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THE CniL ENGIXEKR AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



339 



of rustic work; the piers between the arcades are decorated with 

 pilaster;;. The anipliitlieatre at Nismes has two stories of the 

 Doric order. Tiiat at Pola differs from the others in being 

 situated on the slope of a hill, so that nearly one-half of the 

 ellipse is on a more elevated plane than the rest; the basement 

 and first story on that side are supjiressed, and most of the seats 

 are supported by the natural slope of the mountain. This build- 

 ing consists of three stories above the basement, which is of rustic 

 work, strengthened by buttresses and surmounted by a cornice; in 

 this part are several scpiare doorways. Tlie first story has Doric 

 pilasters, without bases, but resting on pedestals, and with a rustic 

 entablature; the second story is similar, but the piers are slighter, 

 and the pillars rest on a continuous stylobate, or siirbase; the 

 third story is an attic, peiforated by square windows, one over 

 each arcade. The curve of the aniphitlieatre is interrupted by 

 four projections, each of tlie width of two arcades, containing 

 staircases. 



Besides the amphitheatres, the Romans had Naumachia, in 

 which the centra] area was filled with water for naval combats; 

 and Circi for horse and chariot races. The Naumachia of the 

 Emperor Augustus was ISOU feet long by 1200 feet broad. The 

 Circus was of the same form as the Hippodrome of the Greeks; 

 but the seats, instead of being laid out on the natural elevation of 

 the ground, were raised on arclies like those of the amphitheatres. 

 There were several circi in Rome; the principal was that known 

 as the Circus JNlaximus, founded by Tar(|uinius Priscus. It was 

 much enlarged and improved by difterent emperors, and offered 

 accommodation for no less than •tS5,00o spectators. The two 

 Egyptian obelisks now seen in Rome, formerly stood upon the 

 S])ina of this circus. 



'I'lie Theatres of the Romans so closely resembled those of 

 the Greeks, that a detailed description is unnecessary; the 

 greatest differences were, that all the jierformances took place 

 on the stage, the orchestra being the place where the senators, 

 and other persons of distinction sat; and that they were built on 

 level ground, the exterior jiresenting several stories of arcades, 

 like the buildings already described. The first permanent theatre 

 in Rome was erected by Pompey the Great. The Theatre of Mar- 

 cellus was built by Augustus, in memory of the son of his sister 

 Octavia; this was of two orders, Doric and Ionic, and was suf- 

 ficiently large to contain 30,000 spectators. At one time there 

 were as many as three thousand singers, and three thousand female 

 dancers, engaged in the theatres of Rome; and during a severe 

 famine, when all strangers, including artists and professors, were 

 banished from Rome, these alone were exempted — so necessary 

 had the amusement they afforded become to the luxurious and 

 pleasure-loving Romans. 



The great Thermae, or public baths, also strikingly displayed 

 the prodigality and magnificence of this people; indeed, some of 

 the descriptions of these places more resemble the inventions of 

 romance* than sober matter of fact. The vast halls were sup- 

 ported by elaborately wrought columns of foreign marbles, and 

 decorated with the finest works of the sculptor ; the walls en- 

 riched with fresco painting and gilding, and the pavements com- 

 posed of l>eautiful mosaic work; candelabra of bronze or gold, 

 of exquisite workmanship, shed from their lamps a softened light 

 through crystal globes; and the rarest perfumes floated on the air. 

 Besides bathing-rooms, these buildings contained libraries, gymna- 

 sitB, exhedrse for conversation, and, in short, everything was 

 assembled under one roof that could contribute to the health ot 

 the body or the recreation of the mind. In the time of the Com- 

 monwealth, the public baths were extremely simple, consisting of 

 a few obscure chambers, with small openings in tlie wall instead of 

 windows, the belief prevailing that darkness helped to retain the 

 heat. It is said that the refined descendants of an Etruscan 

 King — Maecenas — first introduced the thermee in their improved 

 state into Rome; in aftertimes there were no less than eight hun- 

 di-ed public baths in the imjierial city alone. The therm* con- 

 tained seven principal descriptions of rooms for the convenience of 

 the bathers — the Apodyterium, a sort of dressing-room, furnished 

 with tables and shelves where the bather might deposit his clothes, 

 which apartment was also called the Spoliatorium ; secondly, the 

 Unctuarium, a smallchamber where oils and perfumes for anointing 

 the body were kept; thirdly, the Splueristerium, where exercise was 

 taken to open the pores of the skin before entering the bath, and 

 where a kind of game was played something resembling tennis; 

 then followed the Frigidarium, or cold-bath, which room was gene- 

 rally exposed to the north, and contained various vessels for wash- 

 ing; next, the Tepidarium, placed between the cold and hot bath; 

 and beyond, the Caldarium, which was the most frequented, and 



was situated immediately above the hypocaustum or furnace. The 

 bath was constructed of brick or masonry, lined with cement, 

 and having a margin of stone; the bottom inclined so that the 

 greatest depth was in the centre; it had a flight of steps leading 

 down into it, and was surrounded on three sides by a balustrade, 

 to divide the bathers from those who were waiting their turn; the 

 windows were placed high, so as to prevent the apartment from 

 being overlookeed from without; some of the halls were without 

 windows; ami were lighted by candelabra both by night and day. 

 The last room contained the Piscina, or swimming-bath, which 

 was, in some of the thermse, of such an extent as to be a complete 

 lake of warm water; this constantly flowed in through a brazen 

 pipe, the convolutions of which passed through the furnace. The 

 piscina was sometimes elevated, so that the prospect might be 

 enjoyed wliile swimming about; it was then called Balinea pensile. 

 Another kind of bath was generally contained within the build- 

 ing, for the use of invalids; this was the Laconicum (so called 

 from its having been used in Laconia), or Concamerata sudatio; it 

 was close to the furnace, and was a small chamber with a domical 

 roof, in the aperture of which was a brazen shield, which was 

 raised or lowered to regulate the temperature; round the chamber 

 were niches called Sudationes, where the bathers placed them- 

 selves: this kind of dry bath was much used by aged people. 

 There is much uncertainty as to the mode of heating the quantity 

 of water required in these great therniie; but the water appears to 

 have flowed from the castella, or reservoir supplied by the aque- 

 duct, into vaulted brick chambers, over the furnace. As the water 

 was drawn off in a boiling state from the last chamber, it was 

 replenished from the next, only a few degrees less heated, so that 

 the heat was never checked by the admission of cold water. The 

 wealthy had private bathing apartments in the great therma?, 

 where the baths were made of copper or porphyry; many such 

 have been found. 



The most celebrated thermse in Rome were those of Titus, Cara- 

 calla, and Dioclesian. The Baths of Titus are supposed to occupy 

 the site of the more ancient building of Mtecenas; here were dis- 

 covered those beautiful frescoes from which Raifaelle himself did 

 not disdain to copy. In order to preserve these paintings from 

 being injured by the splashing of the water, the walls for ten feet 

 of their height are incrusted with coloured marbles. TJie Baths of 

 Caracalla contained fifty halls and sixteen thousand marble seats; 

 four grand staircases led to the upper story, where the apart- 

 ments for exercise and conversation vvere situated: 288,000 cubic 

 feet, or 1,800,000 gallons of hot water were distributed through 

 these baths every hour. In one of tlie great halls of the Baths of 

 Dioclesian is the only existing example of the use of the Corin- 

 thian and Composite orders in the same apartment: there are four 

 Corinthian columns at the angles of the hall, and fimr Composite 

 supporting the vault in tlie centre; the shafts are of granite, the 

 capitals and bases of white marble. From the ruins of the dif- 

 ferent therms have been dug some of the most valuable works of 

 art; amongst the rest the Laocoon and the Farnese Hercules. 



Triumplial Arclies are undoubtedly of Roman origin, no records 

 existing of any such structures before the time of the Common- 

 wealth. It was an old custom in Rome, to honour the victorious 

 generals with a Triumph on their return from foreign conquests: 

 on these occasions temporary arches of wood, decorated witli fes- 

 toons of laurel and flowers, and trophies of war, were erected over 

 the Via Sacra, the road they passed along on their way to the 

 Capitol. On the arch were stationed musicians, and a figure of 

 Victory so contrived as to drop a wreath on the head of the con- 

 (pieror as he passed beneath: this is the origin of the figures of 

 Victory holding out a wreath, sculptured on the spandrils of the 

 arches. Those who had been honoured with a triumpli, were natu- 

 rally anxious to perpetuate the memory of such an event; and to 

 this end caused the temporary wooden arch to be replaced by one 

 of stone. 



The triumphal arches erected during the Commonwealth were 

 (judging by the representations on ancient coins) simple and 

 unadorned, save by a commemorative inscription; but under the 

 Empire, they, like every other kind of building, were elaborated 

 to the utmost that wealth and a sumptuous taste could devise: 

 and as the decorations and inscriptions recorded the events that 

 led to their erection, they are not only admirable for their beauty, 

 but valuable as histories carved in stone. The earliest in date 

 now remaining is the Arch of Titus, erected by the Emperor 

 Domitian to record the victories of Titus over the Jews. This 

 structure consists of one archway, with an attic supported by four 

 engaged Composite columns on each front. The columns at the 

 angles are returned on the flank, where they have a greater pro- 



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