ARCHITECTURE. 



The cymatium of the denticulated band is 

 wrought almost entirely out of the soffit 

 of the corona, or recessed upwards, and 

 consequently its elevation is almost con- 

 cealed. The height of the cornice, from 

 the top of the sima to the lower edge of 

 the dentils, is equal, or very nearly so, to 

 that of the architrave. The altitude of 

 the frize, without its cymatium, or upper 

 mouldings, may be supposed to be about 

 a fourth part of the whole entablature ; 

 for if higher than this, the entablature 

 would be too great a portion of the co- 

 lumns for any analogy we are acquainted 

 with. In point of beautiful proportions 

 and elegant decorations, the entablatures 

 of these two last examples exceed every 

 other remain ; and though their propor- 

 tions are very different from those re-, 

 maining at Athens, yet they are still' 

 pleasing. 



In all the Grecian Ionics there seems 

 to be a constant ratio between the upper 

 part of the cornice, from the lower edge 

 of the corona upwards, and the height of 

 the entablature : this is nearly as two to 

 nine. If these members were regulated 

 in any other manner, their breadths would 

 be so variable, as sometimes to be BO di- 

 minutive that their forms could not be 

 perceived, and at other times so enlarged 

 as to overload the whole, when viewed 

 from a proper station. Indeed the great 

 recess of the mouldings under the coro- 

 na makes this a very distinct division, 

 and on this account we never think the 

 cornice too clumsy, though the whole 

 denticulated band and cymatium of the 

 frize are introduced below the cornice, 

 which seems to be the reason of so great 

 an apparent difference between the Asia- 

 tic and Attic Ionics. This order, as found 

 in the Ionian territory, is complete ; but 

 those at Athens are deficient, from their 

 want of the dental band, though beautiful 

 in many other respects. 



Moderns have added a diameter to the 

 height of the Ionic column, making it 

 nine instead of eight. The shaft is gene- 

 rally striated into twenty -four flutes, and 

 as many fillets. The height of the enta- 

 blature in general may be two diameters ; 

 but where grandeur as well as elegance 

 is required, it should not be less than a 

 fourth. The base employed in the Athe- 

 nian Ionics consists of two tori and a sco- 

 tia or trochilus between them, and two 

 fillets, each separating the scotia from the 

 torus above and below : the fillet above 

 the torus generally projects as far as the 

 extremity of the upper torus, and the low- 

 er fillet beyond the upper torus ; the sco- 



tia is very flat, and its section and elliptic 

 curve joining the fillet on each side : the 

 tori and scotia are nearly of equal heights: 

 in the Ionic temple on the Ilyssus, a bead 

 and fillet are employed above the upper 

 torus, joining the fillet to the scape of the 

 column : the upper torus of the basis of 

 the same temple, and that of the basis of 

 the temple of Erectheus, are both fluted, 

 preserving the lower part, that joins the 

 upper surface of the fillet above the sco- 

 tia, entire. The upper scotia of the tern- 

 pie of Minerva Polias is enriched with a 

 beautiful guilloche. The lower torus of 

 the base of the antae of the temple of 

 Erectheus is receded, and that of the base 

 of the antsc of the temple of Minerva Po- 

 lias is channelled with flutes, separated 

 from each other by two small cylindric 

 mouldings of a quadrantal section, having 

 their convexities joining each other. This 

 form of a base is by Vitruvius very pro- 

 perly called the Attic base, being invent- 

 ed and employed by the Athenians in all 

 their Ionics. It was also adopted by the 

 Romans, and seems to have been their 

 most favourite base ; for it is not only 

 employed in all the examples of this or- 

 der at Rome, but most frequently in the 

 Corinthian and Composite orders also. 

 However, the proportions of the Attic 

 base, as employed by the Romans, are dif- 

 ferent from that employed by the Greeks, 

 the upper torus of the former being al- 

 ways of a less height than the lower one, 

 both tori plain, and the scotia containing- 

 a much deeper cavity. The proportion 

 of the bases of the Ionic and Corinthian 

 orders on the Coliseum, the Ionic on the 

 theatre of Marcellus, and that on the 

 temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome, have 

 nearly that assigned by Vitruvius. The 

 Ionic bases, as employed in the temple of 

 Minerva Polias at Priene, and in that of 

 Apollo Dedymaeus near Miletus, consist 

 of a large torus, three pair of astragals, 

 and two scotise, inverted in respect of 

 each other. The upper pair of astragals 

 is disposed below the torus, and the sco- 

 tize separate each pair of astragals from 

 each other. In the temple of Minerva 

 Polias an astragal is employed above the 

 torus, separating it from the shaft ; the 

 torus itself is formed elliptically, and the 

 under part of it is fluted : it has also a 

 flute cut in the vipper part, near to the 

 bead. In the temple of Apollo Dedymae- 

 us, the upper torus is of a semicircular 

 section and plain, and each bead of every 

 pair is separated by a narrow fillet. The 

 base of the Asiatic Ionics differs little 

 from that which Vitruvius appropriates to 



