512 



THi: STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



might be capable of containing 20.000 spectators. 

 A number exist in Greece. Sicily, and A>ia Minor. 

 and elsewhere. No remains of private houses 

 are known to exist By the end of the Pelopon- 

 ne<ian War (say 400 B. C. ) the be>t period of 

 (ireek architecture wa< o\-er: a noble simplicity 

 had -liven ; "rnament. After 



;th of Alexander the Great (W.i) the de- 

 cline was still more marked. 



Among the Romans there was no original 



I'lnent of architecture as among the 



(ireeks. though they early took the foremost 



-t ruction Of such works as aque- 



m, the arch being in early and 



\e u-e amoni: this people. As a fine art, 



T. Roman architecture had its origin in 



copies of the (Ireek models, all the Grecian 



being introduced into Rome, and vari- 



niodiiied. Their number, moreover, was 



Mted by tlie addition of two new orders 

 the Tuscan and the Composite. The Romans 

 became acquainted with the architecture of the 

 soon after 200 H. C M but it was not till 

 about two centuries later that the architecture 

 of Rome attained (under Augustus) its great- 



rfection. Among the great works now 



: were temples, aqueducts, amphitheaters, 

 magnificent villas, triumphal arches, monumen- 

 tal pillars, etc. The amphitheater differed from 

 the theater it being a completely circular or 

 rather elliptical building, filled on all sides with 

 a-rending seats for spectators and leaving only 

 the central space, called the Arena, for the com- 

 batants and public shows. The Coliseum is a 

 stupendous structure of this kind. The Thermae, 

 or baths, were vast structures in which multi- 

 tudes of people could bathe at once. Magnifi- 

 cent tombs were often built by the wealthy. Re- 

 mains of private residences are numerous, and 

 the excavations at Pompeii in particular have 

 thrown great light on the internal arrangements 

 of the Roman dwelling-house. Almost all the 

 successors of Augustus embellished Rome more 

 or less, erected splendid palaces and temples, 

 and adorned, like Hadrian, even the conquered 

 countries with them. But after the period of 

 Hadrian (117-138 A. D.) Roman architecture is 

 considered to have been on the decline. The 

 refined and noble. style of the Greeks was neg- 

 lected, and there was an attempt to embellish 

 the beautiful more and more. This decline was 

 all the more rapid latterly from the disturbed 

 state of the empire and the incursions of the bar- 

 barians 



In^Constantinople, after its virtual separation 

 from the Western Empire, arose a style of art 

 and architecture which was practiced by the 

 Greek Church during the whole of the Middle 

 Ages. This is called the Byzantine style. Then 

 appeared the dome, the glory of the Byzantine 

 school, t|ie requirements which led to the aban- 

 donment in the ground plan of churches of the 

 Latin cross in favor of the Grecian cross, whose 

 branches are of equal length. The dogmas of 

 the iconoclasts obliged the architects to seek 

 some other means than sculpture of enriching 

 their temples; hence the profusion of Mosaic 

 work. Their ornaments represented foliage in 

 bass-relief and interlaced lines. Under Belisa- 

 rius and Narses the dome was introduced into 



Italy. The Byzantine style also became the 

 t>a-i's of the new Persian. Russian, and Saracen 

 schools. We find its peculiarities existing during 

 the Middle Ages in Greece. Italy. Sicily, Spain. 

 Arabia, and India. Among the chief edifices of 

 this school are St. Sophia at Constantinople, St. 

 Mark's at Venice, and San Vitale at Ravenna. 

 The Saracens and Moors introduced into Kn- 

 rope certain forms of architecture founded on the 

 remains of the Grecian school, blended with the 

 Oriental elements of the By/ant inc. Their chief 

 peculiarity was in the form given to the arch. 

 The Saracenic arch was of greater depth than 

 width. The Moorish style was distinguished by 

 arches in the shape of a horseshoe or a crest cut. 

 Their mural ornamentations, styled arabesque, 

 presented more varied designs of graceful and 

 ingenious combinations of geometrical and floral 

 traceries than had before been known. The 

 Lombards, who possessed themselves of North 

 Italy after the middle of the Sixth Century, origi- 

 nated a complete and systematized style, which 

 the people of each country where it was intro- 

 duced modified to suit their climate, customs, and 

 w r ants. Its branches are variously known as 

 the Merovingian, Carlo vingian, Saxon, Norman, 

 etc., which together were styled old Gothic, and 

 out of which grew the pointed style, after the 

 introduction into Europe of the pointed arch. 

 During the Middle Ages the study of the arts, 

 sciences, and literature took refuge in the mon- 

 asteries. The influence of the clergy declined, 

 however, as free institutions arose, and the 

 pointed Gothic must be regarded as the work 

 rather of secular than of clerical architects. 

 This change was doubtless made more complete 

 by the increasing importance of the fraternity of 

 Freemasons, who became in time sole directors 

 or supervisors of all the religious structures. 

 Protected by the Church, architecture in their 

 hands passed from the old Gothic through vari- 

 ous phases of the pointed style. This style is 



| customarily divided into three periods : the first, 

 or primary, dating from the end of the Twelfth 

 Century ; the second, or decorated, or rayonnant, 

 from the commencement of the Fourteenth Cen- 

 tury; and the third, or perpendicular, or flam- 

 boyant, from the end of the Fourteenth to the 

 Sixteenth Century. The essential element of 

 this style is the pointed arch. It is during 

 the first period that the spire surmounting the 

 tower becomes of so great importance. But- 

 tresses and flying buttresses also form a striking 

 feature. 



The windows gradually assume a less pointed 

 form; the clustered columns composing the col- 

 umnar piers are more elaborate; and the ribs, 

 bosses, and carved ornaments throughout have 

 more relief and are more elegant. The third 

 period is remarkable for its profuse ornamenta- 

 tion. The panelled walls, with their niches, 

 tabernacles, canopies, and screens, highly deco- 

 rated, the flying buttresses enriched with pinna- 

 cles and tracery, the corbelled battlements and 

 turrets, and the balustrades intricately carved 



j and pierced, are characteristic of the epoch. 



During the Fourteenth Century, or the trecento 

 period, we discover in Italy, in the secular struc- 

 1 11 res more especially, numerous examples exhib- 

 iting a return to the classic styles. At length, in 



