Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/167

 Bk. I. Ch. V. GREEK AND ROMAN PERIOD. 135 her arts, and to follow in the groove she had so long marked out for herself, and followed wdth such strange pertinacity. Some of the temples of this age are, as far as dimensions and rich- ness of decorations are concerned, quite worthy of the great age, t])Ough their plans and arrangements differ to a considerable extent. There is no longer any hesitation as to whether they should be called temples or palaces, for they all are exclusively devoted to worship, — and to the worship of a heavenly God, not of a deified king. What tliese arransrements are will be well understood from the annexed plan of that of Edfou (Woodcut No. 35), which, though not oooo oooooooooooooooooo ■'c 37. Bas-relief at Tell el Ainariia. the largest, is the most complete of those remaining. It is 450 ft. in length and 155 in wddth, and covers upwards of 70,000 ft. ; its dimen- sions may be said to be equal to those of the largest of our medi- agval cathedrals (Cologne or Amiens, for instance). Part only of the whole structure (that which is shaded in the plan) is roofed, and therefore it can scarcely be compared with buildings entirely under one roof. In front of the tem])le are two large and splendid pylons, with the gateway in the centre, making up a fa9ade 225 ft. in extent. Although this example has lost its crowning cornice, its sculptures and orna- ments are still very perfect, and it may altogether be considered as a fair specimen of its class, although inferior in dimensions to many of those of the Pharaonic age. Within these is a court, 140 ft. by 161, sun-ounded by a colonnade on three sides, and rising by easy stejas, the whole width of the court, to the porch or portico which, in Ptole- maic temples, takes the place of the great hypostyle halls of the Pharaohs. It is lighted from the front over low screens placed be- tween each of the pillars, a jjeculiarity scarcely ever found in temples of earlier date, though apparently common in domestic edifices, or those formed of wood, certainly as early as the middle of the 18th dynasty, as may be seen from the annexed woodcut (No. 37), taken