PARTHIA 



4517 



PARTICIPLE 



lected white marble. A in the Doric 



stylo of architecture, the great pillars, thirty- 

 four feet in height, eight at each end and seven- 

 teen at each side, were severely plain. Above 

 the columns was a frieze, carved in low relief, 

 of exquisite beauty, and gigantic sculpt 

 ornamented other parts of the building. Rich 

 co l ors gold, red and blue were used in the 

 decoration of these designs. Within the tem- 

 ple i two halls, one of which con- 

 ivory and gold statue of 

 }>y Phidias. 



Parthenon. Irke so many other beauti- 

 ful build;- thens, dates from the time of 

 1 its original purp<>>' until 

 about the sixth century, and then became a 

 Chi Mian church. Later it was a Moham- 

 medan mo-quo, and a minaret was added, but 

 throughout these changes it was almost per- 

 fectly ]>re-ervcd. When the Venetians were 

 striving to conquer Athens in 1687, the Parthe- 

 non was used as a powder house by the Turks, 

 and suffered much from an explosion. Many 

 of the sculptures were afterward taken to Lon- 

 don (see l.i.'. IN MARBLES). In its ruined state 

 the Parthenon is still a beautiful and inspiring 

 sijht. 



I-'.u- illustration of tin- building as it appears 

 to-day see "The Glory That Was Greece," page 

 2605. Consult Gardner's Ancient Athens. 



PARTHIA, pahr'thia, an ancient empire of 



Central A.-ia. to the southeast of the Caspian 



\r 



Tin mi 

 and 1 fur their method iii" lighting on 



hur-rli irk \\ltll tx>Wft a: .inn- 



try I li\ C\ in 



i also by Al \ 



the Great. About 250 B. c. the people revolted 

 and formed a separate kingdom under Arsacos. 

 who founded a dynasty of tyrannical rulers. 

 The Parthians successfully resisted the Romans, 

 who repeatedly invaded their territory, but 

 owing to internal dissension fell before the Per- 

 sians. and the dynasty of Arsaces gave place to 

 the Persian dynasty of the Sassanidae. 



PARTICIPLE, pahr'tisip'l. The word i< 

 derived from the Latin partake. In Kmrli>h 

 grammar the participle is a form of the . 

 which "partakes" of the nature of adjec 

 or noun. It still retains its verb chan< 

 however, and may have an object, a comple- 

 ment, or an adverbial modifier. In this resj 

 therefore, the participle is like the infinitive 

 (which see); so that with the infinitive 

 frequently classed as a verbal. 



Take for illustration the transitive verb 

 draw. In the active voice, drawing, the pr> 

 participle, expresses action in progress; drawn, 

 the past participle, expresses finished action ; 

 hai'ing drawn, the perfect participle, makes use 

 of an auxiliary verb to express the idea of 

 action which has just been completed. In the 

 passive voice, being drawn is the present. 

 drawn the past, having been drawn the perfect 

 participle. 



Uses of the Participle. As an Adjccti' v 

 towering statue known as Liberty Enlightening 

 tin \Yorhl Mands at the entrance to 

 York harbor." In thi> there an* two 



words ending in ing, the distinguishing mark 

 of the present participle; but towering, though 

 participial in form, is not so in use and 

 none of the verbal powers of the participle. Be- 

 ing used only to describe, it is a pure adjective. 

 belonging to the class sometimes called "fos- 

 sil participles." Enlightening, on the other 

 hand, is a true participle; it not only modifies 

 the noun lihtrti/. thus making it an adjective 

 ly u-e. hut takes world as a direct object, 

 thus averting it- \.rl>al nature. Known is a 

 past participle, used adjoctively to modify 

 .sVfi/j/r. and is itself modified by an adverbial 

 phrase. 



As a Noun. The present participle, or a 

 participial phrase formed from it. may serve M 

 a noun in four different, ways: as the Mil 

 ct or complement of a \ !!. T a> the ! 

 of a preposition. In tin* old proverb. "Doing 

 not hum is doing ill." the first doing is a ; 

 tinple used as a noun, and with its ol>. 

 serves as the subject of the sent' 

 rcond ditiii'i i- ill- 

 taking as its object the noun HI. In the sen- 



