Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/158

 100 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. the use of the orders were rarely extensive or complicated, being generally very regular; yet certain departures were made from the general rules, either for the purposes of effect or from necessity, as when columns were placed nearer together at the angles of Doric temples (No. i6 a), and as in the central intercolumniation at the Propylaea, Athens (No. 26), which was wider than the others, probably for the passage of chariots. Greek temples might be described as Egyptian turned inside out, the courtyard, porticos, and columned halls being replaced by a small cella, usually colonnaded on every face. The relations and proportions of these columns constitute the charm of Greek exteriors. Circular planning was also adopted, as in the Tholos at Epidauros (No. 18 k), the theatres (Nos. 17 and 34 a), and choragic monuments (No. 28 j), and octagonal planning, as in the Tower of the Winds at Athens (No. 28 k, l). B. "Walls. — The construction of walls was solid and exact. No mortar was used, the joints being extremely fine, and the finished surface of the walls was obtained by a final rubbing down of the surface by slaves. The use of marble was account- able for the fine smooth face and exact jointing displayed. Hollow wall construction in the entablature was practised at the Parthenon, to lessen the weight upon the architraves, and perhaps for economy of material (No. 16). In temples the cella walls were mostly masked behind columns (No. 18). The base of a temple was always well marked and defined by steps, giving a real and apparent solidity to the structure (Nos. 16 A and 24). The top of the walls was always finished by a cornice, the use of intermediate cornices being almost unknown. No towers were used in Greek architecture except in the case of fortified walls, the lofty mausoleum at Halicarnassos (No. 35) and the Lion Tomb at Cnidus (No. 36), both in Asia Minor, and of pyramidal shape, being the nearest approach to tower form (page 94). _ c. Openings. — Greek architecture was essentially a trabeated style, all openings being spanned by a lintel, and being therefore square-headed. The trabeated construction necessitated great severity in treatment ; the supports were of necessity close together, because stone lintels could not be obtained beyond a certain length. The sides of openings sometimes incline inwards, as in the doorway to the Erechtheion (No. 37 d). Relief to the facades of temples was obtained by the shadow of the openings between the columns (No. 22). D. Roofs. — These coincided with the outline of the pediment. In temples they were sometimes carried by internal columns or by the walls of the cella, and were framed in timber and covered with marble slabs (Nos. 16 d, 20 h). Internal ceilings were