Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/667

 POMPEII. buildina; in Pomppii; it is of an oblonr; form, 220 feet in lengtli by 80 in breadtli, and abutted endwise on the Forum, from which it was entered by a ves- tibule with five doorways. The roof was supported by a peristyle of 28 Ionic columns of large size, but bnilt of brick, coated with stucco. There is a raised tribunal at the further end, but no apse, which is usually found in buildings of this class. Numerous inscriptions were found scratched on the walls of this edifice, one of which is interesting, as it gives the date of the consulship of JM. Lepidus and Q. Catulus(B. c. 78), and thus proves the building to have been erected before that time. Between this edifice and the temple is a street of greater width than usual, which extends from the Forum in a westerly direction, and probably communicated with the port. The Temple of Venus, on the N. side of this street, was an extensive building consisting of a peripteral POMPEII. C.51 temple with a .small cdln, elevated on a podium or basement, surrounded by a much more extensivij portico, and the whole again enclosed by a wall, forming the periholus or sacred enclosure. All parts of the building are profusely decorated with painting. The temple itself is Corinthian, but the columns of the portico seem to have been originally Doric, though afterwards clumsily transformed into Corinthian, or rather an awkward imitation of Corinthian. This is only one among many in- stances found at Pompeii of very defective archi- tecture, as well as of the frequent changes which the buildings of the city had undergone, and which were still in progress wlien the city itself was destroyed. The buildings at the NV. corner of the Forum are devoid of architectural character, and seem to Lave served as the public granai-ies and prisons. ■^ -- ■'^ '- .1.0.. T^--.^ ■ 'v /(/...jf^ -^ TEMPLK OF VENUS. (The Forum and Temple of Jupiter in the background.) The open area of the Forum was paved, like that «f Rome, with broad slabs of a kind of marble, thus showing that it was never designed for the traffic of any kind of vehicles. It is moreover probable that the whole space, including the porticoes which surrounded it, could be closed at night, or whenever it was re- quired, by iron gates at the several entrances. It was adorned with numerous statues, the pedestals of which still remain : they are all of white marble, but the statues themselves have uniformly disap- peared. It is probable either that they had not been re-erected during the process of restoration which the Forum was undergoing, or that they had been searched for and carried off by excavations soon after the destruction of the city. The remaining public buildings of the city may be more briefly described. Besides the temples which surrounded the Forum, the remains of four others have been discovered ; three of which are situated in the immediate vicinity of the theatres, a quarter which appears to have had more of architectural ornament than any other part of the city, except the Forum. Of these the most interesting is one which stood a little to the SW. of the great theatre, near the wall of the city, and which is evidently much more ancient than any of the other temples at I'cjmpcii : it is of the Doric order and of pure Greek style, but of very ancient character, much resembling that of Neptune at Paestum and the oldest temples at Selinus. Unfortunately only the b:isoment and a few capitals and other architectural fragments remain. It is commonly called the Temple of Hercules, but it is obvious that such a name is purely conjectural. It stood in an open area of considerable extent, and of a triangular form, surrounded on two sides by porticoes: but this area, which is commonly called a Forum, has been evidently constructed at a much later period, and with no reference to the temple, which is placed very awkwardly in relation to it. Another temple in the same quarter of the town, immediately adjoining the great theatre, is interest- ing because we learn with certainty from an inscrip- tion that it was consecrated to Isis, and had been rebuilt by N. Popidius Celsinus " from the founda- tions " after its overthrow in the great earthquake nf A. D. 63. It is of a good style of architecture, but built chiefly of brick covered with stucco (only tho capitals and shafts of the colunms being of a .soft stone), and is of small size. Like most of the tem- ples at Pompeii, it consists of a cella, raised on an elevated podium, and surrounded externally by a more extensive portico. Adjoining this temple was another, the smallest yet found at Pompeii, and in no way remarkable. It lias been variously called the temple of Aesculapius, and that of Jupiter and Juno. The only temple which remains to be noticed is one situated about 60 yards N. of the Forum at the angle formed by the lung main street leading to the gate of Nola, with a short broad street which led from it direct to the Forum. This was tho Temple of Fortune, as we learn from an inscription