CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



603 



Frrjxir. 



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 . 



Practice- on each side, very nearly six times its height. The 

 -, ' neck of the capital is nearly half the height of the an- 

 nulets. In the temple of Corinth, and the Doric porti- 

 co at Athene, the ovolo or echinus is of an elliptical 

 shape ; but in every other instance of Greek capitals, it 

 is hyperbolical, excepting the single instance of the por- 

 tico of Philip, king of Macedon. 



From the preceding dimensions and observations, we 

 establish the following proportions for the construction 

 of the Doric order : Considering the diameter that of a 

 circle, at the lower end of a shaft the column is six 

 diameters in height. The thickness of the upper end 

 of the shaft is three-fourths of the lower, or it diminishes 

 one-fourth of the diameter. The height of the capital 

 is hali a diameter. That of the ovolo, with the annu- 

 lets, and that of the abacus, are each one-quarter of the 

 upper diameter. The annulets are one-fifth of one of 

 the parts. The horizontal dimension of each face of 

 the abacus is six times its height. The entablature is 

 divided into four equal parts ; the upper one is the height 

 of the cornice; the remaining are divided equally be- 

 tween the architrave and frieze. The ioner edge of the 

 angular triglyph is placed in a vertical line with the axis 

 of the column. The height of the triglyph is divided 

 into five equal parts ; three of these parts give the dis- 

 tance of its returning face, and determine also that of the 

 epistyle, and consequently include the breadth of the 

 triglyph. The height of the capital of the triglyph is 

 one-seventh of its whole height, and the capital of the 

 metope one-ninth. The breadth of the triglyph is di- 

 vided into nine equal parts, giving two to each glyph, 

 one to each semi-glyph, and one to each of the three in- 

 ter-glyphs. The metope* are square. The height of 

 the cornice is divided into five equal parts ; the lower is 

 given to the fillet, the mutule, and drops ; the next two 

 to the corona ; and the remaining two parts are subdi- 

 vided and disposed amongst the several members, in the 

 manner shewn in Plate CLV1II. The projection of the 

 cornice is equal to its height ; it is divided into four equal 

 parts, giving three to the projection of the corona. The 

 subdivisions in the Plate shew the profiles of the smaller 

 members. In this example, the column is taken from 

 the temple of Theseus, and the entablature from that of 

 Minerva at Athens. 



The number of annulets in the capital vary from three 

 to five ; and the number of horizontal grooves, which 

 separate the shaft from the capital, vary from one to 



In the application of the Doric order to Umplcs, the 

 shafts of the columns are generally placed upon three 

 steps, which are not proportioned like these in a com- 

 mon stair, but to the magnitude of the c 



The preceding specimeni have all been taken from 

 Greek edifices, these being considered the only pure sn le 

 of this fine order. The best example of Roman prac- 

 tice is that taken from the thi-airc of Marcellus, by Sir 

 W. Chambers, to whose excellent work ou civil archi- 

 tecture we refer our readers. 



Ionic or- Of the Ionic Order. 



der. 



Although, in the Ionic, the primary division, into 



column* and entablature, and the secondary, of shaft, ca- 



Gcneraire- pital, architrave, frieze, and cornice, remained the same, 



marks. TC t the omisMon of some of the principal subdivisions of 



those part-:, and ihe introduction of others entirely new, 



well a> the gaiter degree of delicacy iu all, distin- 



T". ITT 



' 



guishes this sufficiently from the Doric order, and. esta- 

 blishes its claim as a distinct order or canon of Greek 

 architecture. See Plate CLIX. 



The Ionian Greeks having become wealthy, and be- 

 ing, no doubt, influenced by the manners of their Asia- 

 tic neighbours, refined upon the simplicity of attic ar- 

 chitecture, and invented a capital totally different from 

 that employed in the mother country. Its origin is, 

 however, problematical. Vitruvius reports it to have 

 been made in representation of the curls in the head-dress 

 of females ; but other hints are quite as probable, as the 

 spiral shape of the horns of rams, used in their sacri- 

 fices; or that assumed by the barks of some trees, when 

 dried in the sun ; or that of certain delicate vegetables, 

 such as the slender fern, before it is quite unfolded ; or 

 the beautiful spiral forms of various sea-shells, any of 

 which are sufficient to guide the fancy of an ingenious 

 artist in composing the volutes of the capital of Ionia. 

 In the architrave and frieze, all appearances of triglyphs 

 and guttie are omitted ; and in the cornice, instead of 

 the bold mutules of the Doric, the ends of smaller pie- 

 ces of wood, to which the covering tiles were fixed, are 

 represented by what are termed dentils or teeth. This 

 order also differed from the Doric, by having a base at 

 the lower extremity of the shaft j the propriety of this 

 might have arisen from the diameter of the shaft being 

 much less than that of the Doric, in proportion to the 

 height of the order, or the weight it had to sustain. 



The rest of the Ionic order is not so precisely defi- 

 ned, or so uniformly adhered to, as similar parts in the 

 Doric. The Temple of the Muses, on the Ilyssus, is 

 composed of few, but very distinct and bold parts. The 

 height of the volutes is three-fifths, and that of the 

 whole capital two-thirds of the diameter of the shaft. 

 If the entablature is divided into five parts, two are oc- 

 cupied by the architrave, which consists of a single fa- 

 cia, crowned with a cymatium j the remaining three are 

 divided into five other parts, three of which are occupied 

 by the plain part of the frieze, and the remaining two 

 by the cornice. The cymatium of the frieze, which con- 

 sists of a cima-reversa standing upon a bead, is worked 

 out of the cornice, 'i'l.? c^r.-iice, zs viewed in front, is 

 composed of a corona, cymatium, and cima. 



In the temple of Erecthcus and Minerva Polias at 

 Athens, the architrave lias three faciz and a cymatium, 

 and the cymatium of the frieze is worked chiefly out of 

 the cornice. The height of the entablature, from the 

 bottom of the lower facia of the architrave to the top 

 of the cymatium upon the corona, if divided into nine, 

 teen parts, the architrave and fri-y.c will each have eight, 

 and the corona, larima, and cymatium will occupy the 

 remaining thri-e parts. In these specimens, the volutes 

 have a singular degree of symmetry and beauty. 



lu all the Gret-k Ionics, the height of the cornice, 

 measured from the lower edge of the corona upwards, 

 appears to have a constant ratio to^he total height of 

 the entablature, viz. nearly as "2 to which seems the 

 true one to accord with the character of the order. The 

 great recess of the mouldings, under the corona, gives it 

 a striking prominence, and prevents the cornice from 

 appearing too heavy, though both the dentil band and 

 cymatium of the frieze are introduced under it. 



On account of the frieze being wanting in most of the 

 Asiatic remains, although the architrave and cornice have 

 been accurately measured, the height of the entablature 

 cannot be ascertained. The only instance in which a 

 frieze has been discovered is in the theatre of Laodicea ; 

 and there it w rather lest than one-fifth of the cntabU- 



Practice. 



Origin of 

 capital. 



Archi- 

 trave, 

 frieze. 



Cornice.. 



Base. 



Temple of 



tlie Muse*.. 



Minerva 

 Polias. 



Coruicf>. 



Fritr.t. 



