The thee of the capital measured across the volutes is about a diameter and a half, or 90 minutes, equal to the diameter of the base; the whole width is divided into three parts, of which one is given to each of the volutes. The volutes are composed of spiral Mouldings, which make several revolutions, and gradually approach closer to each other, as they near the centre, or what is termed the eye of the volute, where they cease.
In the capitals of the Athenian examples of the Ionic, and in that of Minerva Polias at Priene, the lower edge of the canal between the volutes is funned into a graceful curve, bending downward in the middle somewhat like a festoon, and revolving round the spirals which form the volute upon each side. In the temple of Erechtheus, and of Minerva Polias at Athens, each volute has two channels, firmed by two spiral borders, and a spiral division between them. The border which forms the exterior of the volute, and that which forms the under side of the lower canal, leaves a deep recess between them, which continually diminishes in its breadth till it is entirely lost when it comes in contact with the side of the eye.
In the temple of Bacchus at Teos, the great theatre at Laodicea, and in all the Roman examples of the Ionic, the channel connecting the two volutes is not formed with a border on the lower edge, but is terminated with a horizontal line, which falls a tangent to the curve of the spiral at the commencement of the second revolution of each volute. See SPIRAL and VOLUTE.
In the example of the temple of Erechtheus, the column is terminated with a fillet and astragal a little below the edges of the volutes, and in that of Minerva Polias in the same manner, with a single fillet ; and the colorino or neck of each is charged with a beautiful succession of woodbines, disposed. The tipper annular moulding of the coltunn is of a setnicirenlar section, and embellished with a rich gni l Iodic. The vehinus, astragal, and fillet, are common to both Grecian and Roman Ionic capitals, and the echinus is uniformly cut into eggs, surrounded with angular-sectioned borders, and with tongues between every two borders. The astragal is formed into a row of heads, with two small ones between every two large ones. These mouldings are cut in a similar manner in all the Roman buildings, except the Coliseum, and what relates to the taste of the foliage.
The necking of the capital is, however, frequently omitted; and the mouldings immediately under the band that connects the volutes, are thus disposed : first, a carved convex mould ing, to which succeeds the enriched echinus or ovolo, and below that a bead or some other small mouldings. The abacus is square in plan, and its profile is that of a cyma reversa or ogee-tnouhling, either enriched or plain, according to the richness of the capital.
When columns are introduced in the flanks of a building as well as in the front, one of the capita's of each angular column is made to face both the eontigth 'us sides of the build ing, with two volutes, one upon each side projecting the two adjacent volutes by bending them in a concave curve towards the angle ; as in the temple of Bacchus at Teos, of Minerva Polias at Priene, of Erechtheus, and that on the llissus at Athens, as also that of Fortuna Virilis at Rome. The capitals of all the columns are sometimes made to time the four sides of the abacus alike on each side, as in the temple of Concord at Rome, from which example the Scamozzian capital was formed.
A curious and probably very ancient specimen of the angular disposition of the volutes, occurs at the temple of Apollo at Basste, in which the capital presents four similar faces, and so far agrees with the more modern Seamozzian capital, from which, however, it widely difl'ers in other respects. Each face of this capital is arched vertically as
well as horizontally, as it curves downwards on each side from the middle of its upper edge, as well as outwardly to form the angular volutes.
This example offers other remarkable points of difference, more especially in the construction of the base, which is of very simple form, and consists of an annular moulding above a very large one of a concave profile, which spreads out beneath to considerably more than two upper diameters of the shaft.
The base employed in the Athenian Ionics consists of two tori, and a scotia or trochilus between them, and two fillets, each separating the scotia from the torus above and below : the fillet above the torus generally projects as far as the extremity of the upper torus, and the lower fillet beyond the upper torus ; the scotia is very flat, and its section an elliptic curve, joining the fillet on each side : the tori and scotia are nearly of equal heights; in the Ionic temple on the Ilissus a bead and fillet were employed above the upper torus, joining the fillet to the scape of the column; the upper torus of the basis of the same temple, and that of the basis of the temple of Erechtheus, are both fluted, preserving the lower part, that joins the upper surface of the fillet above the scotia, entire. The upper scotia of the temple of Minerva Polias is enriched with a beautiful guilloehe. The lower torus of the base of the antic of the temple of Erechtheus is reeded, and that of the base'uf the antte of the temple of Minerva Polias fluted, and separated from each other by two small cylindric mouldings of a quadrantal section, having their convexities joining each other. This form of a base is, by Vitruvius, very properly called the Attic base, being invented and employed by the Athenians in all their Ionics. It was also adopted by the Romans, and seems to have been their most favourite base : for it is not only employed in all the examples of this order at Rome, but most frequently in the Corinthian and Composite orders also. However, the proportions of the Attic base as employed by the Romans, are different from that employed by the Greeks, the upper torus of the former being always of a less height than the lower one, both tori plain, and the scotia containing a much deeper cavity. The proportion of the bases of the ionic and Corinthian orders on the Coliseum, the Ionic on the theatre of Abircellus, and that on the temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome, have nearly that assigned by Vitro vi us. The Ionic bases, as employed in the temple of Minerva Polias at Priene, and in that of Apollo Didy mzeus, near Miletus, consist of a large torus, three pair of astragals, and two scotim, inverted in respect of each other. The upper pair of astragals is disposed below the torus, and the scotir separate each pair of astragals. In the temple of Minerva Polias, an astragal is employed above the torus. separating it from the shaft ; the torus itself is formed elliptically, and the under part of it is fluted : it has also a flute cot in the upper part, near to the bead. In the temple of Apollo Ditlytmens, the upper torus is of a semicircular section and plan, and each bead of every pair is separated' by a narrow fillet. The base of the Asiatic examples differs little from that which Vitruvius appropriates to this order. in the former, the scutite are inverted, which gives a greater variety in the profile than when both stand in the same position as in the Vitruvian base.