ANTIQUITIES. 
the effulgence of her architectural 
splendour exhibited many fine spe- 
cimens of these buildings, yet we 
know but of one round building in 
Athens, the capital city of that coun- 
try. This is called the Choragic 
monumentof Lysicrates ; and though 
a very small structure (only six fect 
diameter within,) is beautiful in its 
proportions and ornaments. It is 
of the Corinthian order, and is said 
to have been erected above three 
hundred years before the christian 
era; in the time of Demosthenes, 
Apélles, and Alexander the Great.* 
The tower of the Winds, in thesame 
city, is an octangular building. 
The Romans, who were mere imi- 
tators of the Greeks, built numerous 
' temples, both in their capital and in 
the provinces; but it was not till 
after the revolution under Julius 
Cesar that they produced any thing 
admirable in the arts. Among their 
circular temples we may notice the 
following.- 
Onthe banks of the Tiber isa 
round building, which, according to 
geveral opinion, says Palladio (B. 
IV. Ch. 14.) was built by Numa 
Pompilius, and dedicated to ~the 
goddess Vesta. Without the walls 
of Rome, near the Porta Viminialis, 
(now called the gate of St. Agnes, ) 
is acircular building, dedicated to 
St. Agnes, and supposed to have 
been a temple of Bacchus.+ On 
the Appian Way, near the Porta 
* Stuart’s Antiquities of Athens, vol. I. 
According to this author, the temples of Bacchus 
t Palladio, B, IV. Ch. 21. 
985 
Appia, (now called the gate of St. 
Scbastian,) are the remains of a cir- 
cular building. t 
The temples dedicated to Vesta - 
were generally, if not always, cir- 
cular. Plutarch remarks that Numa 
erected a round temple to contain 
the sacred fire, which he intended as 
a symbol of the whole universe. 
This temple of Vesta had an atrium, 
and agrove, near the fountain of 
Juterna, and in the inmost part of 
it was kept the sacred fire, which 
was attended by the Vestal virgins. 
Near the palace of Augustus was also 
another similar building, called the 
temple of Vesta Palatina.§ Near 
the celebrated cascade of the Anio, 
at Tivoli, is another circular temple, 
sacred to the goddess Vesta. It is 
sometimes called the temple of 
Sibylla Tiburtina, is of the Corin- 
thian order, and is much celebrated 
by travellers.|| Upon the Celian 
Mount, at Rome, was a large cir- 
cular temple, which, according to 
some writers, was built by Claudius, 
and dedicated to Faunus. It con- 
sisted of a circular wall, which in- 
cluded two colonnades, one within 
the other. It is now called St. Ste- 
phen the Round, and measures about 
190 feet in diameter.{@ The most 
popular of these circular temples is 
the pantheon at Rome, which is 
commonly supposed to have been 
erected by M. Agrippa, in his third 
consulate, though Palladio is of 
opinion 
and Venus were to be built always on the outside of the city walls. 
t Palladio, B. IV. Ch. 22. 
§ Montfaucon, vol. II. Ch.7. In this volume are several plans of circulgr 
temples. 
|| See Chevalier Piranezi’s Plans, &c. of this building, and Desgodetz’s anti- 
quities of Rome. The latter is translated by Marshall, and contains several plans, 
sections, &c. of ancient buildings, 
q See Desgodetz’s Antiquities, 
