Plate 39. The Vestibule at Eleusis

The different parts of the order represented on this plate were found under the ruins of the Vestibule, or so-called Lesser Propylæ in Eleusis, and presumably belonged to the enclosure in front of this Vestibule (see Plate 58). The structure originated in the middle of the first century B. C., at least it was entirely rebuilt by the Roman, Appius Claudius Pulcher, about this time on the site of an older building.

The capitals on one side were left rough, probably because the columns stood in a detached relation against the enclosure wall; also the architrave was left unfinished on the inner side. The entablature, Fig. 1, no longer belongs to the earlier Athenean art, but to the Ionic style (see the two following plates). At Fig. 7 is an enlarged section of the cornice with the hollowed out gutter. The capital, with its large volute face, is not so much different from the form of those of the Temple of Ilissus, and the Erectheum. In the entablature we see a greater departure.

At Figs. 3, 1, and 4 are shown, respectively, the plan, front, and end, or bolster views of the capital. At Fig. 5 is shown half of the front of the capital at a larger scale. At the right is the section through the front, and in the volute, shown by dotted line, is the vertical profile of the bolster. The base, Fig. 2, is of good form and stands without plinth on the stylobate. Neither the height nor the spacing of the columns was ascertained. The material was white marble.

The winding of the volute is indicated at Figs. 5 and 6. The center of the eye is established as shown at Fig. 1. Through the center of the eye of the volute draw two diagonals at 45° with the horizontal and vertical axes. Each half of these diagonals is then divided into five equal parts. The four center points for the first winding of the spiral are three parts from the center; for the second winding, two parts from the center; and for the third winding, one part from the center. The 1st center point lies each time above and inside (of the axis of the eye) the 2d outside, the 3d thereunder, etc. The quarter turn must each time end at a straight line passing through its center and the center of the winding next following, hence the slanting radii e and i between the 4th and 5th and the 8th and 9th quarter windings. Now, if the main volute line is carried to the periphery of the eye, the inner quarter winding from the 12th center will be described with a radius of 6 parts. To establish the width of the fillet and channel of the volute, draw a triangle o n p, Fig. 6, wherein o p=the winding width of the volute at a, Fig. 5; in this triangle draw the lines for all widths, b, c, d to in. Then the width of the fillet at the beginning =1[…] parts at o, the width at the finish, between 1 and m being taken from Fig. 5, where on the original the inner line of the fillet runs against the periphery of the eye; or the width of the fillet at k is half the whole winding width. Then the inner line of the fillet can be drawn on Fig. 6, and by means of the intersections of the lines b,c,d,etc., the different widths of the fillet can be found; the lines inside the fillet are to be drawn concentric with the border lines. The center points of the quarter windings of the inside spiral line lie proportional between the center points of the outer spiral. Thus the center point for the inner quarter winding between a and b lies proportional between the original centers 1 and 5. At a larger scale these points can be established by construction, but at a small scale by trial.

The depth of the channels can also be found from Fig. 6. The depth of 2[…] parts at the beginning is laid off on a, and also the depth of one part, after two windings, is laid off on i, the two connected by the dotted line, the intersection of which with the verticals a, b, c, etc., gives the depth of the channel at any point.