Chapter XIII: Act 1898: the official principal of the archbishop is required to (2)

The great temple of Karnak (fig. 2) differs from the type just
described, in that it was the work of many successive monarchs. Thus
the sanctuary, built in granite, and the surrounding chambers, were
erected by Senwosri (Usertesen) I. of the twelfth dynasty. In front of
this, on the west side, pylons were added by Tethmosis (Thothmes,
Tahutmes) I. (1541-1516), enclosing a hall, in the walls of which were
Osirid figures. In front of this a third pylon was added, which Seti
(Sethos) I. utilized as one of the enclosures of the great hall of
columns (fig. 3), measuring 170 ft. deep by 329 ft. wide, having added
a fourth pylon on the other side to enclose it. Again in front of this
was the great open court with porticoes on two sides, and a great
pylon, forming the entrance. In the rear of all these buildings, and
some distance beyond the sanctuary, Tethmosis III. (1503-1449) built a
great colonnaded hall with other halls round, considered to have been
a palace. All these structures form a part only of the great temple,
on the right and left of which (i.e. to the north-east and south-west)
were other temples preceded by pylons and connected one with the other
by avenues of sphinxes. Though of small size comparatively, one of the
best preserved is the temple of Chons, built by Rameses III. It was
from this temple that an avenue of sphinxes led to the temple of
Luxor, which was begun by Amenophis III. (1414-1379 B.C.), and
completed by Rameses II. (1300-1234).

On the opposite or west bank of the Nile are the temple of Medinet
Abu, the Ramesseum, the temples of Kurna and of Deir-el-Bahri; the
last being a sepulchral temple, which, built on rising ground, had
flights of steps leading to the higher level (fig. 4), and porticoes
with square piers at the foot of each terrace. In the rear on the
right-hand side was found an altar, the only example of its kind known
in Egypt. The halls behind this and the portico of the right flank had
polygonal columns.

PLAN OF KARNAK.

From Murray's Handbook for Egypt, by permission of Mr. Edward
Stanford.]

In the palace of Tell el-Amarna, built shortly before 1350 B.C. by the
heretic king Akhenaton (whose name was originally Amenophis IV.), and
discovered by Petrie, there were no special architectural
developments, but the painted decoration of the walls and pavements
assumed a literal interpretation of natural forms of plants and
foliage and of birds and animals, recalling to some extent that found
at Cnossus in Crete.

Ascending the river from Cairo, the first temples of which important
remains exist are the two at Abydos. One of these has an exceptional
plan, with seven sanctuaries in the rear. It was built by Seti I., and
consists of an outer portico with square piers, a hall with two rows
of columns down to the centre, and a second hall with three rows of
columns. These halls are placed longitudinally to give access to the
seven sanctuaries. The second temple is of the ordinary type, with
pylon, court with portico on all four sides, two halls of columns, and
three sanctuaries in the rear. The next temple is that of Dendera,
commenced under the second Ptolemy but not completed until the reign
of Nero. It has been completely excavated, and retains the whole of
its external walls. Above Thebes is the temple of Esna, of which the
hall of columns only has been cleared out. The capitals of the front
belong to the lotus-bud type, and those of the interior are carved
with many varieties of river plant. The temple of Edfu is the best
preserved in Egypt. Its plan (fig. 5) would seem to have been
determined from the first, and it is singular to note that it presents
the traditional type of plan, which in the Theban examples was evolved
from additions made by successive monarchs. In dimensions it is but
little inferior to these. Its pylon (fig. 6) is 250 ft. wide and 150
ft. high; the first court has porticoes on three sides. The great hall
of columns, all of which here are of the same height, is lighted from
above (fig. 7), the screen facing the court. Then follow the second
hall of columns, two vestibules, and the sanctuary, surrounded by a
passage giving access to the priest's rooms round. The temple of Kom
Ombo, which comes next, was dedicated to two deities, and had
therefore two sanctuaries.

The temples of Philae owe much of their beauty and picturesqueness to
the island on which they are situated; their plans, and that of the
long porticoes in front of the pylons of the great temple, being
fitted to the irregularity of the site. In the first court is a
well-preserved example of the Mammeisi temple (see TEMPLE), the
sanctuary and other rooms in which are entirely enclosed in a
peristyle. It was built by Ptolemy Euergetes (247-222 B.C.). A second
monarch of the same name (about 125 B.C.) built the pavilion on the
north side of the island, known as "Pharaoh's bed," the roof of which
was covered with stone slabs, resting on timber beams. In consequence
of the building of the Assuan dam all these temples are submerged for
the greater part of the year. The principal temples between Philae and
the second cataract are:--Dabod, of which little remains; Kartassi;
Kalabsha, still preserving its pylon and great hall of columns; the
Bet el-Wali, in which are two ancient polygonal columns; Gerf Husen,
partially cut in the rock; Dakka; Wadi es-Sebu'a; and lastly Abu
Simbel. Owing to the proximity of the ranges of hills to the Nile,
there was no room for the ordinary type of temple at Abu Simbel, so
that those founded here by Rameses the Great (c. 1300-1234 B.C.) were
excavated in the rock. In the place of the pylon the side of the cliff
was worked off, leaving in relief four immense seated figures, 66 ft.
high. The first hall had three aisles, divided by four piers on each
side, in front of which Osirid figures (18 ft. high) were carved;
beyond was a second hall, vestibule and sanctuary. The long
rectangular chambers on each side are provided with benches cut in the
rock. The depth of the temple is 90 ft. There is a second temple of
smaller size which faces the Nile.

AA, Pylon.
B, Entrance door.
C, Great Court.
D, Hall of Columns.
E, Second Hall.
F, Hall of the Altar.
G, Hall of the Centre.
H, Sanctuary.
KK, Storerooms.]

We have already referred to the lotus columns at Beni Hasan; these,
when employed constructionally to carry stone roofs, assumed a far
more solid appearance, and the stems of the lotus plant carved in the
earlier examples were omitted in the later, in order to give more
surface for intaglio carving. The capital and its neck still retain
the lotus buds and the bands which tied them round the column. In the
central avenues of the great halls the columns had bell capitals, the
decoration of which was based on the flower of the papyrus. There are
a few examples of the palm capital, often carved in granite, which
date from an early period. Commencing with the Ptolemaic revival the
capitals assume a much greater variety of form, their decoration being
based on river plants; but here again the lotus plant, which seems
still to be the favourite type, predominates, the buds in various
degrees of their growth alternating one with the other. All these
varieties of form are described in the article CAPITAL, but two or
three may be mentioned here, as they depart from the usual type. The
Hathor-headed capital, with faces on all four sides, and surmounted
with a miniature shrine, is found at Dendera, Philae and other temples
of the Ptolemaic or Roman periods; one of the earliest examples, but
without the shrine, dates back to Tethmosis III. (1503-1449 B.C.). As
a distinct type of pier decoration, the Osirid figures at Medinet Abu,
at Karnak, Gerf Husen, Abu Simbel and other temples, constitute
important features: the figure is carved in front of the pier and does
not serve any constructive function.

With the exception of the great building in the rear of the temple at
Karnak, built by Tethmosis III., and the pavilion of Medinet Abu on
the west bank of the Nile at Thebes, no palatial residences of any
importance have yet been found, from which it might be inferred that
the king, being the head of the Egyptian religion, occupied with his
family the sacred precincts of the temple; but large as these temple
enclosures are, there would have been no room for the immense army of
attendants and servants required in an Oriental court. Moreover, the
darkness of the halls and the rigid enclosures would have made a
residence in them anything but cheerful. There are two instances
where, in consequence of the subsequent desertion of the site, remains
have been found of ancient towns. At Tell el-Amarna, built by the
heretic king, Akhenaton, portions of the houses remain, and at Kahun,
in the Fayum, Petrie discovered the walls of a town which, erected for
the overseers and workmen employed in the construction of the pyramid
of Illahun, built by Senwosri (Usertesen) II. (2684-2666 B.C.), was
abandoned when the pyramid was completed. The houses were all built in
unburnt brick, and in those cases where the rooms exceeded 8 or 9 ft.
in width, columns in stone or wood were employed to assist in carrying
the roof, which was constructed of beams carrying smaller timbers
covered over with a flat roof of mud. The plans of the houses were not
unlike those found in Pompeii, with open courts and porticoes and no
external windows. The streets ran at right angles to one another, and
the houses varied in size from the workman's hut, of one room, to the
overseer's house with several rooms and courts; the principal
residence, in the centre, occupied by the governor of the town, being
of still larger dimensions.

Further knowledge of the Egyptian dwellings is chiefly derived from
the "soul-houses" recently discovered by Petrie, and from the
paintings in the tombs, which suggest that they corresponded to that
class of residence which in Rome was known as a villa, viz. a series
of detached buildings built in immense enclosures, with porticoes
round, groves of trees, artificial lakes, &c. The walls, gates and
buildings were all built probably in unburnt brick, and the whole
site, if on the borders of the river, raised on great mounds. In this
respect they accord with the houses of the fellah at the present day,
which are raised on the accumulation of centuries, for when, owing to
the rise of the Nile, the houses succumb to the moisture creeping up,
another house is built on the top. The representations in paintings
show that the houses were chiefly built in unburnt brick, and they
sometimes were of two or three storeys with windows in the upper
floors, and a flat roof with a kind of dormer known as the Mulhuf,
turned towards the north-west to ventilate the house. The paintings
frequently represent the store-rooms, or granaries; and the
preservation of those built by Rameses the Great, in the rear of the
Ramesseum at Thebes, as granaries to hold corn, enables us to follow
their construction. These granaries consist of a series of long
cellars, about 12 to 14 ft. wide, placed side by side, and roofed over
with elliptical barrel vaults. The reason for the elliptical form and
the method of their construction is given in the article VAULT (q.v.).

The pavilion of Medinet Abu was built in stone, and consequently has
been preserved more or less complete to our day. It consisted of three
storeys with a flat roof and battlement round, said to be in imitation
of those on a Syrian fortress, as they are quite unlike anything else
in Egypt. The floors were in wood, but there are traces of a stone
staircase. The windows, of large size, were filled with thin stone
slabs pierced with vertical slits, like those of the hall of columns
at Karnak. (R. P. S.)

ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE

About 3800 B.C. the earlier inhabitants of Chaldaea or Babylonia were
invaded and absorbed by a Semitic race, whose first monarch was Sargon
of Agade (Akkad). 1800 years later, emigrations took place northward,
and founded Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris, about 250 m. north of
Babylon. 1200 years later, the Assyrians began building the
magnificent series of palaces from which were brought the winged
man-headed bulls and the sculptured slabs now in the British Museum.
The leading characteristics of the style, and the nature of the
structures, temples and palaces, evolved by the Chaldaeans (or first
Babylonian empire), the Assyrians, and the new Babylonian empire, are
similar; they are best known by those which represent a culmination of
the style in north Mesopotamia, and are therefore described here.

By a singular coincidence the remains of the oldest building found at
Nippur (Niffar), in lower Mesopotamia, bear a close resemblance to the
oldest pyramid in Egypt, Medum, before it received its final casing.
The latter, however, is known to have been a tomb, whereas the
structure at Nippur was a temple, which took the form of a _ziggurat_
or stage tower. It consisted of several storeys built one over the
other, the upper storey in each case being set back behind the lower,
in order to leave a terrace all round. In some cases the terrace was
wider in front, to give space for staircases ascending from storey to
storey. In consequence of the extreme flatness of the country and its
liability to sudden inundations, it became necessary, when erecting
buildings of any kind, to raise them on mounds of earth. The more
important the structure, the higher was it deemed necessary to raise
it, so as to make it the most conspicuous feature in the landscape.
The result is that from Abu Shahrain, the most southern town, to
Akarkuf (Aqarquf), 220 m. north, there are a series of immense mounds,
sometimes nearly a mile in diameter, and rising to a height of 200
ft., crowned with the remains of towns, which, notwithstanding the
thirty centuries more or less during which they have been exposed to
the torrential rains and the destructive agencies of man, form still
the most prominent features in the country. The structures which were
raised on the mound, i.e. the temples and palaces with their enclosure
walls, were all built with bricks made of the alluvial clay of the
country, shaped in wooden moulds and dried in the heat of the sun, a
heat so intense that they acquired sometimes the hardness of the
inferior qualities of stone. The walls of the temples, palaces and
enclosures had the same batter as that already referred to in the
preceding section on Egypt. In the latter country they were reproduced
in stone, of which there were many quarries on either side of the
Nile; in Chaldaea they were obliged to content themselves with the
preservation of their ziggurats by outer casings of burnt brick and
with pavements of tiles for their terraces. In order to vary the
monotony of their temple walls, and perhaps to give them greater
strength, they built vertical bands or buttresses at intervals, or
they sank panels in the walls to two depths, a natural decoration to
which brick work lends itself; and these two methods, which were
employed in early times, were followed by the Assyrians in the palaces
of Nimrud, Nineveh and Khorsabad.

The earlier settlements were those founded between the mouths of the
Tigris and the Euphrates, on what was then the shore of the Persian
Gulf, now some 140 m. farther south. The principal towns where the
remains of ziggurats have been found, all on the borders of the
Euphrates, beginning with the most southern, are:--Abu Shahrain
(Eridu); Mugheir (Ur of the Chaldees); Senkera (? Ellasar or Larsa);
Warka (Erech); Tello (Eninnu); Nippur; Birs Nimrud (Borsippa); Babil
(Babylon); El Ohemir (Kish); Abu Habba (Sippara); and Akarkuf
(Durkurigalsu).

Although the ziggurats at Warka, Nippur and Tello are probably of
older foundation, the great temple of Borsippa at Birs Nimrud is in
better preservation, having been restored or rebuilt by
Nebuchadrezzar, and may be taken as a typical example. The ground
storey was 272 ft. square, and, according to Fergusson, 45 ft. high.
The upper storeys or stages receded back, one behind the other, so as
to leave a terrace all round. Although it is not possible to trace
more than four storeys, it is known from the description on a cylinder
found on the site that there were seven storeys, dedicated to the
planets, each coloured with the special tint prescribed. The total
height was about 160 ft., and on the top was a shrine dedicated to the
god Nebo. An invaluable record of the researches which have been made
during the last three centuries or more is given in H.V. Hilprecht's
_Explorations in Bible Lands during the 19th Century_. Two or three of
them might be mentioned here. At Warka Mr Kenneth Loftus uncovered a
wall, strengthened by buttresses 15 ft. wide and projecting 18 in.,
between which were panels filled with a series of semicircular shafts
side by side, both buttresses and shafts being decorated with
geometrical patterns consisting of small earthenware cones embedded in
the wall, the ends of which were enamelled in various colours. The
design of these patterns is so unlike anything found in Assyrian work,
but bears so close a resemblance to the geometrical designs carved on
the columns at Diarbekr ascribed to the Parthians, that this wall may
have been built at a much later period; and this becomes the more
probable in view of the discoveries made subsequently at Tello and
Nippur, where Parthian palaces have been found, crowning the summits
of the ancient Chaldaean mounds. In both these towns the researches
made in later years have been carried out far more methodically than
previously, and, following the example of Schliemann, excavations have
been made to great depths, careful notes being taken of the strata
shown by the platforms at different levels. At Tello, de Sarzac
discovered the magnificent collection of statues of diorite now in the
Louvre, one of them (unfortunately headless) of Gudea, priest-king and
architect of Lagash, seated and carrying on his lap a tablet, on which
is engraved the plan of a fortified enclosure, whilst a divided scale
and a stylos are carved in relief near the upper and right-hand side.
A silver inlaid vase of Entemena, also priest-king of Lagash (about
3950 B.C.), and other treasures, were found on the same site.

At Nippur (the ancient Calneh) the research undertaken by the
university of Pennsylvania resulted in the discovery, under a ziggurat
dated from 4000-4500 B.C., of a barrel-vaulted tunnel, in the floor of
which were found terra-cotta drain pipes with flanged mouths. At a
later date (3750 B.C.) Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon, had built over
the older ziggurat a loftier and larger temple, above which was a
third built by Ur Gur (2500 B.C.), which still retained its burnt
brick casing, 5 ft. thick. Crowning all these was the Parthian palace
mentioned in the section on Parthian architecture below. The result of
these researches has not only carried back the date of the earlier
settlements to a prehistoric period quite unknown, but has suggested
that if similar researches are carried out in other well-known mounds,
among which the great city of Babylon should be counted as the most
important, further revelations may still be made.

FIG. 8--Plan of the Palace at Khorsabad.

A, Principal courtyard.
B, The harem.
C, The offices.
DD, The halls of state.
E, Official residences.
F, The king's residence.
G, The ziggurat or temple.]

But we have now to pass to the principal cities of the Assyrian
monarchy on the river Tigris. At Nineveh, the capital, which is about
250 m. north of Babylon, the remains of three palaces have been found,
those of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.), Esarhaddon (681-668 B.C.), and
Assurbampal (668-626 B.C.). At Nimrud (the ancient Calah, founded by
Assur), 20 m. south of Nineveh, are also three palaces, one (the
earliest known) built by Assurnazirpal (885-860 B.C.), the others by
Shalmaneser II. (860-825 B.C.) and Esarhaddon. At Balawat, 10 m. east
of Niniveh, was a second palace of Shalmaneser II., and at Khorsabad,
10 m. north-east of Nineveh, the palace (fig. 8) built by Sargon
(722-705 B.C.), which was situated on the banks of the Khanser, a
tributary of the Tigris. As this palace is one of the most extensive
of those hitherto explored, its description will best give the general
idea of the plan and conception of an Assyrian palace.

The palace was built on an immense platform, made of sun-dried bricks,
enclosed in masonry, and covering an area of nearly one million square
feet, raised 48 ft. above the town level. The principal front of the
palace measured 900 ft., there being a terrace in front. The approach
was probably by a double inclined ramp which chariots and horses could
mount. A central and two side portals (fig. 9), flanked with winged
human-headed bulls (now in the British Museum), led to the principal
courtyard (A), measuring 300 ft. by 240 ft. The block (B) on the left
of the court, containing smaller courts and rooms, constituted the
harem; that on the right the offices (C); those in the rear the halls
of state (DDD), the residences of the officers of the court (E), the
king's private apartments (F) being on the left, facing the ziggurat
or temple (G). In the extreme rear were other state rooms with
terraces probably laid out as gardens and commanding a view of the
river and country beyond.

As there must have been nearly 700 rooms in the palace, the
destination of the greater number of which it would be difficult to
determine, it will be sufficient to refer only to those state rooms in
which the principal sculptured slabs were found, and which decorated
the lower 9 ft. of the walls. The two chief factors to be noted are
(1) the great length of the halls compared with their width, the chief
hall being 150 ft. long and 30 ft. wide, and (2) the immense thickness
of the walls, which measured 28 ft. The only reason for walls of this
thickness would be to resist the thrust of a vault, and as La Place,
the French explorer, found many blocks of earth of great size, the
soffits of which were covered with stucco and had apparently fallen
from a height, he was led to the conclusion, now generally accepted,
that these halls were vaulted. These discoveries, and the fact that in
none of the palaces excavated has a single foundation of the base of
any column been found, quite dispose of Fergusson's restoration, which
was based on the palaces of Persepolis. Moreover, the two climates are
entirely different. In the mountainous country of Persia the breezes
might be welcomed, but in Mesopotamia the heat is so intense that
every precaution has to be taken to protect the inmates of the house
or palace. Thick walls and vaults were a necessity in Nineveh, and
even the windows or openings must have been of small dimensions. No
windows have been found, nor are any shown on the bas-reliefs, except
on the upper parts of towers. It is possible therefore that the light
was admitted through terra-cotta pipes or cylinders, of which many
were found on the site, and this is the modern system of lighting the
dome in the East. Although no remains have ever been found of domes in
any of the Assyrian palaces, the representation of many domical forms
is given in a bas-relief found at Kuyunjik (fig. 10), suggesting that
the dome was often employed to roof over their halls.

Reference has already been made to the bas-reliefs which decorated the
lower portion of the great halls; the less important rooms had their
walls covered with stucco and painted. Externally the architectural
decoration was of the simplest kind; the lower portion of the walls
was faced with stone; and the monumental portals, in addition to the
winged bulls which flanked them, had deep archivolts in coloured
enamels on glazed brick, with figures and rosettes in bright colours.
A similar decoration would seem to have been applied to the
crenellated battlements, which crowned all the exterior walls, as also
those of the courts. The buttresses inside the courts, and the towers
which flanked the chief entrance, were decorated with vertical
semicircular mouldings of brick. This system of decoration is also
found in the ziggurats or observatories behind the harem, where the
three lower storeys still exist. A winding ramp was carried round this
tower, the storeys of which were set back one behind the other, the
burnt brick paving of the ramp and the crenellated battlements forming
a parapet, portions of which are still _in situ_.

Although not unknown in either Chaldaea or Assyria, the stone column,
according to Perrot and Chipiez, found no place in those structures of
crude brick of which the real architecture of Mesopotamia consisted.
Only one example in stone, in which the shaft and capital together are
3 ft. 4 in. in height, has been found. Two bases of similar design to
the capital are supposed to have supported wooden columns carrying an
awning. There are representations in the bas-reliefs of kiosks in a
garden, the columns in which, with volute capitals, are supposed to
have been of wood sheathed in metal, and on the bronze bands of the
Balawat gates in the British Museum are representations of the
interior of a house with wood columns and bracket capitals, and
several awnings carried by posts. Small windows are shown in some of
the bas-reliefs, with balustrades of small columns, which were
doubtless copied from the ivory plaques found at Nimrud and now in the
British Museum. (R. P. S.)

PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE

The origin of Persian architecture must be sought for in that of the
two earlier dynasties,--the Assyrian and Median, to whose empire the
Persian monarchy succeeded by conquest in 560 B.C. From the former, it
borrowed the raised platform on which their palaces were built, the
broad flights of steps leading up to them and the winged human-headed
bulls which flank the portals of the propylaea. From Media it would
seem to have derived the great halls of columns and the porticoes of
the palaces, so clearly described by Polybius (x. 24) as existing at
Ecbatana; the principal difference being that the columns of the stoas
and peristyle, which there consisted of cedar and cypress covered with
silver plates, were in the Persian palaces built of stone. The
ephemeral nature of the one material, and the intrinsic value of the
other, are sufficient to account for their entire disappearance; but
as Ecbatana was occupied by Darius and Xerxes as one of their
principal cities, the stone column, bases and capitals, which still
exist there, may be regarded as part of the restoration and rebuilding
of the palace; and as they are similar to those found at Persepolis
and Susa, it is fair to assume that the source of the first
inspiration of Persian architecture came from the Medians, especially
as Cyrus, the first king, was brought up at the court of Astyages, the
last Median monarch.

The earliest Persian palace, of which but scanty remains have been
found, was built at Pasargadae by Cyrus. There is sufficient, however,
to show that it was of the simplest kind, and consisted of a central
hall, the roof of which was carried by two rows of stone columns, 30
ft. high, and porticoes _in antis_ on two if not on three sides.

The great platform, also at Pasargadae, known as the Takht-i-Suleiman,
or throne of Solomon, covered an area of about 40,000 sq. ft., and is
remarkable for the beauty of its masonry and the large stones of which
it is built. These are all sunk round the edge, being the earliest
example of what is known as "drafted masonry," which at Jerusalem and
Hebron gives so magnificent an effect to the great walls of the temple
enclosures. No remains have ever been traced on this platform of the
palace which it was probably built to support.

We pass on therefore to Persepolis, the most important of the Persian
cities, if we may judge by the remains still existing there. Here, as
at Pasargadae, builders availed themselves of a natural rocky
platform, at the foot of a range of hills, which they raised in parts
and enclosed with a stone wall. Here the masonry is not drafted, and
the stones are not always laid in horizontal courses, but they are
shaped and fitted to one another with the greatest accuracy, and are
secured by metal clamps. The plan (fig. 11) shows the general
configuration of the platform on which the palaces of Persepolis are
built, which covered an area of about 1,600,000 sq. ft. The principal
approach to it was at the north-west end, up a magnificent flight of
steps (A) with a double ramp, the steps being 22 ft. wide, with a
tread of 15 in. and a rise of 4, so that they could be ascended by
horses. The first building opposite this staircase was the entrance
gateway or propylaea (B), a square hall, with four columns carrying
the roof and with portals in the front and rear flanked by winged
bulls. The earliest palace on the platform (D) is that which was built
by Darius, 521 B.C. It was rectangular on plan, raised on a platform
approached by two flights of steps, and consisted of an entrance
portico of eight columns, in two rows of four placed _in antis_,
between square chambers, in which were probably staircases leading to
the roof. This portico led to the great hall, square on plan, whose
roof was carried by sixteen columns in four rows. This hall was
lighted by two windows on each side of the central doorway, all of
which, being in stone, still exist, the lintels and jambs of both
doors and windows being monolithic. The walls between these features,
having been built in unburnt brick, or in rubble masonry with clay
mortar, have long since disappeared. There were other rooms on each
side of the hall and an open court in the rear. The bases of the
columns of the portico still remain _in situ_, as also one of the
antae in solid masonry; and as these in their relative position and
height are in exact accordance with those represented on the tomb of
Darius (fig. 12) and other tombs carved in the rock near Persepolis
(q.v.), there is no difficulty in forming a fairly accurate
conjectural restoration of the same. In the representation of this
palace, as shown on the tomb, and above the portico, has been
sculptured the great throne of Darius, on which he sat, rendering
adoration to the Sun god.

All the other palaces on the site, built or added to by various
monarchs and at different periods, preserve very much the same plan,
consisting always of a great square hall, the roof of which was
carried by columns, with one or more porticoes round, and smaller
rooms and courts in the rear. In one of the palaces (G) the roof was
carried by 100 columns in ten rows of ten each. The most important
building, however, and one which from its extent, height and
magnificence, is one of the most stupendous works of antiquity, is the
great palace of Xerxes (C), which, though it consists only of a great
central hall and three porticoes, covered an area of over 100,000 sq.
ft., greater than any European cathedral, those of Milan and St
Peter's at Rome alone excepted.

It was built on a platform raised 10 ft. above the terrace and
approached by four flights of steps on the north side, the principal
entrance. The columns of the porticoes and of the great hall were 65
ft. high, including base and capital. In the east and west porticoes
the capitals consist only of the double bull or griffin; the cross
corbels on their backs, similar to those shown on the tomb of Darius,
have disappeared, being probably in wood. In the north or entrance
portico, and in the great hall, the capitals are of a much more
elaborated nature, as under the double capital was a composition of
Ionic capitals set on end, and below that the calix and pendant leaves
of the lotus plant. It can only be supposed that Xerxes, thinking the
columns of the east portico required more decoration, instructed his
architects to add some to those of the entrance portico and hall, and
that they copied some of the spoils brought from Branchidae and others
from Egypt.

Fig. 13 shows the plan of the palace according to the researches of Mr
Weld Blundell, who found the traces of the walls surrounding the great
hall and of the square chambers at the angles, and also proved that
the lines of the drains as shown in Coste's and Texier's plans were
incorrect. M. Dieulafoy also traced the existence of walls enclosing
the Apadana at Susa from the paving of the hall and the portico which
stopped on the lines of the wall. The plan of the palace at Susa was
similar to that of the palace of Xerxes, except that on the side
facing the garden facing south the apadana or throne room was left
open. M. Dieulafoy's discoveries at Susa of the frieze of archers, the
frieze of the lions, and other decorations of the walls flanking the
staircase, all executed in bright coloured enamels on concrete blocks,
revealed the exceptional beauty of the decoration both externally and
internally applied to the Persian palaces.

FIG. 13.--Plan of the Hall of Xerxes.]

The only other monumental works of Persian architecture are the tombs;
to those cut in the solid rock, of which there are some examples, we
have already referred. The most ancient tomb is that erected to Cyrus
the Elder at Pasargadae, and consists of a small shrine or cella in
masonry raised on a series of steps, inspired (according to Fergusson)
by the ziggurat or terrace-temples of Assyria, but on a small scale.
The tomb was surrounded on three sides by porticoes of columns. There
are two other tombs, one at Persepolis and one at Pasargadae--small
square towers with an entrance opening high up on one side, sunk
panels in the stone, and a dentil cornice, copied from early Ionian
buildings. (R. P. S.)

GREEK ARCHITECTURE

_Prehistoric Period._--We have now to retrace our steps and go back to
the prehistoric period of Greek architecture, to the origin and early
development of that style which sowed the seed and determined the
future form and growth of all subsequent European art.

The discoveries in Crete and Argolis have shown that Greek
architecture owes much less than was at one time supposed to Egyptian
and Chaldaean architecture; and although from very early times there
may have been a commercial exchange between the several countries, the
objects imported suggested only new and various schemes of decorative
design, and exercised no influence on the development of architectural
style. The remains of the palace at Cnossus in Crete, together with
the representations in fresco painting and other decorative objects,
show that whilst the lower part of the walls under the level of the
ground and up to a height of 5 ft. above were all built in well-worked
masonry, the upper portions were constructed in unburnt brick with
timber framing, which not only gave strength and solidity to the
walls, but carried the cross beams and timbers of intermediate floors
and the roof, and further, that the walls were always vertical, which
was not the case in Egypt or Chaldaea.

The principal remains discovered by Dr Arthur J. Evans (see CRETE) are
described by him as belonging to the later Minoan age, from which it
may be inferred they are the result of same centuries of previous
development. What, however, is most remarkable is the admirable
planning of the whole palace, the bringing together, under one roof
and in proper and regular intercommunication, of the numerous
services, which in a palace are somewhat complicated. The palace
measured about 400 ft. square, and was built round an open court,
nearly 200 ft. long by 90 ft. wide; as the same arrangement was found
at Phaestus, excavated by the Italian archaeologists, it may be
assumed to have been the Cretan plan. It was built on the crest of a
hill, and in the western or highest portion was the court entrance
from the agora to the megaron or throne-room, and the halls of the
officers of the state. In the lower portion facing the east (the rooms
in which were two storeys below the level of the court on account of
the slope of the hill) was the private suite of apartments of the king
and queen. All the services of the palace were at the north end of the
palace, where the entrance gateway to the central court was situated.
This northern entrance, Dr Evans points out, "represents the main
point of intercourse between the palace and the city on the one hand
and the port on the other." This is the only part of the palace in
which there is evidence of some kind of fortification, as the road of
access is dominated by a tower or bastion. Other provisions also in
the plan of the western entrance suggest that its passage was guarded
to some extent. In this respect the palace of Tiryns, excavated by Dr
Schliemann, presents an entirely different aspect; the whole
stronghold bears a singular resemblance to a fortified castle of the
middle ages; a high wall from 24 to 50 ft. thick surrounded the
acropolis, and the inclined paths of approach and the double gateways
gave that protection at Tiryns which at Cnossus was assured, as Dr
Evans remarks, by the bulwarks of the Minoan navy. The area on the
spur of the hill, on which the citadel of Tiryns was placed, was very
much smaller, but if we accept the forecourt at Tiryns as equivalent
to the great central court at Cnossus, there are great similarities in
the plans of the two palaces. The propylaea, the altar court, the
portico, and the megaron are found in both, and those details which
are missing in the one are found in the other. The discoveries at
Cnossus have enabled Dr Evans to reconstitute the timber columns, of
which the bases only were found at Tiryns, and the spur walls of the
portico of the megaron and the sills of the doorways at Tiryns give
some clue to the restoration of similar features at Cnossus; and if in
the latter palace we find the origin of the Doric column, at Tiryns is
found that of the antae and of the door linings, further substantiated
by the careful analysis made by Dr Dorpfeld of the Heraeum at Olympia.

The reconstruction by Dr Evans of the timber columns at Cnossus, which
tapered from the top downwards, the lower diameter being about
six-sevenths of the upper, has little historical importance (see
ORDER), so that we may now pass on to the next early monument of
importance, the tomb of Agamemnon, the principal and the best
preserved of the beehive tombs found at Mycenae and in other parts of
Greece. This tomb consists of three parts, the _dromos_ or open
entrance passage, the _tholos_ or circular portion domed over, and a
smaller chamber excavated in the rock and entered from the larger one.
The tomb was subterranean, the masonry being concealed beneath a large
mound of earth. The domed part, 48 ft. 6 in. in diameter and 45 ft.
high, is built in horizontal courses of stone, which project one over
the other till they meet at the top. Subsequently the projecting edges
were dressed down, so that the section through the dome is nearly that
of an equilateral triangle. Notwithstanding the great thickness of the
lintel (3 ft.) over the entrance doorway, the Mycenaeans left a
triangular void over, to take off the superincumbent weight,
subsequently (it is supposed) filled with sculpture, as in the Lions'
Gate at Mycenae. The doorway was flanked by semi-detached columns 20
ft. high, the shafts of which tapered downwards like those
reconstituted at Cnossus; the shafts rested on a base of three steps,
and carried a capital with echinus and abacus. These shafts carried a
lintel which has now disappeared; the wall above was set back, and was
at one time faced with stone slabs carved with spiral and other
patterns, of which there are fragments in various museums, the most
important remains being those of the shafts, of which the greater
part, which was brought over to England in the beginning of the 19th
century by the 2nd marquess of Sligo, was presented by the 5th
marquess to the British Museum in 1905. These shafts, as also the
echinus moulding of the capitals, are richly carved with the chevron
and spirals, probably copied from the brass sheathing of wood columns
and doorways referred to by Homer.

_The Archaic Period._--The buildings just referred to belong to what
is known as the prehistoric age in Greece; the dispersion of the
tribes by invaders from the north about 1100 B.C. destroyed the
Mycenaean civilization, and some centuries have to pass before we
reach the results of the new development. Among the invaders the
Dorians would seem to have been the chief leaders, who eventually
became supreme. They brought with them from Olympus the worship of
Apollo, so that henceforth the sanctuary of the god takes the place of
the megaron of the king. From Greece the Dorians spread their colonies
through the Greek islands and southern Italy. Later they passed on to
Sicily and founded Syracuse, and subsequently Selinus and Agrigentum
(Acragas). The prosperity of all these colonies is shown in the
splendid temples which they built in stone, the remains of many of
which have lasted to our day.

FIG. 14.--Plan of the Heraeum. A, Peristyle; B, Pronaos; C, Naos; D,
Opisthodomus; E, Base of statue of Hermes.]

The earliest Greek temple of which remains have been discovered[2] is
that of the Heraeum at Olympia, ascribed to about 1000 B.C. Its plan
(fig. 14) shows that the enclosure of the sanctuary and its porticoes
in a peristyle had already been found necessary, if only to protect
the walls of the cella, built in unburnt brick on a stone plinth;
further, that the antae of the portico and the dressings of the
entrance were in wood; and, following Pausanias' statement relative to
the wood column in the opisthodomos, all the columns of the peristyle
were in that material, gradually replaced by stone columns as they
decayed, evidenced by the character of their capitals, which in style
date from the 6th century B.C. to Roman times. The ephemeral nature of
the materials employed in this and other early temples, and the risk
of fire, must have naturally led to the desire to render the Greek
sanctuaries more permanent by the employment of stone. But the Greeks
were always timid as regards the bearing value of that material, and
would seem to have imagined that unless the blocks were of megalithic
dimensions it was impossible to build in stone. This may be gathered
from the remains of the earliest example found, the temple of Apollo
in the island of Ortygia, Syracuse, where the monolith columns had
widely projecting capitals, the abaci of which were set so close
together that the intercolumniation was less than one diameter of the
column.

Following the temple of Apollo at Syracuse is the temple of Corinth,
ascribed to 650 B.C., of which seven columns remain _in situ_, all
monoliths, and the Olympieum at Syracuse. Nearly contemporary with the
latter is one of the temples at Selinus in Sicily, 630 B.C.,
remarkable for the archaic nature of its sculptured metopes. Of later
date there are five or six other temples in Selinus, all overthrown by
earthquakes; the temple of Athena at Syracuse, which having been
converted into a church is in fair preservation; an unfinished temple
at Segesta; and six at Agrigentum, built on the brow of a hill facing
the sea, one of which was so large that it was necessary to build in
walls between the columns.

In Magna Graecia, in the acropolis at Tarentum, are the remains of a
7th century temple and three at Paestum about a century later in date.
In one of these, the temple of Poseidon (figs. 15 and 16) the columns
which carried the ceiling and roof over the cella are still standing;
these are in two stages superimposed with an architrave between them,
and although there are no traces in this instance of a gallery, they
serve to render more intelligible Pausanias' description of that which
existed in the temple of Zeus at Olympia.

The temple of Assus in Asia Minor is an early example remarkable for
its sculptured architrave, the only one known, and in the temple of
Aphaea in Aegina (q.v.) we find the immediate predecessor of the
Parthenon, if we may judge by its sculpture and the proportions of its
columns.

So far we have only referred to the early temples of the Doric order;
of the origin and development of those of the Ionic order far less is
known. The earliest examples are those of the temple of Apollo at
Naucratis in Egypt, and of the archaic temple of Diana at Ephesus,
both about 560 B.C. The remains of the latter, discovered by Wood, are
now in the British Museum; they consist of two capitals, one with a
portion of a shaft in good preservation; the sculptured drum and the
base of one of the columns, inscribed with the name of Croesus, who is
known to have contributed to it; two other bases, and the cornice or
cymatium. The treasury of the Cnidians at Delphi was Ionic, judging by
the carved ornament enriching the cornice and architraves, and in the
Naxian votive column we have another early example of an early voluted
capital.

The tombs of Tantalais, near Smyrna, and of Alyattes, near Sardis,
belong to the same date as those we shall find in Etruria. The Harpy
tomb, now in the British Museum, built after 547 B.C., is the
predecessor of many other Lycian tombs of the 5th and 4th centuries,
to which we return.

As already pointed out, in the temple of Hera at Olympia (10th century
B.C.), we find the complete plan of an hexastyle peripteral Greek
temple, where columns originally in wood supported a wood architrave
and superstructure protected by terra-cotta plaques and roofed over
with tiles. The temple of Apollo at Syracuse, and the temple at
Corinth (7th century B.C.) represent the earliest examples in stone,
and in the temple of Poseidon at Paestum (6th century) are preserved
the columns of the cella which carried the ceiling and roof. The
structural development therefore of the temple was completed, and no
great constructional improvements reveal themselves after 550 B.C. The
next century would seem to have been chiefly directed to the
beautifying and refining of the features already prescribed, and it
was the traditional respect for, and the conservative adherence to,
the older type, which led the architects to the production of such
masterpieces as the Parthenon and the Erechtheum, which would have
been impossible but for the careful and logical progression of
preceding centuries.

The Parthenon (q.v.) at Athens represents the highest type of
perfection, not only in its conception but in its realization. It is
only necessary here to give a general description. It was designed by
Ictinus in collaboration with Callicrates, and built on the south side
of the Acropolis on a foundation carried down to the solid rock. The
temple, commenced in 454 B.C. and completed in 438 B.C., was of the
Doric order and raised on a stylobate of three steps; it had eight
columns in front and rear and was surrounded by a peristyle, there
being twenty columns on the flanks. It contained two divisions; the
eastern chamber was originally known as the Hekatompedos (temple of
100 ft.), that being the dimension of the cella of the ancient temple
which it was built to replace. The chamber on the western side was
called the Parthenon (i.e. chamber of the virgin). All the principal
lines of the building had delicate curves. The entablature rose about
3 in. in the middle to correct an optical illusion caused by the
sloping lines of the pediment, which gave to the horizontal cornice
the appearance of having sunk in the centre. The stylobate had
therefore to be similarly curved so that the columns should be all of
the same height. The columns are not all equidistant, those nearer the
angle being closer together than the others, which gave a greater
appearance of strength to the temple; this was increased by a slight
inclination inwards of all the columns. In order to correct another
optical illusion, which causes the shaft of a column, when it
diminishes as it rises, and is formed with absolute straight lines, to
appear hollow or concave, an increment known as the entasis was given
to the column, about one-third up the shaft. The columns were not
monoliths, like those of the earliest stone temples mentioned above;
they were built in several drums, so closely fitted together that the
joint would be imperceptible but for the slight discoloration of the
marble. The setting of the lowest drum of these columns on the curved
stylobate, with the slight inclination of the column, must have been a
work of an extraordinary nature, only possible with such a material as
Pentelic marble. The cella or naos was built to enshrine the
chryselephantine statue of Athena by Pheidias. In order to carry the
ceiling and roof there was a range of columns on each side of the
cella returning round the end. These columns probably carried an upper
range as in the temple of Poseidon at Paestum. The tympana of the two
pediments and all the metopes were enriched with the finest sculpture,
and were realized, designed, and executed by Pheidias and his pupils.
On the upper part of the cella wall and under the peristyle was the
Panathenaic frieze, of which, as also of the other sculptures, the
British Museum possesses the finest examples.

The Propylaea (q.v.), designed by Mnesicles and built 437-432 B.C.,
was the only entrance to the Acropolis. It was of the Doric order, and
consisted of a portico of six columns, the two centre ones being wider
apart, to allow of the road through, up which the chariots and beasts
for sacrifices ascended. The columns carrying the marble ceiling of
the vestibule were of the Ionic order; beyond them the wall was
pierced by three doorways, and on the other side and facing east was
another portico of six columns. The front entrance was flanked on the
left hand by a chamber known as the Pinacotheca, and on the right by a
chamber intended probably to be a replica but subsequently curtailed
in size in consequence of the proximity of another temple.

The Erechtheum on the north side of the Acropolis occupied the site of
three older shrines, which may account for its irregular plan. The
eastern portion was the temple of Athena Polias, with a portico of six
columns of the Ionic order. At a lower level on the north side was a
portico of six columns (four in front and two at the sides) leading to
the shrine of Erechtheus; the west front of this shrine had originally
a frontispiece of four columns _in antis_raised on a podium;
subsequently during the Roman occupation these columns were taken down
and reproduced as semi-detached columns with windows between. On the
west side was a court in which was the olive tree and the shrine of
Pandrosus (Pandroseion). At the south-west angle was the well-known
portico or tribune of the Caryatides. There was a small entrance
through the podium at the side, and stairs leading down to the shrine
of Erechtheus.

FIG. 16.--Temple of Poseidon at Paestum.]

The only other building remaining on the Acropolis is the temple of
Nike Apteros, raised on a lofty substructure south-west of the
propylaea. It also was of the Ionic order, and belonged to the type
known as "amphiprostyle," with a portico of four columns in the front
and rear but no peristyle. The term "apteros" applied to the temple
and not to the goddess of victory.