TEMPLE. 



very mucU adorned ; particularly with coflly llatues of 

 their gods and great men, and a great variety of votive 

 offerings. 



The mod celebrated of tiie ancient temples among the 

 Pagans were the following : viz. the temple of liclus (fee 

 Belus and Bahylon ) ; tlie temple of Vulcan at Memphiti, 

 the magnificence and extent of which ai-e highly extolled by 

 Herodotus ; the temple of Jupiter at Thebes or Diofpohs ; 

 that of Andera at Hermunthis ; that of Proteus at Mem- 

 phis ; that of Minerva at Sais ; the temple of Diana at 

 Ephefus (fee Diana); the temple of Apollo in tlie city 

 of Miletus, which, as well as that of Diana, was of the 

 Ionic order ; the temple of Eleufis, built in honour of Ceres 

 and Proferpine, capable of containing 30,000 perfons ; the 

 temple of Jupiter Olympins at Athens, of the Corinthian 

 order ; and the temple of Apollo at Delphi, fo famous for its 

 oracles, and for the rich prefents with which it vvat; enriched 

 (fee DELrm); the temple of Jupiter, which contained his 

 admirable llatue. The ai'chiteft of the temple was Libo, 

 a native of the country : its height from the area to the roof 

 was 68 feet, its breadth 95, and its length 230. The throne 

 and ftatue of the god, for we cannot enumerate other 



a crown. There alfo appeared Apollo and Diana, Minrrva 

 and Hercules. At the bottom of the pedeHal, you might 

 have feen Aniphltritc and Neptune, and Diana or the moon, 

 who appeared mounted on horfeback. In fine, a woollen 

 veil, ot a purple dye, .ind magnificently embroidered, the 

 prefent of king Antiochus, hung from top to bottom. 

 The tlirone and Itatue reached from the pavement, which 

 was of the finell marble, to the roof. 



Italy abounded with temples as much as Greece ; fcveral of 

 v.hich were remarkable for their fmgularity or magnificence. 

 Rome was full of temples : fome of the moll remarkable for 

 their origin, materials, llrutture, or ufe, were the following : 

 ■viz. the temple of Apollo, built by Aiiguilus, in honour 

 of his favourite deity Apollo, after his vidtory at Aftium, 

 upon mount Palatine. Its llrudtnre was very magnificent ; 

 it was built of the finefl marble of Claros, and embelli(hed| 

 both within and without, with the richeft ornaments. Its 

 gates were of ivory, enriched with baffo-relievos, reprefent- 

 ing the Gauls, when they were thrown headlong from the 

 top of the Capitol by T. Manlius. In the frontifpiece was 

 a chariot of the fun, of malTy gold, crowned with rays fo 

 ■fplcadent that they dazzled the eyes of beholders. Within 



fplendid ornaments, were the mafter-piece of Phidias ; and the temple was a marble ftatue of Apollo, made by Scopas, 



antiquity produced nothing fo magnificent nor fo finifhed. and alfo a eololfal one of brafs, 50 feet high ; together with 



The llatue, of an immenfe lieight, was of gold and ivory, fo a candleftick in the form of a tree, whofe branches were 



artificially blended, that it could not be beheld but with covered with chillers of lamps refembling fruit. Upon 



aftonidiment. The god wore upon his head a crown, which thefe branches the poets ufed to hang their poems, which 



refembled the olive-leaf to perfection : in his right hand he they offered up to Apollo, as Horace informs us, ep.' 3. 1. i. 



held a viftory, likewife of gold and ivory ; and in his left a To this temple, dedicated to the " god of arts'" was very 



fceptre of exquifite tafte, refulgent with all forts of metals, properly annexed a noble hbrary The temple of Bacchus, 



and fupporting an eagle. The Ihoes and mantle of the god fituated wit.tout the walls of Rome, is now the church of 



were of gold ; and upon the mantle were all forts of animals St. Conllantia, fupported on the infide by twenty-four noble 



and flowers engraved. The throne was all fparkling with pillars of granite. Its ancient mofaic ceiling, and the old 



gold and precious (lones. The ivory and ebony, the animals window by which light was let in from the roof, ftill remain, 



there reprefented, and feveral other ornaments, by their af- Behind tlje prefent ahar Hands an antique urn of por- 



femblage, formed a delightful variety. At the four corners phyry, of large dimenfions ; and on each fide of the altar, a 



of the throne were as many Vitlories, that feemed to be finely wrought antique candleftick of marble Here was 



joining hands for a dance, befides two others that were at the temple of the goddefs Bona, who was Dryas, the wife 



Jupiter's feet. The feet of the throne, on the fore-fide, of Faunus, diftinguifhed by her exemplary chattity. The 



were adorned with fphinxes, who were plucking the tender Roman ladies facrificed to her in the night in a little 



infants from the bofom of the Theban mothers ; and under- chapel, into which the men were not allowed to enter nor 



neath were to be feen Apollo and Diana, wounding Niobe's were they permitted to be prefent at her £acrifices. It was 



children to death with their arrows. Four crofs bars that for the violation of this rule, that Cicero profecuted the de 



were at the feet of the throne, and went from one end to the bauched Clodius. (See his article.) The temple of Diana 



other, were adorned with a great rumber of figures ex- was feated on mount Aventine. It was built in the reign of 



tremely beautiful : upon one were reprefented feven con- Servius TuUius, at the joint expence of the Romans and 



querors at the Olympic games ; upon another appeared Latins, for the purpofe of their meeting annually to offer a 



Hercules, ready to engage with the Amazons, and the num- facrifice, in commemoration of the league made between the 



ber of combatants on either fide was twenty-nine. Befides two nations. — The firft temple of Faith is faid to have been 



the feet of the throne, there were hkewife pillars to fupport erefted by Numa, who taught the Romans to worfhip this 



it. In fine, a great balluftrade, painted and adorned with goddefs, and thus to be reminded, that the moft facred oath 



figures, railed in the whole work. Pansenus, an able painter they could take was to fwear by their fuil/j or veraci/y. 



of that time, had reprefented there, with inimitable art, His intention was to render their promifcs, without writings 



Atlas bearing the heavens upon his ftioulders, and Hercides ■ - —■'■--""-• -- ■" ' • • -■ 

 in an attitude ftooping to eafe him of the load : Thefeus and 

 Pirithous, the combat of Hercules with the lion of Nemea, 

 Ajax offering violence to Caffandra, Hippodamia with her 

 mother, Prometheus in chains, and a thoufand other fubjefts 

 of fabulous hiftory. In the moft elevated place of the 

 throne, above the head of the god, were the Graces and 

 Hours, of each three in number. The pedeftal which fup- 

 ported this pile, was equally adorned with the reft. There 

 Phidias had engraved upon gold, on the one fide, the Sun 

 guiding his chariot ; on the other, Jupiter and Juno, the 

 Graces, Mercury, and Veila. There Venus appeared rifing 



out of the bofom of the fea, and Cupid receiving her ; while had no pofticum, or back-door, as other temples had ; thus 



Pitho, or the goddefs of perfuafion, was prefenting her with intimating, that we muft not only pafs through virtue to attain 



to 



or witneffes, as firm and certain as contracts made and fworii 

 to with the greateft formalities ; and in this he fucceeded to 

 his wifli. Polybius bears this honourable teftimony to the 

 Romans, that they inviolably kept their faiti, that is, their 

 word, without having occafion for witneffes or fecurities ; 



whereas nothing could bind the Greeks to their promifes 



The temple of Honour was built by Mutius, by order of 

 Marius, and might be reckoned among the nobleft buildings 

 in ancient Rome, if the materials, which were ftonc, had 

 correfponded to the greatnefs of the dcfign. It was re- 

 markable for this circumftance, that the entrance of it was 

 dedicated to Virtue, and the reft to Honour ; and that it 



