Temple

Many exceptional types of Roman temples are found. Thus the temple of Vespasian at Brescia (A.D. 72) had three chambers in the cella with the six-columned portico in front of the central one projecting far beyond the small porticos of the side chambers. That of Concord, at Rome (7 B.C. to A.D. io) had the main en trance to the cella in the middle of one of the long sides, with a superb portico in front of it. Remarkable also is the great development of round temples, either of comparatively small size, like the temple of the Sybil at Tivoli (usually attributed to the beginning of the 1st century B.c.) ; the so-called temple of Hercules at Rome ; or the so-called temple of Venus at Baalbek, in which the cella is surrounded with a portico of Corinthian columns, whose entablature is scalloped or star-shaped in plan. The most magnificent of the round temples is the Pantheon (q.v.) at Rome (A.D. 110-125), whose vast domed hall, over 140 ft. in diameter, is one of the most impressive interiors in the world.

Classic Temples: Technical Definitions.

In architectural descriptions of the classic temple a number of technical words have become common. Many of these owe their origin to the work of Vitruvius, author of a complete Roman treatise on architec ture of the time of Augustus. The most common of these terms descriptive of the general arrangement and of the position of columns may be shortly defined as follows : Those affecting general distribution of parts.

Prostyle—with a porch or portico in front.

Amphiprostyle—with a porch or portico both at front and rear.

Peripteral—with a colonnade completely surrounding the cella, either rectangular in plan, as in the typical Greek temple, or circular, as in the temple of the Sybil at Tivoli.

Pseudoperipteral—with a porch or portico only in front, but with the exterior walls of the cella decorated by engaged columns or pilasters, as in the Maison Carree at Nimes.

Terms describing detailed arrangement or position of temple columns.

In antis—columns placed between the pilaster-like deco rations at the ends of the side walls of a naos or cella when these walls are projected forward beyond the front of the building to form a porch between them. Dipteral—with a double colonnade along the sides. Pseudodipteral—with the columns of the side colonnade separated from the cella walls by a space wide enough to allow a double colonnade but without an inner row of columns.

Distyle, tetrastyle, pentastyle, hexastyle, octostyle, deca style, etc.—with two, four, five, six, eight or ten col umns in front. Such words composed of "style," with a Greek numerical prefix, may be multiplied indefinitely, to describe buildings or porticos with any number of columns.

Indian Temples.

Indian temples show clearly the develop ment from sacred cave to free-standing structure. The earliest existing monumental temples are all rock-cut and developed with caves. The earlier temples, such as those at Behar, and at Karli, near Bombay, show a great cave interior, divided by piers or col umns into nave and aisles, with a small stupa, or solid masonry curve-topped structure enclosing a relic of Buddha, and a facade cut in the face of the rock, with doorway below and huge horse shoe-shaped window above, all in imitation of wooden construc tion. A second common type of rock-cut temple consists of those

in which, in addition to the shrine proper, there are great court yards surrounded by cells for monks. These are known as viharas. The most remarkable groups of cave temples are those at Ajanta and Ellora. In both there are temples of Buddhism and also Brah manism, and the types of detail known as Dravidian and Jain are both found. The dates vary from the 2nd century B.C. to the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. The Dravidian and Jain constructed temples both show a power and heaviness of general mass with an amazing intricacy of carved detail that is more typical of rock-cut than free-standing structures, and the characteristic pyramidal towers, with their strongly marked horizontal mouldings and vertical projections have almost the character of artificial mountains and cliffs. The role played by figure sculpture in its lavishness, its multitude of figures and their bold relief, is un like that played in any other structural style, and without doubt owes much, also, to rock-cut prototypes. The plan type shows usually a vast rectangular enclosure entered through several monumental gateways, crowned with enormous, solid towers. Within are smaller enclosures and subsidiary buildings, and some times an additional closed court, also with monumental gates Near the centre is the shrine proper, containing the cult statue, sometimes approached by vast, colonnaded halls, and every ex posed surface of the great towers and the interior columns and walls is covered with a rich network of sculpture and ornament.

East Indies.

Indian influence is marked in the temple ruins found in scattered places through Cambodia, Burma, Java and nearby islands. All of the great temples are elaborations of the stupa idea, and consist in essence of one or more stupas on raised terraces. Thus in the Shwe Dagon pagoda at Rangoon there are a multitude of small stupas crowned with high, spire-like finials, surrounding a central stupa which rises to a height of over 35o ft., and the whole surface is heavily gilded. At Boro Budur, Java, the great. Buddhist temple (? 7th or 8th century A.D.) consists of a series of terraces around a hill 150 ft. high, at the top of which is a large stupa surrounded by 16 smaller ones. All of the stone lining of the terrace walls is covered with exquisite relief sculpture, not only illustrating the life of Buddha, but also containing many pictures of ordinary, every day events. The most remarkable of these eastern Buddhist temples is Angkor-Wat at Angkor in Cambodia (attributed to the 1st half of the I2th century, and apparently originally intended as a Brahmin temple, being converted to Buddhist uses later). This consists of three great symmetrical terraces with elaborate stairs, corner towers, porticos and colonnaded halls, with a great stupa like tower as the climax in the centre. The sculpture and orna ment, although typically Khmer, show distinct traces of Hindu influence. The extremely classic character of some of the pier and column capitals is noteworthy.