Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/127

 GREEK ARCHITECTURE. 6g enclosed by walls about four feet thick, having on the outside, encircling the building, an ambulatory g feet wide on the sides and 1 1 feet in the front and rear. Both the pronaos and opisthodomos (measuring about 60 feet by 12 feet) were planned in a somewhat unusual manner, having six columns about 5^^ feet in diameter and 33 feet high, forming a prostyle portico on an upper stylo- bate of two steps. They were both used as treasure stores, and in order to render them secure, lofty metal grilles extending from the floor to the roof were fixed between the columns, the central intercolumniation having gates for means of access. The internal columns supported an upper row of smaller Doric columns carrying the roof timbers and forming the side aisles in two heights (an arrangement still to be seen in the Temple of Poseidon (Neptune) at Paestum). Near the western end of the cella stood the famous statue of Athena Parthenos, being one of the most marvellous works of Phidias, representing Athena fully armed with spear, helmet, aegis and shield, supporting a winged victory in her right hand (No. 23 k). It was a " chryselephantine " (gold and ivory) statue, about 40 feet in height, including the pedestal, and was constructed on a wooden core. The gold plates of which it was partly composed were detachable and could be removed in case of national dangers. The face, hands, and feet were of ivory, but the drapery, armour, and accessories were of solid gold, and precious stones were inserted for the eyes. The manner of lighting the interiors of Greek temples has already been referred to (page 56), and the theories there set forth apply especially to the Parthenon. The most prominent external features are the fluted marble columns, 34 feet 3 inches high, forming the peristyle and resting on the stylobate. Only thirty- two are still standing ; they are 6 feet 3 inches in diameter at the base and 4 feet 7 inches under the echinus, and support an entablature 1 1 feet high with the usual divisions of architrave, frieze, and cornice, as already described (page 59). The former is three slabs in thickness, and was ornamented on its eastern and western fronts with bronze shields, probably selected from those presented by Alexander the Great in b.c. 334, with dedicatory inscriptions between in bronze letters. The flanks of the building were enriched by the antefixae placed at the bottom of the rows of marble tiles which covered the roof. The pediments or low gables which terminated the roof at each end had at their lower angles an acroterion and a carved lion's head. The apex (59 feet above the stylobate) was also ornamented by a large sculptured acroterion of the anthemion ornament (No. 16 a). The peristyle ceiling was richly ornamented with " lacunaria " and marble beams, some of which at the western end are still in situ. The triangular enclosed portions (tympana) were filled with sculpture of the most perfect type. The eastern pediment represents the birtli of Athena and