COLUMN (Latin, derived from cobtmen, a post, or supporter) in a general sense, a vertical support of a body, or portion of a building.
The use of columns is of very early date, as we hear of their application hot h in the Temple of Solomon, and in the Palace of Ulysses ; they do not seem to have been employed in the primeval erections of Babylon, whore their place was supplied by piers. but are to be fount in universal application in the ancient structures of 141.47 pt, India, and Persia. The colat1111 is so 1111Na:int a feature in the construction of buildings, that its value must have been early km mai, and wh m known, must soon have homed a subject for onnunen tation ; its origin is to be tbund doubtless in the simple pier, and a very good !specimen of its progress in improvement of and in application of ornament. is to be seen at Amada, in Nubia, where. amongst other columns or piers in the of a simple parallelopip•d, with base and capital of'a similar form, but projecting a little beyond the sort:tee of the shaft. those at the corners of the building are both cylindrical and fluted, leaving, however, a square aba.•ns or capital, and square base, similar to the others. The former is undoubtedly the primitive shape; the latter, previously of the same form, whether for convenience or otherwise, has been rounded off at the corners and somewhat ornamented. Such improve ments both in form and decoration. gradually progress, until we arrive at the well-proportioned and tastefully enriched columns of the classic orders, or the still more beautiful pillars of the Gothic styles.
The columns of Egypt exhibit a great variety, both in fiwin ^and decoration: the capital in the shape of a vase or inverted bell, is usually decorated with foliage, frequently with the leaves of the lotus, but is of less elegant forum than similar capitals of Greece and Rome; the shaft is generally circular, but sometimes square or polygonal, and varies in diameter at different heights, the thickness, in some cases, diminishing both towards the capital and base ; this last member, the base, is frequently absent in Egyptian exam ples, and when present is of the simplest kind, consisting of a square slab or plinth. The columns were of stone,
not unfrequently of a single block, and, at other times, of gigantic masses placed one upon the other. "There is a peculiarity, however," says Mr. Hamilton, " in the columns of the portico of Ashmonnein not found, we believe, elsewhere in Egypt. Instead of being formed of large masses placed one above another, they consist of irregular pieces fitted together with such nicety, that it is difficult to detect the lines of junction ; and this illusion is aided also by the form of the columns. The bottom is like the lowest leaves of the lotus, after which we see a number of concentric rings, bind ing the column just like the hoops of a cask ; and again above them the column is worked in such a way by vertical cuttings, to present the appearance of a bundle of rods held together by hoops; the whole has the appearance of a barrel ; the columns are about 40 feet high, including the capitals. Their greatest circumference is about 281 feet, at the height of 5 feet from the ground, for the column diminishes in thickness both towards the base and capital. These columns were painted yellow, red, and blue. Similar pillars are found in the temple of Gournon." Reeded columns, which bear the appearance of a bundle of reeds bound together at intervals and set on end, are not uncommon, and arc often surmounted with a bulging capi tal, which is of similar formation to the shaft, with a cincture at its lowest part, and square flat abacus on the top, bearing the entablature; the swell or bulging would appear to be caused by the pressure of the entablature. Square columns are to be found in the excavations at Thebes, and triangular ones are spoken of by Pococke; at Ypsambool are square columns or piers with caryatid figures in front of them.