Plate 42. Greek Ionic Capitals

From the Temple of Apollo Didymæus at Miletus:

The old Temple of Apollo Didymæus, on the forehill Poseidon, which, after that of Apollo at Delphi, had the most noted oracle in Greece, was destroyed by Xerses 479 B. C. The time of the rebuilding of the Temple is not exactly given. Old writers refer to the same as most extraordinary; Strabo calls it the largest of all, and because of its large size, was without a roof. Pausanias describes it as unfinished and as one of the wonders of Ionia. Vitruvius includes it among the four principal Temples that elevated the architects to the pinnacle of fame. The colossal and beautiful ruins of the new Temple erected after the destruction by the Persians, confirm these statements. It was Dipteral Hypæthral with 10 and 21 columns, 164 feet 5 inches wide, and 303[…] feet long. The columns were 6 feet 3.2 inches in diameter, 63 feet 1.6 inches high, and 17 feet 4.8 inches on centers. Two columns still standing support a piece of architrave; a third column is not completely fluted; all other parts of this highly praised monument are a mass of ruins. We are indebted to the efforts of the British Dilettanti Society for the exact measurements of the discovered remains. The column capital is shown at the top of Plate 42, in front and end views, section and plan. The front connection of the volute faces is without the elastic drop, and in addition to this is also partly hidden by the strongly projecting echinus. The volute lines are drawn after the method of Vitruvius. The base of a corner column, which was four inches thicker than the intermediate ones, is given at Fig. 11, Plate 40. The height of a corner column is therefore 19[…] modules, while the proportions of the others are somewhat more slender. The wide expanse of the 10-columned pediment front was probably established by the architect to make the columns appear comparatively higher, so that the front might not appear cramped. The columns are also closely spaced, being 5[…] modules on centers, but still the architrave appears extremely low, and probably for this reason was given only two fasciæ; it is shown on Plate 43, Fig. 3. Of the cornice no parts were found. The portions of the interior which were discovered will be considered on the following plate.

From the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene:

The center capital shown on Plate 42 is from the above building and is one of those of the middle columns. The Temple is described at Plate 40.

From the Aqueduct of Hadrian at Athens:

The front connection of the volute of this capital and also the abacus are extremely weak. The volute line or spiral gradually projects as it approaches the eye, and the bolsters are highly ornamented. The whole is of small proportions: the columns with Attic bases are only 19 feet 1.95 inches high and 2 feet 2.35 inches thick. The entablature is, as far as the members are concerned, like that of the arch of Theseus or, really, Hadrian (see Plate 62), only with the exception that the fasciæ of the architrave are vertical while at the arch of Hadrian they slant.