[Illustration: FIG. 1.--THE PYRAMIDS OF GHIZEH.]
A
HISTORY OF ART
FOR
BEGINNERS AND STUDENTS
PAINTING--SCULPTURE--ARCHITECTURE
WITH
_COMPLETE INDEXES AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS_
BY
CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT
AUTHOR OF "HANDBOOK OF LEGENDARY AND MYTHOLOGICAL ART," "PAINTERS,
SCULPTORS, ENGRAVERS, ARCHITECTS AND THEIR WORKS," "ARTISTS OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY," ETC.
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
MDCCCXCI
COPYRIGHT, 1887,
BY FREDERICK A. STOKES,
SUCCESSOR TO WHITE, STOKES, & ALLEN.
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
ANCIENT OR HEATHEN ARCHITECTURE. 3000 B.C. TO A.D. 328, 1
EGYPT, 2
ASSYRIA, 20
BABYLON, 29
PERSIA, 34
JUDEA, 44
GREECE, 46
ETRURIA, 71
ROME, 74
CHAPTER II.
CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE. A.D. 328 TO ABOUT 1400, 87
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, 93
BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE, 117
SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE, 123
CHAPTER III.
MODERN ARCHITECTURE. A.D. 1400 TO THE PRESENT TIME, 133
ITALY, 134
SPAIN, 145
FRANCE, 153
ENGLAND, 166
GERMANY, 172
THEATRES AND MUSIC HALLS, 179
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 181
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS, 191
INDEX, 195
[Illustration]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
The Pyramids of Ghizeh, _Frontispiece_
The Ascent of a Pyramid, 4
View of Gallery in the Great Pyramid, 5
Poulterer's Shop, 6
Rock-cut Tomb (Beni-Hassan), 6
The Hall of Columns at Karnak, 10
Pillar from Thebes (showing the Three Parts), 11
Sculptured Capital, 12
Palm Capital, 12
Pillar from Sedingæ, 12
The Great Sphinx, 13
Cleopatra's Needles, 15
Pavilion at Medinet Habou, 17
Temple on the Island of Philæ, 18
Gateways in Walls of Khorsabad, 21
Entrance to Smaller Temple (Nimrud), 22
Pavement Slab (from Koyunjik), 23
Remains of Propylæum, or Outer Gateway (Khorsabad), 24
Plan of Palace (Khorsabad), 25
Relief from Khorsabad. A Temple, 26
Restoration of an Assyrian Palace, 28
Elevation of the Temple of the Seven Spheres at Borsippa, 31
Birs-i-Nimrud (near Babylon), 33
Masonry of Great Platform (Persepolis), 36
Parapet Wall of Staircase. _Persepolis._ (Restored), 37
Ruins of the Palace of Darius (Persepolis), 38
Gateway of Hall of a Hundred Columns, 39
Double-horned Lion Capital, 40
Complex Capital and Base of Pillars (Persepolis), 40
Base of Another Pillar (Persepolis), 40
Ground-plan (Restored) of Hall of Xerxes (Persepolis), 41
Part of a Base of the Time of Cyrus (Pasargadæ), 42
The Tomb of Cyrus, 43
Roof of One of the Compartments of the Gate Huldah, 45
Temple of Diana (Eleusis), 48
Gravestone from Mycenæ (Schliemann), 49
Small Temple at Rhamnus, 50
The Parthenon. _Athens._ (Restored), 51
Plan of Temple of Apollo (Bassæ), 52
From the Parthenon (Athens), 53
Ionic Architecture, 55
Ionic Base, 55
Attic Base, 55
Base from Temple of Hera (Samos), 56
Ionic Capital (front view), 56
Ionic Capital (side view), 56
From Monument of Lysicrates (Athens), 57
Corinthian Order, 58
Caryatid, 59
Stool, or Chair (Khorsabad), 59
The Acropolis. _Athens._ (Restored), 63
The Erechtheium. _Athens._ (Restored), 66
Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. _Athens_, 68
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Restored), 69
Tombs at Castel d'Asso, 71
Principal Chamber of the Regulini-Galeassi Tomb, 72
Arch at Volterra, 73
Gateway (Arpino), 73
Arch of Cloaca Maxima (Rome), 74
Composite Order, from the Arch of Septimius Severus (Rome), 75
Doric Arcade, 76
Ground-plan of Pantheon (Rome), 77
Interior of the Pantheon, 78
Longitudinal Section of Basilica of Maxentius, 79
Arch of Constantine (Rome), 82
Arch of Trajan (Beneventum), 83
Tomb of Cecilia Metella, 84
Columbarium near the Gate of St. Sebastian (Rome), 85
Interior of Basilica of St. Paul's (Rome), 88
The Cathedral of Chartres, 91
Church of St. Nicholas (Caen), 95
Façade of Cathedral of Notre Dame (Paris), 96
Clustered Pillar, 97
Buttress, 97
Hinge, 97
Iron-work, 97
Gargoyle, 97
Nail-head, 98
Scroll, 98
Section of Church (Carcassone). With Outer Aisles Added in
Fourteenth Century, 99
Spires of Laon Cathedral, 100
Portal of the Minorites' Church (Vienna), 101
External Elevation, Cathedral of Paris, 102
Wheel Window, from Cathedral (Toscanella), 103
Collegiate Church. _Toro._ (From Villa Amil), 105
St. Paul, Saragossa, 106
Cloister (Tarazona), 107
Rood-screen, from the Madeleine (Troyes), 108
Palace of Wartburg, 109
Tower of Cremona, 111
St. Mark's Cathedral (Venice), 113
Section of San Miniato (near Florence), 115
San Giovanni degli Eremiti (Palermo), 116
Church of St. Sophia. _Constantinople._ (Exterior View), 118
Lower Order of St. Sophia, 119
Upper Order of St. Sophia, 120
Interior View of Church of St. Sophia, 121
Mosque of Kaitbey, 124
The Call to Prayer, 125
Exterior of the Sanctuary in the Mosque of Cordova, 127
Court of the Lions (Alhambra), 131
The Cathedral of Florence and Giotto's Campanile, 135
View of St. Peter's (Rome), 137
Section of St. Peter's, 139
East Elevation of Library of St. Mark, 141
The Doge's Palace (Venice), 143
Great Court of the Hospital of Milan, 144
The Escurial (near Madrid), 147
Façade of the Church of St. Michael (Dijon), 155
Façade of the Dome of the Invalides (Paris), 156
The Pantheon (Paris), 157
The Madeleine (Paris), 159
Pavilion de l'Horloge and Part of the Court of the Louvre, 161
Château of Chambord, 163
Porte St. Denis (Paris), 164
Arc de l'Étoile (Paris), 165
East Elevation of St. Paul's (Covent Garden), 167
St. Paul's, London (from the West), 168
St. George's Hall (Liverpool), 169
Windsor Castle, 170
The Houses of Parliament (London), 171
The Brandenburg Gate (Berlin), 174
The Basilica at Munich, 175
The Ruhmeshalle (near Munich), 176
The Museum (Berlin), 177
The Walhalla, 178
The New Opera House (Paris), 180
The United States Capitol (Washington), 182
State Capitol (Columbus, Ohio), 183
Sir William Pepperell's House (Kittery Point, Maine), 185
Old Morrisania (Morrisania, New York), 187
Residence at Irvington, New York, 189
[Illustration]
ARCHITECTURE.
CHAPTER I.
ANCIENT OR HEATHEN ARCHITECTURE.
3000 B.C. TO A.D. 328.
Architecture seems to me to be the most wonderful of all the arts. We
may not love it as much as others, when we are young perhaps we cannot
do so, because it is so great and so grand; but at any time of life one
can see that in Architecture some of the most marvellous achievements
of men are displayed. The principal reason for saying this is that
Architecture is not an imitative art, like Painting and Sculpture. The
first picture that was ever painted was a portrait or an imitation of
something that the painter had seen. So in Sculpture, the first statue
or bas-relief was an attempt to reproduce some being or object that the
sculptor had seen, or to make a work which combined portions of several
things that he had observed; but in Architecture this was not true. No
temples or tombs or palaces existed until they had first taken form in
the mind and imagination of the builders, and were created out of space
and nothingness, so to speak. Thus Painting and Sculpture are imitative
arts, but Architecture is a constructive art; and while one may love
pictures or statues more than the work of the architect, it seems to
me that one must wonder most at the last.
We do not know how long the earth has existed, and in studying the
most ancient times of which we have any accurate knowledge, we come
upon facts which prove that men must have lived and died long before
the dates of which we can speak exactly. The earliest nations of whose
Architecture we can give an account are called heathen nations, and
their art is called Ancient or Heathen Art, and this comes down to the
time when the Roman Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity,
and changed the Roman Capitol from Rome to Constantinople in the year
of our Lord 328.
The buildings and the ruins which still remain from these ancient times
are in Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Judea, Asia Minor, Greece, Etruria, and
Rome. Many of these have been excavated or uncovered, as, during the
ages that have passed since their erection, they had been buried away
from sight by the accumulation of earth about them. These excavations
are always going on in various countries, and men are ever striving
to learn more about the wonders of ancient days; and we may hope that
in the future as marvellous things may be revealed to us as have been
shown in the past.
EGYPT.
As we consider the Architecture of Egypt, the Great Pyramid first
attracts attention on account of its antiquity and its importance. This
was built by Cheops, who is also called Suphis, about 3000 years before
Christ. At that distant day the Egyptians seem to have been a nation of
pyramid-builders, for even now, after all the years that have rolled
between them and us, we know of more than sixty of these mysterious
monuments which have been opened and explored.
Of all these the three pyramids at Ghizeh (Fig. 1) are best known, and
that of Cheops is the most remarkable among them. Those of you who have
studied the history of the wars of Napoleon I. will remember that it
was near this spot that he fought the so-called Battle of the Pyramids,
and that in addressing his soldiers he reminded them that here the
ages looked down upon them, thus referring to the many years during
which this great pyramid had stood on the border of the desert, as if
watching the flight of Time and calmly waiting to see what would happen
on the final day of all earthly things.
There have been much speculation and many opinions as to the use for
which these pyramids were made, but the most general belief is that
they were intended for the tombs of the powerful kings who reigned in
Egypt and caused them to be built.
The pyramid of Cheops was four hundred and eighty feet and nine inches
high, and its base was seven hundred and sixty-four feet square. It
is so difficult to understand the size of anything from mere figures,
that I shall try to make it plainer by saying that it covers more than
thirteen acres of land, which is more than twice as much as is covered
by any building in the world. Its height is as great as that of any
cathedral spire in Europe, and more than twice that of the monument on
Bunker Hill, which is but two hundred and twenty feet, and yet looks
very high.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--THE ASCENT OF A PYRAMID.]
When it was built it was covered with a casing of stone, the different
pieces being fitted together and polished to a surface like glass;
but this covering has been torn away and the stones used for other
purposes, which has left the pyramid in a series of two hundred and
three rough and jagged steps, some of them being two feet and a half
in height, growing less toward the top, but not diminishing with any
regularity. The top is now a platform thirty-two feet and eight inches
square. Each traveller who ascends this pyramid has from one to four
Fellahs or Arabs, who pull him forward or upward by his arms, or push
him and lift him from behind, and finally drag him to the top (Fig. 2).
When he thinks of all the weary months and days of the twenty years
during which it is said that those who built it worked, cutting out the
stone in the quarries, moving it to the spot where it was required, and
then raising it to the great heights and fitting it all in place, he
regards his fatigue in its ascent as a little thing, though at the time
it is no joke to him.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--VIEW OF GALLERY IN THE GREAT PYRAMID.]
Many of the pyramids were encased in stone taken from the Mokattam
Mountains, which were somewhat more than half a mile distant; but the
pyramid of Cheops was covered with the red Syenite granite, which must
have been quarried in the "red mountain," nearly five hundred miles
away, near to Syene, or the modern Assouan. The interior of the pyramid
is divided into chambers and passages (Fig. 3), which are lined with
beautiful slabs of granite and constructed in such a way as to prove
that at the remote time in which the pyramids were built Egyptian
architects and workmen were already skilled in planning and executing
great works. Of the seventy pyramids known to have existed in those
early days, sixty-nine had the entrance on the north side, leaving
but a single exception to this rule; all of them were situated on the
western side of the River Nile, just on the edge of the desert, beyond
the strip of cultivable ground which borders the river.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--POULTERER'S SHOP.]
Near the pyramids there are numerous tombs, which are built somewhat
like low houses, having several apartments with but one entrance from
the outside. The walls of these apartments are adorned with pictures
similar to this one of a poulterer's shop (Fig. 4); they represent the
manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians with great exactness.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--ROCK-CUT TOMB, BENI-HASSAN.]
The tombs at Beni-Hassan are among the most ancient ruins of Egypt, and
are very interesting (Fig. 5). They were made between 2466 and 2266
B.C. They are on the eastern bank of the Nile, and are hewn out of the
solid rock; they are ornamented with sculptures and pictures which
are full of interest; it has been said that these tombs were built by
the Pharaoh, or king, of Joseph's time, and one of the paintings is
often spoken of as being a representation of the brethren of Joseph;
but of this there is no proof. The colors of the pictures are fresh
and bright, and they show that many of the customs and amusements of
that long, long ago were similar to our own, and in some cases quite
the same. The manufactures of glass and linen, cabinet work, gold
ornaments, and other artistic objects are pictured there; the games of
ball, draughts, and _morra_ are shown, while the animals, birds, and
fishes of Egypt are all accurately depicted.
An interesting thing to notice about these tombs is the way in which
the epistyle--the part resting upon the columns--imitates squarely-hewn
joists, as if the roof were of wood supported by a row of timbers.
When we come to the architecture of Greece we shall see that its most
important style, the Doric, arose from the imitation in stone of the
details of a wooden roof, and from a likeness between these tombs and
the Doric order, this style has been named the Proto-Doric.
The tombs near Thebes which are called the "Tombs of the Kings,"
and many other Egyptian tombs, are very interesting, and within a
short time some which had not before been observed have been opened,
and proved to be rich in decorations, and also to contain valuable
ornaments and works of art, as well as papyri, or records of historical
value.
The most magnificent of all the Egyptian tombs is that of King Seti
I., who began to reign in 1366 B.C. He was fond of splendid buildings,
and all the architects of his time were very busy in carrying out his
plans. His tomb was not discovered until 1817, and was then found by an
Italian traveller, whose name, Belzoni, has been given to the tomb. The
staircase by which it is entered is twenty-four feet long, and opens
into a spacious passage, the walls of which are beautifully ornamented
with sculptures and paintings. This is succeeded by other staircases,
fine halls, and corridors, all of which extend four hundred and five
feet into the mountain in which the tomb is excavated, making also a
gradual descent of ninety feet from its entrance. It is a wonderful
monument to the skill and taste of the architects who lived and labored
more than three thousand years ago.
The two principal cities of ancient Egypt were Memphis and Thebes. The
first has been almost literally taken to pieces and carried away, for
as other more modern cities have been built up near it, the materials
which were first used in the old temples and palaces have been carried
here and there, and again utilized in erecting new edifices.
Thebes, on the contrary, has stood alone during all the centuries that
have passed since its decline, and there is now no better spot in which
to study the ancient Egyptian architecture, because its temples are
still so complete that a good idea can be formed from them of what they
must have been when they were perfect. The ruins at Thebes are on both
banks of the Nile, and no description can do justice to their grandeur,
or give a full estimate of their wonders; but I shall try to tell
something of the palace-temple of Karnak, which has been called "the
noblest effort of architectural magnificence ever produced by the hand
of man."
The word palace-temple has a strange sound to us because we do not now
associate the ideas which the two words represent. Many palaces of more
modern countries and times have their chapels, but the union of a grand
temple and a grand palace is extremely rare, to say the least. Perhaps
the Vatican and St. Peter's at Rome represent the idea and spirit of
the Egyptian palace-temples as nearly as any buildings that are now in
existence.
The Egyptian religion controlled all the affairs of the nation. The
Pharaoh, or king, was the chief of the religion, as well as of the
State. When a king came to the throne he became a priest also, by
being made a member of a priestly order. He was instructed in sacred
learning; he regulated the service of the temple; on great occasions
he offered the sacrifices himself, and, in fact, he was considered
not only as a descendant of gods, but as a veritable god. In some
sculptures and paintings the gods are represented as attending upon
the kings, and after the death of a king the same sort of veneration
was paid to him as that given to the gods. This explains the building
of the palace and temple together, and shows the reason why the gods
and the kings, and the affairs of religion and of government, could
not be separated. As we study the arts of different countries we are
constantly reminded that the religion of a people is the central point
from which the arts spring forth. From its teachings they take their
tone, and adapt their forms and uses to its requirements. I refer to
this fact from time to time because it is important to remember that it
underlies much of the art of the world.
It may be said that all the art of Egypt was devoted to the service of
its religion. Of course this is true of that used in the decoration
of the temples; it is also true of all that did honor to the kings,
because they were regarded as sacred persons, and all their wars and
wonderful acts which are represented in sculpture and painting, and by
statues and obelisks, are considered as deeds that were performed for
the sake of the gods and by their aid.
It was also the religious belief in the immortality of the soul that
led the Egyptians to build their tombs with such care, and to provide
such splendid places in which to lay the body, which was the house of
the spirit.
In the study of Architecture it will also be noted that a country
which has no national religion--or one in which the government and
the religion have no connection with each other--has no absolutely
national architecture. It will have certain features which depend upon
the climate, the building materials at command, and upon the general
customs of the people; but here and there will be seen specimens of
all existing orders of architecture, and buildings in some degree
representing the art of all countries and periods; such architecture
is known by the term composite, because it is composed of portions of
several different orders, and has no absolutely distinct character.
This palace-temple of Karnak is made up of a collection of courts and
halls, and it is very difficult to comprehend the size of all these
parts which go to make up the enormous whole. The entire space devoted
to it is almost twice as large as the whole area of St. Peter's at
Rome, and four times as great as any of the other cathedrals of
Europe; a dozen of the largest American churches could be placed within
its limits and there still be room for a few chapels. All this enormous
space is not covered by roofs, for there were many courts and passages
which were always open to the sky, and one portion was added after
another, and by one sovereign and another, until the completion of the
whole was made long after the Pharaoh who commenced it had been laid in
one of the tombs of the kings.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--THE HALL OF COLUMNS AT KARNAK.]
The most remarkable apartment of all is called the great Hypostyle
Hall, which high-sounding name means simply a hall with pillars (Fig.
6). This hall and its two pylons, or entrances, cover more space than
the great cathedral of Cologne, which is one of the largest and most
famous churches of all Europe.
This splendid hall had originally one hundred and thirty-four
magnificent columns, of which more than one hundred still remain; they
are of colossal size, some of them being sixty feet high without the
base or capital, which would increase them to ninety feet, and their
diameter is twelve feet. This large number of columns was necessary to
uphold the roof, as the Egyptians knew nothing of the arch, and had no
way of supporting a covering over a space wider than it was possible
to cover by beams. The hall was lighted by making the columns down the
middle half as high again as the others, so that the roof was lifted,
and the light came in at the sides, which were left open.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--PILLAR FROM THEBES.
Showing the three parts.]
As I must speak often of columns, it is well to say here that the
column or pillar usually consists of three parts--the base, the shaft,
and the capital (Fig. 7). The base is the lowest part on which the
shaft rests. Sometimes, as in the Grecian Doric order, the base is
left out. The capital is the head of the column, and is usually the
most ornamental part, giving the most noticeable characteristics of
the different kinds of pillars. The shaft is the body of the pillar,
between the base and capital, or all below the capital when the base is
omitted.
The Egyptian pillars seem to have grown out of the square stone piers
which at first were used for support. The square corners were first
cut off, making an eight-sided pier; then some architect carried the
cutting farther, and by slicing off each corner once more gave the
pillar sixteen sides. The advantage of the octagonal piers over the
square ones was that the cutting off of sharp corners made it easier
for people to move about between them, while the play of light on
the sides was more varied and pleasant to the eye. The sixteen-sided
pillar did not much increase the first of these advantages, while the
face of its sides became so narrow that the variety of light and shade
was less distinct and attractive. It is probable that the channelling
of the sides of the shaft was first done to overcome this difficulty,
by making the shadows deeper and the lights more striking; and we
then have a shaft very like that of the Grecian Doric shown in the
picture in Fig. 40, or the Assyrian pillars in Figs. 29 and 30. In
the Egyptian pillars it was usual to leave one side unchannelled and
ornament it with hieroglyphics. In time the forms of the Egyptian
pillars became very varied, and the richest ornaments were used upon
them. The columns in the hall at Karnak are very much decorated with
painting and sculptures, as Fig. 6 shows. The capitals represent the
full-blown flowers and the buds of the sacred lotus, or water-lily. In
other cases the pillars were made to represent bundles of the papyrus
plant, and the capitals were often beautifully carved with palm leaves
or ornamented with a female head. (See Figs. 8, 9, and 10).
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--SCULPTURED CAPITAL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--PALM CAPITAL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--PILLAR FROM SEDINGA.]
The whole impression of grandeur made by the Temple of Karnak was
increased by the fact that the Temple of Luxor, which is not far away,
is also very impressive and beautiful, and was formerly connected with
Karnak by an avenue bordered on each side with a row of sphinxes cut
out of stone. These were a kind of statue which belonged to Egyptian
art, and originated in an Egyptian idea, although a resemblance to it
exists in the art of other ancient countries (Fig. 11).
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--THE GREAT SPHINX.]
Before the Temple of Luxor stood Colossi, or enormous statues, of
Rameses the Great, who built the temple, and not far distant were two
fine obelisks, one of which is now in Paris.
There was much irregularity in the lines and plan of Egyptian palaces
and temples. It often happens that the side walls of an apartment
or court-yard are not at right angles; the pillars were placed so
irregularly and the decorations so little governed by any rule in their
arrangement, that it seems as if the Egyptians were intentionally
regardless of symmetry and regularity.
The whole effect of the ancient Thebes can scarcely be imagined; its
grandeur was much increased by the fact that its splendid buildings
were on both banks of the Nile, which river flowed slowly and
majestically by, as if it borrowed a sort of dignity from the splendid
piles which it reflected, and which those who sailed upon its bosom
regarded with awe and admiration. There are many other places on the
Nile where one sees wonderful ruins of ancient edifices, but we have
not space to describe or even to name them, and Thebes is the most
remarkable of all.
"Thebes, hearing still the Memnon's mystic tones,
Where Egypt's earliest monarchs reared their thrones,
Favored of Jove! the hundred-gated queen,
Though fallen, grand; though desolate, serene;
The blood with awe runs coldly through our veins
As we approach her far-spread, vast remains.
Forests of pillars crown old Nilus' side,
Obelisks to heaven high lift their sculptured pride;
Rows of dark sphinxes, sweeping far away,
Lead to proud fanes and tombs august as they.
Colossal chiefs in granite sit around,
As wrapped in thought, or sunk in grief profound.
"The mighty columns ranged in long array,
The statues fresh as chiselled yesterday,
We scarce can think two thousand years have flown
Since in proud Thebes a Pharaoh's grandeur shone,
But in yon marble court or sphinx-lined street,
Some moving pageant half expect to meet,
See great Sesostris, come from distant war,
Kings linked in chains to drag his ivory car;
Or view that bright procession sweeping on,
To meet at Memphis far-famed Solomon,
When, borne by Love, he crossed the Syrian wild,
To wed the Pharaoh's blooming child."
The obelisks of ancient Egypt have a present interest which is almost
personal to everybody, since so many of them have been taken away
from the banks of the Nile and so placed that they now overlook the
Bosphorus, the Tiber, the Seine, the Thames, and our own Hudson River;
in truth, there are twelve obelisks in Rome, which is a larger number
than are now standing in all Egypt.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLES.]
The above cut (Fig. 12) shows the two obelisks known as Cleopatra's
Needles, as they were seen for a long time at Alexandria. They have
both crossed the seas; one was presented to the British nation by
Mehemet Ali, and the other, which now stands in Central Park, was a
gift to America from the late Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha.
The obelisks were usually erected by the kings to express their worship
of the gods, and stood before the temple bearing dedications of the
house to its particular deity; they were covered with the quaint,
curious devices which served as letters to the Egyptians, which we
call hieroglyphics, and each sovereign thus recorded his praises, and
declared his respect for the special gods whom he wished to honor.
They were very striking objects, and must have made a fine effect
when the temples and statues and avenues of sphinxes, and all the
ancient grandeur of the Egyptians was at its height; and these grave
stone watchmen looked down upon triumphal processions and gorgeous
ceremonials, and kings and queens with their trains of courtiers passed
near them on their way to and from the temple-palaces.
It is always interesting to study the houses and homes of a
people--domestic architecture, as it is called; but one cannot do that
in Egypt. It may almost be said that but one ancient home exists, and
as that probably belonged to some royal person, we cannot learn from it
how the people lived. There were many very rich Egyptians outside of
the royal families, and they dwelt in splendor and luxury; on the other
hand, there were multitudes of slaves and very poor people, who had
barely enough to eat to keep them alive and enable them to do the work
which was set them by their task-masters.
The house of which we speak is at Medinet Habou, on the opposite side
of the Nile from Karnak (Fig. 13). It has three floors, with three
rooms on each floor, and is very irregular in form. But if we have no
ancient houses to study in Egypt, we can learn much about them from the
paintings which still exist, and we may believe that the cities which
surrounded the old temples fully displayed the wealth and taste of the
inhabitants. These pictures show the houses in the midst of gardens
laid out with arbors, pavilions, artificial lakes, and many beautiful
objects, such as we see in the fine gardens of our own day.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--PAVILION AT MEDINET HABOU.]
After about 1200 B.C. there was a long period of decline in the
architecture of Egypt; occasionally some sovereign tried to do as the
older kings had done, but no real revival of the arts occurred until
the rule of the Ptolemies was established; this was after 332 B.C.,
when Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, who had ruled in Egypt
about one hundred and ninety-five years.
Under the Ptolemies Egypt was as prosperous as she had been under the
Pharaohs, but the arts of this later time never reached such purity
and greatness as was shown in the best days of Thebes; the buildings
were rich and splendid instead of noble and grand, or, as we might say,
"more for show" than was the older style.
It is singular that, though the Egypt of the Ptolemies was under Greek
and Roman influence, it still remained essentially Egyptian. It seems
as if the country had a sort of converting effect upon the strangers
who planned and built the temples of Denderah, and Edfou, and beautiful
Philæ, and made them try to work and build as if they were the sons of
the pure old Egyptians instead of foreign conquerors. So true is this
that before A.D. 1799, when scholars began to read hieroglyphics, the
learned men of Europe who studied art believed that these later temples
were older than those of Thebes.
Outside of Thebes there is no building now to be seen in Egypt which
gives so charming an impression of what Egypt might be as does the
lovely temple on the island of Philæ (Fig. 14). Others are more sublime
and imposing, but none are so varied and beautiful.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--TEMPLE ON THE ISLAND OF PHILÆ.]
There is no more attractive spot in Egypt than this island, and when we
know that the priests who served in the Temple of Isis here were never
allowed to leave the island, we do not feel as if that was a misfortune
to them. It was a pity, however, that none but priests were allowed to
go there, and in passing I wish to note the fact that this was the
most ancient monastery of which we know; for that it was in simple
fact, and the monks lived lives of strict devotion and suffered severe
penance.
The buildings at Philæ, as well as most of those of the Ptolemaic age,
had the same irregularity of form of which we have spoken before; their
design, as a whole, was fine, but the details were inferior, and it
often happens that the sculpture and painting which in the earlier
times improved and beautified everything, lost their effect and really
injured the appearance of the whole structure.
At first thought one would expect to be able to learn much more about
the manners and customs of the later than of the earlier days of Egypt,
and to find out just how they arranged their dwellings. But this is not
so, for history tells us of nothing save the superstitious religious
worship of the conquerors of Egypt. There are no pictures of the
houses, or of the occupations and amusements of the people; no warlike
stories are told; we have no tombs with their instructive inscriptions;
not even the agricultural and mechanical arts are represented in the
ruins of this time. The fine arts, the early religion, the spirit of
independence and conquest had all died out; in truth, the wonderful
civilization of the days of the pyramid-builders and their descendants
was gone, and when Constantine came into power Egypt had lost her place
among the nations of the earth, and her grandeur was as a tale that is
told.
The weakness of Egyptian architecture lay in its monotony or sameness.
Not only did it not develop historically, remaining very much the same
as long as it lasted, but the same forms are repeated until, even with
all their grandeur, they become wearisome. The plan of the temples
varies little; the tendency toward the shape of the pyramid appears
everywhere; while the powerful influence of the ritual of the Egyptian
religion gives a strong likeness among all the places of worship. The
Greeks performed the most important parts of their service in the open
air before their temples, and almost all their care was lavished on
exteriors; the Egyptians, on the other hand, elaborated the interior
with great abundance of ornaments, yet without that power of adaptation
which gave so great an air of variety and grace to Grecian art.
A second and even more serious fault in Egyptian architecture is a
want of proportion. In natural organized objects there is always a
fixed proportion between the parts, so that if a naturalist is given a
single bone of an animal he can reproduce with considerable exactness
the entire beast. In art it is necessary to follow this principle
of adapting one part to another, and without this both grace and
refinement are wanting. The Egyptian temples are often too massive, so
that they impress by their size simply, and not by any beauty of plan
or arrangement.
Yet for grandeur and impressiveness no nation has ever excelled the
Egyptians as builders. One may prefer the style and the ornamentation
of the Greeks, or the forms and arrangement of the Gothic order; but,
taken as a whole, the combination of architecture, sculpture, painting,
and hieroglyphics which goes to make up an Egyptian temple, with the
addition of the obelisks, the avenues of sphinxes and the Colossi,
which all seemed to belong together--these, one and all, result in
a whole that has never been surpassed in effect during the thirty
centuries that have rolled over the earth since Cheops built his
magnificent tomb on the great desert of Egypt.
ASSYRIA.
Our knowledge of Egyptian history is more exact than that of some other
ancient nations, because scholars have been able to read Egyptian
hieroglyphics for a much longer time than they have read the cuneiform
or arrow-headed inscriptions which are found in Assyria, Babylon,
and Persia. But we know a great deal about the ruins of Assyria, and
especially of the cities of Nineveh and Khorsabad, where there are
wonderful architectural remains.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--GATEWAYS IN WALLS OF KHORSABAD.]
The walls which surrounded Nineveh are an important part of its ruins.
It is said that in the days of the earliest sovereign these walls were
one hundred feet high, and so broad that three chariots could drive
abreast on their top. This story does not seem unreasonable, for all
the years that have passed, and all the dust and deposit of these ages
that are collected about the foot of the walls, still leave some places
where they are forty-six feet high and from one to two hundred feet
wide. The lower portion was of limestone, and the upper of sun-dried
bricks; the blocks of stone were neatly hewn out and smoothly polished.
The walls surrounded the city, which was so large that one hundred and
seventy-five thousand people could live there, and we know that its
inhabitants were very numerous. The gates which opened through the
walls were surmounted by lofty towers, and it is supposed that shorter
towers were built upon the walls between the gateways (Fig. 15).
The above plans show the arrangement of gateways which have been
excavated. It seems that there were four separate gates, and between
them large chambers which may have been used by soldiers or guards.
The two outer gates were ornamented by sculptured figures of colossal
bulls with human heads and other strange designs; but the inner gates
had a plain finish of alabaster slabs. It is thought that arches
covered these gateways like some representations of gates which are
seen on Assyrian bas-reliefs. Within the gates there is a pavement
of large slabs, in which the marks worn by chariot wheels are still
plainly seen.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--ENTRANCE TO SMALLER TEMPLE, NIMRUD.]
We learn that the Assyrians made their religion a prominent part of
their lives. The inscriptions of the kings begin and end with praises
and prayers to their gods, and on all occasions religious worship is
spoken of as a principal duty. We know that the monarchs devoted much
care to the temples, and built new ones continually; but it also
appears from the excavations that have been made that they devoted
the best of their art and the greatest sum of their riches to the
palaces of their kings. The temple was far less splendid than the
palace to which it was attached as a sort of appendage. This was
undoubtedly due to the fact that the Assyrian kings received more than
the monarchs of any other ancient people divine honors while still
living; so that the palace was regarded as the actual dwelling of a
god. The inner ornamentation of the temples was confined to religious
subjects represented on sculptured slabs upon the walls, but no large
proportion of the wall was decorated, and the rest was merely plastered
and painted in set figures. The gateways and entrances were guarded by
sacred figures of colossal bulls, or lions (Fig. 16), and covered with
inscriptions; there was a similarity between the palace entrances and
those of the temples.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--PAVEMENT SLAB FROM KOYUNJIK.]
The palaces were always built on artificial platforms, which were made
of solid brick or stone, or else the outside walls of the platforms
were built of these substances and the middle part filled in with dirt
and rubbish. Sometimes the platforms, which were from twenty to thirty
feet high, were in terraces and flights of steps led up and down from
one to another. It also happened that more than one palace was erected
on the same platform; thus the size and form of the platforms was much
varied, and when palaces were enlarged the platforms were changed also,
and their shape was often very irregular. The tops of the platforms
were paved with stone slabs or bricks, the last being sometimes as
much as two feet square; the pavements were frequently ornamented with
artistic designs (Fig. 17), and inscriptions are also found upon them.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--REMAINS OF PROPYLÆUM, OR OUTER GATEWAY,
KHORSABAD.]
At the lower part of the platform there was a terrace on which several
small buildings were usually placed, and near by was an important
gateway, or, more properly, a propylæum, through which every one must
pass who entered the palace from the city. The next cut (Fig. 18) shows
one of these grand entrances decorated with the human-headed bulls
and the figure of what is believed to be the Assyrian Hercules, who
is most frequently represented in the act of strangling a lion. Much
rich ornament was lavished on these portals, and the entrance space was
probably protected by an arch.
Below these portals, quite down on a level with the city, there were
outer gateways, through which one entered a court in front of the
ascent to the lower terrace.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--PLAN OF PALACE, KHORSABAD.]
The principal apartments of the palaces were the courts, the grand
halls, and the small, private chambers. The fine palaces had several
courts each; they varied from one hundred and twenty by ninety feet, to
two hundred and fifty by one hundred and fifty feet in size, and were
paved in the same way as the platforms outside (Fig. 19).
The grand halls were the finest portions of these splendid edifices;
here was the richest ornament, and the walls were lined with sculptured
slabs, while colossal bulls, winged genii, and other figures were
placed at the entrances. Upon the slabs the principal events in the
lives of the monarchs were represented, as well as their portraits, and
religious ceremonies, battles, and many incidents of interest to the
nation (Fig. 20).
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--RELIEF FROM KHORSABAD. A TEMPLE.]
The slabs rested on the paved floors of the halls and reached a height
of ten or twelve feet; above them the walls were of burnt brick,
sometimes in brilliant colors; the whole height of the walls was from
fifteen to twenty feet. The smaller chambers surrounded these grand
halls, and the number of rooms was very large; in one palace which has
been but partially explored there are sixty-eight apartments, and it
is not probable that any Assyrian palace had less than forty or fifty
rooms on its ground floor. Of all the palaces which have been examined
that of Khorsabad is best known and can be most exactly described. It
is believed that Sargon, a son of Sennacherib, built it, and it is very
splendid.
After entering at the great portal one passes through various courts
and corridors; these are all adorned with sculptures such as have
been described above; at length one reaches the great inner court of
the palace, which was a square of about one hundred and fifty feet
in size. This court had buildings on two sides, and the other sides
extended to the edge of the terrace of the platform on which the
palace was built, and commanded broad views of the open country. On
one side the buildings contained the less important apartments of the
officers of the court; the grand state apartments were on the other
side. There were ten of these at Khorsabad; five were large halls,
four were smaller chambers, and one a long and narrow room. Three of
the large halls were connected with one another, and their decorations
were by far the most splendid of any in the palace. In one of them
the sculptures represented the king superintending the reception and
chastisement of prisoners, and is called the "Hall of Punishment." The
middle hall has no distinguishing feature, but the third opened into
the "Temple Court," on one side of which the small temple was situated.
The lower sculptures of the middle and third halls represented the
military history of Sargon, who is seen in all sorts of soldier-like
positions and occupations; some of the upper sculptures represent
religious ceremonies.
On one side of the Temple Court there were several chambers called
Priests' Rooms, but the temple itself and the portions of the palace
connected with it are not as well preserved as the other parts, and
have nothing about them to interest us in their study.
The palaces of Nineveh are much less perfect than the palace-temples
of Thebes, and cannot be described with as much exactness. There is no
wall of them still standing more than sixteen feet above the ground,
and we do not even know whether they had upper stories or not, or how
they were lighted--in a word, nothing is positively known about them
above the ground floors, and it is very strange that the sculptures
nowhere represent a royal residence. But what we do know of the
Assyrians proves that they equalled and perhaps excelled all other
Oriental nations as architects and designers, as well as in other
departments of art and industry.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--RESTORATION OF AN ASSYRIAN PALACE.]
This representation of an Assyrian palace (Fig. 21) is a restoration,
as it is called, being made up by a careful study of the remains and
such facts as can be learned from bas-reliefs, and cannot be wholly
unlike the dwellings of the king-gods. It is pleasing in general
appearance, and for lightness and elegance is even to be preferred
to Egyptian architecture, though it is far inferior in dignity and
impressiveness.
The Assyrians knew the use of both column and arch, but never developed
either to any extent. They also employed the obelisk, and it is
noticeable that instead of terminating it with a pyramid, as was the
case in Egypt, they capped it with the diminishing terraces, which
is the fundamental form which underlies all the architecture of the
country, as the smooth pyramid is the most prominent element in the
architecture of Egypt.
BABYLON.
It is probable that Babylon was the largest and finest of all the
ancient cities. The walls which surrounded it, together with its
hanging gardens, were reckoned among the "seven wonders of the world"
by the ancients. Its walls were pierced by a hundred gates and
surmounted by two hundred and fifty towers; these towers added much to
the grand appearance of the city; they were not very high above the
walls, and were probably used as guard-rooms by soldiers.
The River Euphrates ran through the city. Brick walls were built upon
its banks, and every street which led to the river had a gateway in
these walls which opened to a sloping landing which extended down
to the water's edge; boats were kept at these landings for those
who wished to cross the stream. There was also a foot-bridge across
the river that could be used only by day, and one writer, Diodorus,
declares that a tunnel also existed which joined the two sides of the
river, and was fifteen feet wide and twelve feet high in the inside.
The accounts of the "Hanging Gardens" make it seem that they resembled
an artificial terraced mountain built upon arches of masonry and
covered with earth, in which grew trees, shrubs, and flowers. It is
said by some writers that this mountain was at least seventy-five feet
high, and occupied a square of four acres; others say that in its
highest part it reached three hundred feet; but all agree that it was a
wonderful work and very beautiful.
In the interior of the structure machinery was concealed which raised
water from the Euphrates and filled a reservoir at the summit, from
which it was taken to moisten the earth and nourish the plants. Flights
of steps led up to the top, and on the way there were entrances to fine
apartments where one could rest. These rooms, built in the walls which
supported the structure, were cool and pleasant, and afforded fine
views of the city and its surroundings. The whole effect of the gardens
when seen from a distance was that of a wooded pyramid. It seems a pity
that it should have been called a "Hanging Garden," since, when one
knows how it was built, this name is strangely unsuitable, and carries
a certain disappointment with it.
The accounts of the origin of this garden are interesting. One of
them says that it was made by Semiramis, a queen who was famous for
her prowess as a warrior, for having conquered some cities and built
others, for having dammed up the River Euphrates, and performed many
marvellous and heroic deeds. It is not probable that any woman ever did
all the wonders which are attributed to Semiramis, but we love to read
these tales of the old, old time, and it is important for us to know
them since they are often referred to in books and in conversation.
Another account relates that the gardens were made by Nebuchadnezzar
to please his Median queen, Amytis, because the country round about
Babylon seemed so barren and desolate to her, and she longed for the
lovely scenery of her native land.
What we have said will show that the Babylonians were advanced in
the science of such works as come more properly under the head of
engineering; their palaces were also fine, and their dwelling-houses
lofty; they had three or four stories, and were covered by vaulted
roofs. But the Babylonians, like the Egyptians, lavished their best
art upon their temples. The temple was built in the most prominent
position and magnificently adorned. It was usually within a walled
inclosure, and the most important temple at Babylon, called that of
Belus, is said to have had an area of thirty acres devoted to it. The
chief distinguishing feature of a Babylonish temple was a tower built
in stages (Fig. 22).
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--ELEVATION OF THE TEMPLE OF THE SEVEN SPHERES
AT BORSIPPA.]
The number of the stages varied, eight being the largest. At the summit
of the tower there was a chapel or an altar, and the ascent was by
steps or an inclined plane which wound around the sides of the tower.
The Babylonians were famous astronomers, and it is believed that these
towers were used as observatories as well as for places of worship. At
the base of the tower there was a chapel for the use of those who could
not ascend the height, and near by, in the open air, different altars
were placed, for the worship of the Babylonians included the offering
of sacrifices.
Very ancient writers describe the riches of the shrines at Babylon as
being of a value beyond our belief. They tell of colossal images of the
gods of solid gold; of enormous lions in the same precious metal; of
serpents of silver, each of thirty talents' weight (a talent equalled
about two thousand dollars of our money), and of golden tables, bowls,
and drinking-cups, besides magnificent offerings of many kinds which
faithful worshippers had devoted to the gods. These great treasures
fell into the hands of the Persians when they conquered Babylon.
The Birs-i-Nimrud has been more fully examined than any other
Babylonish ruin, and a description of it can be given with a good
degree of correctness. As it now stands, every brick in it bears the
name of Nebuchadnezzar; it is believed that he repaired or rebuilt it,
but there is no reason to think that he changed its plan. Be this as it
may, it is a very interesting ruin (Fig. 23). It was a temple raised
on a platform and built in seven stages; these stages represented
the seven spheres in which the seven planets moved (according to the
ancient astronomy), and a particular color was assigned to each planet,
and the stages colored according to this idea. That of the sun was
golden; the moon, silver; Saturn, black; Jupiter, orange; Mars, red;
Venus, pale yellow, and Mercury, deep blue.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--BIRS-I-NIMRUD, NEAR BABYLON.]
It is curious to know how the various colors were obtained. The lower
stage, representing Saturn, was covered with bitumen; that of Jupiter
was faced with bricks burned to an orange color; that of Mars was made
of bricks from a bright red clay and half burned, so that they had a
blood-red tint; the stage dedicated to the sun was probably covered
with thin plates of gold; that of Venus had pale yellow bricks; that of
Mercury was subjected to intense heat after it was erected, and this
produced vitrification and gave it a blue color; and the stage of the
moon was coated in shining white metals.
Thus the tower rose up, all glowing in colors and tints as cunningly
arranged as if produced by Nature herself. The silvery, shining band
was probably the highest, and had the effect of mingling with the
bright sky above. We can scarcely understand how glorious the effect
must have been, and when we try to imagine it, and then think of the
present wretched condition of these ruins, it gives great force to
the prophecies concerning Babylon which foretold that her broad walls
should be utterly broken down, her gates burned with fire, and the
golden city swept with the besom of destruction.
We know so little of the arrangement of the palaces of Babylon that we
cannot speak of them in detail. They differed from those of Assyria in
two important points: they are of burnt bricks instead of those dried
in the sun which the Assyrians used, and at Babylon in the decoration
of the walls colored pictures upon the brick-work took the place of
the alabaster bas-reliefs which were found in the palaces of Nineveh.
These paintings represented hunting scenes, battles, and other
important events, and were alternated with portions of the wall upon
which were inscriptions painted in white on a blue ground, or spaces
with a regular pattern of rosettes or some fixed design in geometrical
figures. A sufficient number of these decorations have been found
in the ruins of Babylon to prove beyond a doubt that this was the
customary finish of the walls. We also know that the houses of Babylon
were three or four stories in height, but were rudely constructed and
indicate an inferior style of domestic architecture.
PERSIA.
The Persians were the pupils of the Assyrians and Babylonians in Art,
Learning, and Science, and they learned their lessons so well that
they built magnificent palaces and tombs. Temples seem to have been
unimportant to them, and we know nothing of any Persian temple remains
that would attract the attention of travellers or scholars.
The four most important Persian palaces of which we have any good
degree of knowledge are that of Ecbatana, the ruins of which are very
imperfect; a second at Susa, of which the arrangement is known; a
third at Persepolis, which is not well enough preserved for any exact
description to be given; and a fourth, the so-called Great Palace,
near Persepolis, in which the latest Persian sovereigns lived. This
magnificent palace was burned by Alexander the Great before he or his
soldiers had seen its splendor. The story is that he made a feast at
which Thais, a beautiful and wicked woman, appeared, and by her arts
gained such power over Alexander that he consented to her proposal to
fire the palace, and the king, wearing a crown of flowers upon his
head, seized a torch and himself executed the dreadful deed, while all
the company followed him with acclamations, singing, and wild shouts.
At last they surrounded and danced about the dreadful conflagration.
The poet Dryden wrote an ode upon "Alexander's Feast" in 1697 which has
a world-wide reputation. I quote a few lines from it:
"'Twas at the royal feast for Persia won
By Philip's warlike son:
Aloft, in awful state,
The godlike hero sate
On his imperial throne;
His valiant peers were placed around,
Their brows with roses and with myrtles bound
(So should desert in arms be crowned);
The lovely Thais by his side
Sate, like a blooming Eastern bride,
In flower of youth and beauty's pride.
Happy, happy, happy pair!
None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave deserves the fair.
"Behold how they toss their torches on high,
How they point to the Persian abodes,
And glittering temples of their hostile gods!
The princes applaud with a furious joy,
And the king seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy;
Thais led the way
To light him to his prey,
And, like another Helen, fired another Troy."
Much study and time has been given to the examination of the ruins of
Persepolis, and the whole arrangement of the city has been discovered
and is made plain to the student of these matters by means of the many
charts, plans, and photographs of it which now exist. I shall try to
tell you something of the Great Palace of Persepolis, and the other
palaces near it and on the platform with it, for the Persians, like the
Assyrians and Babylonians, built their palaces upon platforms. This
one of which we speak was distinct from the city, but quite near it,
and is in almost perfect condition.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--MASONRY OF GREAT PLATFORM, PERSEPOLIS.]
It is composed of large masses of hewn stone held together by clamps
of iron or lead. Many of the blocks in this platform wall are so large
as to make their removal from the quarries and their elevation to the
required height a difficult mechanical task, which could only have been
performed by skilled laborers with good means for carrying on their
work. The wall was not laid in regular blocks, but was like this plate
(Fig. 24).
The platform was not of the same height in all its parts, and seems
to have been in several terraces, three of which can still be seen.
The buildings were on the upper terrace, which is about forty-five
feet above the plain and very large; it is seven hundred and seventy
feet long and four hundred feet wide. The staircases are an important
feature of these ruins, and when all the palaces were in perfection
these broad steps, with their landings and splendid decorations, must
have made a noble and magnificent effect. The ascent of the staircases
was so gradual and easy that men went up and down on horseback, and
travellers now ascend and descend in this way.
There is little doubt that the staircases of Persepolis were the
finest that were ever built in any part of the world, and on some
of them ten horsemen could ride abreast. The broadest, or platform
staircase, is entirely without ornament; another which leads from the
platform up to the central or upper terrace is so elaborately decorated
that it appears to be covered with sculptures. There are colossal
representations of lions, bulls, Persian guardsmen, rows of trees, and
continuous processions of smaller figures. In some parts the sculptures
represent various nations bringing tributes to the Persian monarch; in
other parts all the different officers of the court and those of the
army are seen, and the latter appear to be guarding the stairs. (See
Fig. 25.)
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--PARAPET WALL OF STAIRCASE, PERSEPOLIS
(RESTORED).]
In a conspicuous position on this ornamental staircase there are
three slabs; on two there is no design of any sort; on the third an
inscription says that this was the work of "Xerxes, the Great King,
the King of Kings, the son of King Darius, the Achæmenian." This
inscription is in the Persian tongue, and it is probable that it was
the intention to repeat it on the slabs which are left plain in some
other languages, so that it could easily be read by those of different
nations; it was customary with the ancients to repeat inscriptions in
this way.
The other staircases of this great platform are all more or less
decorated with sculptures and resemble that described; they lead to
the different palaces, of which there are three. The palaces are those
of Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes Ochus, and besides these there are
two great pillared halls; one of these is called the "Hall of One
Hundred Columns," and the other _Chehl Minar_, or the "Great Hall of
Audience."
This view of the palace of Darius gives an idea of the appearance
of all these buildings. A description of them would be only a wordy
repetition of the characteristics of one apartment and hall after
another, and I shall leave them to speak of the magnificent halls which
are the glory of the ruins of Persepolis, and the wonders of the world
to those who are acquainted with the architectural monuments of the
Turkish, Greek, Roman, Moorish, and Christian nations. (See Fig. 26.)
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--RUINS OF THE PALACE OF DARIUS, PERSEPOLIS.]
The Hall of a Hundred Columns was very splendid, as one may judge
from this picture of its gateway (Fig. 27); but the _Chehl Minar_, or
Great Hall of Audience, which is also called the Hall of Xerxes, was
the most remarkable of all these edifices. Its ruins occupy a space
of almost three hundred and fifty feet in length and two hundred and
forty-six feet in width, and consist principally of four different
kinds of columns. One portion of this hall was arranged in a square,
in which there were six rows of six pillars each, and on three sides
of this square there were magnificent porches, in each of which there
were twelve columns; so that the number of pillars in the square was
thirty-six, and that of those in the three porches was the same. These
porches stood out boldly from the main building and were grand in their
effect.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--GATEWAY OF HALL OF A HUNDRED COLUMNS.]
The columns which remain in various parts of this hall are so high
that it is thought that they must originally have measured sixty-four
feet throughout the whole building. The capitals of the pillars were of
three kinds: the double Horned Lion capital (Fig. 28) was used in the
eastern porch, and was very simple; in the western porch was the double
Bull capital, which corresponded to the first in size and general form,
the difference being only in the shape of the animal.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--DOUBLE HORNED LION CAPITAL.]
The north porch faced the great sculptured staircase, and was the real
front of the hall. On this side the columns were much ornamented. The
following plates show the entire design of them, and it will be seen
that the bases were very beautiful (Figs. 29 and 30).
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--COMPLEX CAPITAL AND BASE OF PILLARS,
PERSEPOLIS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--BASE OF ANOTHER PILLAR, PERSEPOLIS.]
The capitals have three distinct parts; at the bottom is a sort of
bed of lotus leaves, part of which are turned down, and the others
standing up form a kind of cup on which the next section above rests.
The middle section is fluted and has spiral scrolls or volutes, such
as are seen in Ionic capitals, only here they are in a perpendicular
position instead of the customary horizontal one. The upper portion had
the same double figures of bulls as were on the columns of the western
colonnade. The decoration on the bases was made of two or three rows
of hanging lotus leaves, some round and others pointed in form. The
shafts of these pillars were formed of different blocks of stone joined
by iron cramps; they were cut in exact and regular flutings, numbering
from forty-eight to fifty-two on each pillar.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--GROUND PLAN (RESTORED) OF HALL OF XERXES,
PERSEPOLIS.]
This plan of the Hall of Audience will help you to understand its
arrangement more clearly (Fig. 31).
The square with the thirty-six columns, and the three porches with
twelve columns each, are distinctly marked. The most ornamental pillars
were on the side with the entrance or gateway. The two small rooms on
the ends of the main portico may have been guard-rooms.
We can only regret that, while we know certain things about this hall,
there is still much of which we know nothing. However, there are many
theories concerning it. Some authorities believe that it was roofed,
while others think that it was open and protected only by curtains
and hangings, of which the Persians made much use. As we cannot know
positively about it, and Persepolis was the spring residence of the
Persian kings, it is pleasant to fancy that this splendid pillared hall
was a summer throne-room, having beautiful hangings that could be drawn
aside at will, admitting all the spicy breezes of that sunny land,
and realizing the description of the palace of Shushan in the Book of
Esther, which says, "In the court of the garden of the king's palace;
where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine
linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble; the beds were
of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and
black marble."
Here the king could receive all those who sought him; the glorious
view of the plains of Susa and Persepolis, the breezes which came to
him laden with the odors of the choicest flowers would soothe him to
content, and realize his full desire for that deep breath from open air
which gives a sense of freedom and power. We know that no Oriental, be
he monarch or slave, desires to live beneath a roof or within closed
doors.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--PART OF A BASE OF THE TIME OF CYRUS,
PASARGADÆ.]
The column was in Persia developed with a good deal of originality
and much artistic feeling; and one fine base of the time of Cyrus is
especially interesting for its close resemblance to the base of certain
Ionic pillars afterward made in Greece (Fig. 32).
The tombs of the royal Persians were usually hewn out of the solid
rock; the tomb of Cyrus, only, resembles a little house; this plate
gives a representation of it (Fig. 33).
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--THE TOMB OF CYRUS.]
The one apartment in this tomb is about eleven feet long, seven feet
broad, and seven feet high; it has no window, and a low, narrow doorway
in one of the end walls is the only entrance to it. Ancient writers say
that the body of Cyrus in a golden coffin was deposited in this tomb.
Seven other tombs have been explored; they are excavations in the sides
of the mountains high enough to be prominent objects to the sight,
and yet difficult of approach. The fronts of these tombs are much
ornamented, and the internal chambers are large; there are recesses for
the burial-cases, and these vary in number, some having only space for
three bodies. The tomb of Darius had three recesses, in each of which
there were three burial-cases; but this was an unusually large number.
The tombs near Persepolis are the finest which have yet been examined.
The most noticeable characteristic of Persian architecture is its
regularity. The plans used are simple, and only straight lines occur in
them; thus, all the angles are right angles. The columns are regularly
placed, and the two sides of an apartment or building correspond to
each other. The magnificent staircases, and the abundance of elegant
columns which have been called "groves of pillars" by some writers,
produced a grand and dignified effect. The huge size of the blocks of
stone used by Persian builders gives an impression of great power in
those who planned their use, and demands for them the respect of all
thoughtful students of these edifices.
The faults of this architecture lay in the narrow doorways, the small
number of passages, and the clumsy thickness of the walls. But these
faults are insignificant in comparison with its beauties, and it is all
the more to be admired that it was invented by the Persians, not copied
from other nations, and there is little doubt that the Greeks profited
by its study to improve their own style, and through this study
substituted lightness and elegance for the clumsy and heavy effect of
the earliest Grecian architecture.
JUDEA.
There is so much of religious, historical, romantic, and poetical
association with the land of Judea, that it is a disappointment to
know that there are no remains of Judean architecture from which to
study the early art-history of that country; it is literally true that
nothing remains.
The ruins of Jerusalem, Baalbec, Palmyra, Petra, and places beyond
the Jordan are not Jewish, but Roman remains. The most interesting
remnant is a passage and gateway which belonged to the great temple at
Jerusalem. This passage is situated beneath the platform of the temple;
it is called "The Gateway Huldah." The width of it is forty-one feet,
and at one point there is a magnificent pillar, called a monolith,
because it is cut from a single stone. This pillar supports four
arches, which divide the passage into as many compartments, each one
of which has a flat dome. On these domes or roofs there were formerly
beautiful ornamental designs, one of which remains, and is like this
picture (Fig. 34). Its combination of Oriental and Roman design proves
that it cannot be very old, but must have been made after the influence
of the Romans had been felt in Judea.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.--ROOF OF ONE OF THE COMPARTMENTS OF THE GATE
HULDAH.]
Since the excavations in Assyria, and through the use of the knowledge
obtained there and in other ancient countries, and by comparing this
with the descriptions of the Bible and the works of Josephus, some
antiquarians have made plans and drawings of what they believe that
the temple at Jerusalem must have been at the time of the Crucifixion.
The result of this work has little interest, for two reasons: first,
because we do not know that it is correct; second, because even at the
time to which it is ascribed, it was not the ancient temple of Solomon.
That had been destroyed, and after the return of the Jews from the
Captivity, was rebuilt; again, it had been changed and restored by the
Romans under Herod, so that it had little in reality, or by way of
association, to give it the sacred and intense interest for us which
would belong to the true, ancient temple at Jerusalem.
"Lost Salem of the Jews, great sepulchre.
Of all profane and of all holy things,
Where Jew and Turk and Gentile yet concur
To make thee what thou art, thy history brings
Thoughts mixed of joy and woe. The whole earth rings
With the sad truth which He has prophesied,
Who would have sheltered with his holy wings
Thee and thy children. You his power defied;
You scourged him while he lived, and mocked him as he died!
"There is a star in the untroubled sky,
That caught the first light which its Maker made,--
It led the hymn of other orbs on high;
'Twill shine when all the fires of heaven shall fade.
Pilgrims at Salem's porch, be that your aid!
For it has kept its watch on Palestine!
Look to its holy light, nor be dismayed,
Though broken is each consecrated shrine,
Though crushed and ruined all which men have called divine."
GREECE.
The earliest history of Greece is lost in what we may call the Age of
Legend. From that period have come to us such marvellous stories of
gods and goddesses, and all sorts of wonderful happenings and doings,
that even the most serious and wise scholars can learn little about it,
and it remains to all alike a kind of delightful fairy-land.
Back to that remote age one can send his fancy and imagination to
feast upon the tales of wondrous bravery, passionate love, dire
revenge, and supernatural occurrences of every sort until he is weary
of it all. Then he is glad to come back to his actual life, in which
cause and effect are so much more clearly seen, and which, if more
matter-of-fact, is more comfortable than the hap-hazard existence of
those remarkable beings who were liable to be changed into beasts, or
trees, or almost anything else at a moment's notice, or to be whisked
away from the midst of their families and friends and set down to
starve in some desolate place where there was nothing to eat, and no
one to listen to complaints of sorrow or hunger.
This legendary time in Grecian history begins nobody knows when, and
ends about one thousand years before the birth of Christ. Our only
knowledge of it comes from the mythology which we have inherited from
the past, and the two poems of Homer, called the "Iliad" and the
"Odyssey."
The "Iliad" recounts the anger of Achilles and all that happened in the
Trojan War; the "Odyssey" relates the wonderful adventures of Ulysses.
Probably Homer never thought of such a thing as being an historian--he
was a poet--much less did he dream of being the only historian of any
certain time or age; but since, in the course of his poems, he refers
to the manners and customs of the years that had preceded him, and
gives accounts of certain past events, he is, in truth, the prime
source from which we learn the little that we know of the prehistoric
days in Greece.
It is believed that Homer wrote about 850 B.C., and after that date
we have nothing complete in Greek literature until the time of
Herodotus, who is called the "Father of History" and was born in 484
B.C. Thus four centuries between Homer and Herodotus are left with no
authoritative writings.
The legendary or first period of Greek history was followed by five
hundred years more of which we have no continuous history; but facts
have been gathered here and there from the works of various authors
which make it possible to give a reliable account of the Greece of that
time. For our purpose in this book we go on to a still later time, or
a third period, which began about 500 B.C., in which the architecture
and art which we have in mind, when we use the general term Greek Art,
originated.
It is true that before this temples had been erected of which we
have some knowledge, and the elegant and ornate articles which Dr.
Schliemann has found in his excavations at Troy and Mycenæ prove
that the art of that remote time reached a high point of excellence.
The temples and other buildings of which we know anything, and which
belonged to the second period, were clumsy and rude when compared with
the perfection of the time which we propose to study.
Before we speak of any one edifice it is best to understand something
of the various orders of Greek architecture, more especially as the
terms which belong to it and had their origin in it are now used in
speaking of architecture the world over, and from being first applied
to Greek art have grown to be general in their application.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--GRAVESTONE FROM MYCENÆ (SCHLIEMANN).]
In the most ancient days of Greece the royal fortresses were the finest
structures, but in later days the temple became the supreme object
upon which thought and labor were lavished. The public buildings which
served the uses of the whole people were second in consideration, while
the private dwellings were of the least importance of all. The Greek
temple was built upon a raised structure like those of Assyria and
other Oriental nations, but the Greek temple was much smaller, and by
a dignified and simple elegance in detail, and a harmony in all its
parts, it expressed a more noble religious sentiment than could be
conveyed by all the vast piles of massive confusion that had abounded
in more Eastern lands.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--TEMPLE OF DIANA, ELEUSIS.]
The earliest and simplest Greek temples were merely small, square
chambers made to contain an image of a god, and in later times, when
the temples came to be splendid and grand, the apartment containing
the sacred image was still called the _cella_ or cell, as it had been
named from the first. The simplest form of temple was like the little
cut (Fig. 36), and had two pillars in the centre of the front and two
square pilasters at the front end of the side walls. These pilasters
are called _antæ_, and the whole style of the building is called
_distyle in antis_; the word distyle denotes the two pillars, and the
expression means two pillars with antæ.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--SMALL TEMPLE AT RHAMNUS.]
The above picture shows the next advance that was made in form (Fig.
37). A porch was added to the cell, the two parts being separated
by a wall with a doorway in it. After a time the number of pillars in
front was increased to six, and the two outer ones were the first of a
row which extended along the entire length of the sides of the temple,
thus forming a peristyle, or a row of columns entirely around the cell;
the cell itself remained, according to the original plan, in the centre
of the building. The ground plan of such a temple is given in the next
wood-cut (Fig. 38).
[Illustration: FIG. 38--PLAN OF TEMPLE OF APOLLO, BASSÆ.]
A large proportion of the Greek temples were built in this manner, and
were called _hexastyle_ from the six columns on the front.
The different orders of ancient Greek architecture are called the
Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The Greeks were very fond of
the Doric order, and used it so extensively as to make it almost
exclusively their own. The picture of the Parthenon will help you to
understand the explanations of the characteristics of the Doric order
(Fig. 39).
[Illustration: FIG. 39--THE PARTHENON. _Athens_. (RESTORED.)]
As you see, the pillars had no base, but rested directly on the upper
plinth of the foundation of the building. The shaft of the column is
cut in flutings, and the number of them varies from sixteen to twenty;
the latter number being most frequently used. The capital of the column
is divided into two portions; the lower one is called the _echinus_,
and projects beyond the shaft and supports a square tile or block which
is called the _abacus_, and this is the architectural name for the
upper member of all capitals to columns. The _architrave_ or principal
beam above these columns rests directly on the capitals and runs around
the building. This architrave is made of separate blocks of marble
or stone, and is finished at the top by a small strip of the same
materials, which is called a _tenia_. This cut, which gives a section
of the Parthenon on a larger scale than the last picture, will enable
you to find the different portions more easily (Fig. 40).
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--FROM THE PARTHENON, ATHENS.]
Above the architrave and resting on it is the _frieze_; this is
ornamented with fluted spaces called _triglyphs_, because they are
cut in three flutings. The spaces between the triglyphs are called
_metopes_, and sometimes left plain, and sometimes ornamented with
sculptures, as is the case in the frieze of the Parthenon. Under the
triglyphs six little blocks, or drops, are placed so that they lay
over the architrave. Above the frieze there is another narrow strip,
or tenia, like that upon the architrave. Above all this rests the
_cornice_, and underneath the cornice are one or more rows of the
small, drop-like blocks such as make the lower finish of the triglyphs;
in the lower band of the cornice separate blocks are placed over each
triglyph and each metope, with a small space between.
It is important to know that the architrave, frieze, and cornice,
all taken together, form what is called the _entablature_; and the
entablature occupies the whole of the broad space between the top of
the capitals of the pillars and the lower edge of the roof.
The triangular space formed by the sloping of the roof upon the ends
of a building is called the _pediment_, and, as you will see in the
picture of the Parthenon, its pediment was ornamented with elaborate
sculptures which are spoken of in the volume of this series which is
devoted to that art. It was customary to thus ornament the pediment and
to paint the walls of the cella and other portions of the building, so
that while the pure Doric style seems at first sight to be stiff and
straight in its effect, it becomes rich and ornamental by the use of
sculpture and painting, and yet remains solid and stable.
The Doric style may be regarded as a native growth in Greece, as almost
every detail of its construction and its ornaments may be traced back
to the early wooden buildings of the people, as the architecture
of the tombs of Beni-Hassan had been. The triglyphs, for instance,
represent the ends of the beams upon which the rafters rested, while
the bas-reliefs between took the place of the votive offerings which
in the primitive temples were placed in the open spaces between the
beams. It is not necessary here to go into all the particulars of this
resemblance, which perhaps learned men have sometimes carried too far,
and which are rather difficult to understand; it is enough to say that
there are excellent reasons for regarding the theory as, upon the
whole, sound, although, of course, the Grecian architects modified and
enriched the forms which the simple timber work had suggested.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--IONIC ARCHITECTURE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--IONIC BASE, FROM PRIENE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 43.--ATTIC BASE.]
The next great order was called the Ionic, and has a close relation
with certain forms found in Asia Minor. This picture of an Ionic
capital and entablature is taken from the Temple of Athena at Priene
(Fig. 41). Its scroll-like capital recalls those of the pillars in the
Great Hall of Xerxes at Persepolis, shown in Figs. 28 and 29, and many
examples of even closer resemblance might be given. The order differed
from the Doric principally in the ornamentation of its capitals and
in the fact that the columns have bases. These cuts show different
kinds of bases belonging to the Ionic order. The first is from the
temple at Priene (Fig. 42), and the second is the form known as the
Attic base (Fig. 43). The third is especially interesting from its
close resemblance to the ancient Persian base shown in Fig. 32, and is
another illustration of the Eastern origin of this order (Fig. 44).
[Illustration: FIG. 44.--BASE FROM TEMPLE OF HERA, SAMOS.]
The Ionic capital is very easily recognized by its spiral projections,
or scrolls, which are called volutes (Fig. 45). These are so placed
that they present a flat surface on the opposite sides of the capital,
like the picture below (Fig. 46); sometimes the volutes are finished by
a rosette in the centre.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.--IONIC CAPITAL (FRONT VIEW).]
[Illustration: FIG. 46.--IONIC CAPITAL (SIDE VIEW).]
The shaft of the Ionic column is sometimes plain and sometimes fluted;
the flutings number twenty-four, and are separated by a narrow, plain
band or fillet. In some ancient examples of the Ionic order the entire
entablature is left plain, but in many instances there are bands of
carvings, as in the first Ionic example given above; in some modern
Italian architecture even more ornament has been added.
The three, or sometimes two, layers or bands of stone which form the
Ionic architrave project a little, each one more than the other, and
the ornamented band above it serves to separate it from the frieze so
as to make these two portions of the entablature quite distinct from
each other. The frieze is never divided into set spaces as in the Doric
order, but when ornamented has a continuous design in relief.
The lower part of the cornice is frequently cut in little pieces or
dentals which form what is called the "tooth-like ornament;" these
have the effect of hanging from underneath the cornice. There is a
certain pleasing effect in Ionic architecture which, perhaps, appeals
to our taste at first sight more forcibly than does the severe elegance
of the Doric order. Nevertheless, the latter is a higher type of art,
and it is not probable that it can ever be superseded by any new
invention or lose the prestige which it has held so long.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.--FROM MONUMENT OF LYSICRATES, ATHENS.]
That which is called the Corinthian order differs very little from the
Ionic except in the capital, but as this was so prominent a member of
the Ionic style, the difference seems greater than it really is. It is
therefore not necessary to speak of its parts in detail. The Choragic
Monument of Lysicrates at Athens is as good a specimen of the order as
remains at this time, and of this we give an illustration (Fig. 47).
[Illustration: FIG. 48.--CORINTHIAN ORDER.]
The Corinthian order of architecture does not belong to the early
period of art in Greece. It came after the influence of Oriental
architecture had been shown in the Ionic style; and perhaps the
beautiful Corinthian capital may have been suggested by the palm-leaf
and lotus capitals of Egypt. What has been said of other orders will
help you in understanding this; but I shall tell you especially about
its capital, as that is its distinguishing feature. The form of the
capital may be called bell-shaped, and it is set round with two rows of
leaves, eight in each row; above these is a third row of leaves, or of
a sort of small twisted husks, which supports eight small volutes. The
abacus or top portion of the capital is cut out at the corners so that
sharp projections are made, called horns, and one volute comes directly
under each horn of the abacus. This cut (Fig. 48) gives a more distinct
idea of the capital than does that above, and you will see that four
of the volutes really form the upper corners of the capital. The four
other volutes meet on two opposite sides of the capital; sometimes
they are interwoven, and a flower, or rosette, or some other ornament
is placed above them and lays up over the abacus. Different kinds
of leaves are used in making this capital; olive, water plant, and
acanthus are all thus employed; there is a very pretty legend as to its
origin which makes the acanthus seem to be the only one which belongs
to it, and is as follows:
It was the custom in Greece to place a basket upon the new-made graves
in which were the viands which those there buried had preferred when
in life. About 550 B.C. a lovely virgin died at Corinth, and her nurse
arranged the basket with care and covered it with a tile. It happened
that the basket was set directly over a young acanthus plant, and the
leaves grew up about it in such a manner that the sculptor Callimachus
was attracted by its grace and beauty, and conceived the idea of using
it as a model for a new capital in architecture. I have always been
sorry that it was not named for the beautiful maiden rather than for
the city in which she was buried.
[Illustration: FIG. 49.--CARYATID.]
Another feature of Greek architecture is the use of the Caryatid, or
a human figure standing upon a base and supporting the capital of
a column upon the head, or, to put it more plainly, a human figure
serving as the shaft to a column. These figures are usually females,
and this picture of one from the Erechtheium at Athens shows how
they are placed (Fig. 49). Sometimes the figures of giants, called
_Telamones_, were used in the same way.
[Illustration: FIG. 50.--STOOL, OR CHAIR, KHORSABAD.]
In Oriental art such figures are numerous; they are used to support
platforms and the thrones of kings; their position is sometimes varied
by making the uplifted hands bear the weight instead of the head (Fig.
50). In any case this feature in architecture is tiresome, and its use
is certainly questionable as a matter of good taste.
Having given a general outline of the characteristics of Greek
architecture, I will speak of some remarkable edifices which are
beautiful in themselves and have an interest for us on account of their
associations with the history of the world, as well as with that of
art.
The Temple of Diana at Ephesus, of which nothing now remains, was the
largest and most splendid of all the Greek temples. It was four hundred
and twenty-five feet long by two hundred and twenty wide.
The ancients counted this temple as one of the Seven Wonders of the
World, and when we know that its pillars were sixty feet high, and
that the beams of the architrave which had to be lifted up above the
pillars to be put in place were each thirty feet long, we can readily
understand that the building of it was a wonderful work. This was not
the first temple that had stood on the same spot, for we know that one
had been burned on the night in which Alexander the Great was born, 356
B.C. It was set on fire by Herostratus; he was tried for this crime
and was put to the torture to make him declare his motive for doing
such a dreadful deed; he gave as his only reason his desire to have his
name handed down through all ages, and he believed that by burning the
temple he should accomplish his object--as, indeed, he did, for every
historian repeats the story of his crime, and his name stands as a
synonym for wicked ambition.
After this destruction the temple was rebuilt on a most magnificent
scale, and was not finished until two hundred and twenty years had
passed. Diana was a great and powerful goddess, and all the nations of
Asia united in gifts for the adornment of her shrine; the women even
gave their personal ornaments to be sold to increase the fund to be
spent upon it.
This temple was four times as large as the Parthenon at Athens, and
had one hundred and twenty-seven splendid columns, thirty-six of which
were finely carved and were the gifts of various sovereigns. The grand
staircase was made from the wood of a single Cyprian vine. But great
as was the temple itself, its adornments of statues by the sculptor
Praxiteles, and the vast treasures of ornaments and rare objects by
which it was enriched made it even more famous. The Temple of Diana
was robbed by Nero and burned by the Goths, but its final destruction
probably occurred after A.D. 381, when the Emperor Theodosius I. issued
an edict forbidding all the ceremonies of the pagan worship.
Many beautiful objects were taken away to adorn the mediæval churches
of other religions than that of the Ephesians. Some of its green jasper
columns were used to support the dome of St. Sophia at Constantinople,
and other parts of it are seen in the cathedrals of Italy.
There is scarcely a more desolate spot in the world than is the Ephesus
of to-day. No remaining ruins are so preserved as to afford the visitor
any satisfaction. The marbles and stone have been used to build other
towns, which in their turn have been destroyed. The inhabitants are a
handful of poor Greek peasants; wolves and jackals from the neighboring
mountains roam about; and though an abundance of myrtle and some lovely
groves relieve the gloominess of the scene, it is impossible when
there to re-create in imagination the splendid Ephesian city, with
its wharves and docks, its temples, theatres, and palaces, which were
so famous as to cause it to be spoken of with wonder throughout the
ancient world.
We often hear of the glory of the Periclean age at Athens, and it is
true that under the leadership of Pericles Athens reached its greatest
prosperity. This picture shows the Acropolis as it appeared at that
time (Fig. 51).
[Illustration: FIG. 51.--THE ACROPOLIS. _Athens._ (RESTORED.)]
In these best days of Athens the whole Acropolis was consecrated to
religious worship and ceremonials, and its entire extent was occupied
by temples and statues of the gods. The fact that I have before
mentioned, that the religion of a country moulds its art, is especially
true of the art of Greece; figures of the gods and bas-reliefs of the
ceremonies of the Grecian worship form a large and most important part
of the work of the Greek artists, and the splendid temples were raised
to be the sacred homes of the statues of the great gods, to which the
people could come with offerings and prayers.
The Acropolis was also a sort of fortress, because it was an eminence,
and its sides of craggy rock allowed of but one ascent; thus it could
be easily defended. Then, when all the wonders and riches of art
had been collected there, the pure white marble, the sculpture and
painting, and the ornaments of shining metals which glistened in the
sun, while brilliant colors added their rich effect, it might be called
a gorgeous museum, such as has never since been equalled in the history
of the world.
It is important to know that the Athenians worshipped three different
goddesses, all called by the one name of Athene or Athena. The most
ancient and most sacred of these was Athena Polias, whose statue, made
of olive-wood, was believed to have fallen from heaven. The Erechtheium
was dedicated to this goddess, and there this holy, heaven-sent figure
was kept, with other sacred objects of which I shall speak in their
place.
The Athena next in importance was the goddess of the Parthenon, or the
"House of the Virgin," as the word signifies, for this Athena Parthenos
is the same as the goddess Minerva, who is said never to have married
or known the sentiment of love; she was the goddess of war, prudence,
and wisdom. The third Athena was called Promachos, which means the
champion. Phidias made of her one of his splendid statues, standing
erect, with helmet, spear, and shield.
In describing the Acropolis we shall begin with the Propylæa, or the
entrances, which occupy the centre of our picture and to which the
steps lead, showing the passage between the pillars, three being left
on each side. This magnificent series of entrances--as the whole
ascent from the outer gate in the wall, up the steps, and through the
passage between the pillars may be called--was erected about 437 B.C.,
and cost two thousand talents of gold, which is equal to about two
millions of our dollars. The fame of the Propylæa was world-wide, and
together with the Parthenon it was considered the architectural glory
of the Periclean age. The style in which they are built is a splendid
example of the combination of the Doric and the Ionic orders, for while
the exterior is almost pure Doric, the interior is made more cheerful
by the use of the Ionic columns and ornamentation.
High up at the right of the picture stands the Parthenon. Its
architecture, which is Doric, has been described. We do not know when
this temple was begun, but it is probably on the site of an older one.
It was finished 438 B.C., and the general care of its erection was
given to Phidias, the most famous of all sculptors. The marble of which
the Parthenon was built was pure Pentelic, and as it rested on a rude
basement of limestone the contrast between the two made the marble of
the temple seem all the finer. Within and without this temple abounded
in magnificent sculptures executed by Phidias himself or under his
orders.
The Erechtheium, which is only partly visible at the back on the left
of the picture, was the most sacred temple of Athens. It was the
burial-place of Erechtheus, who was regarded not only as the founder
of this temple, but also of the religion of Athena in Athens. Beside
the heaven-descended statue of Athena Polias which was kept here, there
was the sacred olive-tree which Athena had called forth from the earth
when she was contending for the possession of Attica; here, too, was
the well of salt water which Poseidon (or Neptune) made by striking the
spot with his trident, and several other sacred objects (Fig. 52).
[Illustration: FIG. 52.--THE ERECHTHEIUM. _Athens._ (RESTORED.)]
This beautiful temple was built in the Ionic style, and is very
interesting because it is so different in form from every other Greek
temple of which we know. This is partly due to the fact that it was
built where the ground was not level, one portion of it being eight
feet higher than another. A second reason for its irregularity may
be that it required to be divided into more cells or apartments than
other Greek temples in order to arrange the different sacred objects
within its walls. A very considerable portion of this temple is still
standing. The frieze, of which but little remains, was of black marble,
upon which there were figures in white marble.
The Erechtheium is certainly a splendid example of the Attic-Ionic
style, and the eye rests upon it with admiration; but its half-pillars
and caryatides, its various porches and luxuriant detail of form and
ornament, are less effective as a whole than is the Parthenon in its
pure Doric architecture.
An interesting fact about Greek architecture is that the marbles used
were painted in high colors. There is a theory, which may or may not
be true, that the custom first arose in the same way as the shape of
the Doric entablature, from the imitation of wooden buildings. The wood
was painted to preserve it, and when stone began to be substituted,
the architects, accustomed to bright effects, colored the marbles
to look like wood. Whether this is the true origin of the custom or
not, it is certain that the custom prevailed. The lower parts of the
pillars of a Doric temple were usually stained a light golden-brown
tint; the triglyphs and the mutules, or brackets beneath the cornices,
were a rich blue; the trunnels, or wooden pins, were red or gilded;
the metopes had a dark red background, against which the bas-reliefs
with which they were ornamented stood out in strong contrast, while the
frieze and cornice were richly painted with garlands and leaves. So
highly colored a building would seem less out of place amid the varied
landscape of Greece than under our colder skies, and it is difficult
for us to form any just idea of the splendid appearance it must have
presented.
One of the most wonderful things about Greek architecture is the way
in which allowance was made for the deception of the eye by certain
forms and lines. It is not easy to explain this fully, but it is too
remarkable to be wholly passed over. If a column were cut so as to
diminish regularly from the bottom to the top it would seem to the eye
to hollow in, and to correct this the clever Greek architect made his
columns swell out a little at the middle. This is called _entasis_, and
is the best known of the means taken to make forms look as they should.
Another case is that of long horizontal lines. If they are really level
they appear to sag at the centre, therefore in Greek temples they
are delicately rounded up a little, and so have the effect of being
perfectly straight. These two examples may serve to show what I mean
by saying that architectural forms were made one way so as to look
another, and in nothing did the Greek architecture show more marvellous
skill and taste than in this.
In other Grecian cities the architecture differed but little from that
of Athens, and, indeed, the influence of Athenian art and artists was
felt all over the Eastern world; it is therefore not necessary for our
purpose to speak further of Greek temples.
Next in importance were the municipal buildings, of which we find but
few traces at Athens. The monument of Lysicrates is so beautiful that
it gives us a most exalted idea of what the taste in such edifices must
have been (Fig. 53).
[Illustration: FIG. 53.--CHORAGIC MONUMENT OF LYSICRATES. _Athens._]
This monument was erected in the year 334 B.C. when Lysicrates was
_choragus_; this officer provided the chorus for the plays represented
at Athens for the year. It was expensive to hold this position, and its
duties were arduous; the choragus had to find the men for the chorus,
bring them together, and have them instructed in the music, and also
provide proper food for them while they studied. It was customary to
present a tripod to the _choragus_ who provided the finest musical
entertainment, and also to build a monument upon which the tripod was
placed as a lasting honor to him who had received it. There was a
street at Athens called the "Street of the Tripods" because it passed a
line of choragic monuments. These monuments were dedicated to different
gods; this of Lysicrates was devoted to Bacchus, and was decorated
with sculptures representing scenes in the story of that god, who was
regarded as the patron of plays and theatres; indeed, the Greek drama
originated in the choruses which were sung at his festivals.
The Greek theatres were very large and fine; the seats were ranged in a
half circle, but as none remain in a sufficient state of preservation
to afford a satisfactory picture, it would be impossible to give a
clear description of them here.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.--THE MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS (RESTORED).]
The ancient Greeks were not tomb-builders, and we know little of
their burial-places. However, the Mausoleum built at Halicarnassus by
Artemisia, in memory of her husband, Mausolus, was so important as to
be numbered among the seven wonders of the world (Fig. 54). Mausolus
was the King of Caria, of which country Halicarnassus was the chief
city. He died about 353 B.C., and his wife, Artemisia, gradually faded
away with sorrow at his death, and survived him but two years. But
during this time she had commenced the erection of the Mausoleum,
and the artists to whom she intrusted the work were as faithful in
completing it as though she had lived, for the sake of their own fame
as artists. This magnificent tomb may be described as an example of
architecture as a fine art exclusively, for it cannot be said to have
been useful, since the body of Mausolus was burned according to custom,
and certainly a much smaller tomb would have been sufficient for the
remaining ashes.
The whole height of the Mausoleum was one hundred and forty feet; the
north and south aisles were sixty-three feet long, and the others a
little less. The burial vault was at the base, and the whole mass
above it was ornamented with magnificent designs splendidly executed.
Above the whole was a quadriga, or four-horse chariot, in which it is
said that a figure of Mausolus was placed so that from land or sea it
could be seen at a great distance. It is not strange that this tomb
was called a wonder in its day, and from it we still take our word
"mausoleum" for all burial-places which merit so distinguished a name.
Writers of the twelfth century speak of the beauty of this tomb,
but in A.D. 1402, when the Knights of St. John took possession of
Halicarnassus, it no longer remained, and a castle was built upon its
site. The tomb had been buried, probably by an earthquake, and the name
of the place was then changed to Boodroom.
In the year 1522 some sculptures were found there, but it was not until
1856 that Mr. Newton, an Englishman, discovered that these remains had
belonged to the Mausoleum. A large collection of reliefs, statues, and
other objects, more or less imperfect, was taken to London and placed
in the British Museum, where they are known as the "Halicarnassus
Sculptures."
As other temples were influenced by the example of the Athenian
builders, so many other tombs resembled that of Mausolus in greater or
less degree, although none approached it in grandeur and magnificence.
Of the domestic architecture of the Greeks we know very little. Almost
all that is said of it is chiefly speculation, as even the descriptions
of Grecian palaces and houses which are given by the classic writers
are imperfect. The life of the Greek was passed largely in public, at
the temple, the theatre, or the baths, or at least in the open air, and
comparatively little attention was given to the building of the private
houses; but in the ruins of the temples and other monuments which
still exist we have sufficient proof that no art has surpassed that of
ancient Greece in purity, elegance, and grandeur of style.
ETRURIA.
Since the Etruscans were an earlier Italian nation than the Romans,
and Rome, in her primal days, was ruled by Etruscan kings, it is here
fitting to speak of this remarkable old people.
As Rome increased the Etruscans disappeared, and the younger power
came to have so mighty an influence in the world that it absorbed the
consideration of all nations as much as if no other had ever ruled in
Italy.
No Etruscan temple now remains, but we know that they were not splendid
like those of Greece. They were of two forms, one being circular and
dedicated to a single deity, while others were devoted to three gods
and had three cells; their walls were built at right angles, thus
making their shape regular.
The theatres and amphitheatres of the Etruscans were nearly circular
and much like those of the later Italians, but not one remains except
that at Sutri, which, being cut in the rock, does not afford a good
example of the usual arrangement of these edifices.
[Illustration: FIG. 55.--TOMBS AT CASTEL D'ASSO.]
In fact, the only important remains of Etruscan architecture are the
tombs, of which there are many. These are of two kinds; the first
are cut in the rocks and resemble the Egyptian tombs at Beni-Hassan,
reminding one of little houses (Fig. 55).
[Illustration: FIG. 56.--PRINCIPAL CHAMBER IN REGULINI-GALEASSI TOMB.]
The second and most numerous class are mounds of earth raised above
a wall at the base. These were called "Tumuli," and some of them had
fine, well-furnished apartments in their midst. The next cut shows such
a room as it appeared when first opened; in it were found bedsteads,
biers, shields, arrows, a variety of vessels, and several kinds of
useful utensils (Fig. 56).
[Illustration: FIG. 57.--ARCH AT VOLTERRA.]
These tombs are in truth more connected with other arts than with
architecture, and many beautiful articles have been found in them.
The most interesting feature of Etruscan architecture is the arch,
which was first brought into general use by the Romans, but is
found in Etruscan remains (Fig. 57), both in the semi-circular and
pointed forms. The principle of the arch had been known to several
Oriental nations, but it had been applied only to short spaces and
comparatively unimportant uses, such as windows and doorways (Fig. 58).
[Illustration: FIG. 58.--GATEWAY. _Arpino._]
There is no doubt that many of the earliest works of the Romans were
executed under the direction of Etruscan architects. Among these was
the great Cloaca Maxima, or principal drain of ancient Rome. This was a
wonderful achievement; it is probable that the oldest arch in Europe is
that of this sewer, and the fact of its still remaining proves how well
it must have been built in order to last so long (Fig. 59).
[Illustration: FIG. 59.--ARCH OF CLOACA MAXIMA. _Rome._]
ROME.
The early works of Rome, which were largely executed by the Etruscans,
were principally those useful, semi-architectural objects necessary in
the making of a city, such as aqueducts and bridges. These belong quite
as much to civil engineering as to architecture, and we shall not speak
of them.
In studying Roman architecture one is surprised at the number of uses
to which it was applied, for not only do the temples, tombs, theatres,
and monuments such as we have found in other countries exist in Rome,
but there are also basilicas, baths, palaces, triumphal arches, pillars
of victory, fountains, and various other objects suited to the wants of
a great people.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.--COMPOSITE ORDER, FROM THE ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS
SEVERUS. _Rome._]
No truly pure, national order of architecture existed at Rome. The
union of the arch of the Etruscans with the columns of the Greeks
enabled the Romans to change the forms of their edifices and to produce
a great variety in them. They employed the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
orders, but they rarely used one of these alone; they united them in
endless combinations, and introduced a capital of the order which is
called the Composite (Fig. 60). It consists of the lower part of the
Corinthian and the upper part of the Ionic capital; this was very rich
in ornament, but the line where the two orders were joined was always a
defect, and it never came into general favor.
The Romans also introduced what is called the Tuscan order, which is
usually mentioned with the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite,
as being one of the five classic orders of architecture, although it
is really little more than a variety of the Doric, as the Composite is
of the Corinthian order. It differed from the Doric in having a base,
while its frieze was simple and unadorned, the cornice also being very
plain. The shaft of the Tuscan column was never fluted.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.--DORIC ARCADE.]
The Romans also used an arcade which was a combination of Greek and
Etruscan art, like this cut (Fig. 61); thus showing a power of adapting
forms which already existed in new combinations and for new purposes,
rather than an originative genius.
A very important advance made by the Romans was the improvement of
interior architecture. The halls and portions of edifices to be used
were more cared for than ever before; this was sometimes done at the
expense of the exteriors, to which the Greeks had devoted all their
thought. In fact, many ancient Roman temples were inferior to other
edifices which they built. The Pantheon is the only one existing in
such a state as to be spoken of with satisfaction.
[Illustration: FIG. 62.--GROUND-PLAN OF PANTHEON. _Rome._]
This ground-plan (Fig. 62) shows that the Pantheon is circular with
a porch. Taken separately, the rotunda and the porch are each fine
in their own way, but the joining of the circular and angular forms
has an effect of unfitness which one cannot forget even when looking
at that which we regard with reverent interest. The central portion
was at first a part of the Baths of Agrippa, but on account of its
great beauty it was changed by Agrippa himself into a temple, by the
addition of a row of Corinthian columns around the interior. (See Fig.
63.)
[Illustration: FIG. 63.--INTERIOR OF THE PANTHEON.]
Taken all in all, the effect of the Pantheon is that of grandeur and
simplicity. When we remember that sixteen hundred and eighty-eight
years have passed since it was repaired by Septimius Severus, we wonder
at its good preservation, though we know that it has been robbed of
its bronze covering and other fine ornaments. An inscription still
remaining on its portico states that Marcus Aurelius and Septimius
Severus repaired this temple; history says that Hadrian restored it
after a fire, probably about the year 117, and it is even said that
Agrippa, who died A.D. 13, added the portico to a rotunda which existed
before his time.
The objects now in the interior of the Pantheon are so largely modern
that they do not belong to this portion of our subject, but there is
much interest associated with this spot, and it is dear to all the
world as the burial-place of Raphael, Annibale Caracci, and other great
artists.
Next to the temples of Rome came the Basilicas, of which there were
many before the time of Constantine. The word basilica means the royal
house, and these edifices were first intended for a court-room in which
the king administered his laws; later they became markets, or places of
exchange, where men met for business transactions. The ruins of the
Basilicas of Trajan and Maxentius, two of the finest of these edifices,
are in such condition that their plans can be understood (Fig. 64).
They were large, and divided into aisles by rows of columns; at one
end there was a semi-circular recess or apse, in which was a raised
platform, approached by steps, also semi-circular in form. Upon this
platform the king or other exalted officer had his place, while those
of lesser rank were on the steps below, on either side. Fronting the
apse was an altar upon which sacrifices were offered before commencing
any important business.
[Illustration: FIG. 64.--LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF BASILICA OF MAXENTIUS.]
The principal reason for speaking of basilicas is that by the above cut
you may see the great change made in architecture about this time by
the use of columns, only half the height of the building, which were
united by arches. This was a very important step, and is, in truth, one
of the principal features that mark the progress of the change from
ancient to Gothic architecture--a change not fully developed until the
twelfth century.
I shall not say much of the theatres, amphitheatres, and baths of
ancient Rome, because it is not easy to treat them in the simple manner
suited to this book; they were magnificent and costly, and made an
important part of Roman architecture; they were probably copied from
the public buildings of the Etruscans.
Marcus Scaurus built a theatre in 58 B.C. which held eighty thousand
spectators; it had rich columns and statues, and was decorated with
gold, silver, and ivory. The first stone theatre in Rome was built in
55 B.C., and was only half the size of that of Marcus Scaurus. Parts
of the theatre of Marcellus still remain in the present Orsini Palace
in Rome, and serve to give an idea of the architecture of the period
immediately before the birth of Christ.
The Emperor Augustus boasted that he had found a city of brick and
had changed it to one of marble, but after his time architecture
suffered a decline, and its second flourishing period may be dated from
A.D. 69. To this time belongs the Colosseum, also called the Flavian
Amphitheatre; it covers about five acres of ground, and is sufficiently
well preserved for a good idea to be formed of what it must have been
when in its best estate. The enormous size of these ancient Roman
edifices is almost too much for us to imagine, and the most extensive
of them all were the _Thermæ_, or public baths.
The Baths of Diocletian, built A.D. 303, were the largest of all; they
had seats for twenty-four hundred bathers. These baths were in reality
a group of spacious halls of varied forms, but all magnificent in size.
The great hall of the Baths of Diocletian was three hundred and fifty
feet long by eighty feet in width and ninety-six feet high; it was
converted into a church by Michael Angelo and is called S. Maria Degli
Angeli, or Holy Mary of the Angels. Many splendid pictures which were
once in St. Peter's are now in this church, and copies of them made in
mosaic fill the places where they were originally hung.
The Baths of Caracalla were built in A.D. 217, and though they had
seats for but sixteen hundred bathers, they were much more splendid
than the Baths of Diocletian. They were surrounded by pleasure
gardens, porticoes, and a stadium or race-course, where all sorts of
games were held. Some beautiful mosaic pavements have been taken from
these baths, and are now in the Lateran and the Villa Borghese palaces;
there was a Pinacotica, or Fine Art Gallery here, in which were some of
the greatest art treasures of the world, such as the Farnese Hercules,
the Farnese Bull, the two Gladiators, and other famous statues, besides
cameos, bronzes, and sculptures, almost without end. The granite basins
in the Piazza Farnese, and some green basalt urns now in the Vatican
Museum, were taken from the Baths of Caracalla, and, indeed, all over
Rome there are objects of more or less beauty which were found here.
Formerly the site of these baths was like a beautiful Eden where
Nature made herself happy in luxuriant growths of all lovely things.
The poet Shelley was very fond of going there, and wrote of it, "Among
the flowery glades and thickets of odoriferous blossoming trees, which
are extended in ever-winding labyrinths upon its immense platforms
and dizzy arches suspended in the air," by which we know that the
ruins were covered with a soil which was fruitful in flowers, vines,
and trees; but all these have been torn away in order to make the
excavations which were necessary for the exploration of these wonderful
baths, and now the parts which remain stand fully exposed to the view
of the curious traveller.
The Roman Triumphal Arches were one of the characteristic outgrowths of
the Imperial period. These splendid works were designed to perpetuate
the fame of the emperors and to recall to the people the important
acts of their lives. The arch of Constantine given below is one of the
most famous arches in Rome (Fig. 65). It is believed that parts of it
were in an arch of Trajan's time, and some even go so far as to say
that it was originally dedicated to the earlier emperor and adopted
by Constantine as his own. It is remarkably well preserved, and this
is undoubtedly due to the fact of its being dedicated to the first
Christian sovereign of Rome. The other most famous arches in the city
are that of Titus, which dates from A.D. 81, and that of Septimius
Severus, which was erected in honor of him and of his wife, Julia, by
the silversmiths and merchants of the Forum Boarium, in which spot the
arch was raised.
[Illustration: FIG. 65.--ARCH OF CONSTANTINE. _Rome._]
These triumphal arches existed in all the countries where Rome held
sway, and, indeed, this is true of all kinds of Roman architectural
works.
This Arch of Beneventum was erected in the second century after Christ,
by Trajan, when he repaired the Appian Way. It is one of the most
graceful and best preserved of all the arches of Italy (Fig. 66).
[Illustration: FIG. 66.--ARCH OF TRAJAN. _Beneventum._]
All these arches had originally groups of statuary upon them, for which
they served merely as the pedestals. Their taking the form of an arch
was due to their being placed in the public way, where it was necessary
to leave a passage for the street. Sometimes they were placed where two
roads met, and a double arch was then made. Elaborate as the arches
often were, you must keep in mind that they are only a part of the
entire design, and that the least important part; the statuary, which
has been destroyed by time, being really the more striking feature of
the whole.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.--TOMB OF CECILIA METELLA.]
The tombs of Rome were very numerous, and were an important element
in Roman architecture. The tomb of Cecilia Metella is of importance
because it is the oldest remaining building of Imperial Rome and the
finest tomb which has been preserved (Fig. 67).
As you see, the tomb is a round tower. In the thirteenth century it
was turned into a fortress, and so much dust has been deposited on its
summit in the passing of time that bushes and ivy now grow there. Many
writers describe it, and Byron in his "Childe Harold" spoke of it in
some verses, of which the following is the beginning:
"There is a stern round tower of other days,
Firm as a fortress, with its fence of stone,
Such as an army's baffled strength delays,
Standing with half its battlements alone,
And with two thousand years of ivy grown,
The garland of eternity, where wave
The green leaves over all by time o'erthrown;--
What was this tower of strength? within its cave
What treasure lay so lock'd, so hid?--a woman's grave."
The tomb of Hadrian, now known as the Castle of St. Angelo, is very
interesting, and is one of the most prominent and familiar objects in
Rome at the present day. But the tombs called Columbaria were much
in use in ancient Rome, and differed essentially from those of which
we have spoken, inasmuch as they were usually below the ground, and
externally had no architecture. They consisted of oblong or square
apartments, the sides of which were filled with small apertures of the
proper size to hold an urn which contained the ashes that remained
after a body had been burned, according to the Roman custom. Some of
these apartments, especially when they belonged to private families,
were adorned with pilasters and decorated with colors. (See Fig. 68.)
[Illustration: FIG. 68.--COLUMBARIUM NEAR THE GATE OF ST. SEBASTIAN.
_Rome._]
The sepulchres of Rome were gradually enlarged, until, in the days of
Constantine, they were frequently built like small temples above the
ground, with crypts or vaults beneath them.
So little now remains of the ancient domestic architecture of Rome that
one is forced to study this subject from written descriptions collected
from the works of various historians, poets, and other writers. But
from what we know we may conclude that the villas and country-houses
were so constructed as to be full of comfort, and suited to the uses
for which they were built, without too much regard to the symmetry
of the exteriors. The interior convenience was the chief thing to
be considered, and when finished they must have often resembled a
collection of buildings all joined together, of various heights and
shapes; but within they were adapted to the different seasons, as
some rooms were made for being warm, while others were arranged for
coolness; the views from the windows were also an important feature,
and, in short, the pleasure of the people living in them was made the
first point to be gained, rather than the impression upon the eye of
those who saw them from without.
There was great luxury and elegance in the palaces of the noble classes
in ancient Rome. The home of Diocletian at Spalatro was one of the most
famous Roman palaces, and its ruins show that it was once magnificent.
This palace was divided by four streets which ran through it at right
angles with each other and met in its centre. Its entrances were
called the Golden, Iron, and Brazen Gates. Its exterior architecture
was simple and massive, as it was necessary that it should serve as a
fortress in case of an attack. Its principal gallery overlooked the
sea; it was five hundred and fifteen feet long and twenty-four feet
wide, and was famous for its architectural beauty and for the views
which it commanded.
[Illustration]