Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/69

 Greek Architecture. 39 of the most massive specimens of architecture now existing. The second period (b.c. 470 — 338) is included between the Persian war and the Macedonian supremacy. In the Temple of iEgina, erected to the honour of Athena (Minerva), we can see the commencement of the transition from the severe archaic style to the graceful ornate archi- tecture of the later Greek temples. Its sculptures are of Parian marble, and are executed with the greatest care and delicacy, even the wrinkles of the nude figures being rendered. The Temple of Theseus, at Athens, is one of the noblest works of the school of Attica, in which we see the stern Doric style of the earlier times softened and rendered pleasing and harmonious. Its proportions are more slender, its ornamentation more delicate, and its whole quality more refined (Fig. 21). It is of more costly materials than that of iEgina, being built of white marble. It was when Pericles held the reins of government in Athens that the finest monuments were erected. In his age the dignity of the archaic style was combined with the science and grace of the mature epoch, and there was as yet no hint of approaching decadence. The Parthenon, or Temple of Athena, erected on the Acropolis (the highest point of the city), had been destroyed, with many other fine buildings, by the Persians under Xerxes. When Athens once more rose to the first position amongst the states of Greece, Pericles rebuilt the Parthenon (about 440 B.C.). He retained the original site of the old temple, but the form of the new building was different. It was of the peripteral style, and was of considerable dimensions for temples of that time : 227 feet long by 101 broad. The restoration occupied six years, and the buildings