SOS 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



LOCTOBEB, 



■hase. and six steps, from w}iic)i the dome rises. The two 

 i are modern, and were erected hy Pope Urban VIII., pa 



or surli 



towers are modern, and were erected hy Pope Urban VIII., part 

 of the second cornice being- cut away to receive them. The por 

 t CO of the Pantheon is justly considered one of the most beautiful 

 remains of anticjuity. It is of the Corinthian order, octostyle, sys- 

 tvle, and dipteral. The sixteen columns supporting the pediment 

 are Hi ft. 5 in. in height, and 5 ft. lower diameter; the shafts are 

 jilain, the exterior range of grey granite, the interior of red Egyp- 

 tian granite in one block; the bases and cai>itals are of white 

 marble; tlie entablature (also of white marble) is nearly one- 

 fourth the height of the column. Opposite the interior range of 

 columns are fluted pilasters of white marble, between whioh are 

 bas-reliefs ; the spaces between the pilasters on the flanks are also 

 deconwted with bas-reliefs. On each side of the doorway are 

 niches, the one formerly occupied by the statue of Augustus, the 

 otlier by that of Agrippa. Critics have objected to the depth of 

 the tympanum, but it must be remembered that the Roman roofs 

 were more elevated than those of the Greeks, on account of the 

 difl'erence of climate; and the effect of the high pediment would 

 be much relieved by the sculpture with which it was formerly orna- 

 mented. The doorway is 39 ft. in height, ami 19 ft. in width, with 

 imposts and cornice of white marble; the doors are perforated at 

 the top to admit of light and air." The mass of brickwork of 

 whicli the wall is composed, is lightened by seven exhedrae or 

 cliapels, which surround the interior, and also by small vaulted 

 chambers above; the weight over each opening is discharged by 

 arches seen on the e.xterior. The chapels have each two Corin- 

 thian columns in antis, of giallo antico, or pavonazetto marble ; 

 the architrave and cornice are of white marble, the frieze of por- 

 phyry; it is said, that before the restorations of Septimus Severus, 

 the interior columns had capitals of Syracusan bronze; the inte- 

 rior order is lighter in character than the exterior, and the shafts 

 of the columns are fluted. Between the chapels are tabernacles, 

 eacli with two isolated columns backed by pilasters. The large 

 recess opposite the entrance was formerly occupied by a statue of 

 Jupiter, but is supposed to have been altered from its original form 

 for the reception of the high altar. Above the lower order is an 

 attic with a continuous pedestal or surbase; it is now decorated 

 with small pilasters and panels of different coloured marbles let 

 into the wall, the pilasters having capitals of white marble in low 

 relief; these are, however, comparatively modern, as anciently the 

 entablature was supported by thirty-four caryatides or telamones. 

 In the dome are deep cassoons, twenty-eight in the circumference 

 and five ranges in height; in the centre of each was a rose of gilt 

 bronze; the plain part of the dome was silvered. The whole of 

 this splendid editice receives light from a circular aperture, 28 ft. 

 diameter, called the eye of the vault; in the attic are fourteen 

 windows, but these do not communicate with the exterior, but 

 are intended to give additional light to the chapels from the 

 centre opening. The pavement is tesselated with granite, por- 

 phyry, jasper, and marbles; it inclines towards the centre to pre- 

 vent' the rain falling through the roof from deluging the floor. 

 The aperture was occasionally covered by a velarium. Such is the 

 Pantlieon. " Spared and blest by time, simjile, erect, severe, 

 austere, sublime," as Byron describes it, we may imagine its im- 

 posing effect in its days of pristine splendour. 



The circular temples of Vesta at Tivoli and Rome, are peripteral, 

 the former surrounded by a peristyle of eighteen fluted Corinthian 

 columns, 9.7 diameters in height; the latter, by twenty c(dumns, 

 nearly 11 diameters in height. In these small circular peripteral 

 temjiles the interior diameter of the cella was the same with the 

 height of the column; they were lighted by windows, and were 

 supjKised to have had vaulted roofs terminating in flowers or 

 antefixiE. From its picturesque situation on ihe edge of the cliff, 

 the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli has been an unfailing subject for 

 the landscape painter, tVom the time of Claude to the present day. 

 \'itruvius nienti(Mis another kind of round temple, with a domical 

 roof supported by columns without a cella, called monopteral: of 

 these vve have no examples. 



Bi'fore leaving the subject of the sacred buildings of the Romans, 

 the ruins of Biialbec and Palmyra claim our attention, both belong- 

 ing to the latter ages of the empire. Baalbec, or ileliopolis, so 

 called from the worship of Baal or the Sun, was one of the shief 

 cities of CVelesyria, whose inhabitants were renowned in early 

 times for their magnificence and luxury. 



It is uncertain to which reign the great temple is to be ascribed; 

 some authors attribute it to Antoninus Pius— otliers to Septimus 

 Severus. John of Autioch says, ".^Elius Antoninus Pius built a 

 great temple to Jupiter at Heiioi)olis, near Libanus, in Phoenicia, 



* See Pruf^iJ-or DonaWso:i's Cx .mplr^s of Ancient tiooways. 



which was one of the wonders of the world. The ruins are so 

 vast, that the Arabs l)elieve the buildings to have been the work of 

 fairies or genii. A grand portico leads into a hexiigonal court, 

 and this into a quadrangular peribolus, at the end of which is the 

 great temple; in the first court are chambers, which are supposed 

 to have been schools, and apartments for the priests. The portico, 

 or propyleum, is flanked by projections or towers, on which modern 

 fortifications have been raised. The great temple is of the Corin- 

 thian order, decastyle, with nineteen columns on the flank. It is 

 900 feet in length, and 450 feet in breadth; the columns are 7 feet 

 lower diameter, G ft. oi in. upper diameter, and 58 feet in height. 

 The whole height of the order is 87 feet. A smaller temple stands 

 near, octostyle and pseudo-dipteral, also of the Corinthan order. 

 The whole of the buildings are of white marble, and as sumptuously 

 enriched as the luxury of art could devise. The ornament on the 

 frieze is the same in both temples, and is most singular; it consists 

 of a row of modillions set on end, connected by ribbons and 

 garlands, with a grotesque head carved under the upper scroll of 

 each modillion. A small temple still exists at Baalbec, in good 

 preservation, which is unique in form. The cella is circular, 32 

 feet diameter, with a peristyle of eight columns, six of which are 

 about 10 feet distant from the cella; the entablature curves so as 

 to touch the wall, the columns only supporting the projecting 

 angle formed by the meeting of two curves. The same elliptical 

 curve is repeated in the stylobate; the frieze is rounded, and the 

 wall of the cella ornamented on the exterior with niches. 



Palmvra, rising like an island from the sandy desert, received 

 its name from its multitude of palm trees. It is supposed to be 

 the same as the Tadmor of King Solomon. This city long pre- 

 served its independence, on account of its situation in the desert, 

 and as a frontier town between Parthia and the Roman empire, 

 and carried on the principal trade between Rome, India, and Arabia. 

 Palmyra is best known to us as associated with the names of 

 Zenobia and Longiuus. This once wealthy and important city, 

 the abode of princely merchants, has now dwindled to a'few miser- 

 able mud cottages, erected within the court of its once magnificent 

 temple. The date of the foundation of the great temple is 

 unknown; but from inscriptions it appears to have been repaired 

 by the Emperors Hadrian, Aurelian, and Justinian. It is octostyle 

 and pseudo-dipteral, and stands in the midst of a spacious peribolus, 

 74.0 feet long by 720 feet broad. The peribolus is surrounded on 

 three sides by a double peristyle; on the west is the noble 

 pi-opyleum and the priests' apartments: the exterior wall is deco- 

 rated with Corinthian pilasters. In the great portico or propyleum 

 are the niches, with coupled columns and semicircular pediments 

 before mentioned. The ornaments, particularly of the doorways 

 and soffits, are elaborately beautiful. The whole of the ruins of 

 Palmyra are of the Corinthian order, with the exception of four 

 engaged Ionic columns in the great temple, and two in one of the 

 tombs. 



The architecture of Palmyra is precisely similar in st5-le to that 

 of Baalbec; both exhibit the florid taste of the east rather than the 

 simplicity of classical art; but whatever defects may be percepti- 

 ble, it is impossible not to admire the grandeur of the conception, 

 the boldness of the execution, and the great skill displayed in con- 

 struction. Before entering upon the civil architecture of the 

 Romans, I shall briefly notice their tombs and mode of sepulture. 

 It was the universal custom (with the excejition of a few of their 

 greatest men) to bury without the walls; monuments are therefore 

 found extending on both sides of the roads, beyond the gates of 

 the cities; thov are of various forms, generally richly ornamented, 

 frequently with bas-reliefs, painted in colours. The tomb of 

 Csecilia MotiHa at Rome is a circular building, so massive that it 

 at one time served as a fortification. The Castle of St Angelo 

 was formerly the Mausoleum of Hadrian, built by that emperor as 

 a depositnrv for his own remains and those of his successors, 

 several of whom repose there. It is a circular structure raised 

 upon a sciii.tre basement. It was originally cased with marble, 

 and surrouiulod by a peristyle; but the columns, as well as the 

 statues witli which its summit was adorned, have long since disap- 

 peared. 



The kind of sepulchre peculiar to the Romans, from their custom 

 of burning their patrician dead, was the Columbarium, so called 

 from its resemblance to a dove-cote. This was a square chamber 

 with rows of arched recesses for the reception of cinerary urns or 

 chests. In a niche opposite the entrance, a statue or bust of the 

 founder of the family was frequently placed. The columbaria 

 only rccei\ed light from the funeral lamps or torches, borne by 

 the" mourners. Slaves, and those of the lowest rank, were buried 

 in cemeteries at the public expense. 



