The Erechtheum, a temple which occupies part of the Acropolis, is in the Ionic style. It may be regarded as the best existing example of this light and graceful order. The ErechPerhaps the most interesting feature is the porch theum of the Caryatides, with a marble roof supported by six pillars carved in the semblance of maidens.1 This curious but striking device has been often copied by modern architects. The other temple on the Acropolis is the world-famed edifice known as the Parthenon, The Parthenon illustrates the extreme simplicity of a Greek temple. It had no great size or height and included only two chambers. The rear room stored sacred vessels and furniture used in worship, state treasure, and the more valuable offerings intrusted to the goddess for safekeeping. The second and larger room contained a colossal gold and ivory statue of Athena, the work of Phidias. It faced the eastern entrance so that it might be bathed in the rays of the rising sun. Apart from the large doors a certain amount of light reached the interior through the semi-transparent marble tiles of the roof. The Doric columns surrounding the building are marvels of fine workmanship. The Parthenon, because of its perfection of construction and admirable proportions, is justly regarded as a masterpiece of architecture. PLAN OF THE PARTHENON The larger room (cella) measured exactly one hundred feet in length. The Parthenon was also remarkable for its sculptures executed under the superintendence of Phidias. The subjects of the pediment sculptures are taken from the mythic history of Athena. The frieze of the Parthenon consists of a series of sculptured slabs, Sculptures of the Parthe non over five hundred feet in length. The subject was the proces 1 See the plate facing page 281. See the plate facing page 280. 3 See the plate facing page 281. sion of the Great Panathenæa,' the principal festival in honor of Athena. At this time the sacred robe of the goddess, woven anew for each occasion, was brought to adorn her statue. The procession is thought of as starting from the western front, where Athenian youths dash forward on their spirited steeds. Then comes a brilliant array of maidens, matrons, soldiers, and luteplayers. Near the center of the eastern front they meet a group of divinities, who are represented as spectators of the imposing scene. This part of the frieze is still in excellent condition. The glory of Athens It was, indeed, a splendid group of buildings that rose on the Acropolis height. If to-day they have lost much of their glory, we can still understand how they were the precious possession of the Athenians and the wonder of all the ancient world. "O shining, violet-crowned city of song, great Athens, bulwark of Hellas, walls divine!" The words are those of an old Greek poet, but they are reëchoed by all who have come under the magic spell of the literature and art of the Athenian city. Rome 101. Artistic Rome The monuments of Rome, unlike those of Athens, cannot lay claim to great antiquity. The destruction wrought by the Gauls in 390 B.C. and the great fire under Nero in Destruction of ancient 64 A.D. removed nearly all traces of the regal and republican city. Many buildings erected in the imperial age have also disappeared, because in medieval and modern times the inhabitants of Rome used the ancient edifices as quarries. The existing monuments give only a faint idea of the former magnificence of the capital city. Hills of The city of Rome lies on the Tiber. Where the river approaches Rome it makes two sharp turns, first to the west and then to the east. On the western, or Etruscan, bank stood the two hills called Vatican and Janiculum. They were higher than the famous seven which rose on the eastern side, where the ancient city was built. Two of 1 See page 264. 2 Pindar, Fragments, 76. these seven hills possess particular interest. The earliest settlement, as we have seen,' probably occupied the Palatine. It became in later days the favorite site for the town houses of Roman nobles. In the imperial age the splendid palaces of the Cæsars were located here. The Capitoline, steepest of the seven hills, was divided into two peaks. On one of these rose the most famous of all Roman temples, dedicated to Jupiter and his companion deities, Juno and Minerva. The other peak was occupied by a large temple of Juno Moneta ("the Adviser"), which served as the mint. The altars, shrines, and statues which once covered this height were so numerous that the Capitoline, like the Athenian Acropolis, became a museum of art. Walls and open spaces Rome in early times was surrounded by a wall which bore the name of its legendary builder, Servius Tullius. The present fortifications were not constructed until the reign of the emperor Aurelian. The ancient city was closely built up, with only two great open spaces, in addition to the Forum. These were the Circus Maximus, in the hollow between the Palatine Mount and the Aventine, and the Campus Martius, stretching along the Tiber to the northwest of the Capitoline Hill. Public Following the map of ancient Rome under the empire we may note the more important monuments which still exist in something like their original condition. Across buildings the Tiber and beyond the Campus Martius stands the mausoleum of Hadrian. The most notable structure in the Campus Martius is the Pantheon. It is the one ancient building in the entire Roman world which still survives, inside and out, in a fair state of preservation. The depression between the Cælian and Esquiline hills contains the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum. It was begun by Vespasian and probably completed by Titus. No less than eighty entrances admitted the forty-five thousand spectators who could be accommodated in this huge structure. Despite the 1 See page 140. 2 See the illustration, page 220. 4 See the illustration, page 202. See the illustration, page 286. |