The temple of Apollo Didymaeus, near Miletus, was the largest temple

in Asia Minor, and its erection followed that of the temple at

Ephesus, Paeonius and Daphnis of Miletus being the architects. The

temple was decastyle, dipteral, with pronaos and vestibule, but no

opisthodomos. The cella was so wide (75 ft.) that it remained open to

the sky. The bases of the columns were elaborately carved with

ornament, as if in rivalry with the temple of Diana. Both these

temples were of the Ionic order, as also were those of Athena Polias

at Priene (340 B.C.), many of the capitals of which are in the British

Museum, and the temples of Aphrodite at Aphrodisias and Cybele at

Sardis.

The mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also of the Ionic order, built by

Queen Artemisia in memory of her husband Mausolus, who died in 353

B.C., was, according to Pliny, recorded as one of the seven wonders of

the world, probably on account of the eminence of the sculptors

employed, Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus, Scopas and Pythius. Pliny's

description is somewhat vague, so that its actual design is a problem

not yet solved. Professor Cockerell's restoration is in accord with

the description, but does not quite agree with the actual remains

brought over by Newton and deposited in the British Museum. If the

Nereid monument and the tombs at Cnidus and Mylasa be taken as

suggesting the design, the peristyle (pteron) of thirty-six columns of

the Ionic order with entablature stood on a lofty podium, richly

decorated with bands of sculpture, and was crowned by a pyramid which,

according to Pliny, "contracted itself by twenty-four steps into the

summit of a meta." The steps found are not high enough to constitute a

meta, and it is possible therefore that, according to Mr J.J.

Stevenson, these steps were over the peristyle only, and that the

lofty steps which constituted the meta were in the centre, carried by

the inner row of columns. The magnificent sculpture of the Macedonian

period has in recent times been demonstrated by the discovery of the

marble sarcophagi found at Sidon by Hamdi Bey and now in the museum at

Constantinople.

The Lycian tombs, of which there are many hundreds carved in the rock

in the south of Asia Minor, are copies of timber structures, based on

the stone architecture of the neighbouring Greek cities (fig. 17). The

Paiafaor Payava tomb (375-362 B.C.), found at Xanthus and now in the

British Museum, is apparently a copy, cut in the solid rock, of a

portable shrine, in which the wood construction is clearly defined.

Capitals of the Greek Corinthian order have been found at Bassae,

Epidaurus, Olympia and Miletus, but the earliest example of the

complete order is represented in the Choragic monument of Lysicrates

at Athens.

The most important example of the Greek Corinthian order is that of

the temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, begun in 174 B.C., but not

completed till the time of Hadrian, A.D. 117. The temple was 135 ft.

wide and 354 ft. long, built entirely in Pentelic marble, the columns

being 56 ft. high. There were eight columns in front and a double

peristyle round.

The two porches of the Tower of the Winds at Athens (_c_. 75 B.C.) had

Corinthian capitals. The upper part of the tower, which was octagonal

in plan, was sculptured with figures representing the winds.

The Greek houses discovered at Delosand Priene were very simple and

unpretentious, but the palace near Palatitza in Macedonia, discovered

by Messrs Heuzey and Daumet, would seem to have been of a very

sumptuous character. The front of the palace measured 250 ft. In the

centre was a vestibule flanked with Ionic columns on either side,

leading to a throne room at one time richly decorated with marble, and

with numerous other halls on either side. The date is ascribed to the

middle of the 4th century B.C.

In selecting the sites for their theatres, the Greeks always utilized

the slope of a hill, in which they could cut out the cavea, and thus

save the expense of raising a structure to carry the seats, at the

same time obtaining a beautiful prospect for the background. The

theatre of Dionysus at Athens was discovered and excavated in 1864,

and has fortunately preserved all the seats round the orchestra,

sixty-seven in number, all in Pentelic marble, with the names

inscribed thereon of the priests and dignitaries who occupied them.

The largest theatre was at Megalopolis, with an auditorium 474 ft. in

diameter. The most perfect, so far as the seats are concerned, is the

theatre at Epidaurus, with a diameter of 415 ft. Other theatres are

known at Dodona in Greece, Pergamum and Tralles in Asia Minor, and

Syracuse and Segesta in Sicily. (R. P. S.)

PARTHIAN ARCHITECTURE

The architecture of the Parthian dynasty, who from 250 B.C. to A.D.

226 occupied the greater part of Mesopotamia, their empire in 160 B.C.

extending over 480,000 sq. m., was quite unknown until Sir A.H.

Layard, following in the steps of Ross and Ainsworth, visited and

measured the plan of the palace at Hatra (el Hadr) about 30 m. south

of Mosul; the architecture of this palace shows that, on the one hand,

the Parthians carried on the traditions of the barrel vault of the

Assyrian palace, and on the other, from their contact with Hellenistic

methods of building, had acquired considerable knowledge in the

working of ashlar masonry.

[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Plan of Palace of el Hadr.

A, Throne or reception room.

B, Large hall, or

C, Entrance hall of temple.

D, Temple.]

El Hadr is first mentioned in history as having been unsuccessfully

besieged by Trajan in A.D. 116, and it is recorded to have been a

walled town containing a temple of the sun, celebrated for the value

of its offerings. The temple referred to is probably the large square

building at the back of the palace, as above the doorway is a rich

frieze carved with griffins, similar to those found at Warka by

Loftus, together with large quantities of Parthian coins. The remains

(fig. 18) consist of a block of 380 ft. frontage, facing east, and 128

ft. deep, subdivided by walls of great thickness, running at right

angles to the main front, and built in an immense court, divided down

the centre by a wall, separating that portion on the south side, where

the temple was situated, from that on the north side, which

constituted the king's palace. The seven subdivisions of the different

widths were all covered with semi-circular barrel vaults which, being

built side by side, mutually resisted the thrust, the outer walls

being of greater thickness, with the same object. In the centre of the

south block was an immense hall 49 ft. wide and 98 ft. deep, which

formed the vestibule to the temple in the rear; this vestibule was

flanked by a series of three smaller halls on either side, over which

there was probably a second floor. On the palace or north side were

two great aiwans or reception halls. The main front (fig. 19) was

built in finely jointed ashlar masonry with semicircular attached

shafts between the entrance doorways, which had semicircular heads,

every third voussoir of the three larger doors being decorated by

busts in strong relief with a headgear similar to that shown on

Parthian coins; other carvings, with the acanthus leaf, belonged to

that type of Syrio-Greek work, of which Loftus found so many examples

at Warka (Loftus, _Chaldaea, Susiana_, p. 225). In the great mosque of

Diarbekr are two wings at the north and south ends respectively, which

are said to have been Parthian palaces built by Tigranes, 74 B.C.;

they have evidently been rearranged or rebuilt at various times, the

columns with their capitals and the entablature having been utilized

again. The shafts of the columns of the upper storey are richly carved

with geometrical patterns similar to those found by Loftus at Warka.

[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Portion of front of Palace of el Hadr.]

[Illustration: From Prof H V. Hilprecht's _Exploration in Bible

Lands_, by permission of A.J. Holman & Co. and T. & T. Clark.

FIG. 20.--Plan of the Parthian Palace at Nippur.]

The American researches at Nippur have resulted in the discovery on

the top of the mounds of the remains of a Parthian palace; and the

disposition of its plan (fig. 20), and the style of the columns of the

peristylar court, show so strong a resemblance to Greek work as to

suggest the same Hellenistic influence as in the palace of el Hadr.

Having no stone, however, they were obliged to build up these columns

at Nippur with sections in brick, covered afterwards with stucco. The

columns diminished at the top to about one-fifth of the lower

diameter, and would seem to have had an entasis, as the lower portion

up to one-third of the height is nearly vertical. A similar palace was

discovered at Tello by the French archaeologists, and the bases of

some of the brick columns are in the Louvre. (R. P. S.)

SASSANIAN ARCHITECTURE

[Illustration: FIG. 21 and FIG. 22.--The Palace of Serbistan.

Plan.

Section in lines BC, DE, FG of plan.]

[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Plan of the Palace at Firuzabad.]

Although, on the overthrow of the Parthian dynasty in A.D. 226, the

monarchs of the Sassanian dynasty succeeded to the immense Parthian

empire, the earliest building found, according to Fergusson, is that

at Serbistan, to which he ascribes the date A.D. 380. The palace (fig.

21), which measures 130 ft. frontage and 143 ft. deep, with an

internal court, shows so great an advance in the arrangements of its

plan as to suggest considerable acquaintance with Roman work. The fine

ashlar work of el-Hadr is no longer adhered to, and in its place we

find rubble masonry with thick mortar joints, the walls being covered

afterwards, both externally and internally, with stucco. While the

barrel vault is still retained for the chief entrance porches, it is

of elliptical section, and the central hall is covered with a dome, a

feature probably handed down from the Assyrians, such as is shown in

the bas-relief (fig. 10) from Kuyunjik, now in the British Museum. In

order to carry a dome, circular on plan, over a square hall, it was

necessary to arch across the angles, and here to a certain extent the

Sassanians were at fault, as they did not know how to build

pendentives, and the construction of these are of the most irregular

kind. As, however, their mortar had excellent tenacious properties,

these pendentives still remain _in situ_ (fig. 22), and their defects

were probably hidden under the stucco. In the halls which flank the

building on either side, however, they displayed considerable

knowledge of construction. Instead of having enormously thick walls to

resist the thrust of their vaults, to which we have already drawn

attention in the Assyrian work and at el Hadr, they built piers at

intervals, covering over the spaces between them, with semi-domes on

which the walls carrying the vaults are supported, so that they

lessened the span of the vault and brought the thrust well within the

wall. This, however, lessened the width of the hall, so they replaced

the lower portions of the piers by the columns, leaving a passage

round. It is possible that this idea was partly derived from the great

Roman halls of the thermae (baths), where the vault is brought forward

on columns; but it was an improvement to leave a passage behind. The

elliptical sections given to all the barrel vaults may have been the

traditional method derived from Assyria, of which, however, no remains

exist. In the article VAULT there will be found a reason why these

elliptical sections were adopted (see also below in the description of

the great hall at Ctesiphon). In the palace of Firuzabad, attributed

by Fergusson to Peroz (Firuz) (A.D. 459-485), the plan (fig. 23)

follows more closely the disposition of the Assyrian palaces, and we

return again to the thick walls, which might incline us to give a

later date to Serbistan, except that in the pendentives carrying the

three great domes in the centre of the palace at Firuzabad they show

greater knowledge in their construction. The angles of the square hall

are vaulted, with a series of concentric arches, each ring as it rises

being brought forward, the object being to save centreing, because

each ring rested on the ring beneath it. The plan is a rectangular

parallelogram with a frontage of 180 ft. and a depth of 333 ft., more

than double, therefore, of the size of Serbistan. An immense entrance

hall in the centre of the main front is flanked on each side by two

halls placed at right angles to it, so as to resist the thrust of the

elliptical barrel vaults of the entrance hall. This hall leads to a

series of three square halls, side by side, each surmounted by a dome

carried on pendentives. Beyond is an open court, the smaller rooms

round all covered with barrel vaults. Here, as in Serbistan, the

material employed is rubble masonry with thick joints of mortar, and

fortunately portions of the stucco with which this Sassanian masonry

was covered remain both externally and internally. As there are no

windows of any sort, the wall surface of the exterior has been

decorated with semi-circular attached shafts and panelling between,

which recall the primitive decorations found in the early Chaldaean

temples, except that arches are carried at the top across the sunk

panels. Internally an attempt has been made to copy the decoration of

the Persian doorway, which represents a kind of renaissance of the

ancient style. But instead of the lintel the arch has been introduced,

and the ornament in stucco representing the Persian cavetto cornice

shows imperfect knowledge of the original and is clumsily worked. The

niches also, in the main front, have been copied from the windows

which flank the doorway in the Persian palace. But they are decorative

only, and are too shallow to serve any purpose.

[Illustration: From Dieulafoy's _L'Art Antique_ by permission of Morel

et Cie.

FIG. 24.--The Great Hall at Ctesiphon.]

If there has been some difficulty in determining the exact date of

Firuzabad, that of the third great palace, at Ctesiphon, on the

borders of the Tigris, is known to have been built by Chosroes I. in

A.D. 550. Owing probably to its proximity to Bagdad, from which it

lies about 25 m. distant, it is much better known than the other

examples we have quoted; but while they are constructed in rubble

masonry, Ctesiphon is built of brick, because we have now returned to

the alluvial plain where no stone could be procured. The only portion

of the palace which still exists is that which was built in burnt

brick, and this far exceeds in dimensions Serbistan and Firuzabad. Its

main front measured 312 ft.; its height was about 115 ft.; and its

depth 175 ft. The plan is very simple, and consisted of an _aiwan_ or

immense hall, 86 ft. in width and 163 ft. long, covered with an

elliptical barrel vault, the thrust of which is counteracted by five

long halls on each side, also covered with barrel vaults and probably

used as guard chambers or stores. The great hall was open in the

front, and constituted an immense portal, 83 ft. wide and 95 ft. to

the crown of the arch. The springing of the vault is 40 ft. from the

ground, but up to about 26 ft. above the springing the walls are built

in horizontal courses projecting inwards as they rise, so that the

actual width of the vaulted portion (fig. 24) has been diminished

one-sixth and measures only about 71 ft. The crown of the vault is 9

ft. thick, the walls at the base being 23 ft. The bricks or tiles of

which the vault is built are, like those at Thebes, laid flat-wise,

and there is also a similar inclination of the rings of brick-work,

which are about 10 deg. out of the vertical. This leads to the

conclusion that this immense vault was built without centreing, as the

tenacious quality of the mortar would probably be sufficient to hold

each tile in its position until the ring was complete. In the building

of the arch of the great portal other precautions were taken; bond

timbers 23 ft. long and in five rows, one above the other, were

carried through the wall from front to back. The lower portion of the

arch (5 ft. in height) was built with bricks placed flat-wise; the

upper portion (4 ft. in height) in the usual way, viz. right angles to

the face. The reason for this change was probably that the upper

portions might be carved, as they have been, with a series of

semi-circular cusps.

The decoration of the flanks of this great central portal is of the

most bewildering description. There has evidently been a desire to

give a monumental character to the main front. With this idea in view

they would seem to have attempted to reproduce Roman features, such as

are found decorating the fronts of the various amphitheatres of the

Empire. But the semi-circular shafts which form the decoration do not

come one over the other on the several storeys, and there is a

reckless employment of blank arcades distributed over the surface.

There are remains of two other palaces at Imamzade and Tag Iran, and

in Moab a small example, the Hall of Rabboth Ammon, supposed to have

been erected for Chosroes II. during the subjugation of Palestine,

which is richly decorated with carving, probably by Syrio-Greek

artists, with a mixture of Greek, Jewish and Sassanian details. At

Takibostan and Behistun (Bisutun), some 200 m. north-east of

Ctesiphon, are some remarkable Sassanian capitals and panels

(published in Flandin and Coste's _Voyage en Perse_, 1851, Paris).

(R. P. S.)

ETRUSCAN ARCHITECTURE

Although our acquaintance with Etruscan architecture is confined

chiefly to the entrance gateways and the walls of towns, and to tombs,

it forms a very important link between the East and the West. Though

little is known of the history of Etruria (q.v.), the influence which

her people exerted on Roman architecture, lasting down to the period

when Greece was overrun and plundered of her treasures, was so great

that it would be difficult to follow the origin of Roman architecture

without some inquiry into the work of its immediate predecessor. The

theory put forward by Fergusson, as to the migration of the Etruscans

from Asia Minor in the 12th or 11th century B.C., is substantiated by

the resemblance of the tumuli in the latter country, such as those at

Tantalais, on the northern shore of the gulf of Smyrna, and that of

Alyattes near Sardis, as compared with the Regulini Galeassi tomb at

Cervetri and the Cucumella tomb at Vulci, in all cases consisting of a

sepulchral chamber buried under an immense mound surrounded by a

podium in stone. The chamber was covered over with masonry, laid in

horizontal courses, each stone projecting slightly over the one below.

The same system of construction prevailed in the bee-hive tombs of

Greece, except that the latter were always circular on plan, whilst

these cited above were rectangular. Similar methods of construction

are found at Tusculum and in a gateway at Arpino. In all these cases

the projecting courses were worked off on the completion of the tomb,

in Greece and at Tusculum and Arpino following a curve, and in the

Regulini Galeassi tomb a raking line.

The earliest example known of the arched vault, with regular voussoirs

in stone, is found in the canal of the Marta near Graviscae, ascribed

to the 7th century. The vault is 14 ft. in span, with voussoirs from 5

to 6 ft. in depth. In the tomb of Pythagoras near Cortona, with a span

of about 10 ft., only four voussoirs were employed. In the Cloaca

Maxima at Rome the vault (now ascribed by Commendatore Boni to the 1st

century B.C.) is built with three concentric rings of voussoirs. In

all these cases the thrust of the arch was amply resisted as they were

constructed under ground, and in the entrance gateways at Volterra,

Perugia and Falerii a similar resistance was given by the immense

walls in which they were built.

We have already referred to one class of tomb in which the sepulchral

chamber, built above the ground, was covered over with a mound of

earth; there is a second class, carved out of the solid rock, in which

we find the same treatment as that described in connexion with Egypt.

The tomb represents, in its internal arrangements and in its

decorations, the earthly dwelling of the defunct (compare the Egyptian

"soul-houses"). The ceilings are carved in imitation of the horizontal

beams and slanting rafters of the roof, the former carried by square

piers with capitals; one well-known tomb at Corneto (fig. 25)

represents the atrium of an Etruscan house, which corresponds with the

description given by Vitruvius of the _cavaedia displuviata_, in which

there was a small opening at the top, known as the compluvium, the

roof sloping down on all four sides.

The paintings which decorate these tombs have very much the same

character as those which are found on what were thought to have been

Etruscan, but are now generally considered as Greek vases, the

principal difference being that instead of allegorical subjects,

domestic scenes recalling the life of the deceased are represented. In

a tomb at Cervetri the walls and piers were carved with

representations of the helmets, swords and other accoutrements of a

soldier, and also the mirrors and jewelry of his wife, even the

kitchen utensils being included, so as to give the complete fittings

of the house they occupied. In two examples at Castel D'Asso the rock

has been cut away on all sides, leaving a rectangular block, crowned

with reverse mouldings.

Scarcely any remains _in situ_ of Etruscan temples have been found,

and the description given by Vitruvius is very scanty. Of late years,

however, in the British Museum and in the museums at Florence and

Rome, a large amount of material has been brought together, from which

it is possible to make some kind of conjectural restoration. This has

been facilitated by the discoveries made at Olympia, Delphi and

elsewhere in Greece, showing the important function which terra-cotta

served in the protection and decoration of the timber roofs of the

Greek temples and treasuries. The cornices, antefixae, pendant slabs

and other decorative features in terra-cotta, found on the sites of

the Etruscan temples, show that the timber construction of their roofs

was protected in the same way; and although Vitruvius (bk. iii. ch. 2)

considered the temple of Ceres at Rome to be clumsy and heavy, and its

roofs low and wide, in comparison with the purer examples of Greek

architecture, the remains of terra-cotta found at Civita Castellana

(the ancient Falerii), at Luna, Telamon and Lanuvium (the latter in

the British Museum), show that in their modelling and colour they must

have possessed considerable decorative effect, and when raised on an

eminence, as in the case of the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol,

formed striking features of importance, enriched as they were with

gilding. There is one feature in the Etruscan examples which seems to

have been peculiar to their temples, viz. the pendant slabs hung round

the eaves to protect the walls; these latter were probably covered

with stucco and decorated with paintings. The lower portions of many

of these slabs were decorated in relief and in colour at the back,

showing that they were exposed to view below the soffit of the

projecting eaves.

[Illustration: FIG. 25.--The Corneto Tomb.]

Owing to the ephemeral nature of the materials employed in the

building of the walls of Etruscan temples, viz. unburned brick or

rubble masonry with clay mortar, the roofs being in timber, little is

known of their general design; the terra-cotta decorations are,

however, fortunately in good preservation, and suggest that although

the Etruscan temple, architecturally speaking, was not of a very

monumental character, its external decoration and colour added

considerably to its effect. (R. P. S.)

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

The rebuilding of Rome, which began in the reign of Augustus, and was

carried on by his successors to a much greater extent, has caused the

destruction of nearly all those examples of early work to which the

student, working out the history of a style, would turn. There are,

however, a few early buildings still existing, and these are of value

as showing the extremely simple nature of their design. The temple of

Fortuna Virilis (so-called) in the Forum Boarium, attributed to the

beginning of the 1st century B.C., shows the great difference between

Greek and Roman temples. Like the Etruscan temple, it is raised on a

podium, and approached by a flight of steps. The Etruscan cella is

dispensed with; and what may be looked upon as the semblance of a

Greek peristyle is retained in the semi-detached columns which are

carried round the walls of the cella. To the entrance portico,

however, the Roman architect attached great importance, and we find

here that one-third of the whole length of the temple is given up to

the portico. The Tabularium built by Lutatius Catulas (78 B.C.) is a

second example of early work. On a lofty substructure, built of

peperino stone, was raised an arcade, which formed a passage from one

side of the capitol to the other, and here we find the earliest

example of the use of the Classic order, as a decorative feature only,

applied to the face of a wall. The arcade consists of a series of

arches with intermediate semi-detached Doric columns carrying an

entablature. The architectural design of the substructure is of the

simplest kind, depending for its effect only on the size of the stones

employed and the finish given to the masonry. The same remark applies

to the few remains left of the Forum Julium (47 B.C.), where an

additional decorative effect was produced by the bevelled edge worked

round all the stones, producing the effect of rusticated masonry.

If, however, the remains are few, the records of classical writers

show that already before the beginning of the 1st century B.C. the

influence of Greece had been shown in the transformation of the Forum,

the embanking of the river Tiber, the erection of numerous porticoes

throughout the Campus Martius, and of basilicas, one of which, rebuilt

by Paulus Aemilius in 50 B.C., was remarkable for its monolithic

columns of pavonazetto marble; and further that on the Palatine hill

were various mansions, the courts and peristyles of which were richly

decorated with marble.

The boast of Augustus that he found Reme built of brick and left it in

marble is true in a sense, but not in the way it is usually

interpreted. He greatly encouraged the use of marble--the temple of

Venus in the forum of Julius Caesar is said to have been built

entirely of that material--but as a rule marble was only used as a

facing. This, however, led to the substitution of solid concrete for

the core of walls, in place of the unburnt brick which up to that time

had been employed. On this subject the writings of Vitruvius, the

Roman architect, are of the greatest value, as they describe clearly

not only the materials used at this time (about 30 B.C.), but the

different methods of building walls (see ROME). The material which

contributed more than any other to the magnificent conceptions of the

Roman Imperial style was that known as pozzolana, a volcanic earth

which, mixed with lime, formed an hydraulic cement of great cohesion

and strength. Not only the walls but the vaults were built in this

pozzolana concrete, and formed one solid mass. Bricks were employed in

arches, on the quoins of walls, occasionally in bond courses, and in

the constructional vaults as ribs, in order to relieve the centreing

of the weight until the pozzolana concrete had been poured in and had

consolidated. The bricks employed in these ribs, and for the voussoirs

of arches, were of the kind we should describe as tiles, being about 2

ft. square and 2 in. thick. Bricks also of smaller size and triangular

in shape were used for the facing of walls, the triangular portions

being embedded into the concrete walls.

The Romans themselves do not seem to have realized the tenacious

properties of this pozzolana cement which, when employed for the

foundation of temples, formed a solid mass capable of bearing as much

weight as the rock itself. They feared also the thrust of the immense

vaults over their halls, and always provided crosswalls to counteract

the same, as shown in the plan of all the thermae; when, however, they

had discovered the secret of covering over large spaces with a

permanent casing indestructible by fire, it not only gave an impetus

to the great works in Rome, but led to a new type of plan, which

spread all through the Empire, varied only by the difference in

materials and in labour. In this respect the Romans always availed

themselves of the resources of the country, which they turned to the

best account. As pozzolana was not to be found in North Africa or

Syria, they had to trust to the excellent qualities of the Roman

mortar, but even in Syria, where stone was plentiful and could be

obtained in great dimensions, when they attempted to erect vaults of

great span similar to those in Rome, these probably collapsed before

the building was finished, and were replaced by roofs in wood.

In the styles hitherto described the gradual development has been

traced to their primitive, culminating and decadent periods. This is

not called for in a description of the Roman style of architecture,

which to a certain extent appeared phoenix-like in its highest

development under Augustus. Roman orders in the Augustan age had

reached their culminating development. The capitals of the portico of

the Pantheon (27 B.C.), or of the temple of Mars Ultor (2 B.C.),

constitute the finest examples of the Corinthian order, whilst those

of later temples show a falling off in style. It was only in the

application of the orders that new combinations presented themselves,

and this can be better understood when we refer to the monuments

themselves. The description of the Roman orders, with the subsequent

modifications, is given in the article ORDER. It is necessary,

however, here to draw attention to two very important developments

which the Roman architect introduced as regards the orders: firstly,

their employment as decorative features in combination with the

arcade, known as composite arcades, and secondly, their superposition

one above the other in storeys. The earliest example of the first

class is that found in the Tabularium as it now exists; of the second

class the Colosseum and the theatre of Marcellus are the best known

examples. In principle the practice must be condemned, for the

employment of the column and entablature, which was designed by the

Greek architect as an independent constructive feature, in a purely

decorative sense stuck on the face of a wall, is contrary to good

taste, but it is impossible not to recognize in its application to the

Colosseum the value of the scale which it has given to the whole

structure, a scale which would have been entirely lost if the building

had been treated as one storey. The superposition of the orders as

exemplified in the Roman theatres and amphitheatres throughout the

Empire constitutes the greatest development made in the style, and it

is one which, from the Italian revivalists down to our time, has had

more influence in the design of monumental work than any other Roman

innovation.

In the preceding sections it has been necessary to confine our

descriptions, in the case of Egypt and Greece, more or less to temples

and tombs, and in that of Assyria to palaces, but in Roman

architecture the monuments are not only of the most extensive and

varied kinds, but in some parts of the Empire they become modified by

the requirements of the country, so that a tabulated list alone would

occupy a considerable space. The following are the principal

subdivisions: The Roman forum (see ROME); the colonnaded streets in

Syria and elsewhere, and temple enclosures; temples (q.v.),

rectangular and circular; basilicas (q.v.); theatres (q.v.) and

amphitheatres (q.v.); thermae or baths (q.v.); entrance gateways and

triumph arches (see TRIUMPHAL ARCH); memorial buildings and tombs,

aqueducts (q.v.) and bridges (q.v.), palatial architecture (see

PALACE); domestic architecture (see HOUSE).

The _Forum Romanum_ under the Republic would seem to have served

several purposes. The principal temples and important public buildings

occupied sites round it, and up to the time of Julius Caesar there

were shops on both sides: it was also used as a hippodrome and served

for combats and other displays. Under the Empire, however, these were

relegated to the amphitheatre and the theatre, markets were provided

for elsewhere, and the forum became the chief centre for the temples,

basilicas, courts of law and exchanges. But already in the time of

Julius Caesar the Forum Romanum had become too small, and others were

built by succeeding emperors. In order to find room for these, not

only were numerous crowded sites cleared, but vast portions of the

Quirinal hill were cut away to make place for them. The Fora added

were those of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, Nerva and Vespasian.

Outside Rome, in provincial towns and in Africa and Syria, the Forum

was generally built on the intersection of the two main streets, and

was surrounded by porticoes, temples and civic monuments.

_Colonnaded Streets._--We gather from some Roman authors that in early

days the Campus Martius was laid out with porticoes. All these

features have disappeared, but there are still some existing in Syria,

North Africa and Asia Minor, which are known as colonnaded streets.

The most important of these are found in Palmyra, where the street was

70 ft. wide with a central avenue open to the sky and side avenues

roofed over with stone. The columns employed were of the Corinthian

order, 31 ft. high, and formed a peristyle on each side of the street,

which was nearly a mile in length. The triple archway in this street

is still one of the finest examples of Roman architecture. At Gerasa,

the colonnaded streets had columns of the Ionic order, the street

being 1800 ft. long, with other streets at right angles to it; similar

streets are found at Amman, Bosra, Kanawat, &c. At Pompeiopolis, in

Asia Minor, are still many streets of columns, and in North Africa the

French archaeologists have traced numerous others.

_Temple Enclosures._--In Rome the great cost, and the difficulty of

obtaining large sites, restricted the size of the enclosures of the

temples; this was to a certain extent compensated for by the

magnificence of the porticoes surrounding them. The most important was

that built by Hadrian, measuring 480 ft. by 330 ft., to enclose the

double temples of Venus and Rome. The portico of Octavia measures 400

ft. by 370 ft., enclosing two temples, and the portico of the

Argonauts, which enclosed the temple of Neptune, was about 300 ft.

square. These dimensions, however, are far exceeded by those of the

enclosures in Syria and Asia Minor. The court of the temple of the Sun

at Palmyra was raised on an artificial platform 16 ft. high, and

measured 735 ft. by 725 ft., with an enclosure wall of 74 ft. on the

west and 67 ft. high on the other three sides.

At Baalbek the platform was raised 25 ft. above the ground, the

dimensions being 400 ft. wide and 900 ft. deep. At Damascus the

enclosure of the temple of the Sun has been traced, and it extended to

about 1000 ft. square. Similar enclosures are found at Gerasa, Amman

and other Syrian towns. In Asia Minor, at Aizani the platform was 520

by 480 ft., raised about 20 ft., and in Africa the French have found

the remains of similar enclosures.

_Roman Temples._--The Romans, following the Etruscan custom,

invariably raised their temples on a podium with a flight of steps on

the main front. Their temples were not orientated, and being regarded

more as monuments than religious structures occupied prominent sites

facing the Forum or some great avenue. Much importance was attached to

the entrance portico, which was deeper than those in Greek temples,

and the peristyle when it existed was rarely carried round the back.

On the other hand the cella exceeded in span those of the Greek

temples, as the Roman, being acquainted with the principle of trussing

timbers, could roof over wider spaces. The principal temples in Rome,

of which remains still exist, are those of Fortuna Virilis, Mars

Ultor, Castor, Neptune, Antoninus and Faustina, Concord, Vespasian,

Saturn and portions of the double temples of Venus and Rome. At

Pompeii are the temples of Jupiter and Apollo, at Cora the temple of

Mercury, and in France, the Maison Carree at Nimes and the temple at

Vienne. In Syria are the temples of Jupiter at Baalbek, of the Sun at

Palmyra and Gerasa, and in Spalato the temple of Aesculapius.

Of circular temples the chief are the Pantheon at Rome, the temple of

Vesta on the Forum, of Mater Matuta, so-called, on the Forum Boarium,

the temple of Vesta at Tivoli, of Jupiter at Spalato and of Venus at

Baalbek.

Of the rectangular temples the Maison Carree at Nimes is the most

perfect example existing (fig. 26). It was built by Antoninus Pius,

and dedicated to his adopted sons Lucius and Martius. This temple, 59

ft. by 117 ft., is of the Corinthian order, hexastyle,

pseudoperipteral, with a portico three columns deep, and is raised on

a podium 12 ft. high. The next best preserved example is the temple of

Jupiter at Baalbek, also of the Corinthian order, octastyle,

peripteral, with a deep portico, and a cella richly decorated with

three-quarter detached shafts of the Corinthian order.

Of the circular temples the Pantheon is the most remarkable. It was

built by Hadrian, and consists of an immense rotunda 142 ft. in

diameter, covered with a hemispherical dome 140 ft. high. Its walls

are 20 ft. thick, and have alternately semicircular and rectangular

recesses in them. In the centre of the dome is a circular opening 30

ft. in diameter open to the sky, the only source from which the light

is obtained. The rotunda is preceded by a portico, originally built by

Agrippa as the front of the rectangular temple erected by him, taken

down and re-erected after the completion of the rotunda, with the

omission of the two outer columns. In other words Agrippa's portico

was decastyle; the actual portico is octastyle.

_Basilicas._--The earliest example of which remains exist is that of

the Basilica Julia on the Forum, the complete plan of which is now

exposed to view. It consisted of a central hall measuring 255 ft. by

60 ft., surrounded by a double aisle of arches carried on piers, which

were covered with groined vaults. The Basilica Ulpia built by Trajan

was similar in plan, but in the place of the piers were monolith

columns, with Corinthian capitals carrying an entablature, with an

upper storey forming a gallery round.

[FIG. 26.--Elevation and plan of the Maison Carree, Nimes.]

The third great basilica, commenced by Maxentius and completed by

Constantine, differs entirely from the two above mentioned. It

followed the design and construction of the Tepidarium of the Roman

thermae, and consisted of a hall 275 ft. long by 82 ft. wide and 114

ft. high, covered with an intersecting barrel vault with deep recesses

on each side which communicated one with the other by arched openings

and constituted the aisles.

_Theatres._--The only example in Rome is the theatre of Marcellus,

built by Augustus 13 B.C., and one of the purest examples of Roman

architecture. Amongst the best preserved examples is the theatre of

Orange in the south of France, the stage of which was 203 ft. long. In

the theatre at Taormina in Sicily are still preserved some of the

columns which decorated the rear wall of the stage. The theatre of

Herodes Atticus at Athens (A.D. 160) retains portions of its enclosure

walls and some of the marble seats. There are two theatres in Pompeii

where the seats and the stage are in fair preservation. Other examples

in Asia Minor are at Aizani, Side, Telmessus, Alinda, and in Syria at

Amman, Gerasa, Shuhba and Beisan.

_Amphitheatres._--The largest amphitheatre is that known as the

Colosseum, commenced by Vespasian in A.D. 72, continued by Titus and

dedicated by the latter in A.D. 80. This refers to the three lower

storeys, for the topmost storey was not erected until the first part

of the 3rd century, when it was completed by Severus Alexander and

Gordianus. The building is elliptical in plan and measures 620 ft. for

the major axis and 513 ft. for the minor axis. There were eighty

entrances, two of which were reserved for the emperor and his suite.

The Cavea (q.v.) was divided into four ranges of seats; the whole of

the exterior and the principal corridors were built in travertine

stone, and all other corridors, staircases and substructures in

concrete. Externally the wall was divided into four storeys, the three

lower ones with arcades divided by semi-detached columns of the

Tuscan, the Ionic and the Corinthian orders respectively. The walls of

the topmost storey were decorated with pilasters of the Corinthian

order, the only openings there being small windows, to light the

corridors and the upper range of seats. Among other amphitheatres the

best preserved are those found at Capua, Verona, and Pompeii in Italy;

at El Jem in North Africa; at Pola in Istria, and at Aries and Nimes

in France.

_The Thermae_ or _Imperial Baths._--The term thermae is given to the

immense bathing establishments which were built by the emperors to

ingratiate themselves with the people. Of the ordinary baths

(_Balneae_) there were numerous examples not only in Rome but at

Pompeii and throughout the Empire. The thermae were devoted not only

to baths but to gymnastic pursuits of every kind, and being the

resorts of the poets, philosophers and statesmen of the day, contained

numerous halls where discussions and orations could take place. The

plans of these thermae were measured by Palladio about 1560, at a time

when they were in far better preservation and more extensive than they

are to-day. They have, however, been measured since by some of the

French Grand Prix students; and Blouet's work on the _Thermae of

Caracalla_(1828) and Paulin's on the _Thermae of Diocletian_(1890)

give accurate drawings as well as conjectural restorations which are

of the greatest value. The earliest thermae were those built by

Agrippa (20 B.C.) in the Campus Martius, and of others those of Titus

and Trajan are the best preserved; plans can be found in Cameron's

_Baths_(1775).

_Entrance Gateways_ and _Arches of Triumph._--As the entrance gateways

were sometimes erected to commemorate some important event, we have

grouped these together, the real difference being that the arch of

triumph was an isolated feature and served no utilitarian purpose,

whereas the entrance gateway constituted part of the external walls of

the city and could be opened and closed at will. Of the latter those

at Verona, Susa, Perugia and Aosta in Italy, Autun in France, and the

Porta Nigra at Treves (Trier) are the best known, but there are also

numerous examples throughout Syria and North Africa. The arches of

triumph offered a fine scope for decoration with bas-reliefs setting

forth the principal events of the campaign; the representation on

coins also suggests that they were looked upon as pedestals to carry

large groups of sculpture. The best known examples are those of Titus,

Septimius Severus and Constantine at Rome, of Trajan at Ancona, and,

in France, at Orange, St Remi and Reims. There were numerous examples

throughout North Africa and Syria, of which the arch of Caracalla at

Tebessa in the former and the great gateway of Palmyra in Syria are

the best preserved.

_Memorial Buildings and Tombs._--Columns of victory constituted

another type of memorial, and the shafts of the columns of Trajan and

Marcus Aurelius in Rome lent themselves to a better representation of

the records of victory than those which could be obtained in the

panels of a triumphal arch. Other columns erected are those of

Antoninus Pius in Rome, a column at Alexandria, and others in France

and Italy.

If the Romans derived from the Etruscans a custom of erecting tombs in

memory of the dead, they did not follow on the same lines, for whilst

the Etruscans always excavated the tomb in the solid rock,

constituting a more lasting memorial, the Romans regarded them as

monumental features and lined the routes of the _via sacra_ of their

towns with them. The earliest example remaining is that of Caecilia

Metella (58 B.C.), of which the upper portion, consisting of a

circular drum 93 ft. in diameter, remains. Of the tomb of Hadrian the

core only exists in the castle of Sant' Angelo. From the descriptions

given it must have been a work of great magnificence. The tombs known

as Columbaria (q.v.) were always below ground, but in some cases an

upper storey was built above them consisting of a small temple, and

these flanked the Via Appia in large numbers. At Pompeii outside the

Herculaneum Gate the Via Appia was lined on both sides with tombs of

varied design, and with exedrae or circular seats in marble, provided

for the use of those visiting the tombs. The tombs in Syria form a

very large and important series, the earliest perhaps being those in

Palmyra, where they took the form of lofty towers, from 70 to 90 ft.

high, externally simple as regards their design, but in the several

storeys inside profusely decorated with Corinthian pilasters and

coffered ceilings in stone. The tombs in Jerusalem built in the 1st

century of our era are partly excavated in the rock and partly

erected. The most important were those known as the tomb of Absalom,

the tomb of St James, and the tombs of the judges and the kings, all

cut in the solid rock. In central Syria some of the tombs are

excavated in the rock, and over them are built a group of two or more

columns held together by their entablatures. The most important series

are the tombs at Petra, all cut in the side of cliffs and of elaborate

design. The sculptor, being free from the restriction of construction,

realized his conception much in the same way as a scene-painter

produces a theatrical background.

_Aqueducts_ and _Bridges._--Although at the present day aqueducts and

bridges would be classed under the head of engineering works, those

built by the Romans are so fine in their conception and design that

they take their place as monuments. The Pont-du-Gard near Nimes, and

the aqueducts of Segovia, Tarragona and Merida in Spain, and some of

those in or near Rome, are of the simplest design, depending for their

effect on their magnificent construction, their dimensions both in

length and height, and the scale given in the ranges of arches one

above the other. Few of the Roman bridges have lasted to our day; the

bridges of Augustus at Rimini and of Alcantara in Spain may be taken

as types of the design, in which we note that there are no

architectural superfluities; the quality of the design depends on the

graceful proportion of the arches and the fine masonry in which they

are built.

_Palatial Architecture._--By far the most magnificent group of palaces

are those which were erected by the Caesars on the Palatine hill at

Rome. Commenced by Augustus and added to by his successors down to the

reign of Severus, they cover an area considerably over 1,000,000 sq.

ft., and comprise an immense series of great halls, throne room,

banqueting hall, basilicas, peristylar courts, temple, libraries,

schools, barracks, a stadium and separate suites for princes and

courtiers. The service of the palace would seem to have been carried

on in vaulted corridors in several storeys, some of which on the north

side, overlooking the Circus Maximus, must have been over 100 ft. in

height. Except under the Villa Mills, the greater part of the plan has

been traced; and large remains of mosaic pavements have been found _in

situ_, and in the approaches, vaulted halls, some still retaining

their stucco decoration.

A similar variety of groups of every description of structure is found

at Tivoli, but spread over a very much larger area. The villa of

Hadrian extended over 7 m.; the works there were probably begun about

A.D. 123, the first portion being his own residential palace. In

addition to the numerous halls, courts, libraries, &c., Hadrian

attempted to reproduce some of the most remarkable monuments which he

had seen during his long travels; the Stadium, Palaestra, Odeum, the

two theatres, the artificial lake, Canopus and other features were,

however, constructed in the Roman style. Built on a ridge between two

valleys, the several buildings occupied various levels, so that

immense terraces and flights of stairs existed throughout the site

and, combined with the natural scenery, must have been of

extraordinary beauty.

The palace of Diocletian at Spalato, to which he retired after his

abdication, constituted a fortress, three of its walls being protected

by towers, the fourth on the south by the sea. For an account of its

well-preserved remains see SPALATO. The emperor's own residence was on

the south side, and had a gallery 520 ft. long overlooking the sea.

The two main streets, with arcades on each side and crossing one

another, divided the whole palace into four sections. One of these

streets crossed from gate to gate, the other from the north gate led

to the entrance into the palace of the emperor.

_Private Houses_.-The entire absence of the remains of the private

houses of Rome, with the single exception of the house of Livia on the

Palatine, would have left us with a very poor insight into their

design were it not for the discovery of Pompeii (q.v.) and Herculaneum

(q.v.). The descriptions given by Pliny of the lavish extravagance in

the Roman houses, and the employment of various Greek marbles in the

shape of monolith columns and panelling of walls, are substantiated by

those which are found in the Pantheon, in the palaces on the Palatine,

and in Hadrian's villa at Tivoli; and these compared with what is

found at Pompeii show that the latter was only a provincial town of

second or third-rate importance, where painted imitations took the

place of real marbles, and where the wall paintings were very inferior

to those which have been discovered in Rome. (R. P. S.)

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

The term "Byzantine" is applied to the style of architecture which was

developed in Byzantium after Constantine had transferred the capital

of the Roman empire to that city in A.D. 324.

It is not possible, in the early ages of any style which is based on

preceding or contemporaneous styles, to draw any hard and fast line of

demarcation; and already before the Peace of the Church, a gradual

transformation in the Roman style had been taking place, even in Rome

itself. Thus the arch had gradually been taking the place of the

lintel, either frankly as a relieving arch above it (portico of

Pantheon), or introduced in the frieze just above the architrave (San

Lorenzo), or by the conversion of the architrave into a flat arch by

dividing it into voussoirs, as in the Forum Julium at Rome or in the

temple of Jupiter at Baalbek. In the palace built by Diocletian at

Spalato, the architrave or lintel of the Golden Gate is built with

several voussoirs, and the pressure is further relieved by an arch

thrown across above it. Long before this, however, and already in the

2nd century A.D. in Syria, this relieving arch had been moulded and

decorated, with the result of emphasizing it as a new architectural

feature. In this same palace at Spalato, in order to obtain a wider

opening in the centre of the portico, leading to the throne room, it

was spanned by an arch, round which were carried the mouldings of the

whole entablature, viz. architrave, frieze and cornice. At a still

earlier date in Syria the same had been done in the Propylaea of the

temple at Damascus (A.D. 151) and other examples are found in North

Africa.

Now when Constantine transferred the capital to Byzantium, he is said

to have imported immense quantities of monolith columns from Rome, and

also workmen to carry out the embellishments of the new capital; for

his work there was not confined to churches, but included

amphitheatres, palaces, thermae and other public buildings. Owing to

the haste with which these were built, and in some cases probably to

the ephemeral materials employed, for the roofs of the churches were

only in timber, all these early works have been swept away; but there

remain two structures at least, which are said to date from

Constantine's time, viz. the Binbirderek or cistern of a thousand

columns, and the Yeri-Batan-Serai, both in Constantinople. As one of

the first tasks a Roman emperor set himself to perform was the

provision of an ample supply of water, of which Byzantium was much in

need, there is every reason to suppose that they are correctly

attributed to Constantine's time. If so, as the construction of their

vaults is quite different from that employed by the Romans, it

suggests that there already existed in the East a traditional method

of building vaults of which the emperor availed himself; and, although

it is not possible to trace all the earlier developments, the

traditional art of the East, found throughout Syria and Asia Minor,

must from the first have wrought great changes in the architectural

style, and in some measure this would account for the comparatively

short period of two centuries which elapsed between the foundation of

the new empire and the culminating period of the style under Justinian

in AD. 532-558.

Constantine is said to have built three churches in Palestine, but

these have either disappeared or have been reconstructed since; an

early basilican church is that of St John Studius (the Baptist) in

Constantinople, dating from A.D. 463, and though it shows but little

deviation from classic examples, in the design and vigorous execution

of the carving in the capitals and the entablature we find the germ of

the new style. The next typical example is that found in the church of

St Demetrius at Salonica, a basilican church with atrium in front, a

narthex, nave and double aisles, with capacious galleries on the first

floor for women, and an apsidal termination to the nave. Instead of

the classic entablature, the monolithic columns of the nave carry

arches both on the ground and upper storeys; above the capitals,

however, we find a new feature known as the _dosseret_, already

employed in the two cisterns referred to, a cubical block projecting

beyond the capital on each side and enabling it to carry a thicker

wall above. In later examples, when the aisles were vaulted, the

dosseret served a still more important purpose, in carrying the

springing of the vaults. The nave and aisles of this church of St

Demetrius were covered with timber roofs, as the architects had

neither the knowledge, the skill, nor perhaps the materials to build

vaults, so as to render the whole church indestructible by fire.

[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Plan of SS. Sergius and Bacchus.]

One of the first attempts at this (though the early date given is

disputed) would seem to have been made at Hierapolis, on the borders

of Phrygia in Asia Minor, where there are two churches covered with

barrel vaults carried on transverse ribs across the nave, the thrust

of which was met by carrying up solid walls on each side, these walls

being pierced with openings so as to form aisles on the ground floor

and galleries above. The same system was carried out a century earlier

in central Syria, where, in consequence of the absence of timber, the

buildings had to be roofed with slabs of stone carried on arches

across the nave. It is probable that in course of time other examples

will be found in Asia Minor, giving a more definite clue to the next

development, which we find in the work of Justinian, who would seem to

have recognized that the employment of timber or combustible materials

was fatal to the long duration of such buildings. Accordingly in the

first church which he built (fig. 27), that of SS. Sergius and Bacchus

(A.D. 527), the whole building is vaulted; the church is about 100 ft.

square, with a narthex on one side. The central portion of the church

is octagonal (52 ft. wide), and is covered by a dome, carried on

arches across the eight sides, which are filled in with columns on two

storeys. These are recessed on the diagonal lines, forming apses. The

vault is divided into thirty-two zones, the zones being alternately

flat and concave.

[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Plan of St Sophia.]

We now pass to Justinian's greatest work, the church of St Sophia

(fig. 28), begun in 532 and dedicated in 537, which marks the highest

development of the Byzantine style and became the model on which all

Greek churches, and even the mosques built by the Mahommedans in

Constantinople, from the 15th century onwards, were based. The

architects employed were Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus,

and the problem they had to solve was that of carrying a dome 107 ft.

in diameter on four arches. The four arches formed a square on plan,

and between them were built spherical pendentives, which, overhanging

the angles, reduced the centre to a circle on which the dome was

built. This dome fell down in 555, and when rebuilt was raised higher

and pierced round its lower part with forty circular-headed windows,

which give an extraordinary lightness to the structure. At the east

and west ends are immense apses, the full width of the dome, which are

again subdivided into three smaller apses. The north and south arches

are filled with lofty columns carrying arches opening into the aisle

on the ground storey and a gallery on the upper storey, the walls

above being pierced with windows of immense size. The church was built

in brick, and internally the walls were encased with thin slabs of

precious marble up to a great height (fig. 29). The walls and vault

above were covered with mosaics on a gold ground, which, as they

represented Christian subjects, were all covered over with stucco by

the Turks after the taking of Constantinople. During the restoration

in the middle of the 19th century, when it became necessary to strip

off the stucco, these mosaics were all drawn and published by

Salzenburg, and they were covered again with plaster to prevent their

destruction by the Turks. The columns of the whole church on the

ground floor are of porphyry, and on the upper storey of verd antique.

The length of the church from entrance door to eastern apse is 260

ft.; in width, including the aisles, it measures 238 ft., and it

measures 175 ft. to the apex of the dome. The columns and arches give

scale to the small apses, the small apses to the larger ones, and the

latter to the dome, so that its immense size is grasped from the

first. The lighting is admirably distributed, and the rich decoration

of the marble slabs, the monolith columns, the elaborate carving of

the capitals, the beautiful marble inlays of the spandrils above the

arches, and the glimpse here and there of some of the mosaic, which

shows through the stucco, give to this church an effect which is

unparalleled by any other interior in the world. The narthex or

entrance vestibule forms a magnificent hall 240 ft. in length, equally

richly decorated. Externally the building has little pretensions to

architectural beauty, but its dimensions and varied outline, with the

groups of smaller and larger apses and domes, make it an impressive

structure, to which the Turkish minarets, though ungainly, add

picturesqueness.

In A.D. 536 a second important church was begun by Theodora, the

church of the Holy Apostles, which was destroyed in 1454 by order of

Mahommed II. to build his mosque. The design of this church is known

only from the clear description given by Procopius, the historian who

has transmitted to us the record of Justinian's work, and its chief

interest to us now is that it forms the model on which the church of

St Mark at Venice was based, when it was restored, added to, and

almost rebuilt about 1063.

The church of St Sophia was not only the finest of its kind at the

time of its erection, but no building approaching it has ever been

built since in the Byzantine style, nor does much seem to have been

done for two or three centuries afterwards. At the same time the

erection of new churches must have been going on, because there are

certain changes in design, the results probably of many trials. The

difficulty of obtaining sufficient light in domes of small diameter

led to the windows being placed in vertical drums, of which the

earliest example is that of the western dome of St Irene at

Constantinople, rebuilt A.D. 718-740. This simplified the construction

and externally added to the effect of the church. The greatest change,

however, which took place, arose in consequence of the comparatively

small dimensions given to the central dome, which rendered it

necessary to provide more space in another way, by increasing the area

on each side, so that the plan developed into what is known as the

Greek cross, in which the four arms are almost equal in dimensions to

the central dome, and were covered with barrel vaults which amply

resisted its thrust. In front of the church a narthex and sometimes an

exonarthex was added, which was of greater width than the church

itself, as in the churches (both in Constantinople) of the Theotokos

and of Chora (A.D. 1080). The latter, better known as the "mosaic

mosque," on account of its splendid decoration in that material, is of

special interest, because in the five arches of its facade we find the

same design as that which originally constituted the front of the

lower part of St Mark's at Venice, before it was encrusted with the

marble casing and the plethora of marble columns and capitals brought

over from Constantinople.

[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Cross section of the interior of St Sophia.]

Sometimes an additional church was built adjoining the first church

and dedicated to the immaculate Virgin, as in the church of St Mary

Panachrantos, Constantinople, the church of St Luke of Stiris, Phocis,

and the church in the island of Paros. In the last-named church the

apse still retains its marble seats, rising one above the other, with

the bishop's throne in the centre. In addition to the churches already

mentioned in Constantinople, there are still some which have been

appropriated by the Turks and utilized as mosques. At Mount Athos

there are a large number of Greek churches, ranging from the 10th to

the 16th centuries, which are attached to the monasteries. At Athens

one of the most beautiful examples is preserved in the Catholicon or

cathedral, the materials of which were taken from older classical

buildings. This cathedral measures only 40 ft. by 25 ft., and is now

overpowered by the new cathedral erected close by.

The external design of the Byzantine churches, as a rule, is extremely

simple, but it owes its quality to the fact that its features are

those which arise out of the natural construction of the church. The

domes, the semi-domes over the apses, and the barrel vaults over other

parts of the church, appear externally as well as internally, and as

they are all covered with lead or with tiles, laid direct on the

vaults, they give character to the design and an extremely picturesque

effect. The same principle is observed in the doorways and windows, to

which importance is given by accentuating their constructive features.

The arches, always in brick, are of two orders or rings of arches set

one behind the other, and the voussoirs, alternately in brick and

stone, have the most pleasing effect. The same simple treatment is

given to the walls by the horizontal courses of bricks or tiles,

alternating with the stone courses. In the apse of the church of the

Apostles at Salonica, variety is given by the interlacing of brick

patterns. This elaboration of the surface decoration is carried still

further in the palace of Hebdomon at Blachernae, in Constantinople,

built by Constantine Porphyrogenitus (913-949), where the spandrils of

the arches are inlaid with a mosaic of bricks in various colours

arranged in various patterns.

There would seem to have been a revival in the 11th century, possibly

a reflex of that which was taking place in Europe, and it is to this

period we owe the churches of St Luke in Phocis, the church at Daphne,

and the churches of St Nicodemus and St Theodore in Athens. The finest

example of brick patterns is that which is found in the church of St

Luke of Stiris, attached to the monastery in the province of Phocis,

north of the Gulf of Corinth, of which an admirable monograph was

published in 1901 by the committee of the British School at Athens,

illustrated by measured drawings of the plans, elevations, sections

and mosaics by Messrs Schultz and Barnsley, with a detailed

description. The church of St Luke of Stiris is one of those already

referred to, where a second church dedicated to the Holy Virgin has

been added, but in this case, according to Messrs Schultz and

Barnsley, on the site of a more ancient church of which the narthex

alone was retained. The plan of the great church differs from the

ordinary Greek cross in that the arms of the cross are of much less

width than the central domed square, and arches being thrown across

the angles carry eight pendentives instead of four. On the east side

the Diaconicon and Prothesis are included in the width of the domed

portion instead of forming the eastern termination of the aisles. The

churches at Daphne in Attica and of St Nicodemus at Athens have a

similar plan.

The decoration of the smaller church of St Luke of Stiris is of the

most elaborate character, bright patterns of infinite variety

alternating with the brick courses, and as blocks of marble, removed

from the site of the old city near, were available, they have been

utilized in various parts of the structure and richly carved. The

church at Mistra in the Peloponnesus, 13th century, built in the side

of a hill, is one of the most picturesque examples, and is almost the

only example in which a tower is to be found.

_Armenia._--One other phase of the Byzantine style has still to be

mentioned, the development of church architecture in Armenia, which

follows very much on the same lines as that of the Greek church, with

a central dome on the crossing, a narthex at the west end and a

triapsal east end. In two churches at Echmiadzin and Kutais there are

transeptal apses in addition to those at the east end. One of the

differences to be noted is that the domes and roofs are generally in

stone externally, and this has led to another change; the domes,

though hemispherical inside, have conical roofs over them. There is

also a greater admixture of styles, the Persian, Byzantine and

Romanesque phases entering into the design; the last was probably

derived from the churches of central Syria, as the Armenians were the

only race who seem to have penetrated there, and the finest example,

at Kalat Seman, was at one time in their possession. The church at

Dighur near Ani, of the 7th century, also probably owes its classical

details to the work in central Syria. The most important example of

the Armenian style is found in the cathedral at Ani, the capital of

Armenia, dating from A.D. 1010. In this church pointed arches and

coupled piers are found, with all the characteristics of a complete

pointed-arch style, which, as Fergusson remarks, "might be found in

Italy or Sicily in the 12th or 14th century." Externally the walls are

decorated with lofty blind arcades similar to those in the cathedral

at Pisa and other churches in the same town, which are probably fifty

years later. The elaborate fret carving of the window dressings and

hood moulds are probably borrowed from the tile decoration found in

Persia.

_Russia._--The architecture of Russia is only a somewhat degraded

version of the style of the Byzantine empire. The earliest buildings

of importance are the cathedrals of Kiev and Novgorod, 1019-1054. The

original church of Kiev consisted of nave, with triple aisles each

side, the piers in which are of enormous size, a transept and square

bays of the choir beyond, each with deep apsidal chapels. Externally

the chief features are the bulbous domes adopted from the Tatars,

which sometimes assume great dimensions. Internally, the chief feature

is the Iconostasis, which corresponds to the English rood screen,

except that in Russia it forms a complete separation between the

church and the sanctuary with its altar.

One of the most remarkable churches is that of St Basil at Moscow

(1534-1584), which in plan looks like a central hall, surrounded by

eight other halls of smaller dimensions, all separated one from the

other by vaulted corridors; this arrangement is not intelligible

until one sees the exterior view, which accounts for the plan; each

one of these halls is crowned by lofty towers with bulbous domes, the

centre one rising above all the others and terminated with an

octagonal roof, probably derived from the Armenian conical roof. The

oldest and most interesting church in Moscow is the church of the

Assumption (1479), where the tsars are always crowned; but as it

measures only 74 ft. by 50 ft., it is virtually little more than a

chapel; the plan is that of a Greek cross with central dome and four

others over the angles. One other church deserves mention--at Curtea

de Argesh, in Rumania. It was built in 1517-1526, and though small (90

by 50 ft.), is built entirely of stone, instead of brick covered with

stucco, as is the case with the churches in Moscow. The interior has

been entirely sacrificed to the exterior, the domes being raised to an

extravagant height. The relative proportion of width of nave to height

of dome in St Sophia at Constantinople is about one to two; in the

church at Curtea de Argesh it is about one to five; and yet there can

be little doubt the design was made by one of those Armenian

architects who seem to have been always employed at Constantinople,

and who presumably based their designs there on St Sophia as regards

its principal features. Here, however, he was working for Tatar

employers who attached more importance to display than to good

proportion. In general design the church is based on Armenian work.

The elaborately carved panels and disks are copied from the inlays in

the mosques in Damascus and of Sultan Hassan at Cairo, and the

stalactite cornices and capitals of the columns are transcripts of the

Mahommedan style of Constantinople, which was derived from the style

developed by the Seljuks.

We were only able to point to a single example of a tower in the

Byzantine style, but in Russia the towers not only constitute the

principal accessory to the church but were necessary adjuncts, in

order to provide accommodation for bells, the casting of which has at

all times formed one of the most important crafts in Russia. The chief

examples, all in Moscow, are the tower attached to the church of the

Assumption; the tower of Boris, inside the Kremlin; and that erected

over the sacred gate of the same. But they abound throughout Russia

and in some cases form important features in the principal elevations

on either side of the narthex. (R. P. S.)

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

Of the earliest examples of the housing of the Christian church few

remains exist, owing partly to their destruction from time to time by

imperial edicts, and partly to the fact that in most cases they were

only oratories of a small and unpretending nature, which, immediately

after the Peace of the Church, were rebuilt of greater size and with

increased magnificence. In Rome itself, the principal religious centre

was that which was found in the catacombs (q.v.), almost the only

resort in times of persecution. In the houses of the wealthy Romans

who had been converted, rooms were set apart for the reception of the

faithful, and these may have been increased in size by the addition of

side aisles. At all events, either in Rome or in the East, where

greater freedom of worship was observed, the requirements of the

religious had already resulted in a traditional type of plan, which

may account for the similarity of all the great churches built by

Constantine. It has often been assumed that the great Roman basilicas,

if not actually utilized by the Christians, were copied so far as

their design is concerned. This, however, is not borne out by the

facts, there being very little similarity between the first churches

built and the two great Roman basilicas, the Ulpian basilica and that

built by Constantine; the latter was roofed with an immense vault, an

imperishable covering, not attempted till two centuries later in

Byzantium, and the former had its entrance in the centre of the longer

side, and the tribunes at either end were divided off from the

basilica by a double aisle of columns. The basilica plan was adopted

because it was the simplest and most economical building of large size

which could be erected, having an immense central area or nave well

lighted by clerestory windows, and single or double aisles to divide

the two sexes, and further because the immense supply of columns which

could be taken from existing temples or porticoes enabled the

architect to provide at small cost the colonnades or arcades between

the nave and the aisles. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the

temples, for which there was no further use, were largely

appropriated, not only in Italy but in Greece, Sicily and elsewhere,

and it is to this appropriation that we owe the preservation of the

Parthenon, the Erechtheum and the temple of Theseus at Athens. There

are some cases in which it is interesting to note the changes which

were made to convert the temple into a church. In the temple of Athena

at Syracuse, walls were built in between the columns of the peristyle,

the cella was appropriated for the nave, and arcades were cut through

the cella walls to communicate with the peristyle, so as to constitute

the aisles. In the temple of Aphrodisias, in Asia Minor, a further

development occurred. The walls of the cella were taken down, a wall

was built outside the columns of the peristyle to form aisles, and the

columns of the east and west end were taken down and placed in line

with the others, in order to increase the length of the church.

The earliest Christian basilica built in Rome was the Lateran, which

has, however, been so completely transformed in subsequent rebuildings

as to have lost its original character. The next in date was that of

the old St Peter's, which was taken down in 1506, in consequence of

its ruinous condition, in order to make way for the present cathedral,

begun by Pope Julius II. It was of considerable size, covering an area

of 73,000 ft. Its plan consisted of an atrium, or open court, having a

fountain in the centre, and arcades round; a nave, 275 ft. long and 77

ft. wide, with double aisles on each side; a transept, 270 ft. long by

54 ft. wide; and a semi-circular apse or tribune with a radius of 27

ft.; the high altar being in the centre of its choir, and ranges of

marble seats and the papal throne in the middle, corresponding to the

benches and the judge's seat of the Roman tribune. The nave,

therefore, with its double aisles, was similar to that of the Ulpian

basilica, but the aisles were not returned across the east end, and at

the west end, in their place, was the great triumphal arch opening

into the transept. The monolith columns of the nave and their capitals

(together 40 ft. high) were all taken from ancient buildings, as also

were those of the aisle arcades and in the atrium.

The basilica of St Paul, outside the walls, was originally of

comparatively small dimensions, with its apse at the west end; in A.D.

386 the church was rebuilt on a plan similar to St Peter's, with nave

and double aisles, divided by columns carrying arches, transept and

apse. In the Lateran basilica, St Peter's, Santa Maria Maggiore, and

St Lawrence (outside the walls), the columns of the nave were

close-set (i.e. with narrow intercolumniations) and supported

architraves, but in St Paul (outside the walls) the columns of the

second church (A.D. 386) were wider apart and carried arches. The same

feature is found in the church of St Agnes, founded A.D. 324, but

rebuilt 620-640; here the arcade is carried across the west end and

there are galleries above, the arches being carried on dosseret blocks

above the capitals; these are also found in the galleries over the

western end of St Lawrence, added by Honorius (A.D. 620-640); the

dosseret, a Byzantine feature, being derived either from Ravenna or

from the East. In the church of Santa Maria-in-Cosmedin (A.D. 772-795)

another Byzantine feature appears in the triple apse at the east end,

the earliest example in Europe. In this church, as also in those of

San Clemente and San Prassede, piers are built at intervals to carry

the arcades separating the nave and aisles. Those in the latter,

however, were probably added when the great arches were thrown across

the nave. The church of San Clemente was built in 1108, above a much

older church dating from 385 and restored later; it is almost the only

church in Rome which has preserved its atrium intact; the internal

arrangement of the church also is different from that found elsewhere,

the choir, enclosed with marble piers and screens removed from the

lower church and erected in front of the tribune, dating from A.D.

514-523. The mosaics executed in 1112 are in fine preservation.

Other early churches in Rome are those of Santa Pudenziana (335); San

Pietro-in-Vincoli (442), with Doric columns in the nave; SS. Quattro

Coronati (450); Santa Sabina (450), an interesting church on account

of the marble inlaid decoration in the arch spandrils of the nave,

which date from 824; San Prassede (817), with arches thrown across the

nave later; San Vincenzo ed Anastasio alle Tre Fontane (626); and

Santa Maria in Domnica, where there are galleries over the aisles and

across the east end as in St Agnes.

Hitherto we have said little about the architectural design, the fact

being that externally these churches had the appearance of barns; it

is only in a few cases, notably in St Peter's, that the principal

fronts were decorated with mosaics. The magnificent materials employed

internally, the monolith marble columns, the enrichment of the apse

and the triumphal arch with mosaics, and probably the painting and

gilding of the ceiling or roof, gave to the early basilican churches

in Rome that splendour which characterizes those in Byzantium and in

Ravenna.

With the exception of the baptistery attached to St John Lateran, and

the so-called tomb of Santa Constantia, both erected by Constantine,

the circular form of church was not adopted in Rome; there is one

remarkable circular building of great size, San Stefano Rotondo, at

one time thought to have been a Roman market, but now known to have

been erected by Pope Simplicius (468-482). It consisted of a central

circular nave, 44 ft. in diameter, and double aisles round. In the

arcade dividing the aisles the arches are carried on dosserets, the

earliest known example of this feature in Rome.

Although inferior in size, the two churches of S. Appollinare Nuovo,

built by Theodoric (493-525) and Sant' Apollinare-in-Classe (538-549),

both in Ravenna, have the special advantage that they were constructed

in new materials, there being no ancient Roman temples there to pull

down. The ordinary basilican plan was adhered to, but as the

architects and workmen came from Constantinople, they incorporated in

the building various details of the Byzantine style, with which they

were best acquainted. Thus the contour of the mouldings, the carrying

of the capitals and imposts, the dosseret above the capital, and the

scheme of decoration of the interior with marble casing on the lower

portion of the walls and mosaic above, are all Byzantine. Externally

the churches are extremely plain, the wall surfaces of the nave and

aisle walls being varied by blind arcades.

The earliest building in Ravenna is the tomb of Galla Placidia, built

450, a small cruciform structure with a dome on pendentives over the

centre, perhaps the earliest example known. The baptistery of St John,

which was attached to the cathedral built by Archbishop Ursus (380),

now destroyed, is a plain octagonal building, 40 ft. in diameter,

originally with a timber roof; when in 451 it was determined to

replace this by a vault, in order to resist the thrust, the upper part

of the walls was brought forward on arches and corbels, and the

interior richly decorated with paintings, stucco reliefs and mosaics

in the dome. The most interesting building in Ravenna, however, from

many points of view, is the church of San Vitale (fig. 30), built

539-547, its plan and design being based on the church of SS. Sergius

and Bacchus at Constantinople. The proportions of the interior of St

Sergius are much finer than those in San Vitale, where the dome is

raised too high; the timber roofs also of San Vitale have deprived the

church externally of that fine architectural effect found in Byzantine

churches. In order to lighten the dome, its shell was built with

hollow pots, the end of one fitted into the mouth of the other. The

interior of the church is of great beauty, owing to the alternating of

the piers carrying the eight arches with the columns set back in

apsidal recesses. Unfortunately the church has been much restored, but

the magnificent mosaics in the choir and the variety of design shown

in the capitals and dosserets render this church, though small, one of

the most attractive in Italy. One other Ravenna building must be

mentioned, though it would be difficult to know under what style to

class it. The tomb of Theodoric, having a decagonal plan in two

storeys, the lower one vaulted at the upper storey, set back to allow

of a "terrace" round, once sheltered by a small arcade, and covered by

a single stone 35 ft. in diameter, belongs to no definite style; the

mouldings of the upper portion have some resemblance to the mouldings

of some of the Etruscan tombs at Castel d'Asso, which was probably

known to Theodoric.

[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Plan of S. Vitale, Ravenna.]

As Dalmatia and Istria both formed part of Theodoric's kingdom, we

find there the same Byzantine influence as that which was asserted in

Ravenna, in both cases the work being done by artists and masons from

Constantinople. There is not much left in Dalmatia, but in Istria are

two important examples,--the churches at Parenzo (535-543) and Grado

(571-586). Like the two churches in Ravenna, they are basilican in

plan, with apses, semi-circular internally and polygonal externally,

the latter being a characteristic found in all the churches in Europe

which were influenced directly by Byzantine custom. Although the

monolith columns were derived from ancient Roman buildings, all the

capitals were specially carved for the two churches, and they have the

same variety of design and in many cases are identical with those in

San Vitale, Sant' Apollinare Nuovo, Sant' Apollinare-in-Classe, and

those brought over from Constantinople, which now decorate St Mark's

at Venice internally as well as externally. The decoration of the

lower part of the walls internally with marble slabs, and the upper

portion and apsidal vaults with mosaic, follows on the same lines as

those at Ravenna and Constantinople. The church at Parenzo still

retains its baptistery and atrium, from which fragments of the mosaics

which originally decorated the west front can be seen. The church at

Aquileia was rebuilt in the 11th century, and the Duomo of Trieste has

been so altered as to lose its original Byzantine character.

(R. P. S.)

EARLY CHRISTIAN WORK IN CENTRAL SYRIA

Contemporaneously with the early developments of the Christian

churches just described, another line of treatment was being evolved

in central Syria, which would seem to have been quite independent of

the others, though at first sight it bears considerable resemblance to

the Byzantine style, and for that reason was probably classed and

described under that head by Fergusson. But the leading characteristic

of the Byzantine style is the dome over the centre of the church round

which all other features are grouped, whereas in central Syria, with

the exception of two examples--one a circular, the other a polygonal

church--there are no domes. There is considerable Greek feeling in the

mouldings and carvings of the capitals, but that is probably due to

the fact that the masons were originally of Greek extraction. A

comparison, for instance, of the design and carving of the largest

church in central Syria, the famous building erected round the column

of St Simeon Stylites at Kalat-Seman, dating from the 6th century,

with any Byzantine church of the same date, shows very little

resemblance, because the former was inspired more or less directly by

the Roman remains in the country. A similar inspiration is found in

the churches of St Trophime at Arles and St Gilles in the south of

France, and at Autun and Langres in Burgundy. Both were founded on

Roman work, and the mouldings of the pediments and archivolts and the

fluting of the pilasters at Kalat-Seman, of the 6th century, are

identical with what is found, quite independently, in Provence and

Burgundy in the 11th and 12th centuries. There is, however, another

special characteristic found in the masonry of the churches in central

Syria, which is peculiar to the whole of Palestine, and is found in

the earliest remains there, as also in Roman work, and to a certain

extent in much of the Mahommedan construction and in that of the

Crusaders, viz. its megalithic qualities. Instead of building an arch

in several voussoirs, they preferred to do it in three or five only,

and sometimes would cut the whole arch out of a single vertical slab.

If they employed voussoirs, they were not content with ordinary depth,

shown by the archivolt mouldings, but made them three or four times as

deep.

The masons, in fact, would seem to have retained the traditional

Phoenician custom of the country to employ the largest stones they

were able to quarry, transport and raise on the building.

Subsequently, in working down the masonry, they reproduced the

architectural features they found in Roman buildings; this was done,

however, without any knowledge as to their constructional origin or

meaning; thus, in copying a Roman pilaster, the capital and part of

the shaft would be worked out of one stone, and the lower part of the

shaft and the base out of another. It is only from this point of view

that we can account for the peculiar development given to the

decoration of their later work, where archivolts, wood mouldings and

window dressings are looked upon as simply surface decoration to be

applied round doorways and windows, without any reference to the

jointing of the masonry.

The immense series of monuments, civil as well as religious existing

throughout central Syria, were almost entirely unknown before the

publication of the marquis of Vogue's work, _La Syrie centrale_, in

1865-1867. This work, illustrated with measured plans, sections and

elevations, with perspective views, and accompanied by detailed

descriptions of the various buildings, forms an invaluable record of

an architectural style, more or less completely developed, which

flourished from the 3rd to the beginning of the 7th century. An

American archaeological expedition made further investigations in

1899-1900, and its report, written by Mr H.C. Butler, contains

additional plans and a large number of photogravures, which bear

testimony to the truth and accuracy of the engraved plates of the

marquis de Vogue. The preservation of these central Syrian remains,

more or less intact, is considered to have been due either to the

desertion of all the towns in which they were situated by the

inhabitants at the time of the Mahommedan invasion, or, according to

Mr H.C. Butler, to the deforesting of the whole country about the

commencement of the 7th century.

The monuments and buildings illustrated may be divided into three

classes,--ecclesiastical, including monasteries; civil and domestic;

and tombs. It is in the two first that the principal interest is

centred.

_Churches._--The earliest of these date from the end of the 4th

century, and the latest inscription on a church is 609, so that a

little over 200 years includes the whole series. With one or two small

exceptions all the churches follow the basilican plan, with nave and

aisles separated by arcades, the arches of which are carried by

columns, four arches on each side in the smaller churches, ten in the

largest. The churches are all orientated, and have generally a

semi-circular apse, and occasionally a square or rectangular sanctuary

at the east end, on either side of which are square chambers,--the

_diaconicon_, reserved for the priests, on the south side, and the

_prothesis_, on the north side, in which the offerings of the faithful

were deposited. Except in the earliest churches, the entrance was

generally at the west end, and was sometimes preceded by a porch. In

addition to the west entrance, there were sometimes doorways leading

direct into the north and south aisles, with projecting porticoes.

About the middle of the 6th century a change was made in the design of

the arcades in the nave, and rectangular piers with arches of wide

span were substituted for the ordinary arcade with columns. The effect

as shown in the engravings and photogravures is so fine that it is

strange that the scheme was never adopted in the earlier Romanesque

churches of Europe. The two more important examples are at Kalb-Lauzeh

(fig. 31) and Ruweiha, but three or four others are known, and this

plan was adopted in the basilica erected in the great court of the

temple at Baalbek. All the churches are built in fine ashlar masonry,

with moulded archivolts and architraves to doorways and windows, and

moulded string courses and cornices of simple design. The principal

decoration externally is found in the hood-mould or label round the

windows, continued as a string-course and carried round other windows,

and sometimes terminating in a disk with cross in centre. These

hood-moulds are occasionally richly carved. All the churches in

central Syria had open timber roofs which have now disappeared; this

is proved by the sinkings in the end walls to receive the purlins, and

the corbels provided to carry the tie beams. The apses were always

covered with semi-domes. The three most important churches were those

of Turmanin, Kalb-Lauzeh and Kalat-Seman. The plans of the two first

are similar, except that in Turmanin the nave arcade is of the

ordinary type, with seven arches carried on columns, while in

Kalb-Lauzeh (fig. 32) there are three wide arches on each side carried

on two rectangular piers and responds. Both have entrance porches

(fig. 33), which are flanked by angle buildings carried up as towers

in three storeys; these probably contained wooden staircases to ascend

to an open gallery, which consisted of four columns in-antis between

the angle towers above the porch. The north and south walls were quite

plain, except for window and door dressings and string courses; the

apse was richly decorated, with wall shafts superimposed between the

windows, and carrying a projecting cornice with alternate corbels. The

church at Ruweiha has a similar plan to that at Kalb-Lauzeh, but two

transverse arches in stone are thrown across the nave, resting on

abutments attached to the nave piers.

[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Plan of Church of Kalb-Lauzeh.]

[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Interior of the Church of Kalb-Lauzeh.]

The most remarkable example and by far the largest is the great

basilica at Kalat-Seman (fig. 34), which was erected round the pillar

on which St. Simeon Stylites spent thirty years of his life. The base

of the pillar stands in the centre of an immense octagonal court open

to the sky. The plan consists of nave, transept and choir, all with

side aisles, separated in the centre by the octagonal court which

constitutes the crossing. The nave built on the side of a hill is

raised on a crypt, and the principal entrance would seem to have been

through the porch of the north transept, which occupies the full width

of transept and aisles. There were, however, in addition two doorways

with porches to each aisle, as well as portico and doors to the north

transept. At the eastern end were three apses, the two outer ones,

facing the aisles, being additions in the second half of the 6th

centurv. St. Simeon died in 459, and the church was probably begun

shortly afterwards, but not completed till the 6th century. The

archivolts of the great arches on each side of the octagonal court

consist of architrave, frieze and cornice, copied from the arch of the

propylaca at Baalbek or other Roman work. Here, as in the great

southern porch, the classic nature of the details is remarkable, the

pilasters are all fluted, and the modillion and dentil, derived from

Roman models, exist throughout. On the other hand, the carving of the

foliage was certainly executed by Greek artists, and the well-known

Byzantine capital, with the leaves bending under the influence of the

wind, is here reproduced. The great apse externally retains its

decoration with superimposed shafts and cornice, as in Turmanin and

Kalb-Lauzeh.

[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Church of Turmanin.]

The monastery of Kalat-Seman was built on the south side of the great

church, and many of the rooms had roofs of slabs of stone carried on

arches across the room, a method of construction universally found in

the Hauran, where the absence of timber necessitated this more

permanent method of construction. The monasteries differ from the

domestic work in being much plainer, and, instead of columns in the

porticoes, having invariably square piers of stone.

[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Plan of Church of Kalat-Seman.]

Among circular churches, the walls of the cathedral at Bozra are gone,

so that the conjectural restoration shown in de Vogue's work is purely

speculative, but in the church at Ezra (510) the central octagon is

covered by a high dome of elliptical section. An aisle is carried

round the octagon with similar recesses on the diagonal lines, the

whole being enclosed in a square; in the apse at the east end the

seats of the tribune are still preserved.

_Domestic Work._--The domestic work in central Syria is, in a way,

even more remarkable than the ecclesiastical. Broadly speaking, there

are two types of plan--those found in the towns and grouped together,

and those which, with increased area, constituted a villa. At El Barah

the average house occupied a site of about 80 ft. by 60 ft., of which

about 30 ft. in width was occupied by an open court; facing this

court, which was enclosed with high walls, is an open colonnade on two

floors, which always faces south, occupies the whole front (80 ft.) of

the house, and is the only means of approach to the rooms in the rear,

three on each floor, side by side. In the centre of these rooms, 14

ft. wide each, an arch is thrown across on each floor, which carries

slabs of stone covering the first floor and the roof; the upper storey

was reached probably by a timber staircase, now gone, but in poorer

dwellings an external flight of steps in stone led to an upper floor.

All the houses face the same way. The colonnade of the house consisted

of about fifteen columns on each storey. Each column, including its

capital and base, was cut out of a single stone; on the upper storey,

between the columns, are stone vertical slabs forming a balustrade;

the houses are all built in fine ashlar masonry with architraves and

cornices to doors and windows, a luxury which in England could rarely

be indulged in for ordinary houses. At El Barah, in an area of about

250 ft. by 150 ft. as shown by de Vogue, there are about 100 monolith

columns, 12 ft. high, on the ground storey alone. In a villa at El

Barah the open court is surrounded on three sides by buildings, those

at the east end of considerable extent and in three storeys. A smaller

example at Mujeleia has two courts, one of them being for stables and

other services; otherwise the residence of the proprietor is similar

to the one above described. Here and there the fantasy of the artist

has been allowed to revel in the carving of the balustrades, door

lintels, &c. The capitals are of endless design, and show

interpretations of Ionic and Corinthian capitals, in some cases not

dissimilar to the Byzantine versions in St Mark's at Venice.

Hostelries and public baths are amongst other civil buildings which

are recognizable, the hostelries in some cases being attached to the

monasteries.

_Tombs._--The principal tombs are either excavated in the rock, with

an open court in front and an entrance portico, like the tombs of the

kings at Jerusalem, and sometimes a superstructure of columns or a

podium raised above them; or again they are built in masonry, and take

the form of sepulchral chapels; in the latter case, if many sarcophagi

have to be deposited, and the chapel is of great length, arches are

thrown across, about 6 ft. centre to centre, to support the slabs of

stone with which they are covered. This carries on the traditional

custom of the Roman temples in Syria, the roofs of which, in stone,

were similarly supported. Sometimes there will be two storeys, the

upper one covered with a dome. Those which are peculiar to the country

are square tombs, with a pyramidal stone roof all built in horizontal

courses, and either enclosed with a peristyle all round, on one or two

storeys, or having a portico in front with flat stone roof. The

cornices, string courses and lintels of the doors of these tombs of

the 4th and 5th centuries, are enriched with carving, showing strong

Byzantine influence, though probably due to the employment of Greek

artists. (R. P. S.)

THE COPTIC CHURCH IN EGYPT

The earliest places of Christian worship in Egypt were probably only

chapels or oratories of small dimensions attached to the monasteries,

which were spread throughout the country; a wholesale destruction of

these took place at various times, more especially by the order of

Severus, about 200 B.C., so that no remains have come down to us. The

most ancient examples known are those which are attributed to the

empress Helena, of which there are important portions preserved in the

churches of the White and Red monasteries at the foot of the Libyan

hills near Suhag.

Although the plan of the Coptic church is generally basilican, i.e.

consists of nave and aisles, it is probable that they were not copied

from Roman examples, but were based on expansions of the first

oratories built, to which aisles had afterwards been added. There are

no long transepts, as in the early Christian basilicas of St Peter's

at Rome, and of St Paul outside the walls, and there is only one

example of a cruciform church with a dome in the centre following the

Byzantine plan. Even at an early period the nave and aisles were

covered sometimes with barrel vaults, either semicircular or

elliptical. The Coptic church was always orientated with the

sanctuaries at the east end. The aisles were returned round the west

end and had galleries above for women. Sometimes the western aisle has

been walled up to form a narthex; in many cases a narthex was built,

but, in consequence of the persecution to which the Copts were subject

at the hands of the Moslems, its three doors have been blocked up and

a separate small entrance provided. The narthex was the place for

penitents, but was sometimes used for baptism by total immersion,

there being epiphany tanks sunk in the floor of the churches at Old

Cairo, known as Abu Serga, Abu-s-Sifain (Abu Sefen) and El Adra; these

are now boarded over, as total immersion is no longer practised.

There are a few exceptions to the basilican plan; and in four examples

(two in Cairo and two at Deir-Mar-Antonios in the eastern desert by

the Gulf of Suez) there are three aisles of equal widths, divided one

from the other by two rows of columns with three in each row, thus

dividing the roof into twelve square compartments, each of which is

covered with a dome.

The sanctuaries at the east end, as developed in the Coptic church,

differ in some particulars from those of any other religious

structures. There are always three chapels or sanctuaries, with an

altar in each, the central chapel being known as the Haikal. The

chapels are more often square than apsidal, and are always surmounted

by a complete dome, a peculiarity not found out of Egypt. The seats of

the tribune are still preserved in a large number of the sanctuaries,

and there are probably more examples in Egypt than in all Europe, if

Russia and Mount Athos be excepted. Those of Abu-Serga, El Adra and

Abu-s-Sifain, with three concentric rows of seats and a throne in the

centre, are the most important; but even in the square sanctuaries the

tradition is retained, and seats are ranged against the east wall, and

in one case (at Anba-Bishoi) three steps are carried across, and

behind them is a segmental tribune of three steps, with throne in the

centre.

The most remarkable Coptic churches in Egypt are those of the

Deir-el-Abiad (the White monastery) and the Deir-el-Akhmar (the Red

monastery) at Suhag. These were of great size, measuring about 240 ft.

by 130 ft. with vaulted narthex, nave and aisles separated by two rows

of monolith columns taken from ancient buildings, twelve in each row

and probably roofed over in timber, and three apses, directed

respectively towards the east, north and south. These apses are

unusually deep and have five niches in each, in two storeys separated

by superimposed columns. In the church of St John at Antinoe there are

seven niches. A similar arrangement is found in the three apses,

placed side by side, in the more ancient portion of St Mark's, Venice,

built A.D. 820, and said to have been copied from St Mark's at

Alexandria. There is no external architecture in the Coptic churches;

they are all masked with immense enclosure walls, so as to escape

attention. The walls of the interior still preserve a great portion of

the paintings of scriptural subjects; the screens dividing off the

Haikal and other chapels from the choir are of great beauty, and

evidently formed the models from which the panelled woodwork, doors

and pulpits of the Mahommedan mosques have been copied and reproduced

by Copts.

Illustrations are given in A.J. Butler's _Ancient Coptic Churches of

Egypt_(1884); Wladimir de Bock's _Materiaux archeologiques de l'Egypte

chretienne_(1901); and A. Gayet's _L'art coptique_. (R. P. S.)

ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY

"Romanesque" is the broad generic term adopted about the beginning of

the 19th century by French archaeologists in order to bring under one

head all the various phases of the round-arched Christian style,

hitherto known as Lombard and Byzantine Romanesque in Italy, Rhenish in

Germany, "Romane" and Norman in France, Saxon and Norman in England, &c.

In character, as well as in time, the Romanesque lies between the Roman

and the Gothic or Pointed style, but its first manifestation in Italy

has already been described in the section on "Early Christian

Architecture," and it only remains to deal with the subsequent

development from the age of Charlemagne, which marks an epoch in the

history of architecture, and from which period examples are to be found

in every country.

In consequence of the lack of homogeneousness in the Romanesque style as

developed in Italy, owing to the mixture of styles, and the difficulty

of tracing the precise influence of any one race in buildings frequently

added to, restored or rebuilt, their description will be more easily

followed if a geographical subdivision be made, the simplest being

Northern or Lombard Romanesque, Central Romanesque and Southern

Romanesque; after the latter would follow the Sicilian Romanesque,

which, owing to the Saracenic craftsman, constitutes a type by itself.

This leaves still one other phase to be noted, the influence recognized

in northern Italy of the architectural style of the Eastern Empire at

Byzantium, either direct or through Istria and Dalmatia. In the churches

at Ravenna, this influence has already been referred to in the section

on "Early Christian Architecture," but it appears again in the church of

St. Mark at Venice, and in much of its domestic architecture, so that it

is necessary to recognize another term,, that of "Byzantine Romanesque."

_Northern or Lombard Romanesque._--Although the materials for forming

an adequate notion of the earlier work of the Lombards are very

scanty, after their conversion to the Catholic faith the Church

probably exercised a powerful influence in their architectural work.

Under Liutprand, towards the close of the 8th century, an order known

as the Magistri Commacini was established, to whom were given the

privileges of freemen in the Lombard State. These Commacini, so named

from the island in the lake of Como whence they sprang, were trained

masons and builders, who in the 9th and 10th century would seem to

have carried the Lombard style through north and south Italy, Germany

and portions of France. It was at one time assumed that they had

influenced the church architecture throughout Europe, but this is not

borne out by the evidence of the buildings themselves, except in the

Rhenish provinces and in the districts on the slope of the Harz

Mountains, where in sculpture a strange mixture is found of monstrous

animals with Scandinavian interlaced patterns and Byzantine foliage,

bearing a close resemblance to the early sculpture in Sant Ambrogio at

Milan and San Michele at Pavia (Plate V, fig. 72). Although the

earliest Lombard buildings in Italy (such as those of San Salvatore in

Brescia, San Vincenzo in Prato at Milan the church of Agliate and

Santa Maria delle Caccie at Pavia) were basilican in plan with nave

and aisles, there are some instances in which the adoption of a

transept has produced the Latin cross plan (e.g. San Michele at Pavia,

Sant' Antonino at Piacenza, San Nazaro-Grande at Milan, and the

cathedrals of Parma and Modena), though to what extent this is due to

subsequent rebuilding is not known. In the early basilicas above

mentioned the columns, carrying the arcades between nave and aisles,

were taken from earlier buildings, while the capitals, where not

Roman, were either rude imitations of Roman, or Byzantine in style.

The roofs were always in wood, and the exteriors of the simplest

description. In the external decoration, however, of the apses of the

churches of San Vincenzo in Prato, Santa Maria delle Caccie, the

church at Agliate and the ancient portion of S. Ambrogio at Milan, we

find the germ of that decorative feature which (afterwards developed

into the eaves gallery) became throughout Italy and on the Rhine the

most beautiful and characteristic element of the Lombard style. In

order to lighten the wall above the hemispherical vault of the apse, a

series of niches was sunk within the arches of the corbel table, which

gave to the cornice that deep shadow where it was most wanted for

effect. In addition to the churches above named, similar niches are

found in the baptisteries of Novara and Arsago, the Duomo Vecchio at

Brescia and the church of San Nazaro Grande at Milan. Towards the

close of the 11th century, the imposts of these niches take the form

of isolated piers, with a narrow gallery behind, and eventually small

shafts with capitals are substituted for the piers, producing the

eaves-galleries of the apses, which in Santa Maria Maggiore at Bergamo

(1137) and the cathedral of Piacenza are the forerunners of numerous

others in Italy, and in the churches of Cologne, Bonn, Bacharach and

other examples on the Rhine, constitute their most important external

decoration.

[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Plan of S. Ambrogio.]

In the apses of San Vincenzo in Prato and of the church at Agliate

(both of the 9th century) there is another decorative feature,

destined afterwards to become one of the most important methods of

breaking up or subdividing the wall surface, i.e. the thin pilaster

strips, which, at regular intervals, rise from the lower part of the

wall to the corbel table of the cornice.

The two most important churches of the Lombard Romanesque style are

those of Sant' Ambrogio at Milan and S. Michele at Pavia, their

importance being increased by the fact that they probably represent

the earliest examples of the solution of the great problem which was

exercising the minds of the church builders towards the end of the

11th century, the vaulting of the nave. In the original church, of the

9th century, the nave and aisles of Sant' Ambrogio were divided in the

usual way with arcades, and were covered with open timber roofs. In

the rebuilding of the church (fig 35) the nave (38 ft. wide) was

divided into four square bays, and compound piers of large dimensions

were built, to carry the transverse and diagonal ribs of the new

vault. To resist the thrust, the walls across the aisles were built up

to the roof, and had external buttresses, the diagonal ribs instead of

following the elliptical curve which the intersection of the Roman

semicircular barrel vault gave to the groin, were made semicircular,

so that the web or vaulting surface which rested on these ribs rose

upwards towards the centre of the bay, giving a distinct domical form

to the vault. The aisles, being half the width of the nave, were

divided into eight compartments, two to each bay of the nave, and were

covered both in the ground storey and the triforium with intersecting

groin vaults. When this rebuilding took place, the front of the church

was brought forward, bearing a narthex, and the arcades of the atrium

were rebuilt in the first years of the 12th century. The triple apse,

to the external decoration of which we have called attention, the

crypt underneath, and the south campanile, are the only remains of the

9th century church. The campanile on the north side was built

1125-1149, and the decoration with pilaster strips, semi-detached

shafts, and arched corbel table, is repeated on the facade of the

church and on the arcade round the atrium. In the rebuilding, portions

of the sculptural decoration of the 9th century church were utilized,

this would appear to have been a Lombard custom, as in the church of

San Michele the lower part of the main front is encrusted with

sculptured decoration taken from the earlier churches built on the

site. These ancient sculptures are of special interest, as they

constitute the best records of the rude Lombard work of the 8th and

9th centuries, and are intermingled with Byzantine scroll work and

interlaced patterns. If the plan of Sant' Ambrogio, with its

comparatively thin enclosure walls suggests its original construction

as an ordinary basilica, this is not the case with San Michele (fig

36), where all the external walls are of great thickness, showing that

from the first it was intended to vault the whole structure The church

is much smaller than Sant Ambrogio, there being originally only two

square bays to the nave (in the 15th century the vaults were rebuilt

with four bays), the transept, however projects widely beyond the

aisles, and as there is another bay given to the choir in front of the

apse, the area of the two churches is about the same. The existing

church was probably begun shortly after the destructive earthquake of

1117, and was consecrated in 1132. In Sant' Ambrogio the transverse

and diagonal arches spring from just above the triforium floor, so

that there was no room for clerestory windows, and consequently the

interior is dark. In San Michele the ribs rise from the level of the

top of the triforium arcades and two clerestory windows are provided

to each bay. The crossing of the nave and transept is covered with a

dome carried on squinches, which dates from the first building. The

dome over the fourth bay of Sant' Ambrogio replaced the original vault

about the beginning of the 13th century.

[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Plan of San Michele Pavia.]

The cathedral of Novara, originally of the ordinary basilica type of

the 10th century with timber roofs, was reconstructed in the 11th

century, compound piers being built to carry the transverse and

diagonal ribs and walls built across the outer aisles to resist the

thrust, on the other hand SS. Pietro and Paolo at Bologna is a 12th

century church which was designed from the first to be vaulted. To

these, and still belonging to the basilican plan, must be added San

Pietro in Cielo d'oro (1136) and San Teodoro, both in Pavia; S. Evasio

at Casale Monferrato, having a comparatively narrow nave with double

aisles on either side and a very remarkable narthex or porch. S.

Lorenzo at Verona (lately restored), which in the 12th century was

rebuilt with compound piers to carry a vault (the apse and the two

remarkable circular towers in the west front belong to the ancient

church), and Sant' Abbondio at Como often restored and partly rebuilt,

retaining however, some of the original sculpture of the early Lombard

period.

Of churches built on the plan of the Latin cross, examples are Sant'

Antonino at Piacenza, with an octagonal lantern tower over the

crossing, Parma cathedral (_c._ 1175), with an octagonal pointed dome

over the crossing, Modena cathedral, rebuilt and consecrated in

1184; San Nazaro-Grande at Milan; and San Lanfranco at Pavia, the two

latter without aisles.

[Illustration: PLATE I.

BAPTISTRY. CAMPO SANTO. CATHEDERAL CAMPANILE

Photo, Brogi.

FIG. 62.--PISA

FIG. 63--ST MARK'S, VENICE.

Photo, Anderson.]

[Illustration: PLATE II.