, ornaments were Ireely and most grace-
fully carved, and very symmetrically arranged. Though
these were very various, yet most of them can be classed
under three heads. (1.) Frets (Figs. IIG to 120). These
were patterns made up of squares or L-shaped lines inter-
laced and made to seem intricate, though originally simple.
Frequently these patterns are called Doric frets, from
their having been most used in buildings of the Doric
order. (2.) Honeysuckle (Figs. 94 and 111 to 114). This
ornament, admirably conventionalised, had been used
freely by the Assyrians, and the Greeks only adopted
* For a statement of the general rule goveruiug such enrichments,
see page li>3.
128
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
"vrLat they foimd ready to their hand when they hegnn
to nse it ; but they refined it, at the same time losing no
■\vhit of its vigour or effectiveness, and the honeysuckle
has come to be known as a typical Greek decorative
moiif. (3.) Acanthus (Figs. 84 and 85). Tliis is a broad-
leaved plant, the foliage and stems of which, treated in a
conventional manner, though with but little departnre
from nature, were found admirably adapted for floral
decorative work, and accordingly were made use of in the
foliage of the Corinthian capital, and in such ornaments
as, for example, the great finial which forms the summit
of tlie Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.
Fig. 84.— The AcA.Niuui Leaf a.ni> Stalk.
The beauty of the carving was, liowever, eclipsed by
that highest of all ornaments — sculpture. In the Doric
temples, as, for example, in the Parthenon, the architect
contented himself with providing suitable spaces for the
sculptor to occupy ; and thus the great pediments, the
metopes (Fig. 86) or square panels, and the frieze of the
Parthenon were occupied by sculpture, in which there
V. as no necessity for more conventionalism than the
amount of artificial arrangement needed in order fitly
GREEK,
129
to occupy spices tliat were respectively triangular, square,
or continuous. In the later and more voluptuous style
of the Ionic temples we find sculpture made into an
architectural feature, as in the famous statues, known as
tlie Caryatides, which support the smallest portico of
the Erechthoium, and in the enriched columns of the
Temple of Diana at Ephesus. Sculpture had already
Leen so employed in Egypt, and was often so used in later
times; but tlic best opportunity for the displ;iy of tin;
finest qualities of the
sculptor's art is such an
one as the pediments, &c.,
of tlie great Doric temples
allbrded.
There is little room for
doubting that all the
Greek temples were richly
decorated in colours, but
traces and indications are
all that remain : these,
however, are sufiicicut to
prove that a very large
amount of colour was cm-
ployed, and that probably
ornaments (Fi^s. 105 to 120) were painted "upon many of
those surfaces which were left plain by the mason,
especially on the cornices, and that mosaics (Fig. 87) and
coloured marbles, and even gilding, Avere freely used.
There is also ground for believing that as the use of
carved enrichments increased with the increasing adop-
tion of the Ionic and Corinthian styles, less use wn<5 mido
of painted decorations.
Fig. '.J.— The Aca.ntiil'S Leap.
130
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
A rch itedural Cli aradcr.
Ob;crvations whicli liavc been made during the course of
this and the previous chapters will have gone far to point
out the characteristics of Greek art. An archaic and
almost forbidding severity, with heavy proportions and
r^^s;^^=^
Pig. 8G.— Metope froii the Partuenox. CoNptior beiweek
A CeXIAUK AXi; 0^'E OF TUB LaPITH^
more strength than grace, marks the earliest Greek build-
ings of which Ave have any fragments remaining. Dignity,
sobrietj^, refinement, and beauty are the qualities of the
works of the best period. The latest buildings were
more rich, more ornate, and more slender in their pro-
portions, and to a certain extent less severe.
Cr.EEIv.
131
^[ost carefully studied jiroportions prevailed, and weie
wrought out to a pitch of completeness and reiinemeut
which is truly astouudiug. Symmetry was the all bub
Tig. Sr.— Mosaic feom iue Temple of Zeus, Olympia.
invariable law of composition. Tet in certam resi)octs — ■
as, for example, the spacing aiul position of the columns —
a degree of freedom Avas enjoyed which Eonian archi-
K 2
Kic. S?.— Sr.CTi )N OF THi! P,):tTico OF Tnc Kr.rcHTHE;r.'.r.
Pig. 80 —Plan- of the Portico— Lookisg cp.
EXAMPLES OF GREEK ORN'AMENT
I.N TEi; NORinES.N PoailCO of the EkECIITHEIC.M- SUOWIMG IlIE 0K.N'AME.N"IA.TI0S
OF TUli C'EllOG.
GnuKK'.
i;
tcciuro did not pcssoss, Hcpctition rulcil to the almost
entile suppression of variety. Disclosure of the arrani^e-
ment and construction of the building uas almost coni-
plcto, and hardly a tra(*6 of concealment can he detected.
8imiilicity reigns in the earliest examples; the elaho-
ration of even the most ornamental is very chaste and
graceful ; and th(3 ^vh^llc eircct of Greek architecture is
one of harmony, unity, and relined power.
A genoial principle seldom pointed out \vhich governs
the application of enrichments to mouldings in Greek
architecture may he cited as a good instance of the sublle
yet admirable concord Avhich existed between the different
features : it is as follows. Tlie oufUne of each enrichment in
relief was ordinarihj descrihe.d by the same line as the profle
of the moulding to ichich it was applied. The egg enrich-
ment (Fig. 91) on th^^ ovolo, the Avater-leaf on the cyma
reveisa (Figs. 92 and 97), the honeysuckle on the cyma
recta (Fig, 94), and the guilloche (Fig. 100) on the torus,
a;e examples cf the application of this rule, — one which
obviously tends to produce harmony.
l''lG. IJU.— CAl'l'lAL UF AMiE FROM THE EhECUTUEIUM.
134
CLASSIC AKCHITECTUIiE.
FiG. ui.^Egg anli 1)akt.
i'"iG. U:;.— LtAF A.ND J-)AKT. J
Fig. 93.— IIonetsuckle.
Fig. 9-1.— HoNETsrcKLE.
Fig. Ui.— .-icANTius. Fig. 9C.— ArA.Nxnus
EX.ViirLFS OF GREEK OIINAMENT JX IIELIEF.
GREEK ORNAMENT.
135
I'Ki. 11,'.— Leaf a.nli Tum.i
lu,. us.— Leak a.nij Tu.nole.
I'lG. UL.-CJAKLAMl
l'";(i. luu.— GL';LLi.tiii;.
Fl(i. lUJ.— TuKls itulLLiING.
I'lu. 104.— Torus JIoulliing.
EXAMPLES CF GREEK ORNAMENT IN RELIEF.
13G
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
#^-'^
4
it-
I'iG. lOo.— Honeysuckle.
ilo. lur.— Uu-NLViLLkLfc
Ties. lOG, lOS.— Facias with Bands of Foliage.
Fig. 100 —Leaf and Dart.
:;;;;;;:;:t
F;g. 110.— Egg and Dart.
EX.^ilPLES OF GREEK ORX.UIENT IN COLOUR.
GREEK ORNAMENT.
13;
iif®ii®ir
4:
lll'll -illl' t'
"''iiJi'l
1'"1G. 113.
^111*!!, Ill it: .'I
MmMSJW
Tig. 112.
FiG. li:..— Glil-
LOCHE.
Figs. Ill to 113.— Examples op the IIosetsuckie.
Fig. 114.— Co-mbixatiok of the Fret, the Egg and Dart, the Bead
AND Fillet, anh the IIu.neysuckle.
Pli^il
E
0V4fi
liG. lui. Fig. I'JO.
FlCra. lie TO IJO.— i;:',A.MrLC_l 0.-' THE FrET.
EX.VMPLES OF GREEK ORNAMENT IN COLOUR.
f 10. 121.— Elevaiios of an £TK^SCA^■ Tii.yrLE (KtsroujiD PKuii hescuii'IIO.ns only).
CHAPTEr. VIII.
ETKUSCAX AND ROMAN AKCIIITECTURE.
Historical and General Sketch.
qpj
4IE few grains of truth tliat we are able to sift from
X the ma.-s of legend Avhich has accumulated round
the early history of liome seem to indicate that at a very
early period — whicli the generally received date of 753 B.C.
may be taken to fix as nearly as is now possible — a small
liand of outcasts and marauders settled themselves on
the Palatine Hill and commenced to carry on depreda-
tions against the various cities of the tribes whose ter-
ritories -were in the immediate neighbourhood, such as
the Umbrians, Sabincs, Samnites, Latins, and Etruscans.
A ■walled city Avas built, Avhich from its admirable situ-
ation succeeded in attracting inhabitants in considerable
ETRUSCxVN. 139
iiumljors, and speedily Lcgan to exercise supremacy over
its iieigliboiu's. The most important of the neighbour-
ing nations Avere the Etruscans, wlio calk:d tlieniselves
Ifasena, and wlio must liave setthnl on tlie west coast of
Italy, between the rivers Arno and Tiber, at a very early
jteriod. Their origin is, liowever, very obscure, some
autliorities believing, upon apparently good grounds, lliat
they came from Asia jNIiuor, wliile others assert that they
descended from the north over the Khietian Alps, Eat
Avliatever that origin may have been, they had at the lime
of the founding of Jionie as a city attained a liigli degree
of civilisation, and showeil a considerable amount of
architectural skill ; and their arts exercised, a very great
influence upon Roman art.
Considerable remains of the city walls of several Etrus-
can towns still exist. These show that the masonry was
of Avliat has been termed a Cyclopean character, — that is
to say, the separate stones Avere of an enormous size ; in
the majority of examples these stones were of a polygonal
shape, though in a few instances they Avere rectangular,
Avhile in all cases they Avere fitted together with the most
consummate accuracy of Avorkmanship, Avhich, together
Avith tlieir great massiveness, has enabled much of this
masonry to endure to the present Jay. Cortona, Volterra,
Fiesole, and other toAvns exhibit instances of this Availing.
The temples, palaces, or dwelling-houses Avhich Avent to
make up the cities so fortified have all disappeared, and
the only existing structural remains of Etruscan build-
ings are tombs. These are found in large numbers, and
consist — as in the earlier instances Avhich have already
been described — both of rock-cut and detached erections.
Of the former, the best known group is at Castel d'Asso,
Avhere Ave find not only chambers cut into the rock, each
140
CLASSIC ARCIIITECTUrii:
ic-embling an ordinary room wiLli an entrance in thn
face of the rock, but also monuments cut completely
out and standing clear all round ; and we cannot fail to
detect in the forms into which the rock li:is been cut,
Fig 12- — SiPiLLin t \t ConNhio.
especially those of the roof, imitations of wooden build-
ings, heavy square piers bein;' left at intervah sup-
porting longitudinal beams whiclr hold up the roof.
Fig. 122 is an illuslrali.m of the interior of a chamber
in the rock. Occasionally there were a cornice and pedi-
ment over the entrance.
ETRUSCAN. 141'
Tlio other cLiss of t;)inl)S are circular tumuli, similar
to the Pelasgic tombs of Asia Minor; of tiiete largo
numbers exist, but nut sudiciently ujiiiijureil to enable
us to restore them completely. They generally consisted
of a substructure of stone, upon which Avas raised a
conical elevation. In the case of the liegulini Galeassi
tomb there "were an inner and an outer tumulus, the
latter of which covered several small tombs, Avhile the
inner enclosed one only, which had fortunately never
been o^iened till it was lately discovered. This tomb
was vaulted on the liorizontul system — that is to say,
ils vault was not a true arch, but was formed of courses
of masonry, each overhanging the one below, as in the
Treasury of Atreus, and it had a curious recess in the
roiif, in which were found numerous interesting examples
of Etruscan pottery. It is, however, clear from the city
gates, sewers, aqueducts, &c., that the Etruscans weie
acquainted Avith and extensively used the true radiating
arch composed of Avedge-shaped stones (voussoirs), and
that they constructed it Avith great care and scientific
skill. The gate at Perugia, and the Cloacae or Sewers
at Rome, constructed during the reign of the Tarquins,*
at the beginning of the sixth century B.C., are examples of
the true arch, and this makes it certain that it Avas from
the Etruscans that the iJomans learned the arched con-
stiuction Avhich, Avhen combined Avith the trabeated or
lintel mode of construction Avhich they copied from the
Greeks, formed the chief characteristic of Roman archi-
tecture. The Cloaca Maxima (Fig, 123), Avhich is roofed
over Avitli three concentric semicircular rings of huge
* The story of the Tarquius probably points to a period when the
chief supremacy at Eome was in the Lauds of an Eatruscau family, aud is
interestiug for this reafoa.
14:
CLASSIC AUCIIITECTURE.
stones, still exists in many i)laces with not a stone dis-
])laceil, as a proof of the skill of these early Luiklers.
Tliere are remains of an aqueduct at Tuscukim -which
are interesting from the fact of the horizontal being
combined witli the true arch in its construction.
No Etruscan temples remain now, but we know from
Vitruvius that they consisted of three celh Avith one
or more rows of columns in front, tlie intcrcolumniation
or interval between the columns being excessive. The
Via. 123.— Cloaca Maxima.
largest Etruscan temple of which any record remains
was tliat of Jupiter Capitolinus at Eome, which, under
the Empire, became one of the most splendid temples of
antiquity. It was commenced by Tarquinius Superbus,
and is said to have derived its name from the fact of the
builders, when excavating the foundations, coming upon a
freshly bleeding head {caput), indicating that the place
Avould eventually become the chief city of the world.
Another form of Etruscan temple is described by Vitru-
ETRUSCAN". 143
vias, consisting of one circular cell only, Avith a porcli.
This form was probably the origin of the series of circular
Konian buildings which includes such forms of temples as
that at Tivoli, and many of the famous niausolea, e.g.
that of Hadrian, and the culmination of which style is
seen in the Pantheon. It is interesting to notice that
the Romans never entirely gave up the circular form, one
instance of its use in Britain at a late period of the Koinan
occupation having been discovered in the ruins of Sil-
chester near Basingstoke ; and we shall lind that it was
jierpetuatcd in Christian baptisteries, tombs, and occa-
sionally chiirches.
"We know from the traces of such buildings which exist,
that the Etruscans must have constructed theatres and
amphitheatres, and it is recorded that tiie first Tarquin
laid out the Circus Maximus and instituted the great
games held there. At Sutri there are ruins of an amphi-
theatre Avhich is nearly a perfect circle, measuring 2G5 ft,
in its greatest breadth and 295 ft. in length.
There are no remains of other buildings which would
enable us to form an opinion as to the civic architecture
of the Etruscans : they must, however, have attained to a
considerable skill iu sculpture, as in some of the tombs
figures are represented iu high relief which show no
small power of expression. They, too, like the Egyp-
tians, embellished their tombs with mural paintings.
These are generally in outline, and represent human
figures and animals in scenes of every-day life, with con-
ventionalised foliage, or mythological scenes such as the
passage of the soul after death to the judgment-seat Avhere
its actions in life are to be adjudicated upon. In the
plastic arts the Etruscans made great progress, many
of their vases showing a delicacy and grace which have
144 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
never been surpassed, and exhibiting in their decorations
traces of both Greek and Egyptian iuiiuence.
"We now reacli the last of the classical styles of anti-
quity, the Eoman, — a style Avhich, however, is rather an
adaptation or amalgamation of other styles than an original
and independent creation or development. The contrast
is very great between tlie " lively Grecian," imaginative
and idealistic in the highest degree — ^who seemed to liave
an innate genius for art and beauty, and who was always
eager to perpetuate in marble his ideal conception of the
" hero from whose loins he siDrung," or to immorialise
Avith some splendid work of art the name of his mother-
city — and tlie stern, practical Roman, realistic in his every
l^ore, eager for conquest, and whose one dominant idea was
to bring under his sway all the nations who were brcught
into contact with him, and to jnake his city — as had leen
foretold — the capital of the whole world. With this idea
always before him, it is no wonder that such a typical
Eoman as M. Porcius Cato shmild look with disdain upon
the fine arts in all their forms, and should regard a love
for the beautiful, whether in literature or art, as synony-
mous Avith eflcminacy. Mummius, also, who destroyed
Corinth, is said to have been so little aware of the value
of the artistic treasures which he carried away, as to
stipulate with the carriers who undertook to transport
them to Eome, that if any of the works of art were lost
they should be replaced by others of equal value.
"When the most prominent statesmen disjilayed such
indiil'erence, it is not surprising that for nearly 500 years
no single trace of any architectural building of any merit
at all in iJome can now be discovered, and that history is
silent as to the existence of any monuments worthy of
ROMAN. 145
being mentioned. "Works of pulilic utility of a very exten-
sive nature were indeed carried out during this period ;
such, for example, as the Appiau Way from Eouie to
Capua, which was the first paved road in liome, and Avas
constructed by the Censor Appius Claudius in B.C. 309.
This was 14 ft. Avide and 3 ft. thick, in three laj'ers :
1st, of rough stones grouted together; 2nd, of gravel ; and
3rd, of squared stones of various dimensions. The same
Censor also brought water from Prseneste to Rome by a
subterranean channel 1 1 miles long. Several bridges were
also erected, and Cato the Censor is said to have built a
basilica.
Until about 150 B.C. all the buildings of l\ome were
constructed either of brick or the local stone ; and though
we hear nothing of architecture as a fine art, we
cannot hesitate to admit that during this period the
liomans carried the art of construction, and especially
that of employing materials of small dimensions and
readily obtainable, in buildings of great size, to a remark-
able pitch of perfection. It was not till after the fall of
Carriage and the destruction of Corinth, Avhen Greece
became a Eoman province under the name of Achaia —
both Avhicli events occurred in the year 146 B.C. — that
Rome became desirous of emulating, to a certain extent,
the older civilisation which she had destroyed ; and about
this time she became so enormously wealthy that vast
sums of money were expended, both publicly and privately,
in the erection of monuments, many of Avhich remain to
the present day, more or less altered. The first marble
temple in Rome was built by the Consul Q. Metellus
Macedonicus, who died B.C. 115. Roman architecture from
this period began to show a Avoiiderful diversity in the
objects to which it Avas directed, — a circumstance perhaps
14G CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
as interesting as its great scientific and structural advance
upon all preceding styles. In the earlier styles temples,
tombs, and palaces were the only buildings deemed worthy
of architectural treatment ; but under the Eomans baths,
theatres, amphitheatres, basilicas, aqueducts, triumphal
arches, &c., were carried out just as elaborately as the
temples of the gods.
It was under the Emperors that the full magnificence
of Roman architectural disjjlay was reached. The famous
boast of Augustus, that he found Eome of brick and left
her of marble, gives expression in a few words to what
was the great feature of his reign. Succeeding emperors
lavished vast sums on buildings and public works of all
kinds; and thus it comes to pass that though the most
destructive of all agencies, hostile invasions, conflagrations,
and long periods of neglect, have each in turn done their
utmost to destroy the vestiges of Imperial Eome, there
still remain fragments, and in one or two instances whole
monuments, enough to make Eome, after Athens, the richest
store of classic architectural antiquities in the Avorld.
But it was not in Eome only that great buildings were
erected. The whole known civilised Avorld was under
Eoman dominion, and wherever a centre of government
or even a flourishing town existed there sprang up the
residence of the dominant race, and their places of
business, public worship, and public amusement. Con-
sequently, we find in our own country, and in France,
Spain, Germany, Italy, jSTorth Africa, and Egypt — in
short, in all the countries Avhere Eoman rule was
established — examples of temples, amphitheatres, theatres,
triumphal arches, and dwelling-houses, some of them of
great interest and occasionally in admirable preservation.
Fio. i:;!.— "Incaxtada" in Salosica,
CHAPTER IX.
THE BUILDINGS OF THE R0MAX3.
THE temples iu Eome were not, as in Greece and
Egypt, the structures n]:on Avliich the architect
lavished all the resources of his art and his science. The
general form of them was copied from that made use
of by the Greeks, but the spirit iu which the original
idea Avas carried out was entirely dilferent. In a word,
the temples of Eome were by no means worthy of her
size and position as the metropolis of the world, and
very few remains of them exist.
Ten columns are still standing of the Temple of Anto-
ninus and Faustina (now the church of San Lorenzo in
Miranda) : it occupied the site of a previous temple
and was dedicated by Antoninns Pius to his wife Faus-
tina. The Temple (supposed) of Fortuna Virilis, in the
Ionic style (Fig. 125), still exists as the church of Santa
Maria Egiziaca : this was tetrastyle, with half-columns
all round it, and this was of the kind called by Vitru-
vius "pseudo-peripteral." A few fiagmentary remains of
L 2
mii{m'/>^:^'i''^mmiH^.'M^\mj
Fig. 125.— Ionic Order from the Temple op Fortuna Vibilis, Rome.
ROMAX. 149
other temples exist in Eome, Lut in some of the liomau
provinces far finer specimens of temples remain, of
which perhaps the best is the ^faison Carrce at Nimcs
(Fig. 126). Here wo find the Iloman plan of a single
cell and, a deep portico in front, while the sides and
rear have the columns attached. The intercolumnia-
tions and the details of the capitals and entablature are,
however, almost pure Greek. The date of this temple is
uncertain, but it is most prolable that it was erected
during the reign of Hadrian. The same emperor is
said to have completed the magnificent Temple of Juj^iter
Olympius at Athens, which was 354 ft. long by 171 ft. wide.
It consisted of a cell flanked on each side by a double row
of detached columns; in front Avas one row of columns in
antis, and three other rows in front of these, while there
were also three rows in the rear : as the columns Avere of
the Corinthian order, and nearly 60 ft. in height, it may-
be imagined that it was a splendid edifice.
The ruins of another magnificent provincial Eoman
temple exist at Baalbek — the ancient Heliopolis — in Syria,
not far from Damascus. This building Avas erected during
the time of the Antonines, probably by Antoninus Pius
himself, and originally it must have been of very ex-
tensive dimensions, the portico alone being 180 ft. long
and about 37 ft. deep. This gives access to a small
hexagonal court, on the Avestern side of Avhicli a triple
gatcAvay opens into the Great Court, Avhich is a vast
quadrangle about 450 ft. long by 400 ft. broad, Avith
ranges of small chambers or niches on three sides, some
of Avhich evidently had at one time beautifully groined
roofs. At the Avestern end of this court, on an artificial
elevation, stand the remains of Avhat is called the Great
Temple. This Avas originally 290 ft. long by IGO It.
ROMAN.
151
■\viJe, and had 54 columns supporting its roof, six only
of which now remain erect. The height of these cohnnns,
inchiding Lase and capital, is 75 ft., and their diameter
is 7 ft. at base and about G ft. 6 in. at top ; they are
of the Corinthian order, and above them rises an ela-
borately moulded entablature, 14 ft. in height. Each of
the columns is composed of three stones only, secured by
strong iron cramps; and indeed one of the most striking
features of this group of buildings is the colossal size
of the stones used in their construction. The quarries
from ■which these stones "svere hewn are close at hand,
and in them is one stone surpassing all the others in
magnitude, its dimensions being 68 ft. by 14 ft. 2 in. by
13 ft. 11 in. It is difficult to imagine what means can
have existed for transporting so huge a mass, the Aveight
of -which has been calculated at 1100 tons.
Fig. 127— GRnuND-rLAN of thk Temple of Vesta at Titoli.
Other smaller temples exist in the vicinity, all of
■whifh are lavishly decorated, but on the whole the
LF
^^
t
Fig. 128.— Corinthian Oeder from the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli.
nOMAX.
153
ornamentation slio\vs nu oxuberanco of detail which
somewhat olienJs a critical artistic taste.
Circular temples were an elegant variety, which seems
Fig. 129 The Temple of Vesta at Tivoii. Plan (looking dD akd Section
Of PAKI OP THE PERliTlLE.
to have been originated by the Eomaiis, and of which
two well-known examples remain — the Temples of Vesta
at Eome and at Tivoii. The columns of the temple
154 CLASSIC ARCIIITECrUllE.
at Tivoli (Fig. 128) form a well-known and pleasing
variety of the Corintliian order, and the circular form
of the building as shown on the plan (Fig. 127) gives
excellent opportunities for good decorative treatment,
as may be judged of by the enlarged diagram of part
of the ijcristyle (Fig. 129).
BasUiccLs.
Among the most remarkable of the public buildings of
Eoman times, both in the mother-city and in the provinces,
were the Basilicas or Halls of Justice, which Avere also
used as commercial exchanges. It is also believed that
Basilicas existed in some Greek cities, but no clue to their
structural arrangements exists, and whence originated the
idea of the plan of these buildings we are unable to state ;
their striking similarity to some of the rock-cut halls or
temples of India has been already pointed out. They
were generally (though not always) covered halls, oblong
in shape, divided into three or five aisles by two or more
rows of columns, the centre aisle being much Avider than
those at the sides : over the latter, galleries were frequently
erected. At one end was a semicircular recess or apse, the
floor of which was raised considerably above the level of
tlie rest of the building, and here the presiding magistrate
sat to hear causes tried. Four* of these buildings are
mentioned by ancient writers as having existed in repub-
lican times, viz. the Basilica Portia, erected in B.C. 184, by
Cato the Censor; the Basilica Emilia et Fulvia, erected in
B.C. 179 by the censors M. Fulvius Nobilior and M. .^milius
Lepidus, and afterwards enlarged and called the Basilica
* The passage in Varro, wljich is the sole authority for the Layilica
Oj.imia, is generally cousidered to he corruiit.
ROMAN. 155
Paulli; the r>osilic.i Scnipvonia, erected in n.c. 1G9 by-
Tib. Seniproiiius Giacclius ; and the Basilica Julia, erected
by Julius Ctesar, B.C. 46. All these buildings had wooden
roofs, and were of no great architectural merit, and they
perished at a remote date. Under tlie Empire, basilicas
of much greater size and magniticence were erected ; and
remains of that of Trajan, otherwise called the Basilica
Ulpia, have been excavated in the Forum of Trajan.
This was about 3G0 ft. long by 180 ft. wide, had four rows
^^P^ B H B^^fpi
W9 EB B'W
aBb.iill!.iHiaBi3BH5aEBaE(E B [1(3
BBSBBEBBBSBESBSBlsiB B 1171
a B H J3
B 3 H ffla
p B a Ma
B a B [|a
HBEHBHBBHEHEBBEBBfS B 113
EBBBBBSBBBBBHBBBBa H Js
Fig. 130.— Groond-plan of the Basilica Ulpia, Ro.me.
of columns inside, and is supposed to have been covered
by a semicircular wooden roof. Apollodorus of Damascus
was the architect of this building. Another basilica of
Avhich remains exist is that of INIaxentius, Avhich, after his
overthrow by Constantine in a.u. 312, was known as the
Basilica Constantiniana. This structure was of stone, and
had a vaulted roof; it was 195 ft. between the walls, and
was divided into tlir(;e ai-^les by piers with enormous
columns standing in front of them.
One provincial basilica, that at Treves, still stands;
and although it must have been considerably altered, it
156 CLASSIC AUCHITECTURE.
is by far tlio best existing example of this kind of
building. The internal columns do not exist here, and it
is simply a rectangular hall about 175 ft. by 85 ft., with
the usual semicircular apse.
The chief interest attuching to these basilicas lies in
the fact tliat they formed the first places of Christian
assembly, and that they served as the model upon whivh
the first Christian churclies were built.
Theatres and Ampli'dlieatres.
Although dramas and other plays were performed in
Eome as early as 240 B.C., there seems to have been a
strong prejudice against permanent buildings for their
representation, as it is recorded that a decree was passed
in B.C. 154 forbidding the construction of such build-
ings. Mummius, the conqueror of Corinth, obtained per-
mission to erect a Avooden theatre for the performance
of dramas as one of the shows of his triumph, and
alter this many buildings of the kind were erected, but
all of a temporary nature; and it was not till B.C. Gl
that the first permanent theatre was built by Pompey.
This, and the theatres of Balbus and INIarcellus, appear
to have been the only permanent theatres that were
erected in Imperial Eome ; and there are no remains of
any but the last of these, and this is much altered. So
that, were it not for the remains of theatres found at
Pompeii, it would be almost impossible to tell how they
were arranged ; but from these we can see that the stage
was raised and separated from the part appropriated to
the spectators by a semicircular area, much like that
which in Greek theatres Avas allotted to the chorus : in
the Eoman ones this was assigned for the use of the sena-
KOMAX.
157
toi-s. The portion devoted to tlie spectators — culled the
Cavea — was also semicircular on plan, and consisted of
tiers of steps rising one above the other, and divided at
intervals by Avide passages and converging staircases com-
municating with the porticoes, which ran round the wlule
theatre at every story.
At Orange, in the South of France, are the remains of
a very fine theatre, similar in plan to that described. The
C3 Q □ -
Q » D BB M • *
Pig. 131.— Plas op the Colosseum, Eome.
great wall Avhich formed the back of the scene in this
building is still standing, and is one of the most magnifi-
cent pieces of masonry existing.
Althougli the Eomaus Avere not particularly addicted
158
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
to dramatic representations, yet they were ijassionateTy
fond of sliows and games of all kinds : hence, not only in
Rome itself, but in almost every Eoman settlement, from
Silchester to Verona, are found traces of their amphi-
theatres, and the mother-city can claim the possession of
Fig. I.'i2.— Toe Colosseum. Section and Elevatios.
the nio^t stupendous fabric of the kind that was ever
erected — the Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre, which
■was commenced by Vespasian and finished by his son
Titus. An amphitheatre is really a double theatre ^vith-
ROMAN. 159
out a stage, and with tlie space in the centre unoccniiied
by seats. This space, wliich was sunk several feet below
the first row of seats, was called the arena, and was
appropriated to the various exhibitions ^\llich took place
in the building. The plan was elliptical or oval, and
this shape seems to have been universal.
The Colosseum, whose ruins still remain to attest its
pristine magnificence —
" Arches on arches, as it were tliat Rome,
Collecting the chief trophies of her line,
Would build up all her triumphs iu oue dome "* —
was 620 ft. long and 513 wide, and the height was about
1G2 ft. It was situated in the hollow between the
Esquiline and Caeliau hills. The ranges of seats wore
admirably planned so as to enable all the audience to
have a view of what was going on in the arena, and
great skill was shown both in the arrangement of the
approaches to the different tiers and in the structural
means for supporting the seats, and double corridors ran
completely round the building on each floor, affording
ready means of exit. Various estimates have been made
of the number of spectators that could be accommodated,
and these range from 50,000 to 100,000, but probably
80,000 was the maximum. Recent excavations have
brought to light the communications which existed be-
tween the arena and the dens where the wild animals
and human slaves and prisoners were confined, and some
of the water channels used when mimic sea-fights were
exhibited. The external fa9ade is composed of four stories,
separated by entablatures that run completely round the
building without a break. The three lower stories con-
sist of a series of semicircular arched openings, eighty
* Byron.
160 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
in number, separated by piers with attached columns
in front of them, the Doric order being used in the
lowest story, the Ionic in the second, and the Corinthian
in the third; the piers and columns are elevated on
stylobates ; the entablatures have a comparatively slight
projection, and there are no projecting keystones in the
arches. In the lowest range these openings are 13 ft. 4 in.
wide, except the four which are at the ends of the two
axes of the ellipse, and these are 14 ft. 6 in. wide. The
diameter of the columns is 2 ft. 8| in. The topmost
story, which is considerably more Ljfty than either of the
lower ones, was a nearly solid wall enriched by Corin-
thian pilasters. In this story occur two tiers of small
square openings in the alternate spaces between the
pilasters. These openings are placed accurately over the
centres of the arches of the lower stories. Immediately
above the higher range of square openings are a series
of corbels — three between each pair of pilasters — which
IH'obably received the ends of the poles carrying the huge
awning which protected the spectators from the sun's
rays. The whole is surmounted by a heavy cornice, in
which, at intervals immediately over each corbel, are
worked square mortise holes, forming sockets through
Avhich the poles of the awning joassed. The stone of
which the fajade of the Colosseum is built is a local stone,
called travertine, the blocks of which are secured by iron
cramps without cement. Xearly all the internal portion
of the building is of brick, and the floors of the corridors,
&c., are paved with flat bricks covered with hard stucco.
These amphitheatres were occasionally the scene of imi-
tations of marine conflicts, when the arena was flooded
Avith water and mimic vessels of Avar engaged each other.
A'eiy complete arrangements were made, by means of
ROMAN. 161
small aqueducts, for leading the water into the arena and
for carrying it off.
Apart from theatrical representations and gladiatorial
combats, the Eomans had an inordinate passion for chariot
races. Eor these the circi were constructed, of which
class of buildings the Circus Maxinius was the largest.
This, originally laid out by Tarquiuius Prisons, was recon-/
structed on a larger scale by Julius Ciesar. It was cir-
cular at one end and rectangular at the other, at which
was the entrance. On both sides of the entrance were
a number of small arched chambers, called carceres, from
which the chariots started. The course was divided down
the centre by a low wall, called the spina, Avhich was
adorned with various sculptures. The seats rose in a
series of covered porticoes all round the course, except at
the entrance. As the length of the Circus Maximus was
nearly 700 yards, and the breadth about 135 yards, it is
possible that Dionysius may not have formed an exagge-
rated notion of its capacity when he says it Avould accom-
modate 150,000 spectators.
In the Eoman provinces amphitheatres were often
erected ; and at Pola in Istria, Yerona in Italy, and
!Nimes and Aries in Fj'ance, fine examples remain. A
rude Roman amphitheatre, with seats cut in the turf of a
hill-side, exists to this day at the old iovm. of Dorchester
in Dorset, which was anciently a Eoman settlement.
Batlts {Thermce).
Nothing can give us a more impressive idea of the
grandeur and lavish display of Imperial Eome than the
remains of the huge Thermce, or bathing establishments,
which stni exist. Between the years 10 a.d., when
1G2 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
Agrippa built the first public baths, and 324 a.d., when
those of Constantino were erected, no less than twelve
of these vast establishments were erected bj various
emperors, and bequeathed to the people. Of the whole
number, the baths of Caracalla and of Diocletian are the
only ones which remain in any state of preservation, and
these were probably the most extensive and magnificent of
all. All these splendid buildings were really nothing more
than bribes to secure the favour of the populace ; for it seems
quite clear that the public had practically free entrance
to them, the only charge mentioned by writers of the time
being a quadrans, about a farthing of our money. Gibbon
says, ''The meanest Eoman could purchase with a small
copper coin the daily enjoyment of a scene of pomp and
luxury which might excite the envy of the kings of Asia."
And this language is not exaggerated. K'ot only were
there private bath-rooms, swimming-baths, hot baths,
vapour baths, and, in fact, all the appurtenances of the
most approved Turkish baths of modern times, but there
were also gymnasia, halls for various games, lecture-halls,
lil)raries, and tlieatres in connection with the baths, all
lavishly ornamented Avitli the finest paintings and sculp-
ture that could be obtained. Stone seems to have been
l)ut sparingly used in the construction of these buildings,
which were almost entirely of brick faced with stucco :
this served as the ground for an elaborate series of fresco
paintings.
The baths of Caracalla, at the foot of the Aventine hill,
erected a.d. 217, comprised a quadrangular block of build-
ings of about 1150 ft. (about the fifth of a mile) each way.
The side facing the street consisted of a portico the whole
length of the fa9ade, behind which were numerous ranges
of private bath-rooms. The side and rear blocks contained
ROMAX.
163
numerous halls and porticoes, the precise object of uliich
it is uow very dillicult to ascertain. As Byron says :
" Temples, baths, or balls ?
Pr^uoHuce wlio cau."
This Lelt of Lnildiugs surrounded an open courtyard or
garden, in Avhicli -was placed the principal bathing estab-
lishment (Fig. 133), a building 730 ft. by 380 ft., which
I'lC. 103.— PlaS of IDE PeISCIPAL EuiLId.NG, Baths OF Cakacalla, llujii;.
contained the large piscina, or swimming-bath, various hot
baths, dressing-rooms, gymnasia, and other halls for athletic
exercises. In the centre of one of the longer sides Avas
a large semicircular projection, roofed with a dome, which
was lined with brass : this rotunda was called the solar
M 2
1G4 CLASSIC ARCHITECTUnE.
cell, rrom the ruins of these baths were taken some of
the most splendid specimens of antique sculpture, such as
the Farnese Hercules and the Flora in the Museum of
Xnpli'.s.
The baths of Diocletian, erected just at the commonce-
niout of the fourth century a.d., Avere hardly inferior to
tho^e of Caracalla, but modem and ancient buildings are
now intermingled to such an extent that the general plan
of the buildings cannot now be traced Avith accuracy.
There are said to have been over 3000 marble seats in
these baths ; the walls Avere covered with mosaics, and the
columns Avere of Egyptian granite and green !N"uuiidian
marble. The Ephebeum, or grand hall, still exists as
the church of Santa Maria degli Angcli, having been
restored by Michelangelo. It is nearly 300 ft. long by
90 ft. Avide, and is roofed by three magnificent cross
vaults, supported on eight granite columns 45 ft. in height.
(Fig. 134.)
There is one ancient building in Eome more impressive
than any other, not only because it is in a better state of
preservation, but because of the dignity Avith Avhich it
lias been designed, the perfection Avith which it has been
constructed, and the effectiveness of the mode in Avhich
its interior is lighted. "We allude to the Pantheon.
Opinions differ as to Avhether this Avas a Hall attached
to the thermae of Agrippa, or Avhether it Avas a temple.
Without attempting to determine this point, Ave may at
any rate claim that the interior of this building admi-
rably illustrates the boldness and telling power Avith which
thii large halls forming part of the thermae Avere designed ;
and, whether it belonged to such a building or not, it is
Avonderfully well fitted to illustrate this subject.
The Pantheon is the finest example of a domed hall
166
CLASSIC ARCniTF.CTURE.
which "we have loft. The huilding, which forms the
church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, has been considerably
iiltered at various times since its erection, and now consists
of a rotunda with a rectangular portico in front of it. The
Tig. l.;j.— I'UE Paniheos, lioiie. GflOL.-iii-rLAN.
rotunda was most probably erected by Agrippa, the son-
in-law of Augustus, in B.C. 27, and is a most remarkable
Instance of clever construction at so early a date. The
ROMAN.
167
diameter of the interior is 145 ft. 6 in., and the height
to the top of the dome is 147 ft. In addition to the en-
trance, the walls are broken up by seven large niches, three
of which are semicircular on plan, and the others, alter-
nating with them, rectangular. The Avails are divided
i «M
flG. ISO.— The I'ANIllhoN. Ko.ME. EXTEIUUE.
into two stories by an entablature supported by columns
and pilasters ; but although this is now cut through
by the arches of the niches, it is at least probable tliat
originally this was not the case, and that the entablature
168
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
ran continuously round the Avail, as sliowu in Fig. 137,
which is a restoration of the Pantheon by Adler. Aliove
the attic story rises the huge hemispherical dome, -wliich
is pierced at its summit by a circular opening 27 ft. in
diameter, through which a flood of light pours down and
Fig, 137.— The Pantueon, Rome. Interior.
illuminates the Avhole of the interior. The dome is en-
riched by boldly reccsse<l panels, and these were formerly
covered with bronze ornaments, which have been removed
for the sake of the metal. The marble enrichments of
the attic have also disappeared, and their place has been
taken by common and tawdry decorations more adapted
to the stage of a theatre. But notwithstanding every-
thing that has been done to detract from the imposing
effect of the building by the alteration of its details, there
is still, taking it as a whole, a simple grandeur in the
Fia. 133.— The Corinthias Obder from the Panxheoi-), Kome.
170 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
design, a mngnificence in the material employed, and a
quiet harmony in the illumination, that impart to the
interior a character of sublimity which nothing can impair.
The rectangular portico was added at some subsequent
period, and consists of sixteen splendid Corinthian columns
(Fig. 138), eight in front supporting the pediment, and
the other eight dividing the portico into three bays, in
precisely the same way as if it formed the pronaos to the
three cells of an Etruscan temple.
Bridges and Aqueducts,
The earliest Eoman bridges were of wood, and the
Pons Sublicius, though often rebuilt, continued to be of
this material until the time of Pliny, but it was impossible
for a people who made such use of the arch to avoid
seeing the great advantage this form gave them in the
construction of bridges, and several of these formed of
stone spanned the Tiber even before the lime of the
Empire. The finest Eoman bridges, however, were built
in the provinces. Trojan constructed one over the Danube
which was 150 ft. high and GO ft. wide, and the arches
of which were of no less than 170 ft. span. This splendid
structure was destroyed by his successor, Hadrian, who
was probably jealous of it. The bridge over the Tagus at
Alcantara, which was constructed by Hadrian, is another
very fine example. There were six arches here, of which
the two centre ones had a span of 100 ft.
The Poman aqueducts afford striking evidence of the
building enterprise and architectural skill of the people.
Pliny says of these works : "If any one will carefully con-
sider the quantity of water used in the open air, in private
baths, swimming-baths, houses, gardens, &c., and thinks
iio:\iAN. 171
of the archos that have Leen huilt, the hills that have been
tunnelled, and the valleys that have been levelled for the
purpose of conducting the Avatcr to its destination, he must
confess that nothing has existed in the Avorld more calcu-
lated to excite admiration." The same sentiment strikes
an observer of to-day •when looking at the ruins of these
aqueducts. At the end of the first century a.d. "\ve read of
nine aqueducts in Rome, and in the time of Procopius
(a.d. 550) there were fourteen in use. Of these, the Aqua
Claudia and the Anio J^ovus Avere the grandest and most
costly. These were constructed about the year 48 a.d.,
and entered the city upon the same arches, though at
different levels, the Aqua Claudia being the lower. The
arches carrying the streams were over nine miles long,
and in some ca^^es 109 ft. high. They were purely works
of utility, and had no architectural decorations; but they
were most admirably adapted for their purpose, and were
so solidly constructed, that portions of them are still in
use. Some of the provincial aqueducts, such as those of
Tarragona and Segovia in Spain, were more ornamental,
and had a double tier of arches. The Pont du Gard, not
far from !Nimes, in France, is a well-known and very
picturesque structure of this character.
Commemorat!i:e Monuments.
These comprise triumphal arches, columns, and tombs.
The former consisted of a rectangular mass of masonry
having sculptured representations of the historical event
to be commemorated, enriched with attached columns on
pedestals, supporting an entablature crowned with a high
attic, on which there was generally an inscription. In
the centre was the wide and lofty arched opening. The
172
CLASSIC ARCIIITECTUUE.
Arch of Titus, recording the capture of Jerusalem, is one
of the finest examples. Later on triumphal arches were
on a more extended scale, and comprised a small arch on
each side of the large one ; examples of which may be
Fig. 139.— The Aech op CoNsrAXTiNE, Ro.me.
seen in the arches of Scptimius Severus and of Constantine
(Fig. 139). The large arched gateways which are met
with in various parts of Europe — such as the Porte
d'Arroux at Autun, and the Porta Nigra at Treves — are
noMAN-. 173
monuments very similar to triumplial arches. Tliere remain
also smaller monuments of the same character, such as the
so-called Arch of the Goldsmiths in liome (Fig. 1).
Columns were erected in great numbers during the time
of the Emperors as memorials of \ictory. Of these the
Column of Trajan and that of i\Iarcus Aurelius are the
finest. The former ^va3 erected in the centre of Trajan's
Furum, in commemoration of the Emperor's victory over
the Dacians. It is of the Doric order, 132 ft. 10 in. high,
including the statue. The shaft is constructed of thirty-
four pieces of marble joined Avilli bronze cramps. The
ligures ou the pedestal are very finely carved, and the
entire shaft is encii'cled by a series of elaborate bas-reliefs
winding round it in a spiral from its base to its capital.
The beauty of the work on this shaft may be best ap-
preciated by a visit to the cast of it set up — in two
heights, unfortunately — at the South Kensington Museum.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius, generally known as the
Antonine Column, is similarly enriched, but is not equal
to the Trajan Column.
The survival of Etruscan habits is clearly seen in the
construction of Itonum tombs, Avhich existed in enormous
numbers outside the gates of the city. Merivale says :
'■'The sepulchres of twenty generations lined the sides
of the high-roads for several miles beyond the gates,
and many had considerable architectural pretensions."
That of Cecilia Metella is a typical example. Here we
tiud a square basement surmounted by a circular tower-
like structure, with a frieze and cornice. This was erected
about B.C. 60, by Crassus. The mausoleum of Augustus
Avas on a much more extensive scale, and consisted of four
cylindrical stories, one above the other, decreasing in
diameter as they ascended, and the topmost of all was
174 CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
crowned witli a colossal statue of the Emperor. The
tomb of Hadrian, on the banks of the Tiber — now known
as the Castle of Sant' Angelo — was even more magnificent.
This comprised a square base, 75 ft. high, the side of
which measured about 340 ft. ; above this was a cylin-
drical building surmounted by a circiJar peristyle of thirty-
four Corinthian columns. On the top was a quadriga
with a statue of the Emperor. These niausolea were oc-
casionally octagonal or polygonal in plan, surmounted by
a dome, and cannot fail to remind us of the Etruscan
tumuli.
Another kind of tomb, of less magnificence, was the
columbarium, which was nothing more than a subter-
ranean chamber, the walls of which had a number of
small apertures in them for receiving the cinerary urns
containing the ashes of the bodies which had been
cremated. In the eastern porlion of the Empire, in rocky
districts, the tombs were cut in the rock, and the fa9ade
was elaborately decorated with columns and other archi-
tectural features.
Domestic Arch itedure.
Of all the palaces which the Eoman emperors built for
themselves, and which we know from historical records to
have been of the most magnificeiit description, nothing
now remains in Eome itself that is not too completely
ruined to enable any one to restore its plan with accuracy,
though considerable remains exist of the Palace of the
Coesars on the Palatine Hill. In fact, the palace of
Diocletian at Spalatro, in Dalmatia, is the only remain-
ing example in the whole of the Eoman empire of the
dwelling-house of an emperor, and even this was not
built till after Diocletian had resigned the imperial dig-
ROMAN. 175
iiity, so that its date is the early part of the fourth cen-
tury A.D. This palace is a rectangle, measuring about 700 ft.
one way and 590 ft. the other, and covers an area of nearly
10 acres. It is surrounded by high walls, broken at in-
tervals by square and octagonal towers, and contains
temples, baths, and extensive galleries, besides the private
apartments of the Emperor and dwellings fur the principal
officers of the household. The architect of this building
broke away from classical traditions to a great extent ; for
example, the columns stand on corbels instead of pedestals,
the entablatures being much broken, and the arches spring
directly from the capitals of the columns (Fig. 1-19).
The private houses in Eome were of two kinds : the
insula and the domus. The insula was a block of building;3
several stories high, frequently let ou^ to different fami-
lies in flats. The ground-floor Avas generally given up to
shops, which had no connection with the upper parts of
tlie build Jig ; and one roof covered the whole. This kind
oFTiouse was generally tenanted by the poorer class of
tradesmen and artiflcers. The other kind of house, the
domus, Avas a detached mansion. The excavations at
Pompeii have done much to elucidate a number of points
in connection with Eoman dwellings which had been the
subject of much discussion by scholars, but we must not
too hastily assume that the Pompeian houses are the exact
counterpart of those of ancient Eome, as Pompeii was .what
"Iiray be called a Eomano-Greek city.
The general arrangeruents of a Eoman house were as
follows : next the street an open space was frequently
left, Avith poi^coes on each side of it provided Avith
seats : this constituted the vestibule, and Avas entirely
outside the house;* the entrance-door opened into a
* This does not occur in the Pompeian houses.
176
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
narrow passage, called the ^);'6'/7i?/rwm, •n'liich. led to
the atrium,* -which in the houses of Eepublicau Eome
I"JG. HO.— GllOUXD-PLAN OP THE HuUSE OF PaNjA, PoilPEII.
was the principal apartment, though atterwards_it served
as a sort of Avaiting-room for the clients and retainers
" Marked a, a, on the plaus.
ROMAN.
177
of the house ; it was an open court, roofed in on all the
four sides, but open to the sky in the centre. The simplest
form was called the Tuscan atrium, where the roof was
simply a lean-to sloping towards the centre, the rafters being
supported on beams, two of which rested on the walls of the
Fig. 141.— Gkounu-pian of the IIocse of the Tragic Poet, ToMrEii.
atriura, and had two other cross-beams trimmed into them.
"The3e5tre^^ning^ was called the impluvium, and-imme-
jiiately under it a tank, called the compluvium, was formed
in the pavement to collect^tEe rain-water (Fig. 142).
When the atrium became larger, and the roof hud to be
K
178
CLASSIC ARCHITECTUllE.
supported by columns, it was called a ccuxedinm* At tlie
end of this apartment were three others, open in front, the
^TTM^S.
largest, in the centre, called tahliniim, and the two side ones
* Vitruvius, however, seems to use the terms atrium and cavaJium
as quite synonymous.
ROMAN. 179
alee;* these were muniment-rooms, wliere all the family
arcluves were kept, and tlieir position is midway between the
semi-public part of the house, which lay towards the iVout,
and the strictly domestic and private part, which lay in the
rear. At the sides of the atrium in the larger houses were
placed small rooms, which served as sleeping chambers.
From the end of the atrium a passage, or sometimes
two passages, called the fauces, running by the side of
the tablinum, led to the peristi/lium,f which was the
grand private reception-room ; this also was a court
open to the sky in the centre, and among the wealthy
Romans its roof was supported by columns of tlie rarest
marbles. Eound the peristyle were grouped the various
private rooms, which varied acconling to the size of the
liouse and the taste of the owner. There Avas always
one dining-room (triclinium), and frequently two or
more, which were arranged Avith different aspects, for
use in different seasons of the year. If several dining-
rooms existed, they were of various sizes and decorated
with various degrees of magnificence ; anil a story is told
of one of the most luxurious Romans of Cicero's time,
that he had simply to tell his slaves which room he would
dine in for them to know what kind of banquet he wished to
be prepared. In the largest houses there were saloons (ceci),
parlours {exedrce), picture galleries (pinacothecce), chapels
(Jararia), and various other apartments. The kitchen, with
scullery and bakehouse attached, was generally placed in
one angle of the peristyle, round which various sleeping-
chambers, according to the size of the house, were arranged.
Most of the rooms appear to have been on the ground-
floor, and probably depended for their light upon the
* Marked respectively c, and/,/, ou tlie plan of the House of Paosa.
t Marked b, b, ou the plaus.
N 2
180
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
doorway only ; though in some instances at PomDeii small
■windows exist high up in the walls.
FiG. 143.— Wall Decuratiun fkom Pojipeil.
In the extreme rear of the larger houses there was
generally a garden ; and in those -which were without this,
ROMAN. 181
tlie dead walls in the rear were frequently painted so as to
imitate a garden. The houses of the wealthy Eomans
were decorated with the utmost magnificence : marble
columns, mosaic pavements, and charming pieces of sculp-
ture adorned their apartments, and the walls were in
all cases richly painted (Fig. 143), being divided into
panels, in the centre of which were represented sometimes
human figures, sometimes landscapes, and sometimes pic-
tures of historical events. All the decoration of Roman
liouses was internal only : the largest and most sump-
tuous mansion had litt'e to distinguish it, next the street,
from a comparatively humble abode ; and, with the ex-
ception of the space required for the vestibule and
entrance doorway, nearly the whole of the side of the
house next the street Avas most frequently ajipropriated
to shops. All that Ave are able to learn of the architec-
ture of Eoman private houses, whether from contem-
porary descriptions or from the uncovered remains of
Pompeii and Herculaneum,* points to the fact that it,
even in a greater measure than the public architecture,
was in no sense of indigenous growth, but was simply
a copy of Greek arrangement and Greek decoration.
* At the Crystal Palace can be seen an interesting reproduction of a
Pompeian house, which was designed by the late Sir Digby WyaJt.
It gives a very faithful reproduction of the arrangement and the size of
an average Pompeian house ; and though every part is rather more
fully covered with decoration than was usual in the originals, the
decorations of each room faithfully reproduce the treatment of some
original in Pompeii or Herculaneum.
f iG. H4.— Cakvi>g fro.1i the Fuauii of !N'erva, Ku.xik
CHAPTER X.
nOMAN ARCniTECTURE.
Anal u sis.
THE Plan (or floor-disposition). — The plans of Eoman
Luildings are striking from their variety and the
vast extent which in some cases they disphay, as well
as from a certain freedom, mastery, and facility of hand-
ling which are not seen in earlier work. Their variety is
partly due to tlie very various purposes which the build-
ings of the Romans w'ere designed to serve : these com-
2irised all to which Greek buildings had been appropriated,
and many others, the product of the complex and luxurious
civilisation of the Empire, Rut independent of this cir-
cumstance, the employment of such various forms in
the plans of buildings as the ellipse, the circle, and the
octagon, and their facile use, seem to denote a people
Avho could build ra]>idly, and who looked carefully to
the general masses and outlines of wliat they built,
however carelessly they handled the minute details.
The freedom with which these new forms were employed
noMAK. 183
arises partly also from the fact that the Romans were in
possession of a system of construction wliich rendered
Ihcin practically independent of most of the restrictions
Avhich had fettered the genius of the Egyptians, Assyrians,
and Greeks. Their vaulted roofs could be supported by a
comparatively small number of piers of great solidity,
placed far apart ; and accordingly in the great halls of
the Thermae and elsewhere we find planning in which, a
few stable points of support being secured, the outline of
the spaces between them is varied at the pleasure of the
architect in the most picturesque and pleasing manner.
The actual floor received a good deal of attention from
the Romans. It was generally covered with tesselated
pavement, often with mosaic, and its treatment entered
into the scheme of the design for most interiors.
The Walls.
The construction of these was essentially different from
that adopted by most earlier nations. The Romans rather
avoided than cultivated the use of large blocks of stone ;
they invented methods by which very small materials could
be aggregated together into massive and solid walls. They
used mortar of great cementing power, so much so that
many specimens of Roman walling exist in this country
as well as in Italy or France, Avhere the mortar is as hard
as the stones which it unites. They also employed a system
of binding together the small materials so employed by
introducing, at short distances apart, courses of flat stones
or bricks, called " bond courses," and they further fortified
such walls by bands of flat materials placed edgeways
after the manner popularly known as herring-bone
work. The result of these methods of construction was
184- CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
that the Eoman architect could build anywhere, no matter
hov\- unpromising the materials wliich the locality afforded ;
that he could put the walls of his building together with-
out its being requisite to employ exclusively the skilled
labour of the mason, and that both time and expense were
thus saved. This economy and speed were not pushed so
far as to render the work anything but durable ; they
had, however, a bad effect in another direction, for these
rough rubble walls were habitually encased in some more
sightly material, in order to make them look as though
they were something finer than they really were ; and
accordingly, the exterior was often faced with a thin
skin of masonry, and not infrequently plastered. The
interior was also almost invariably j^lastered, but to this
little exception can be taken. This casing of the exteriors
was, however, the bec^inning of a system of Avhat may be
called false architecture, and one which led to much that
was degrading to the art.
The walls were in many cases, it has been already ob-
served, gathered into strong masses, such as it is customary
to term piers, in order to support the vaulted roofs at the
proper points. They were often carried to a much greater
height than in Greek buildings, and they played altogether
a far more important part in the design of Eoman build-
ings than they had done in that of the Greeks.
The Roofs.
As has been already stated, the Eomans, in their posses-
sion of a new system of construction, enjoyed a degree
of freedom which was unknown before. This system
was based upon the use of the arch, and arched roofs and
domes, and it enabled the Eomans to produce interiors
ROMAN. 185
un approached before for size and splendour, and such as
liave hardly been surpassed since, except by the vaulted
churches of the Middle Ages, — buildings which are them-
selves descended from lionian originals. The art of
vaulting was. in short, tlie key to the whole system of
Eomm architecture, just as the Orders were to that of
the Greeks.
The well-known arch over the Cloaca !^^axima at Eome
(Fig. 123, p. 142) may be taken as an illustration of the
most ancient and most simple kind of vault, the one which
goes by the significant name of " barrel or waggon-head
vault." This is simply a continuous arched vault spring-
ing from the top of two parallel Avails ; in fact, like the
arch of a railway tunnel. Such a vault may be con-
structed of very great span, and affords a moans of
putting a permanent roof over a floor the outline of which
is a parallelogram; but it is heavy and uninteresting in
appearance. It was soon found to be possible to introduce
a cross vault running at right angles to the original one ;
and where such an intersecting vault occurs the side walls
of the original vault may be dispensed with, for so much
of their length as the newly-added vault spans.
The next step was to introduce a succession of such cross
vaults close to one another, so that large portions of the
original main wall might be dispensed with. What re-
mained of the side walls was now only a series of oblong
masses or piers, suitably fortified so as to carry the great
■weight resting upon them, but leaving the architect free to
occupy the space between them as his fancy might dictate,
or to leave it quite open. In this way were constructed the
great halls of the Therma ; and the finest halls of modern
classic architecture — such, for example, as the Madeleine
at Paris, or St. George's Hall at Liverpool — are only a
186 CLASSIC ARCniTECTURE.
reproduction of the splendid structures which such a
system of vaulting rendered possible.
When the floor of the space to be vaulted was circular,
the result of covering it with an arched roof was the dome
— a familiar feature of Roman architecture, and the noblest
of all forms of roof. We possess in the dome of the
Pantheon a specimen, in fairly good preservation, of this
kind of roof on the grandest scale.
We shall find that in later ages the dome and the vault
were adopted by the Eastern and the Western schools of
Christian architecture respectively. In Eome we have the
origin of both.
The Openings.
These were both square-lieaded and arched ; hut the
avehed ones occur far more frequently than the others, and,
when occasion required, could be far bolder. The open-
ings became of mucli greater importance than in earlier
styles, and soon dis])uted with the columns the dignity of
being the feature of the building : this eventually led, as
will be related under the next head, to various devices for
the fusion of the two.
The adoption of the arch by the Eoraans led to a
great modification in classic arcliitecture ; for its influ-
ence was to be traced in every part of the structure
where an oj^ening of any sort had to be spanned. For-
merly the width of such openings was very limited,
owing to the difficulty of obtaining lintels of great length.
!Now their width and height were pure matters of choice,
and doorways, windows, and arcades naturally became
very prominent, and were often very spacious.
ROMAN. 187
TJie Columns.
These necessarily took an altered i)lace ns soon as LuiM-
ings were carried to such a height that one order could
not, as in Greek temples, occupy the whole space from
pavement to roof. The Greek orders were modified by the
Itumatis in order to fit these altered circumstances, hut
columnar construction was by no means disused when the
arch came to play so important a part in building. The
lioman Doric order, and a very simple variety of it
called Tuscan, were but rarely used. The chief altera-
tion from the Greek Doric, in addition to a general
degradation of all the mouldings and proportions, was
the addition of a base, which sometimes consists of a
square plinth and large torus, sometimes is a slightly
modified Attic base; the capital has a small moulding
round the top of the abucus, and under the ovolo are two
or three small fillets Avith a necking below ; the shaft
was from 6 to 7 diameters in height, and was not fluted;
the frieze was ornamented with triglyphs, and the metopes
b:-tween these were frequently enriched Avitli sculptured
heads of bulls : the metopes were exact squares, and the
triglyphs at the angles of buildings were placed precisely
over the centre of the column.
The Ionic order was but slightly modified by the Romans,
the chief alteration being made in the capital. Instead
of forming the angular volutes so that they exhibited a
flat surface on the two opposite sides of the capital, the
Piomans appear to have desired to make the latter uniform
on all the four sides ; they therefore made the sides of the
abacus concave on plan, and arranged the volutes so that
they seemed to spring out of the mouldings under the
abacus and faced anglewise. The capital altogether seems
188
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE.
compressed and crowded up, and by no means elegant;
in fact, both this and the Doric order were decidedly de-
teriorations from the fine forms of Greek architecture.
The Corinthian order was much more in accordance
with the later Eoman taste for magnificence and display,
and hence we find its use very general both in Rome and
in other cities of the Eniiiire. Its proportions did not
greatly dilfer from those of the Greek Corinthian, but
the mouldings in general were more elaborate. ^Numerous
variations of the capital exist (Figs. 145, 145a), but the
principal one was an amalgamation of the large Ionic
volutes in the upper with the acanthus leaves of the lower
1
^
->
^
'~~\
r-\
-^
i
Fig. 14ja.— The Uu.maxN CuiirosiTE Capiiai»
Fig. 14.5.— RiiM.\.N Cdrintiii.vn Capital
*ND Base fko.u the Temple of VE^TA
AT TlVOLI.
portion of the capital : this is known as the Composite
order, and the capital thus treated has a strength and vigour
which was wanting to the Greek order (see Fig. 145a).
ROMAN. 189
The shafts of the colunnis Avere more often fluted than
not, though sometimes tlie lower portion was left plain
and the upper only fluted. Tlie Attic base was generally
used, but an example has been found of an adaptation of
tlie graceful Persepolitan base to the Corinthian column.
This was the happiest innovation that the Romans made ;
it seems, however, to have been but an individual attempt,
and, as it was introduced very shortly before the fall of
the Empire, the idea was not worked out.
The orders thus changed were employed for the most
part as mere decorative additions to the walls. In many
cases they did not even carry the eaves to the roof, as
they always did in a Greek temple ; and it was not
uncommon for two, three, or more orders to be used one
above another, marking the difi"erent stories of a lofty
building.
The columns, or pilasters which took their place, being
reduced to the humble function of ornaments added to the
wall of a building, it became very usual to combine them
Avith arched openings, and to put an arch in the interspace
between two columns, or, in other words, to add a column
to the pier between tAvo arches (Fig. 146). These arched
openings being often Avide, a good deal of disproportion
betAveen the height of the columns and their distance
apart Avas liable to occur ; and, partly to correct this, the
column Avas often mounted upon a pedestal, to Avhicli the
name of " stylobate " has been given.
It Avas also sometimes customary to place above the
order, or the highest order Avhere more than one w^as
employed, Avhat Avas termed an attic — a Ioav story orna-
mented with piers or pilasters. The exterior of the
Colosseum (Fig. 5), the triumphal arches of Constantino
(Fig. 139) and Titus, and the fragments of the upper part
i'lu. I4(i.— Paki us the Theatre op Marcellds, Home. Showi:)g the coiibisaiios o*
Columns and Auched Opesings.
ROMAN'.
191
of the Forum of Nerva (Fig. 147) may be consulted as
illustrations of the combination of an order and an arched
opening, and of the use of pedestals and attics.
i^.. .y..>..u.^,^^>^v^^.^.,.,,^^v,..^,^^,.^V\«"^ ■« H\V'<'"UV^X '' \\W'\"'"\ ' \' xV -\ ' '^•^ ' VTX'^-f^'W'^
Tig. 147.— From thb Rutn's op the Forcm op Nerva, Rome. Showing the u3B
OP AN Attic Stoby. With Plan.
Another peculiarity, of which we give an illustration from
the baths of Diocletian (Fig. 148), was the surmounting a
column or pilaster with a square pillar of stone, moulded
in the same way as an entablature, i.e. with the regular
division into architrave, frieze, and cornice. This was a
192
CLASSIC ARCniTECTURE.
decided perversion of the
use of the order ; it occurs
in examples of late date.
So also do various other
arrangements for making
an arch spring from the
capital of a column ; one
of these, from the palace
of Diocletian at Spalatro,
we are able to illustrate
(Fig. U9).
In conclusion, it may be
worth while to say that
the Roman writers and
architects recognised five
orders : the Tuscan, Doric,
Ionic, Corinthian, and
Composite, the first and
last in this list being,
however, really only vari-
FiG. lis.— 1'ku.m the Baths of Diocletian,
Rome. Showing a fragmentary Entab-
lature at the starting of part OS A
Vault.
f 10 Hy.— i'Ro.M THE Palace of Diocletian. Spalatro. Showing an Arch sprini
FROM A Column.
RO>r.\N'.
19.3
I
J
rmi
M^SSSSP'
\
J
FlO. 150.— MOULBLXGS 4.ND 0RNAMEXT3 FROM VARIOUS ROMAN BlIILDINOS.
o
194
CLASSIC ARCIIlTECTUnE.
atioiis; and that when they placed the orders above one
another, they invariably used those of them "which they
Selected in the succession in which they have been namad ;
that is to say, the Tuscan or Doric lowest, and so on in
succession.
The Ornaments.
The mouldings -with which Roman buildings are orna-
mented are all derived from Greek originals, but are often
extremely rough and coarse. It is true that in some old
Pig. 151.— Romas Cabvixg. As Acasthus Lkap
Fig. 152.— The Egg asu Uaut E.nuich.me.m. Human.
Homan work, es])ecially in those of the tombs which are
executed in marble, mouldings of considerable delicacy
and refinement of outline occur, but these are exceptional.
The profiles of the mouldings are, as a rule, segments of
nOMAN.
195
circles, instead of being more subtle curves, and the result
is that violent contrasts of light and shade are obtained,
telling enough at a distance, but devoid of interest if the
spectator come near.
Carving is executed exactly on the same principles as
those Avhich govern the mouldings— that is to say, with
much more coarseness than in Greek work ; not lacking
Fig. i;^3.— Wall Decokaiion of (so-called; Arabesque cuaracter fuuii
Pompeii.
in vigour, or in a sort of ostentatious opu'ence of orna-
ment, but often sadly deficient in refinement and grace.
Statues, many of them cojiies of Greek originals,
generally executed with a heavy hand, but sometimes
clearly of Greek work, were employed, as well as bronzes,
inlaid marbles, mosaics, and vaiious devices to ornament
the interiors of Greco-Roman buildings ; and free use
was made of ornamental plaster-work, both on walls
and vaults.
Coloured decoration was much in vogue, and, to jnd"-e
O 2
196 CLASSIC ARCHITECTUltE.
from wliat Ims come down to us, must liave been executed
with great taste ami much spirit. The walls of a Roman
dwelling-house of importance seem to have been all
jiainted, partly with that light kind of decoration to
which the somewhat inappropriate name of arabesque
has been given, and pirtly with groups or single figures,
relieved by dark or black backgrounds. The remains of
the Palace of the Cie-ars in Rome, much of it not now
accessible, and the decorations visible at Pompeii, give a
high idea of the skill Avith which this mural ornament-
ation was executed; our illustration (Fig. 154) may be
taken as affording a good example of the combined decora-
tions in relief and colour often applied to vaulted ceilings.
It is, however, characteristic of the lower level at
Vv'hich Roman art stood as compared with Greek that,
though statues abounded, we iind no traces of groups
of sculpture designed to occupy the pediments of
temples, or of bas-reliefs fitted to special localities in
the buildings, such as were all but universal in the best
Greek works.
Arch itedurul Cliarader.
The nature of this will have been to a large extent
gathered from the observations already made. Daring,
energy, readiness, structural skill, and a not too fastidious
taste were characteristic of the Roman architect and his
works. We find traces of vast spaces covered, bold con-
struction successfully and solidly carried out, convenience
stutlied, and a great deal of magnificence attained in those
buildings the remains of which have come down to us ;
but we do not discover refinement or elegance, a fine
feeling for proportion, or a close attention to details, to
a degree at all approaching the extent to which these
qualities are to be met with in Greek buildings. "Wo
ROMAN.
197
arc tlnis sometimes tempted to regret that it was not
possible to comLiue a liighur 'Jegreo of retiueiuent with
A
Fig. 1.'.4.— Decoration in" Keliep and Coi.orn or tbf. Vault of a To.mb
i.N THE Via Latina, sear Rome.
the great excellence in construction and contrivance ex-
hibited by Eoman architecture.
Fis. i5j.— Basuica-Cuukcu of Sax Miniaxo, Floke.ncb.
CHAPTER XI.
KARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Basilicas in Rome and Itahj.
DUETXG the first three centuries the Christian
religion was discretlite'l and persecuted ; and
though many interesting memorials of this time (some
of them having an indirect bearing upon architcctuial
questions) remain in tlie Catacombs, it is chiefly for their
paintings that the touching records of the past -which
have been preserved to us in these secluded excavations
should be studied. Early in the fourth century Constan-
tine the Great became Emperor, and in the course of his
reign (from a.d. 312 to 337) he recognised Christianity,
DASIL1CA3. 199
ami mailo it the religion of tho State. It then, of cour?e,
liecanie requisite to provide places of public worship.
Probably the Christians wnuld have been, in many cases,
rcluctaut to make use of heathen temples, and few
temples, if any, Avere adapted to the assembling of a largo
congregation. But the l;irge halls of the baths and
the basilicas were free from associations of on objec-
tionable character, and well fitted for large assemblages
of worshippers. These aiul other such places were ac-
cordingly, in the first instance, employed as Christian
churches. The basilica, however, became the model
which, at least in Italy, was followed, to the exclusion
of all others, when new buildings were erected for
the purpose of Christian worship ; and during the fourth
century, and several succeeding ones, the churches of
the West were all of the basilica type. What occurred
at Constantinople, the seat of the Eastern Empire and
the contre of the Eastern Church, will be considered
I resent^ y.
There is probably no basilica actually standing which
•was built during the reign of Constantino, or near his
time ; but there are several basilica churches in Rome,
such as that of San Clemente, which were founded near
his time, and which, though they have been partially or
wholly rebuilt, exhibit what is believed to be the ancient
disposition without modilication.
Access is obtained to San Clemente through a fore-
court to which the name of the atrium is given. This
is very much like the atrium of a Roman house, being
covered with a shed roof round all four sides and open in
the centre, and so resembling a cloister. The side next
the church was called the narthex or porch ; and when an
atrium did not exist, a narthex at least was usually pro-
Fro 150.— Interior of a Basilica at Pompkii.
Restored, fi'om descriptions by various authors.
BASILICAS. 201
viilcd. Tin trisilica has always a central avenue, or nave,
and sides or aisles, and "was generally entered from the
nartliex by three doors, one to each division. The nave of
San Clements is lofty, and covered by a simple "wooden
roof; it is separated from the side aisles by arcades, the
arches of which spring from the capitals of columns ; and
high up in its side walls we find windows. The side
aisles, like the nave, have wooden roofs. The nave termi-
nates in a semicircular recess called " the apse," the floor
of which is higher than tint of the general structure, and
is approached by steps. A large arch divides this apse
from the nave. A portion of the nave lloor is occupied by
an enclosed space for the clioir, surrounded by marble
screens, and having a pulpit on either side of it. These
pulpits are termed " ambos." Below the Church of San
Clemente is a vaulted structure or crypt extending uniler
the greater part, but not the whole, of the floor of the
main building.
The description given above would apply, with very
slight variations, to any one of the many ancient basilica
churches in Eome, Milan, liavenna, and the other older
cities of Italy ; the principal variations being that in
many instances, including the very ancient basilica of
St. Peter, now destroyed, the avenues all stopped short of
the end wall of the basilica, and a wide and clear trans-
verse space or transept ran athwart them in front of the
apse. San Clemente indeed shows some faint traces of
such a feature. In one or two very large churches five
avenues occur, — that is to say, a nave and double aisles ;
and in Santa Agnese (Fig. 156a) and at least one other, we
find a gallery over the side aisles opening into the nave,
or, as Mr. Fergusson puts it, "the side aisles in two
gtories." In many instances Ave should find no atrium,
BASILICAS. 203
Init in all crises \vc meet with the nave ami aisles, and the
apse at the end of the nave, with its arch and its elevated
floor ; and the entrances are always at the end of the
huilding farthest from the apse, with some sort of porch
or portal.
The interest of these buiUlings lies not so nuicli in their
venerable antiqnity as in the fact that the arrangements
of all Christian churches in Western Europe down to the
Reformation, and of very many since, are directly derived
from these originals. If the reader will refer to the
description of a Gothic cathedral in the companion volunio
of this series,* it Avill not he diriicidt for him to trace the
correspondence between its plan and its general structure
and those of the primitive basilica. The atrium no long'T
forms the access to a cathedral, but it still survives in the
cloister, though in a changed position. The narlhex or
porch is still more or less traceable in the great western
portals, and in a kind of separation which often, but not
always, exists between the westernmost bay cf a cathedral,
and the rest of the structure. The division into nave and
aisles remains, and in very large churches and cathedrals
there are double aisles, as there were in the largest
basilicas. The nave roof is still higher than the aisles — •
the arcade, in two stories, suivives in the usual arcade
and triforium ; the windows placed high in the nave are
the present clerestory. The apsidal termination of the
central avenue is still retained in a]mo>t all ContinentMl
architecture, though in Great Britain, from an early date,
it was abandoned for a square e:'st end; but square-ended
or apsidal, a recess with a raised floor and a conspicuous
arch, marking it off" from the nave, always occupies this
* 'Gothic and Renaissance Architecture,' chap. ii. p. G.
204 EARLY CHRISTIAX ARCHITECTURE.
end of the cliurcli; and the under c'aurch, or crypt, is
commonly, though not always, met with. The enclosuie
for the choir has, generally speaking, heen moved farther
east than it "was in the basilica churches ; though in
"Westminster Abbey, and in most Spanish cathedrals, we
have examj-iles of its occupying a position closely analogous
to that of the corresponding enclosure at the Basilica of San
Clemente. The cross passage to Avliich we have referred
as having existed in the old Basilica of St. Peter, and
many others, is the original of the transept Avhich in
later churches has been made more conspicuous than it
was in the basilica by being lengthened so as to project
beyond the side Avails of the church, and by being moved
more westward. Lastly, the two ambos, or pulpits,
survive in two senses. They are represented by the
reading desk and the pulpit, and their situation and
purpose are continued in the epistle and gospel sides of
the choir.
The one point in which an essential difference occurs is
the position of the altar, or communion table, and that of
the Bishop's chair, or throne. In the classic basilica the
apse was the tiibunal, and a raised seat Avith a tesselated
pavement occupied the central position in it, and Avas the
justice-seat of the presiding judge; and in the SAveep of
the apse, seats right and left, at a lower elevation, Avere
provided for assessors or assistant-judges. In front of the
president Avas placed a small altar. The Avhole of these
arrangements Avere copied in the basilica churches. The
seat of the president became the bishop's throne, the seats
for assessors Avere appropriated to the clergy, and the
altar retained substantially its old position in front of the
apse, generally Avith a canopy erected over it. This dis-
position continues in basilica churches to the present day.
BASILICAS.
205
At St. Peter's in Ttomo, for example, the Tope occupies a
throne in the middle of the apse, and says mass with his
face turned towards the con;j;re''atiou at the high £,ltar,
Fio. 157.— Sant' Apolun-are, Ravenna. Paut of tuk Arcade and Apse.
Avuich stands in front of his throne under a vast baldac-
cliino or canopy; but in Western Christendom generally
a change has been made, — the altar has been phiced in the
206 EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
apse -where the Lisliop's throne formerly stood, find the
throne of the Li-shop and stalls of his clergy have been
disidaced, and are to he found at the sides of the choir or
preshytery.
Many hasilica clinrches were erected out of fragments
taken from older Luildings, and present a curious mix-
ture of columns, capitals. Arc. ; others, especially those at
Eavenna, exhibit more caie, and are noble specimens of
ancient and severe architectural work. The illustiation
■which we give of part of the nave, arcade, and apse of one
of these, Sant' ApoUinare in Classe, sliows the dignified
yet crmite aspect of one of tlie most carefully executed of
these buikhngs (Fig. 157).
In some of these churclies the decorations are chiefly
in mosaic, and are extremely striking. Our illustration of
the ap?e of the great basilica of St. Paul without the walls
(Fig. 158) may be taken as a fair specimen of the general
arrangement and treatment of the crowd of sacred figures
and suhjects which it is customary to represent in these
situations ; but it can of course convey no idea of the
biilliant eifect proiluced by powerful colouring executed
in mosaic, the most luminous of all methods of enrich-
ment. The floor of most of them was formed in the style
of mosaic known as " opus Alcxandrinum," and the large
sweeping, curved bands of coloured material with which
the main outlines of the patterns are defined, and the
general harmony of colour among the porphyries and
other hard stones with which these pavements were exe-
cuted, combine to satisfy the eye. A splendid specimen of
opus Alexandrinum, the finest north of the Alps, exists in
the presbytery of Westminster Abbey.
Another description of building is customarily met
with in counection Avith early Christian churches, — the
208 E.VRLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Laptistoiy. This is commonly a detaclicd building, and
almost always circular or polyj,^)nal. lu some instances
the baptistery adjoins the atrium or forecourt ; but it
soon became customary to erect detached baptisteries of
considerable size. These generally have a high central
portion carried by a ring of columns, and a low aisle run-
ning round, the receptacle for water being in the centre.
The origin of these buildings is not so clear as that of
the basilica churches; they bear some resemblance to the
Eoman circular temples ; but it is more probable that
the form was suggested by buildings similar in general
arrangement, and forming part of a Roman bath. The
octagonal building known as the baptistery of Constau-
tine, and the circular building now used as a church and
dedicated to Santa Costanza in Home, and the celebrated
baptistery of Eavenna, are early examples of this class of
structure. Somewhat more recent, and very well known,
are the great baptisteries of Florence and Pisa.
A few ancient circular or polygonal churches remain
which do not appear to have been built as baptisteries.
One of these is at Eome, the church of San Stefano
Eotondo ; but another, more remarkable in every way,
is at Eavenna, the church of San Vitale. This is an
octagonal building, with a large vestibule and a small
apsidal clioir. The central portion, carried by eight
arches springing from as many lofty and solid piers, and
surmounted by a hemispherical dome, rises high above
the aisle which surrounds it. INIuch elegance is produced
by the arrangement of smaller columns so as to form a
kind of apsidal recess in each of the interspaces between
the eight main piers.
Another feature which has become thoroughly identified
vrilh church architecture is the boil-tower, or campanile.
BASILICAS. 209
This appeiiflacje, there can be no doubt, originated with
tlie basilicas of Italy. The use of bells as a call to prayer
is said to have been introduced not later, at any rate, tlian
the sixth century, and to this era is attributed a cir-
cular campanile belonging to Sant' Apollinare in Classe at
Kavenna, a basilica already alluded to. The circular plan
was, however, exceptional ; the ancient campaniles re-
maining in Kome are all square ; they are usually built of
brick, many stories in height, and with a group of arched
openings in each story, and are generally surmounted by
a low conical roof.
The type of church which we have described influenced
church architecture in Italy down to the eleventh century,
and such buildings as the beautiful church (Fig. 155) of
San Miniato, near Florence (a.d. 1013), and the renowned
group of Cathedral, Baptistery, Campanile, and Campo
Santo (a kind of cloistered cemetery) at Pisa, bear a very
strong resemblance in many respects to those originals;
though they belong rather to the Eomanesque than to
the Basilican division of early Christian architecture.
Fig. 15SA.— Frieze from the Mosastery at Fulda.
CHAPTER XII.
BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE,
CONSTA^^TINE THE GREAT, who by establishing
the Christian religion had encouraged the erection
of basilicas for Christian worship in Rome and Italy,
effected a great political change, and one destined to exert
a marked influence upon Christian architecture, when he
removed the seat of empire from Rome to Byzantium, and
called the new capital Constantinople,* after his own
name. Byzantium had been an ancient place, but was
almost in ruins when Constantino, probably attracted by
the unrivalled advantages of its site,t rebuilt it, or at least
re-established it as a city. The solemn inauguration of
Constantinople as the new capital took ];lace a.d. 330 ; and
when, under Theodosius, the empire was divided, this city
became the capital of the East.
With a new point of departure among a people largely
* I.e. the City of Constantine.
t " The edge of the world : the knot which links together East and
"West ; the centre in which all extremes combine," was the not over-
charged description given of Constantinople by one of her own bishoj)S.
BYZANTINE. 211
of Greek race, we might exjiect tliat a new development
of tlie cluu'ch from some otlier ty[)e tlian. the basilica
might be likely to sliow itself. This, in fact, is what
occurred; for while tlie most ancient churches of Rome
all present, as we have seen, an almost slavish copy of
an existing type of building, and do not attempt the use
of vaulted roofs, in Byzantium buildings of most original
design sprang up, founded, it is true, on Roman originals,
but by no means exact copies of them. In the erection
of these churches the most difficult problems of construc-
tion were successfully encountered and solved. What
may have been the course which architecture ran during
the two centuries between the refounding of Byzantium
and the building of Santa Sophia imder Justinian, Ave can,
however, only infer from its outcome. It is doubtful il
any church older than the sixth century now remains in
Constantinople ; but it is certain that, to attain the power
of designing and erecting so great a work as Santa SojDhia,
the architects of Constantinople must have continued and
largely modified the Roman practice of building vaults and
domes. There is every probability that if some of the
early churches in Byzantium were domed structures others
may have been vaulted basilicas ; the more so as the very
ancient churches in Syria, which owed their origin to
Byzantium rather than to Rome, are most of them of the
basilica type.
A church Avhich had been erected by Constantine, dedi-
cated to Santa Sophia (holy wisdom), was burnt early in
the reign of Justinian (a.d. 527 to 565) ; and in rebuilding
it his architects, Anthemios of Thralles, and Isodoros of
Miletus, succeeded in erecting one of the most famous
buildings of the world, and one which is the typical and
central embodiment of a distinct and very strongly marked
P 2
L.
'aii..i.i.'i-;:, :-i!i
T^
BYZAXTIN'E. 213
well-ilefineJ style. Tlio basis of this style may Le said to
be the adoption of the dome, in preference to the vault or
the timber roof, as the cov'^ering of llie space enclosed within
tlie walls ; with the result that the general disposition of
tlie plan is circular or square, rather than oblong, and
that the structure recalls the Pantheon more than the
great Hall of the Thermae of Diocletian, or the Basilica of
St. Paul. In Santa Sophia one vast flaltish dome domi-
nates the central space. This dome is circular in plan,
and the space over which it is placed is a square, the
sides of which are occupied by four massive semicircular
arches of 100 ft. span each, springing from four vast
piers, one at each of the four corners. The four tri-
angular spaces between the corners of the square so
enclosed and the circle or ring resting ui)0n it are filled
by what are termed " pendenLives " — features which m;iy,
perhaps, be best described as portions of a dome, each just
sufficient to fit into one corner of the square, and the
four uniting at their upper margin to form a ring. From
this ring springs the main dome. It rises to a height of
4G ft., and is 107 ft. in clear diameter. East and west of
the main dome are two half-domes, each springing from
a wall apsidal (i.e. semicircular) in plan. Smaller apses
again, domed over at a lower level, are introduced, and
vaulted aisles two stories in height occupy the sides of the
space Avithin the outer walls till the outline of the building
is brought to very nearly an exact square. Externally this
church is uninteresting ; * but its interior is of surpassing
beauty, and can be better described in the eloquent lan-
guage of Gilbert Scott t than in any other: "Simple as
* For an illustratiou see Fig. 1S7.
f ' Lectures ou Mediisval Architecture.'
214 CHRISTIAX ARCniTECTUUE.
is the primary ideal, the actual effect is one of great in-
tricacy, and of continuous gradation of parts, from the
small arcades up to tlie stupendous dome, which hangs
with little apparent support lil-ce a vast bubble over the
centre, or as Procopius, who witnessed its erection, de-
scribed it, ' as if suspended by a chain from heaven.'
"The dome is lighted by forty small windows, which
pierce it immediately above the cornice which crowns its
pendentives, and which, by subdividing its lower part
into narrow piers, increases the feeling of its being sup-
ported by its own buoyancy.
" The interior thus generated, covered almost wholly
by domes, or portions of them, each rising in succession
higher and higher towards the floating hemisphere in the
centre, and so arranged that one shall open out the view
to others, and that nearly the entire system of vaulting
may be viewed at a single glance, appears to me to be in
some respects the noblest which has ever been designed,
as it was certainly the most daring which, up to that time
at least, if not absolutely, had ever been constructed."
After pointing out how the smaller arcades and apsidal
projections, and the vistas obtained through the various
arched openings, introduced intricate ellects of perspective
and constant changes of aspect, Scott continues : " This
union of the more palpable with the more mj'sterious, of
the vast imbroken expanse with the intricately broken
perspective, must, as it a]ipears to me, and as I judge
from representations, produce an impression more astound-
ing than that of almost any other building : but when
we consider the whole as clothed with the richest beauties
of surface, — its piers encrusted with inlaid marbles of every
hue, its arcades of marble gorgeously carved, its domes
and vaultings resplendent with gold mosaic interspersed
BYZANTINE. 215
with solemn fic^nres, and its wiJe-sprcaJing floors rich
Mith mai'blB tesselation, over which the buoyant dome
floats self-supported, and seems to sail over you as you
move, — I cannot conceive of anything more astonishing,
more solemn, and more magnificent."
The type of church of which this magnificent cathedral
was the great example has continued in Eastern Chris-
tendom to the present day, and has undergone surprisingly
little variation. A certain distinctive character in the
fohnge (Fig. 163) employed in capitals and other decorative
carving, and mosaics of splendid colour but somewhat gaunt
and archaic design, though often solemn and dignified,
were typical of the Avork of Justinian's day, and could long
afterwards hi recognized in Eastern Christian churches.
Between Eome and Constantinople, and well situated for
receiving influence from both those cities, stood Eavenna,
and here a series of buildings, all more or less Byzantine,
were erected. The most interesting of these is the church
of San Vitale (Figs. 160, 161). This building is octagonal
in plan, and thus belongs to the series of round and
polygonal churches and baptisteries for which the circular
buildings of the Eomans furnished a model; but in its
high central dome, lighted by windows placed high up,
its many subsidiary arcades and apses, the latter roofed
by half-domes, and its vaulted aisles in two stories, it
recalls Santa Sophia ; and its sculpture, carving, and
mosaic decorations are hardly less famous and no less
characteristic.
One magnificent specimen of Byzantine architecture,
more within the reach of ordinary travellers, and con-
sequently better known than San Vitale or Santa Sophia,
must not be omitted, and can be studied easily by means
of numberless photographic illustrations — St. Mark's at
Fig. icu.— Plan of San Viiale at Rav£.\.\a.
:«^
lFhiy~S /x BSU^jZ^
^T
WWW^^^l
ilG 101— SiN \ll\l,t at ivWh N ^. Lu
NOllLDIN VL -IL pi.V
BYZAXTINE.
217
Venice. This cathedral ^vas built between the years
977-1071, and, it is said, according to a design obtained
from Coustantino|)le. It has since been altered in ex-
ternal appearance by the erection of bulVious domical roofs
over its domes, and by additions of florid Gothic cliaracter;
but, disregarding these, we have alike in plan, structure,
and. ornament, a Byzantine church of the tirst class.
The ground-plan of St. Mark's (Fig. 162) presents a
Greek cross, i.e. one in Avhich all the arms are equal, and.
liG. 102.— Plan op St. JIark's at Texicb.
it is roofed by five principal domes, one at the crossing
and one over each of the four limbs of the cross. Aisles at
a low level, and covered by a series of small flat domes, in
lieu of vaulting, fill up the angles betAveen the arms of the
cross, so as to make the outline of the plan nearly square.
218 CnRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
The rich colouring of Sfc. Mark's, due to a profuse employ-
ment of mosaics and of the most costly marbles, and the
splendid effects produced by the mode of introducing
light, "which is admitted much as at Santa Sophia, are
perhaps its greatest charm ; but there is beauty in every
aspect of its interior which has furnished a lit theme for
the pen of the most eloquent "srriter on art and architecture
of the present or perhaps of any day.
Erom Venice the influence of Byzantine art spread
to a small extent in North Italy ; in that city herself as
Avell as in neighbouring to-nnis, such as Padua, buildings
and fragments of buildings exhibiting the characteristics
of the style can be found. Uemarkable traces of the
influence of Byzantium as a centre, believed to be due
to intercourse with Yenice, can also be found in France.
Direct communication with Constantinople by way of the
Mediterranean has also introduced Byzantine taste into
Sicily. One famous French church, St. Front in Perigueux,
is identical (or nearly so) with St. Mark's in its plan ; but
all its constructive arches being pointed (Fig. 3, page 5),
its general appearance diff'ors a good deal from that of
Eastern churches — a difference which is accentuated by
the absence of the mosaics and other coloured ornaments
which enrich the walls of St. INIark's. Many very old
domed churches and much sculpture of the Byzantine
type are moreover to be found in Central and Southern
France — Anjou, Aquitaine, and Auvergne. These are,
however, isolated examples of the style having taken root
in spite of adverse circumstances ; it is in those parts of
Europe where the Greek Church prevails, or did prevail,
til at Byzantine architecture chiefly flourishes. In Greece
and Asia Minor many ancient churches of Byzantine
sLructure remain, while in Pussia churches are built to the
BYZAXTIXE.
219
present day corrospouilincj to the general type of those
which have just been destribcd.
In ancient builtlings of Syria the inducnce of both the
■•n:|M,.-|-]' ..'Vq
jiiillll
Fig. liJ3.— From the GoLbES Door of Jeuusaleji. TniE op Jusiinias. a.d. SCO.
Eoman and the Byzantine models can be traced. Xo
more characteristic specimens of Eyzantine foliage can
be desired than some to be found in Palestine, as lor ex-
120
CUniSTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
ample the Golden Gate at Jerusalem, which we illustrate
(Fig. 1G3); but in the deserted cities of Central Syria a
Flo. 1G4.— OayacH at TcraMAMt;? is Stria. 4x3 and 5tu cbniukT.
group of exceptional ami most interesting buildings, both
secular and sacred, exists, which, as described by De Vogiie,*
* ' Syrie Ceiitrale.'
BYZANTINE.
221
seem to rlisplay a free and very original treatment bised
Tipon Itonian more than Byzantine ideas. We illustrate
llie exterior of one of these, the chiircli at Turmanin
(Fig. 1G4). This is a Luilding divided into a nave and
aisles and with a vestibule. Two low towers flank the
central gable, and it will he noticed that openings of
depressed proportion, mostly semicircular-headed, and
with the arches usually springing from square piers,
mark the building ; while the i;se made of columns
strongly resembles the manner in which in later times
they were introduced by the Gothic archilects.
Fig. iGo.— Toweb of a Kussian CnuRcn.
CHAPTER XIII.
ROIIAXESQUE ARCHITECTURE.
THE toi'iu Eomanescjue is here used to indicate a
style of Christian, architecture, founded on llomau
art, which prevailed throughout Western Europe from the
close of the period of hasilican architecture to the rise of
Gotnic; except in those isolated districts where the influ-
ence of Byzantium is visible. By some writers the signiii-
cance of the word is restricted within narrower limits ;
hut excellent authorities can he adduced for the employ-
ment of it in the wide sense here indicated. Indeed sume
difficulty exists in deciding what shall and what shall nut
he termed Romanesque, if any mo.e restricted definition
of its meaning is adopted ; while under this general term,
if applied broadly, many closely allied local varieties — as,
for example, Lombard, Rhenish, Romance, Saxon, and
Korman — can he conveniently included.
The spectacle which Europe presented after the re-
moval of the seat of empire to Byzantium and the in-
cursions of the ISTorthern tribes was melancholy in the
extreme. Nothing but the church retained any semblance
of organised existence ; and when at last some kind of
order began to emerge from a chaos of universal ruin,
and churches and monastic buildings began to be built in
"Western Europe, all of them looked to Rome, and not
to Constantinople, as their common ecclesiastical centre.
It is not surprising that, as soon as differences between
the ritual of the Eastern and the Western Church sprang
up, a contrast between Eastern and Western architectui'e
should establish itself, and that the early structures of
romam;sque.
223
tlie many countries Avliere tlit Roman Cliurcli flourished
never waudered I'ar from the Eoman type, "witli the ex-
ception of localities where circumstances favoured direct
intercourse wilh the East. The architecture of the
Eastern Church, on the other hand, adhered quite as
closely to the models of Byzantium.
The style, so far as is known, was for a long time almost,
if not absolutely, the
same over a very large
pjart of "Western Chris-
tendom, and it has re-
ceived from i\Ir. Free-
man the appropriate
designation of Primi-
tive Eomanesque. It
was not till the tenth
century, or later, that
distinctive varieties be-
gan to make their ap-
pearance ; and though
that which was built
earher than that date
has, through rebuild-
ings and enlargements
as well as natural de-
cay, been in many
cases swept away, still
enough may be met
Avith to show us what the buildings of tliat remote time
were like.
The churches are usually small, and have an apsidal east
end. The openings are rude, w^ith round-headed arches
and small single or two-light windows, and the outer
Fig. ICC— Tower of Eael's
Babtoh Chukch.
224 CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Avails are generally marked by flat pilasters of very
slight projection. Towers are common, and the openings
in them are often divided into two or more lights by
rude columns. The plan of these churches was founded
on the basilica type, but they do not exhibit the same
internal arrangement; and it is very noteworthy that
many of them shovv marks of having been vaulted, or at
least partly vaulted ; and not covered, as the basilicas
usually were, by timber roofs. Even a country so remote
as Great Britain possessed in the 10th century many build-
ings of Primitive Romanesque character ; and in such Saxon
churches as those of "Worth, Brixworth, Dover, or Bradford,
and such towers as those of Earl's Barton (Fig. 16G),
Trinity Church Colchester, Barnack, or Sompting, we have
specimens of the style remaining to the present day.
By degrees, as buildings of greater extent and more
ornament were erected, the local varieties to which re-
ference has been made began to develop themselves.
In Lombardy and North Italy, for example, a Lombard
Romanesque style can be recognised distinctly ; here a
siries of churches were built, many of them vaulted, but
not many of the largest size. Most of them were on
substantially the same plan as the basilicas, though a con-
siderable number of circular or jj >lygonal churches were
also built. Sant' Ambrogio at Milan, and some of the
churches at Brescia, Pavia, and Lucca, may be cited as
well-known examples of early date, and a little later the
cathedrals of Parma, Modena, and Piacenza (Fig. 167),
and San Zenone at Verona. These churches are all dis-
tinguished by the free use of small ornamental arches and
narrow pilaster-strips externally, and the emi^loyment of
piers with half-shafts attached to them, rather than
columns, in the arcades ; they have fine bell-towers ; cu-
nOMANESQUE.
225
cular windows often occupy the gables, and veiy fre-
quently the walls have been built of, or ornamented Avith,
coloured materials. The sculpture — grotesque, vigorous,
and full of rich variety — which distinguishes many of these
buildings, and which is to be found specially enriching
the doorways, is of great interest, and began early to
develop a character that is quite distinctive.
Fig. 1C7.— Cathedral at Piacenza,
Turning to Germany, we find that a very strong re-
semblance existed between the Eomanesque churches of
that country and those of North Italy. At Aix-la-Chapelle
a polygonal chuich exists, built by Charlemagne, and
Avhich tradition asserts was designed on the model of
San Vitale at Ravenna. The resemblance is undoubted,
but the German church is by no means an exact copy
of Justinian's building. Early examples of German
Romanesque exist in the cathedrals of Mayence, Worms,
and Spires, and a steady advance was made till a point
226 CHRISTIAN' ARCHITECTURE.
■was reached (in the twelfth century) at wliicli the style
may be said to have attained the liigliest development
Avhich Romanesque architecture received in any country
of Europe,
Tlie arcaded ornament (the arches being very frequently
open so as to form a real arcade) which was noticed as
occurring in Lombard churches, belongs also to German
ones, though the secondary internal arcade (triforium) is
absent from some of the early examples. Piers are used
more frequently than columns in the interiors, and are
often very plain. From an early date the use of a western
as well as an eastern apse seems to have been common
in Germany, and high western facades extending between
two towers were features specially met with in that
countiy. For a notice and some illustrations of the
latest and best phase of German Eomanesque, which may
Avith propriety be termed " round-arched Gothic," the
reader is referred to the companion volume of this series.*
France exhibits more than one variety of Romanesque ;
for not only, as remarked in the chapter on Byzantine Art,
is the influence of Greek or Venetian artists traceable in
the buildings of certain districts, especially Perigueux, but
it is clear that in others the existence of fine examples
of Roman architecture (Fig. 168) affected the design of
buildings down to and during the eleventh century. This
influence may, for example, be detected in the use, in the
churches at Autun, Valence, and Avignon, of cajsitals,
pilasters, and other features closely resembling classic
originals, and in the employment through a great part of
Central and Xorthern France of vaulted roofs.
A specially French feature is the chevet, a group of
* ' Gothic aud Renaissance Architecture,' chap. vii.
nOMAXKSQUE.
npsidal chapels wliich were built round the apse itself,
and which combined with it to make of tlie east end of a
great cathedral a singidaily rich and ornate compositinn.
Fig. lOS.— Vaclts of the txcavati d PiiniAN Baths, i.n tub
MUSEE DE CLUNY, PaRIS.
This feature, originating in Eomanesqiie churches, was
retained in France through the Avhole of the Gothic
period, and a good example of it may be seen in the large
Romanesque church of St. Sernin at Toulouse, which we
illustrate (Fig. 169). The transepts were usually well
Q 2
Tiu. l(iJ — CuuECH OF Si. S£Kmx, Toulouse.
ROMAXKSQUE.
229
niarlicJ. Tlie nave arcailos generally sprang from piers
(Fig. 170), more rarely from columns. Arches arc con-
stantly met with recessed,
i.e. in receding planes,'*" the
first stage of progress to-
■\vards a Gothic treatment,
and are occasionally slightly
moulded (Fig. 171). Western
doorways are often, highly
enriched with sculpture; and
the carving and. sculpture
generally, though often rude,
are full of vitalitJ^ Towers
occur, usually square, more
rarely octagonal. Window-
lights are frequently grouped
two or more under one arch.
Capitals of a basket-shape,
and with a square abacus,
often richly sculptured, are
employed.
In Xormnndy, and gener-
ally in the North of Franco,
round-arched architecture
was excellently carried out,
and churches remarkable
both for their extent ard
their great dignity and soli-
dity were erected. Gener-
ally speaking, however, Xorman architecture, especially
as met with in Normandy itself, is less ornate than the
Fig. 170.— Nave Arcade at St.
Sekkin, Toulouse.
* 'Gothic and Eenais'arce Architecture,' chap. v. p. G2.
230
CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
Romanesque of Southern France ; in fact some of the best
examples seem to suli'er from a deticiency of ornament.
Nv. ^v
Fig. 171.— Arches in eecedisg riANr.s at St. Sernin TouLorsE.
Ihc large and ■\vell-kiiown churches at Caen, St. Eticnne,
otherwise the AbLayeaux llonimes — interesting to English-
POMAXESQUE. 231
men as having been fonndod by AVilliam tlie Conqneror im-
mediately after the Conquest — and the Trinite, or Abbaye
aux Dames, are excellent exanij)les of early Norman arclii-
tecture, but the student must not forget that additions
have been made to them, which, if they add to their
beauty, at the same time alter their character. For ex-
ample, in St. Etienne, the upper part of the western
towers and the fine spires with which they are crowned
were built subsequent to the original structure, as was
also, in all probability, the chevet, or eastern limb. It
seems probable also that the vaulting may not be what
Avas contemplated in the original plan.
St. Etienne is 364 ft, long, and is lofty in its pro-
portions. It has a nave and aisles, arcades resting on
piers, and strongly-marked transepts, and has two western
towers with the gable of tlie nave between them. The
west front is well designed in three stories, having
strongly-marked vertical divisions in the buttresses of
the towers, and equally distinct horizontal divisions in
the three doorways below, and two ranges of windows,
each of five lights, above. There is no circular west
■window. The nave and aisles are vaulted.
Besides other cathedral churches, such for example as
those of Bayeux and Evreux, in which considerable parts
of the original structures remain, there exist throughout
Kormandy and Br'.ttany many parochial churches and
monastic buildings, exhibiting, at least in some portions
of their structure, the same characteristics as those of
St. Etienne ; and it is clear that an immense number of
buildings, the beauty and even refinement of which are
conspicuous, must have been erected in Northern France
during the eleventh and the early years of the twelfth
centuries, the period to which Norman architecture in
Fiance may be said to belong.
232 CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
In Great Britain, as has been already pointed out,
enougli traces of Saxon — that is to say, Primitive Eonian-
esque — architecture remain to show that many simple,
tliough comparatively rude, buildings must have been
erected previous to the Norman Conquest. Traces exist
also of an influence which the rapid advance that had been
made by the art of building as practised in Normandy
was exerting in our island. The buildings at Westminster
Abbey raised by Edward the Confessor, though they have
been almost all rebuilt, have left just sufficient traces
behind to enable us to recognise that they were of bold
design. The plan of the Confessor's church was laid out
upon a scale almost as large as that of the present
structure. The monastic buildings were extensive. The
details of the work were, some of them, relined and deli-
cate, and resembled closely those employed in Norman
buildings at that time. Thus it appears that, even had the
Conquest not taken place, no small influence would have
been exerted upon buildings in England by the advance
then being made in Fiance ; but instead of a gradual
improvement being so produced, a sudden and rapid
revolution was elFected by the complete conquest of the
country and its occupation by nobles and ecclesiastics from
Normandy, who, enriched by the plunder of the conquered
country, were eager to establish themselves in permanent
buildings.
Shortly after the Conquest distinctive features began to
show themselves. Norman architecture in England soon
became essentially difl'erent from what it was in Normandy,
and we possess in this country a Large series of fine works
showing the growth of this imported style, from the early
simplicity of the chapel in the ToAver of London to such
elaboration as that of the later parts of Durham Cathedral.
The number of chuiclies founded or rebuilt soon after
ROMANESQUE. 233
the Xonnrin Conquest must liave been enormous, for in
examining churches of every date and in every part of
England it is common to find some fragment of I^Toiniau
work remaining from a former church : tliis is very
frequently a doorway left standing or built into walls of
later date ; and, in addition to these fragments, no small
number of churches, and more than one cathedral,
together with numerous castles, remain in whole or in
part as they were erected by the original builders.
Korman architecture is considered to have provniled in
England for more than a century; that is to say, fnun the
Conquest (lOGG) to the accession of Eichnrd I. (1189).
For some details of the marks by which ^^orman work
can be recognised the reader is referred to the companion
volume;* we propose here to give an account of the
broader characteristics of the buildings erected during the
prevalence of the style.
The oldest remaining parts of Canterbury Cathedral are
specimens of Xorman architecture executed in England
immediately after the Conquest. This great church was
rebuilt by Archbishop Lanfrauc (whose episcopate lasted
from 1070 to 1089), and in extent as laid out by him was
very nearly identical with the existing structure; almost
every portion has, however, been rebuilt, so that of his
work only the towers forming transepts to the choir, and
some other fragments, now remain. More complete and
equally ancient is the chapel in the Tower of London,
which consists of a small apsidal church with nave and
aisles, vaulted throughout, and in excellent preservation.
This building, though very charming, is almost destitute
* 'Gothic and Renaissance Architecture,' chap. ii. p. 23.
234
CHniST.'AN ARCHITECTURE.
of ornament. A Jittle more ornate, and still a good
example of early Norman, is St. Peter's Church, North-
ampton (Fig. 172), the interior of which we illustrate.
To these example? (f early Norman we may add a large part
of Piochester Cathedral, and the transepts of Winchester.
Fig. 172.— Nohman Arches in St. Pjjter's CHnKcn, Northamtpon.
Tlie transepts of Exeter present a specimen of rather more
advanced Norman work ; and in the cathedrals of Peter-
Lorough and Durham the style can be seen at its best.
In most Norman buildings we find very excellent
masonry and massive construction. The exteriors of Avest
ROMANESQUE, 235
fronts, transepts, and towers sliow groat skill and care in
their composition, the openings being always well grouped,
and contrasted with plain wall-spaces ; and a keen sense
of proportion is perceptible. The Norman architects had
at command a rich, if perhaps a rather rude, ornamenta-
tion, Avliich they generally confined to individual features,
esjiecially doorways; on these they lavished mouldings
and sculjtture, tlie elaboration of which Avas set off by the
])lainuess of the general structure. In the interior of
the churches we usually meet with piers of massive pro-
]>ortion, sometimes round, sometimes octagonal, sometimes
rectangular, and a shaft is sometimes carried up the face
of the piers ; as, for example, in Peterborough Cathedral
(Fig. 173). The capitals of the columns and ]iiers have a
square abacus, and, generally speaking, are of the cushion-
shaped sort, conimonly known as basket-capitals, and are
profusely carved. The larger churches have the nave
roofed with a timber roof, and at Peterborougli there
is a wooden ceiling ; in these cases the aisles only are
vaulted, but in some small churches the whole building has
been so covered. Buttresses are seldom required, owing
to the great mass of the Avails ; when employed they have
a very sliglit projection, but the same strips or pilasters
which are used in German Romanesque occur here also.
L'lW towers were common, and have been not unfrequently
preserved in cases Avhere the rest of the building has been
removed. As th' style advanced, the proportions of arcades
became more lofty, and shafts became more slen^ler, deco-
rative arcades {Fig. 174) became more common, and in
Ihese and many other changes the approaching transition
to Gothic may be easily detected.
"We have already alluded to the many Norman doorways
remaining in parish churches of which all other parts
Lave been rebuilt. These doorways are generally very
23G
CIIRISTIAX ARCIIITFCTURT^.
ricli ; they possess a series of mouMingg sometimes
springing from
shafts, some-
times running
not only round
the arched head,
hut also up the
janihs of the
opening ; and
each moulding
?s richly carved,
very often -with
a repetition of
the same orna-
ment on each
voussoir of the
arch. Occasion-
ally, but not fre-
quently, large
portions of wall-
s urf ace are
covered by a
diaper ; that is
to say, an orna-
ment constantly
repeated so as
to produce a
general sense of
enrichment.
Norman cas-
tles, as well as
churches, Avere
built in great
cumbers shortly
i'lo. 173.— Nave Alcade, Peieebokough C'aiuedkal.
ROMANESQUE.
237
after the Conque-t, and not a lew remain. The strong-
hold which a follower of the Conqueror built in order to
establish himself on the lands granted him was always
a very sturdy nuissive square tower, low in proportion
Fig. 174.— Decorative Aucade from Cantebbuky Catueural.
to its width, built very strongly, and with every pro-
vision for sustaining an attack or even a siege. Such a
tower is called " a keep ; " and in many famous castles, as
for example the Tower of London, tlxe keep forms the
nucleus round which buildings and courtyards of later
date have clustered. In some few instances, however, as
for example at Colchester, the keep is the only part now
238
CIIRISTIAX ARCHITECTURE.
standing, and it is probable that when originally built
these Norman castles were not much encumbered with out-
buildings. Rochester C'astle is a line example of a Xorman
keep, though it has sutfered much from decay and injury.
Fig. 175.— llEDiKcnAJi Castle.
The very large I^orman keep of the ToAver of London,
known as the "White Tower, and containing the chapel
already described, has been much modernised and altered,
but retains the fine mass of its original construction.
ROMANESQUE.
239
Perhaps the best (and best-preserve J) example is II ed-
inghiim Castle in Essex, which ve illustrate (Figs. 175
aud 17G). yruiu the reiiiuius of this building suiiie idea
Fig. 17G.— Interior of IltDiNGnAii C'AiTLE.
of the interior of the hall — the chief room -within a
!Norman keep — may be obtained, as well as of the general
external appearance of such a structure.
^%.
llO. in'.— KuUNDED AeCH OF ChDRCH AT GELMIAL'SEN.
CHAPTER XIV.
CIIUISTIAN ROUND-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
Analysis.
NOTWITHSTANDING very wide differences which
undoubtedly exist, there is a sufficient bond of
xinion between the Easilican, tlie Byzantine, and the
Eomanesque styles, to render it possible for us to include
the characteristics of the three in an analysis of Christian
round-arched architecture.
The Plan or floor-dispositiun of the basilican churches, as
has been pointed out, was distinctive. The atrium, or
forecourt, the porch, the division into nave and aisles ;
the transept, the great arch, and the apse beyond it with
the episcopal scat at the back behind the altar; the
ambos ; aud the enclosure for the choir, were typical fea-
tures. Detached towers sometimes occurred. The plan
AXA[.YSIS : THE TLAX.
241
of Eomanc.S(|UC climclies was based upon that of llic
basilica; the atiiiiiu was often oniitlcd, so was the tiansepu
sometimes ; Lut, wlieu retained, tlie transept was generally
made mure pr.iiniiiiMit than in the basilica. Tiie position
of the altar and of the enclosure for tire choir were changeil,
Tig. 17S —Plan of the CbltvCH of the Apostus at Cologse.
but in other respects the basilica plan was continued.
In Germany, however, apsidal transepts (Fig. 178) were
built. Towers were comiuon, occasionally detached, but
more frequently joined to the main building.
Circular and polygonal buildings for use as baptisteries,
R
242
CHRISTIAN EOUND-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
and sometimes as churches, existed both in tlie basilican
and the Eomanesque time.
Byzantine church plans are all distinguished by their
great central square space, covered by the central dome,
flanked usually by four arms, comparatively short, and
all of equal length ; and the plan of the buildings is
generally square, or nearly so, in outline. Circular and
polygonal buildings sometimes occur.
Tew traces of the arrangement of military, secular,
or domestic buildings earlier
than the twelfth century re-
main, but some examples of a
cloister at the side of the nave
(generally the south side) of a
church, giving or intended to
give access to monastic build-
ings, still exist.
TIte Walls of such buildings
as have come down to us are, it
may be well understood, strong,
since the most recent of this
round-arched series of buildings
must be about seven hundrt;d
years old. Fine masonry -was
not much employed till the time
of the Normans, but the Eoman
pi, in of building with bricks or
rubble and casing the face of the
walls with marble or mosaic, or
at least plaster, was generally
followed. The walls are carried
up as gables and towers to a considerable extent (Fig. 179),
especially in Western countries.
Fig. 17U.— SriRE of Spires
Caihedeal.
analysis: the roof— the openings. 243
Thr liodf. — In a basilica this was of timber, in a Byzan-
tine church it consisted of a series of domes ; in a Roman-
esque church it was sometimes of timber as in tlie basilica,
but not unfrequently vaulted. As a general rule the vault
prevailed in the AVost and the dome in the East ; and
such examples of either sort of roof as occur in those
provinces where the other was usual, like the domed
churches in parts of France, must be looked upon as
exceptional.
Tlie Opcnimjs are almost invariably arched, and seldom,
if ever, covered by a lintel. It is hardly necessary to add
that the arches are always round. Almost always they
are semicircular, but instances of the employment of a
segmental arch, or of one the outline of which is a little
more than half a circle, may be occasionally met with.
Door openings are often made important both by size
and decoration. Window openings are usually small ; and
the grouping of two or more lights under one head, which
was so conspicuous a feature in Gothic architecture, first
appears in Byzantine buildings, and is met with also in
Eomanesque ones. The mode of introducing light is to
a certain extent characteristic. The basilican churches
always possess a clereslory, and usually side windows in
the aisles ; and this arrangement is generally followed in
Eomanesque buildings, though sometimes, in Germany,
the clerestory is omitted. The gable ends of the nave
and transepts are not usually pierced by many or large
lights (Fig. 180); and when there is a central feature, as
a tower, or even a dome, little or no light is introduced
through it. On the other hand, the Byzantine churches
depend largely for light upon the ring of windows which
commonly encircles the base of the central dome, and some-
times that of the subsidiary domes ; and the gables are
ANALYSIS: THE COLUJIXS. 2-15
pierced so as to supply any atklitional light required, so
that windows are infrequent in the lower walls. Broadly
speaking, therefore, the AYestern churches have side-
lighting and tlie Eastern topdighting.
The great arches which carry the main domes form a
notable feature in Eastern churches, and are of very bold
construction. In the basilican churches one great arch,
called " the arch of triumph," occurs, and only one ; this
gives access to the ajise : and a similar arch, which we
now denominate " the chancel arch," usually occupies a
corresponding position in all Eomanesqne churches. The
arches of the arcade separating the nave from the aisles
in all "Western churches are usually of moderate span.
In some ancient basilicas these arches are replaced by
a horizontal beam.
The Columns. — In 1 asilicas these were of antique type ;
very often they had actually been obtained by the demo-
lition of older buildings, and when made purposely they
were as a rule of the same general character. The same
might be said of those introduced into Byzantine build-
ings, though a divergence from the classic type soon
manifested itself, and small columns began to appear as
decorative features. In Eomanesque buildings the columns
are very varied indeed, and shafts are frequently intro-
duced into the decoration of other features. They occur
in the jambs of doorways with mouldings or sub-archfs
springing from them ; long sliafts and short ones, fre-
quently supporting ornamental arcades, are employed
both internally and externally ; and altogether that use
of the column as a means of decoration, of which Gothic
architecture presents so many examples, tirst began in the
Eomanesque style.
The capitals employed in Romanesque buildings gener-
246
CHRISTIAN ROUND-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
Fig. 181.— Cubic C.vriT.iL.
ally dejxiit considerably from the classic type, being based
on the primitive cube capital (Fig. 181), but, as a rule,
in Eastern as well as in basi-
licau churches, they bear a
tolerably close resemblance to
classic ones.
The Ornaments throughout
the whole of the Christian
round-arched period are a very
interesting subject of study,
and will repay close attention.
In the basilican style mould-
ings occur but seldom : where
met with, they are all of the profiles common in Eoman
architecture, but often rudely and clumsily worked.
Carving partakes also of classic character, though it is
not difficult to detect the commencement of that meta-
morphosis which was effected in Byzantium, and which
can hardly be better described than in the ibllowing
paragraph from the pen of Sir Digby Wyatt : — " The
foliage is founded on ancient Greek rather than on
Eoman traditions, and is characterised by a peculiarly
sharp outline. All ornamental sculpture is in compara-
tively low relief, and the absence of human and other
figures is very marked. Enrichments were almost invari-
ably so carved, by sinking portions only of the surfaces
and leaving the arrises and principal places untouched, as
to preserve the original constructive forms given by the
masim (Fig. 184). The employment of the drill instead
of the chisel, so common in debased Eoman work, was
retained as a very general practice by the Greek carvers,
and very often with excellent etiect. The foliage of the
acanthus, although imitated from the antique, quite
AXALYSIS : THE ORNAMENTS.
247
cliaiigeJ its character, becoming moro geometrical and
conveutiunal in its tbriii. That which particularly dis-
tinguishes Lombard from IJyzantine art is its sculpture
abounding with grotesque imagery, with illustrations of
every-day life, of a I'an-
ciful mythology not yet
quite extinct, and allu-
sions, no longer symbolic
but direct, to the Chris-
tian creed ; the latter
quality a striking evi-
dence of the triumph of
the Roman Church over
all iconoclastic adver-
saries in Greece." \Vh;it
is here asserted of Lom-
bard carving is true < f
that in the Eomanesquo
buildings in Germany,
Scandinavia (Fig. liS2),
Fiance, and to a certain
extent in Great Britain,
though in our own coun-
try a large proportion of
the ornamental carving
consists simply of decor-
ative patterns, such as
the chevron, billet, and
zig-zag; and sculpture containing figures and animals is
less common.
The mouldings of Romanesque buildings are simple, and
at first were few in number, but by degrees they became
more conspicuous, and before the tran-sition to Gothic they
f ,G. 182 —Doorway at Tind. Norway.
(E.ND OF 1::th century.)
248
CHRISTIAN ROUN'D-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
assumed considerable importance (Ficj. 183) and added not
a little to the arcliitectural character of the buildino-s.
_-=-^---i:-'?-=t?=?
Fjg. 1S3.— JIuuldings of Portal of Sr. James's Churce at Koesfeid.
Coloured decoration, especially in mosaic, was a con-
spicuous feature in basilicau churches, and still more fo
in those of the Byzantine style j such decoration iu
ANALYSIS : THE ORXAMEXTS. 249
liomanesqne churclies was not infrequent, but it Avas
more coniinonly painted in fresco or teniitera. The glass
mosaic-work to be fo;;ncl on tlie walls of Early Christian
clinrclios, both basilican and Byzantine, bnt less frequently
Iiomnnesquo, is most interesting and beautiful : " it
was," says tlio high autlioritj' already qnoti'd, "employed
only to represent and reproduce the forms of existing
objects, such as figures, architectural forms and conven-
tional foliage, which Avere generally relieved with some
slight indication of shading upon a gold ground — the
Avhole being bedded in the cement covering the walls and
vaults of the basilicas and churches."
"The design of both figures and ornaments was,
generally speaking, very rude, though not without an
occasional rising in some of the figures to a ceitain sub-
limity, derivable principally from the great simjilicity
of the forms and draperies and the earnest grandiose
expression depicted on their countenances. The pieces
of glass employed in the formation of this work are very
irregular in shapes and sizes, of all colours and tones of
colour, and the ground tint almost invariably prevailing is
gold. The manner of execution is always large and coarse,
and rarelj'" approaches in neatness of joint and regularity
of bedding to the (ancient Eoman) ' opus majus vermicu-
latus ; ' yet, notwithstanding these blemishes, the effect of
gorgeous, luxurious, and at the same time solemn decora-
tion produced is unattainable by any other means as yet
employed as structural embellishment. How noble and
truly ecclesiastical in character are the gold-clad interiors
of Monreale Cathedral, of the Capella Palatina at Palermo,
of St. Mark at Venice, San Miniato at Florence, or Santi
Apollinare and Vitale at Eavenna, the concurrent testi-
mony of all travellers attests."
250 CHRISTIAN ROUND-ARCHED ARCHITECTURE.
A finer kind of glass mosaic arranged in geometrical
patterns was made use of to enrich the ambos, screens,
episcopal chairs, sepulchral ornaments, and other similar
fittings of churches, and was often of great beauty. A
third sort of mosaic — the Alexandrine Avork (opus Alex-
andrinum) — used for pavements, lias been already alluded
to; this was extremely elective, but its uso appears to
have been less general than that of the glass mosaics fur
the walls.
The Arcliltectural Character of the basilican churches may
be briefly characterised as venerable and dignified, but
yet cheerful and bright rather than forbidding; they are,
as interiors, impressive but not oppressive, solemn but not
gloomj'. Comparatively little attention was paid to ex-
ternal effect, and there is not often much in them to strike
the passer-by. The character of Byzantine interiors is
far moi e rich, and even splendid ; but it is more gloomy,
and often is solemn and grand to the last degree. In
many cases these churches possess line exteriors ; and for
the level sky-line produced liy the long straight roofs of the
basilica, a more or less pyramidal composition, showing
curved outlines rather than straight ones, is substituted.
The architectural character of the Romanesque buildings
varies extremely with the districts in "which they are
erected ; but, generally speaking, it may be described as
picturesque, and even sometimes romantic ; the appearance
of towers, prominent transepts, and many smaller decora-
tive features serves to render the exteriors telling and
varied, though often somewhat rude and primitive. A solid
and somewhat heavy character distinguishes the inteiiors
of some varieties of Romanesque buildings — such, for
example, as our own Early Norman; but in our fully-
developed and late Ncrmau, and still more in the latest
analysis: auciiiiectural character.
251
German Eouianesque churches, this disappears almost
eutirely, and iiiiich beauty and even liglitiiess of effect
is obtained, witliout any loss of that richness which is
characteristic of more ancient examples.
Fia. 181 — Brz.vNTiNE Easkei-work Capital from San Michei.e in Affeicisco
AT RaVEXMA.
Tig. loj.— Aeaeian Capital. Fiwa the Alhamesa.
CHAPTER XV
IIOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE.
FEW revolutions more sadden, more signal, and more
widespread are recorded in history than that which
covered not only the East but part of the West with the
Mohammedan religion and dominion. Mohammed was born
either in the year 569 or 570 of the Christian era, and
died A.D. 652. The year of the Hegira, the era from
which Mohammedans compute their chronology, is a.d.
G22, and within little more than n century from this era
the Prophet was acknowledged, and the suzerainty of the
Caliph recognised eastwards, in Arabia, Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, and Persia, and in India as far as to the Ganges;
and westwards along the north coast of Africa, in Sicily,
and in Spain. It was only to be expected that such a
Avonderful tide of conquest and such a widespread change
EGYPT. 253
of religion should before long leave its impross on tlio
arcliitecture of the continents thus revolutionisi'd ; and
accordingly a ]\Iohaminedan style soon rose. This style
(lid not displace or override the indigemais art of the
various countries where it prevailed, as Roniaji archi-
lecture did in the age of universal duminion under the
Empire; it assimilated the peculiarities of each country,
and so tiansmuted them, that although wlierever the
religion of Mohammed prevails the architechire will at
a glance confess the fact, still the local or national
peculiaiities of each country remain prominent.
The Arabs, a nomadic race who lived in tents, do not
seem to have been great builders even in their cities. Wc
have no authentic accounts or existing remains of veiy
early buildings even in INIecca or j\Ieilina, as the oldest
mosques in those cities have been completely rebuilt. It
is to Egypt and Syria that we must turn for tlie most
ancient remaining examples of Saracenic architecture.
These consist of mosques and tombs.
E'wpt.
A mosque — or ^Mohammedan place of worship — has
two forms. The earlier mosques are all of them of a
type the arrangement of which is simplicity itself. A
large open courtyard, resembling the garth of a cloister,
Avith a fountain in it, is surrounded cloister-wise by
arcades supporting timber roofs. On the side nearest
Mecca the arcades are increased to several rows in depth,
so as to cover a considerable space. This is the part in
which the congregation chietly assembles ; here a niche or
recess (termed Kibla), more or less enriched, is formed
in which the Koran is to be kept, and hard by a pulpit
254
JIOIIAMJIEDAN ARCniTECTURE.
is erected. For many centuries past, though not, it is
believed, from the very eailiest times, a minaret or high
tower, from the top of which the call to prayer is given,
hns also been an indispeiisaLle adjunct to a mosque.
Tlie second sort of mosque is a domed, and sometimes
vaulted building of a form chiefly suggested by the
JJyzaiitine domed churclies, with a central space and four
short arms. Tliis sort of mosque became almost universal
in Turkey aud Egypt after tlie capture of Constantinople
by tlie Turks, and the appropriation to Moslem worship of
Santa Sophia itself. The tombs are ornate and monumental
buildings, or sanctuaries, of the same general character
as the domed mos(pies, and often attached to them.
From very early times
the arches, in the arcades
which have been described
as virtually constituting
the whole structure of the
fiinpler sort of mosque,
wei e pointed. Llibke claims
as the earliest known and
dated example of the
])ointed arch in a Saracenic
building, the !Nilometer, a
small structure on an island,
near Cairo, which contains
pointed arches that must
have been built either at
the date of its original con-
struction in A.D. 719, or at
latest, when it was restored a.d. 821. The Mosque of
Amrou, however, which was founded very soon after the
conqi;cst of Egypt in a.d. 643, and is largely made up of
Fjg. 186.— Hoese-shoe AllCH.
256 MOHAMMEDAN' ARCniTECTURE.
materials obtained from older buildings, exhibits pointed
arches, not only in the arcades, wliich probably have been
rebuilt since they were originally formed, but in the outer
walls, which are likely, in part at least, to be original.
"Whatever uncertainty may rest upon these very remote
specimens of pointed architecture, there is little if any
about the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, also at Cairo, and built
A.D. 885, or, according to another authority, a.d. 879.
Here arcades of bold pointed arches spring from piers,
and the efiect of the Avhole structure is noble and full
of character. From that time the pointed arch was
constantly used in Saracenic buildings along with the
semicircular and the horse-shoe arcli (Fig. 18C).
From the ninth century, then, the pointed arch was
ia constant use. It prevailed in Palestine as well as in
the adjacent countries for two centuries before it reached
the West, and there can be no doubt that it was there
seen by the Western Crusaders, and a knowledge of its
use and an appreciation of its beauty and convenience
Avere brought back to Western Europe by the returning
ecclesiastics and others at the end of the First Crusade.*
In the eleventh century the splendid Tombs of the
Caliphs at Cairo Avere erected, — buildings crowned with
domes of a graceful pointed form, and remaikable for the
external decoration which usually covers the whole sur-
face of those domes. By this time also, if not earlier, the
minaret had become universal. This is a lofty tower
of slender proportions, passing from a square base below
to a circular form above (Fig. 187). A minaret is
often divided into several stages. Each stage is then
marked by a balcony, and is, generally speaking, a
* The First Crusade lasted from a.d. 1095 to a.d. 1099.
Pig. 183— ALHAiiBBA. Hall op the Abesckerages.
258 MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE.
polygon of a greater number of sides than the stage
below it.
In the interiors of Saracenic buildings what is generally
known as honeycomb corbelling is constantly employed
to fill up corners and effect a change of plan from a square
below to a circle or octagon above. This ornament is
formed by the use of a series of small brackets, each
course of them overhanging those below, and produces
an effect some idea of which may be gathered from our
illustration (Fig. 188) of the Hall of the Abencerrages in
the Alhambra. The interiors when not domed are often
covered by wooden or plaster ceilings, more or less richly
decorated, such as are shoAvn in the view of one of the
arcades of the Mosque " El Moyed," Cairo (Fig. 189),
where the horse-shoe and pointed arches can both be seen.
This illustration also shows timber ties, at the feet of
the arches, such as were commonly used by the earlier
Saracenic builders.
The surfaces of the interiors of most Mohammedan
buildings in all countries are covered with the most
exquisite decorations in colour. Imitations of natural
objects being forbidden by the Koran (a prohibiton occa-
sionally, but very rarely, infringed), the Saracenic artists,
whose instincts as decorators seem to have been un-
rivalled, fell back upon geometrical and flowing patterns
and inscriptions, and upon the use of tiles (Fig. 190),
mosaics, inlays, patterns impressed on plaster, and every
possible device for harmoniously enriching the surfaces
with which they had to deal. Several of our illustrations
give indications of the presence of these unrivalled decora-
tions in the buildings which they represent (Fig. 195).
AYindows are commonly filled by tracery executed in
stone or in plaster, and glazed with stained glass; and
Tig. 189.— Mosque 'El Moved' at Caiuo.
S 2
2G0
JIOHAMMEDAX ARCHITECT CUE.
many of the open spaces in buildings are occupied by
grilles, executed in Avood, and most eilective and rich in
design.
Fig. ISO.— Arabian Wall Decuratios.
S/jria and Palestine.
Syria was one of the countries earliest overrun by the
Arab propaganda, and Jerusalem was taken by the Caliph
Omar as early as a.d. 637. He there built a small mosque,
though not the one which commonly goes by his name. Two
mosques of great antiquity and importance, but the origin
of which is a matter of dispute among authorities, stand
SYItlA AND PALESTINE.
2G1
in the Haram enclosure at Jernsalom. One of these is
the octagonal building called the ISakhra (Figs. 191-2),
known in the Moslem world as the Dome of the Rock,
popularly called the oNIosque of Omar, and occupying, as
is all but univeisally admitted, part of tlie site of the
Fig. 191.— Plas of the Sakhka Mosque at Jekusaiem.
Temple itself. Whether this is a " nearly unaltered
Christian building of the fourth century," or a construc-
tion of Abd-el-Malek, the second. Caliph, erected in the
year 688, has been debated keenly ; but what is beyond
debate is that this structure is very Byzantine, or, to
speak with more exactness, very like some of the build-
ings of Justinian in plan and section, and that from
early times it was in the possession of the Saracens, and
•was regarded by them as the next most venerable and
sacred spot in the world after Mecca. !Much the same
difference of opinion prevails as to the origin of the
neighbouring mosque, El Aksah, which bears an un-
doubted general resemblance to an ancient basilica,
k
I
^
Fig. 192.— Section of the Sakhba Mosqub at JEKUaALLM,
SICILY AND SPAIN-. 263
though having no fewer than seven parallel avenues.
This building has with equal confidence been attributed to
the fourth and the seventh century. It is fortunately
quite unnecessary hero to do more than point out that
these mosques, whatever their origin, were in uso at least
as early as the eighth century, and that the beautiful
Dome of the .Kock must have exercised a great influence
on ]\Iohanune(lan art, and, notwithstanding some differ-
ences of plan, may bo fairly regarded as the prototype
of many of the domed mosques and tombs to which
allusion has been made. The decorations shown in our
illustrations of the Sakhra are, it is right to observe,
most of them of a date centuries later than the time
of the original construction of the building.
Sicil!/ and Sjjcdn.
The spread of ]\Iohammedan architecture westward
next claims our notice ; but want of space will only
permit ns to mention a small though interesting group of
Saracenic buildings which, still remains in Sicily; the
numerous specimens of the style which exist on the north
coast of Africa ; and the works erected by the Saracens
during their long rule in Spain. Tlie most celebrated
Spanish example is the fortress and palace of the Alham-
bra, begun in 1248, and finished in 1314. This building
(Fig. 188) has been measured, drawn, and fully illustrated
in an elaborate monograph by our countryman Owen
Jones, and has become popularly known by the beautiful
reproduction of portions of it which he executed at the
Crystal Palace, and of which he wrote an admirable de-
scription in his ' Guide-book to the Alhambra Court.' The
Mohammedan architecture of Spain is here to be seen at
2G4:
MOnAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE.
its best ; most of its features are those of Arab art, "but
Avith a distinguishing character (Fig. 193).
Tig. 193.— Doorway in the Alhambra.
Two other Avell-knowu examples are, the GiraUa * at
* ' Gothic and Eeuaissance Architecture,' p. 141.
riCRSIA AXD INDIA. 2G5
Seville, and the Mosque at Cordova. The Giralda is
a square tower, in fact a minaret on a magnificent scale,
divided into panels and richly decorated, and shows a
masculine though beautiful treatment wholly dilT(>rent
from that of the minarets in Cairo. The well-known
Mosque at Cordova is of the simplest sort of plan, l)ut
of very great extent, and contains no less than nineteen
parallel avenues separated from one another by arcades
at two heights springing from 850 columns. The Kibla
in this mosque is a picturesque domed structure higher
than the rest of the building. The columns employed
throughout are antique ones from other buildings, but
the whole effect of the structure, which abounds Avith
curiously cusped arches and coloured decoration, is de-
scribed as most picturesque and fantastic.
Persia and India.
Turning eastwards, we find in Turkey, as has been said,
a close adherence to the forms of Byzantine architecture.
In Persia, where the people are now fire-worshippers, the
Mohammedan buildings are mostly ruined, and probably
many have disappeared, but enough remains to shoAv that
mosques and palaces of great grandeur were built. Lofty
doorAvays are a someAAdrat distinctive feature of Persian
buildings of this style; and the use of coloured tiles of
singular beauty for linings to the Avails, in the heads of
these great portals, and in other situations to AA'hich such
decoration is appropriate, is very common : these decora-
tions afford opportunity for the Persian instinct for colour,
probably the truest in the whole Avorld, to make itself seen.
In India the wealth of material is such that an almost
unlimited series of fine buildings could be brought
forAvard, Avere space and illustrations available. A large
part of that vast coimtry became JNIohammedan, and in the
2GG MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE.
buildings erected for mosques and tombs a complete blend-
ing of the decorative forms in use among Hindu and Jaina
sculptors with the main lines of Mohammedan art is
generally to be found. The great open quadrangle^ the
pointed arch, the dome, the minaret, all appear, but they
are all made out of Indian materials. Perhaps not the
least noteworthy feature of mosques and tombs in India
is the introduction of perforated slabs of marble in the
place of the bar-tracery which filled the heads of openings
in Cairo or Damascus. These are works of the greatest
and most refined beauty : sometimes panels of thin marble,
each pierced with a ditlerent pattern, are fitted into a
framework prepared for their reception ; at others we meet
with window-heads where upon a background of twining
stems and leaves there grow up palms or banian-trees,
their lithe branches and leaves wreathed into lines of
admirable grace, and every part standing out, owing to
the fine piercings of the marble, as distinctly as a tree
of Jesse on a painted window in a Gothic cathedral.
The dome at Bijapur, a tomb larger than the Pantheon
at Eome, and the Kutub at Delhi, a tower not unfit to
be compared with Giotto's campanile at Plorence, are con-
spicuous among this series of monuments, and at Delhi
one of the grandest mosipies in India (Pig. 19-1) is
also to be found. The series of mosques and tombs at
Ahmedabad, however, form the most beautiful group of
buildings in India, and are the only ones of which a
complete series of illustrations has been published.
These mosques are remarkable for the great skill with
which they are roofed and lighted. This is done by
means of a series of domes raised on columns sufficiently
above the general level of the stone ceilings, which cover
the intervening spaces, to admit light under the line
of their springing. The beauty of the marble tracery
Il
1
1
ji
i
1
2G8 JIOnAMMEDAN AnCIIITECTURE.
aud surface decoration is very great. Pointed arches
occur here ahnost invariably, and in most cases the
outline of the opening is very slightly turned upwards
at the apex so as to give a slight increase of empliasis to
the summit of the arch. The buildings are not as a
rule lofty ; and though plain walls and piers occur and
contrast well with the arched features, pains have been
taken to avoid anything like massive or heavy construc-
tion. Great extent, skilful distribution, extreme light-
ness, and admirably combined groupings of the features
and masses, are among the fine qualities which lend to
Mohammedan architecture in Ahmedabad a rare charm.
The religion and the art of Islam seem destined to live
and die together. Nothing (with the one exception of the
suggestion of the pointed arch to Western Europe at the
very moment when Eomanesque art Avas ripe for a change)
has developed itself or appears likely to grow out of
Mohammedan architecture in any part of the wide field
to Avhich the attention of the reader has been directed;
and in this respect the art of the Mohammedan is as ex-
clusive, as intolerant, and as infertile as his religion. The
interest Avhich it must possess in the eyes of a "Western
student will rise less from its own charms than from
the fact that it first employed the pointed arch — that
feature from which sprang the glorious series of Western
Christian styles to which we give the name of Gothic.
This arch, indeed, appears to have been discovered by
the very beginners of Mohammedan architecture, at a
time when the style was still plastic and in course of
groAvth, and the beauty of Saracenic art is due to no
small extent to the use of it; but in the employment
of this feature the Western architect advanced much
fnither than the Saracen even at his best could go.
The pointed architecture of the Middle Ages, with its
ri:RsrA and inoia.
209
(lavincj construction, its coniprohensive design, its claliorato
mouldings, and its maguiticent £cul[)tui'es, is fur more
liiudilj^ developed and more beautiful than that of the
couutries which we have been describing, though in ils
Fig. 195.— Entrance to a MooRifH Bazaaiu
treatment of the walls it cannot surpass, and indeed did
not often equal, the unrivalled decoration of plane surfaces
which, forms the chief glory of Mohammedan art.
INDEX.
Abbaye aux Dames, Caen, 231
,, Hommes, Caen, 230
Abbey, "Westminster, 204
Agora, 114
All)ambra, 258, 263
AmphitlR-atiu at Aries, 161
,, Nimes, IGl
Tola, 161
„ Kome (Coloss.), 158
„ Sutri, 148
,, Verona, 161
Anthemios of Tliralles, Architect, 211
Appian Way, 145
Apollodorus of Damascus, Architect, 155
Acj^ueduct at Nimes (Pont du Gard), 171
„ from Prteneste to Rome, 145
,, at Rome (Aqua Claudia), 1 71
,, ,, (Anio Novus), 171
„ at Segovia, 171
„ at Tarragona, 171
Arcb at Antun (Porte d'Arroux), 172
,, Jerusalem (Golden Gate), 220
,, Louie (of Constantino), 172
,, ,, (of the Goldsmiths), 173
,, „ (of Sept. Severus), 172
„ „ (of Titus), 172
„ Treves (Porta Nigra), 172
Asoka, 65
Baalbek, ruins at, 149
Basilica at Rome (Constantiniana), 155
,, „ (Emilia), 154
Basilica at Rome (Julia), 155
„ (Portia), 154
,, ,, (Sempronia), 155
„ (Ulpia), 155
,, Treves, 155
Basilica-cliurcli at Florence (S. Mini-
ato), 209
,, ,, Ravenna (S. Apol-
linare in Classe).
206, 209
,. ,, Rome (S. Agnese),
201
,, ,, Rome(S.Clemeute)j
199
, , , , Rome (S. Paul with-
out the walls), 205
,, ,, Rome (S. Pietro),
201
Baths of Agrippa, 162
,, Caracalla, 162
,, Diocletian, 164, 191
Bhaihut, 71
Eirs-i-jSimrud, 45
Bridge over the Danube (Trajan's), 170
,, Tagus (Hadrian's), 170
,, Tiber (Pons Sublicius),
170
Campo Santo, Pisa, 209
Castle of S. Angelo, 174
Cathedial at Canterbury, 233
Durham. 234
INDEX.
271
ithuclral at Exeter, 234
,, Monreale, 249
„ Peterborougli, 234, 235
„ riaceuza, 224
„ Pisa, 209
„ Hochester, 234
Kome (S. Peter's), 205
Venice (S. Marks), 217
^Viucheste^, 234
haitya, 67
liapel in Tower of Louilou, 232, 233
liehil Minar, 56
horagic Monument of Lysicratcs, 112
liiueli at Aix-la-Chapelle, 225
,, Caen (Abb. auxnonniies),230
jj ,, (Abb. aux DauR-s), 231
,, Constantinople (S. Sophia),
211
„ Earl's Barton, 224
„ JNlilan (S. Ambrogio), 224
„ >; ortliampton (S. Peter's),234
,, Paris (Madeleine), 185
IVrigueux (S. Front), 218
Pavenna (S. Vitale), 208, 215
„ . Piome (S. Maria degli An-
geli), 164
,, (S. Maria ad Mar-
tyres), 166
(S. Stefano Pot.), 208
,, Toulouse (S. Sernin), 227
„ Turmanin, Syria, 221
Verona (S. Zenoue), 224
Circus Iklaximus, Pome, 143, 161
Cloaca Maxima, Eome, 141
Cnidus, Lion tomb at, 110
Colosseum, 158
Column of Marcus Aurelius 173
„ Trajan, 173
Decoration of Egyptian buildings, 37
Erechtlieium, 107
Forum of Nerva 191
Gate, Golden, at Jerusalem, 220
Gate at Perugia, 141
Giralda, 265
Hall, S. George's, Liverpool, 185
let inns. Archilcd, 88
IbiJoros of Miletus, Architect, 211
Keep at Colclicster, 237
„ Hcdiiigham Castle, 239
,, Pioeliester Castle, 238
,, Tower of LoudoD, 237, 239
Kutub, 266
Lats, 65
Lotus Column, 32
Lysicrates, Clioragic Monument of, 112
Maison Carree, Is imes, 149
Mammisi, 25
]\huieplitliah, 24
Manetho, 15
Ma-staba, 20
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, 110
MosLiue at Aliniedabad, 266
,, Cairo (of Anirou), 254
„ ("ElMoyed"), 258
„ (of IbuTuluu), 256
,, Cordova, 265
„ Delhi, 266
„ Jerusalem (El Aksah), 261
,, (Sakhra), 261
,, (the Nilometer), 254
Mugheyr, buildings at, 44
Mycenee, Treasury of Atreus, 85
,, Gate of the Lions, 86
Obelisks, 36
Pagoda at Nankin, 73
Palace at Khorsabad, 46
Pome (of the Cresars), 174
,, Sjialatro (of Diodetiau), 174,
192
481084
roiitheon, 164
Parthenon, 88-91, 99-101
PersL'i)olis, buildings at, 55
Persian columns, 57
Plieidias, SciiJplor, 91
Pont du Gard, Ninies, 171
Porta Nigra, Treves, 172
Pylon, 25
Pyramid of Cephren, 10
,, ClieoiJS, 16
,, ilycerinus, IS
Ram Raz, 72
Rome, Clcacie at, 141
Seopas, Sciilpfor and JrcJiUcct, 109, 112
Silchester, ruins at, 14o
Sutri, ruins of an ampliitheatre, 143
Temple at Athens (Erechtheium), 107
.. „ (Parthenon), 88-01,
99-101
.. ,, (of Jupiter Olym.), 149
Baalbek, 149
,, Corinth, 81, 87
Ephtsus (of Diana), 109
„ Houan, 75
,, Ipsamboul, 31
„ Kaiii (Chaitya), 67
„ Karuak, 26
,, Lomas Rishi cave, 67
„ Nigope cave (Chaitya), 67
,, Kimes (Maison Carree), 149
„ Orange (ruins), 157
Pa-stum, 92
,, Rome (of Jupiter Capito-
linus), 142
. .< „ (of Q. Metellus Ma-
cedouicus), 145
INDEX,
Temple at Rome (of Antoninus and
Faustina), 147
,, ,, (of Fortuna Vir.), 147
,, (of A^esta), 153
(Pantheon), 164
,, Sanchi (Tope), 67
,, Tegea (of Athena Alea), 112
Tivoli (of Vesta), 153
Temples, Egyptian, 25
,, Shinto, 77
Theatre of Balbus, 156
,, ,, ]\Iarcellus, 156
,, ,, Mummius, 156
,, at Orange, 157
,, of Pompey, 156
Thermw, see Baths
Tomb at Ahmedabad, 266
,, ,, Bab-el-Molouk (Belzoni's), 24
,, ,, Bijaimr, 266
,, ,, Castel d'Asso, 139
,, of Cecilia Metella, 173
,, ,, Cyrus, 54
,, ,, Darius, 59
,, ,, Hadrian, 174
,, ,, Regulini Galeassi, 141
Tombs, Egyptian, 20
,, Lycian, 85
,, Cnidus (Lion), 110
Toiie at Sanchi, 67
Tower at Delhi (Kutub), 266
Seville (Giralda), 265
Treasury of Atreus, 85
Typhouia, 25
Usertesen I., 29
"Wall of China, Great, 76
Way, Appian, 145
Westminster Abbey, 204
Wurkha, ruins at, 46
Ricltard Clay ^ Sons, Limited, London ^ Bungay.
Smith
NA ■
210
Architecture Classic and ss
early Christian *