placed the palace. The palaces were faced externally and internally with stone. In the interior, above a sculptured dado of alabaster about 8 feet high, which seems to have been sometimes treated with colour, the walls were faced with hard-baked bricks of some size, painted and glazed in the fire, and forming a continuous frieze. Conjectural restorations have been made by various authorities (No. II B). The great entrance portals to the palace were flanked by great human-headed bulls, 19 feet in height (No. 11 F, G, H). Examples of these are now preserved in the British Museum. These man-bulls have a mystical meaning; they were reproductions of the supposed creatures that guarded the sun-gates of the East and West, to which they were dedicated. From the bas-reliefs we are able to say that the chambers, which were narrow in proportion to their length (No. 11 E), were lighted by windows, probably high up in the walls. The roof was probably constructed on solid wooden beams, though others have supposed barrel vaults to have been in use. The Palace of Gudæa (B.c. 2800), explored by one of the French expeditions, is typical. Its plan is simple, the entrance being by a broad gateway leading into a central quadrangle, the gateway being flanked by curious guard-rooms, penetrating far into the wall, and evidently intended as shelters from the hot weather. Round this quadrangle were grouped the principal buildings, on one side offices and store-rooms, on the other the royal apartments, divided into two portions, the public rooms, and the women's quarters. This plan is typical in all oriental palaces up to the present day. THE THIRD OR PERSIAN PERIOD commences with Cyrus, B.C. 538, and ends with Alexander, B.C. 333. Remains: At Susa, Persepolis, and Passagardæ, consisting of palaces, tombs, and temples. The Persians were a hardy race from the mountainous district north of the Persian Gulf. Having under Cyrus conquered the Assyrians, B.C. 538, and having no architecture of their own, they proceeded to copy and adopt that of the conquered Assyrians, as the Romans in after times assimilated that of the Greeks. In the neighbourhood of Susa and Persepolis, the new cities which they built, good stone was, however, to be found, and, as a consequence, many details, which are wanting in the earlier periods, have come down to us. For instance, in Assyria the walls remain, but the columns, being of wood, have disappeared. In Persia the columns and doorways, which were of marble, remain, but the walls are in many cases destroyed, being of thinner construction, with naked brick exposed. At Persepolis the customary platform, already mentioned as a part of the palaces, is cut out of the solid rock, and not built up of bricks, as in the earlier Assyrian examples. This platform is approached by a staircase of black marble, each step rising about four inches. The principal remains of this vast palace are: The Propylæa and palace by Xerxes (B.c. 480). The columns of the Great Hall, 67 feet high, by Xerxes, and other portions (No. 12 c, G). The rock-cut Tomb of Darius is an imperishable copy of the façade of this palace (see Texier's great work), in which are found the "double-bull" capitals supporting the cornice cut out of the solid rock. The evidence of these columns goes to show that they were copied from wooden forms of the earlier Assyrian capitals, the wooden beam supporting the roof resting on the back of the bulls. The smaller columns have voluted capitals, fluted shafts, and moulded bases (No. 12) (see Tombs, p. 63). At Susa was the palace of Xerxes and Artaxerxes (B.c. 480405). Splendid decorations in coloured brick were lately excavated there, and are now in the Louvre at Paris. Jewish Architecture.-The Hebrews apparently borrowed their architectural forms from Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman sources. Remains are unimportant, consisting of tombs in the valleys near Jerusalem. The only great attempt at a monumental structure was the Temple at Jerusalem. The first temple was built by Solomon (B.C. 1012), and the biblical description (1 Kings vi., vii., 2 Chronicles iii., iv.) is interesting, portraying entrance pylons, courts, cedar woodwork, metal work, and the isolated brazen columns Jachin and Boaz. The Temple was afterwards added to by Herod (B.c. 18). The site is now occupied by the Mosque of Omar. 4. COMPARATIVE. A. Plan. It should be noticed that the temples of the early period and the palaces of the later period are all raised on a terrace some 30 feet to 50 feet in height (No. 11 G), and that the buildings on this terrace are grouped round a quadrangle. Whereas the sides of the Egyptian temples face the cardinal points of the compass, the angles of the Assyrian temples face these points (No. II c). The Egyptian temples were designed for internal effect, while the Assyrian palaces were designed so as to be effective internally and externally, being raised on the platforms mentioned above. B. Walls. The Assyrians in the early period used only stone as a facing to their brick walls, contrasting with the solid marble work of the Greeks, and with the constructive use of stone and granite by the Egyptians. Most of what we know of the life of the Assyrians is obtained from the facing slabs of alabaster with which they clothed their brick walls. Many of these are in the British Museum (No. 12). c. Openings.-The lighting to the temples is conjectural, but it appears to have been effected by means of a "clerestory (No. II B), somewhat similar to that in use in the Egyptian temples. The use of the arch, both circular and pointed, was practised by the Assyrians, as is proved by the discoveries of Sir Henry Layard at Nimroud, and at Khorsabad (No. II F, G, H), in the city gateways, discovered by M. Place. We find semi-circular arches springing from the backs of winged bulls with human heads, which kept watch in pairs at each of the portals. D. Roofs. The roofing appears to have been effected by means of timber beams thrown from one column to the next, and resting on the backs of the "double-bull" capitals (No. 11 B). Some restorers show the halls of the palaces as vaulted with brick tunnel vaults. E. Columns. It is assumed by Mr. Fergusson that the columns were primarily of wood, stone columns being introduced in the later period, by the Persians, in the buildings at Persepolis, which they erected after their return from Egypt. These columns had characteristic "double-bull" capitals (No. 12 c), and the Ionic scroll is noticeable in some examples. The columns therefore did not need to be so massive as in Egyptian architecture, where stone roofs had to be supported. The stone columns of the later period were probably founded on the timber posts of the earlier period. F. Mouldings. As in the case of Egypt, in West Asia the use of mouldings does not appear to have been advanced to any great extent. In the Assyrian palaces the sculptured slabs and coloured surfaces took their place. At Persepolis the bead and hollow may be noticed in the columns, while the volutes of the capital are treated with plain sinkings. G. Ornament. It is from the decorative treatment of Assyrian architecture that we can trace much of the peculiar and characteristic detail used by the Greeks. On the sculptured slabs (No. 12 B, F, H) already mentioned at Nimroud and Koyunjik (Nineveh), two miles of which have been uncovered, are represented buildings with columns and capitals of Ionic and Corinthian form in embryo. Further, we may say with some certainty that Greece took from Assyria the idea of the sculptured friezes, the coloured decorations, and the honeysuckle (No. 121) and guilloche ornaments. The latter may be seen in a pavement slab from the palace at Koyunjik, now in the British Museum. The Corinthian column, as mentioned, seems probably to have been derived from Egypt and Assyria. From Asia Minor, Greece took the Ionic column- a prototype being also seen at Persepolis-perfecting it with that consummate skill and grace with which she transformed her borrowings. 5. REFERENCE BOOKS. Dieulafoy (M.).-"L'Art Antique de la Perse." 5 vols., folio. Paris, 1884-1889. Flandin (E.) et Coste (P.).—" Voyage en Perse." 6 vols., folio. Paris, 1844-1854. Layard (A. H.)." Monuments of Nineveh." 2 vols., folio. 1853. 66 Perrot and Chipiez. "History of Art in Chaldæa and Assyria, Persia, Phrygia, and Judæa.” 5 vols., 8vo. 1884-1892. Place (Victor).– 1867-1870. 66 Ninive et L'Assyrie." 3 vols., large folio. Paris, Ragozin (Z. A).—"Chaldea." 8vo. 1888. (A most interesting account of the people and their history.) Texier (C.). "L'Arménie, la Perse, et la Mesopotamie." 2 vols., large folio. Paris, 1842-1852. Whyte-Melville.-"Sarchedon " (Historical Novel), 8vo. A visit to the Assyrian galleries and basement of the British Museum will afford much interest and information to the student. Such a visit will impress him with the dignity and importance of the style. GREECE 13. GREEK ARCHITECTURE. "Fair Greece! sad relic of departed worth! Immortal, though no more; though fallen, great!"-BYRON. "And downward thence to latest days Till when new worlds for man to win The wildernesses there begin To blossom with the Grecian rose."-LORD HOUGHTON. 1. INFLUENCES. i. Geographical.-A reference to the map of Greece (No. 13) shows a country surrounded on three sides by the sea, possessed of many natural harbours, and convenient for the development of trade. By means of these havens the Phoenician merchants in early times carried on commerce with the country. The influence of the sea in fostering national activity/should not be forgottenan influence, by the way, which has done much for the English race. Again, the mountainous character of the country, with scarcely a road until Roman times, was calculated to isolate the inhabitants into small groups, and together with the tempting proximity of a whole multitude of islands, was instrumental in producing a hardy and adventurous people, such as we might |