employed generally by the Romans, not only in Rome but
throughout Greece, Asia Minor and Syria, developed an order
which, though
wanting in the
refinement and
subtlety found in
Greek work, is one
of the most monumental
kind, and
has in its adoption
by the Italian revivalists
had more
influence than any
other in the raising
of palatial structures.
Even in
Rome itself the
portico of the Pantheon,
erected by
Agrippa (27 B.C.),
and the temple of
Castor (rebuilt by
Domitian A.D. 86)
in the Forum, are
remarkable instances
of early
work, which hold
their own with
some of the later
examples even of
Greek art.
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| Fig. 8 | Fig. 9.—Roman Corinthian Order; Pantheon. |
The development of the Roman Corinthian order will be best understood by a description in detail similar to that given of the great Doric and Ionic orders. Taking the Pantheon portico as the earlier example, the base consists of an upper and lower torus separated by a double astragal with scotia and fillet above and below, and resting on a square plinth. The shaft, a monolith, is unfluted, tapering upwards, 934 diameters in height, with apophyge and fillet at the bottom, and an apophyge, fillet and astragal at the top. The capital consisted of a square abacus with concave sides carried on a circular inverted bell, two rows of acanthus leaves, rising three-fifths of the bell, being carved round it (fig. 10), the stems of the upper range of eight leaves lying in the axis of each face and of the diagonals, and those of the lower range between them; the stems of the caulicolae from which spring the spirals, which rise to support the angles of the abacus, and to the centre of the capital, carrying the central flower, start from between the upper range of leaves. The abacus has concave sides, canted angles. moulded, with a quarter round, fillet and cavetto. The architrave, like that of the Greek Ionic order, has three fasciae, but they are further elaborated by a small cyma-reversa under the upper fascia and a bead under the second fascia. The architrave is crowned with a moulding, consisting of a fillet with cyma-reversa and bead underneath. The frieze is plain, its only decoration being the well-known inscription of Agrippa.
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| Fig. 10.—The Roman Corinthian Order; Pantheon. |
The bedmould consists of a bead, cyma-reversa and fillet, under a plain dentil course, in which the dentils are not carved; bead-and-reel and egg-and-dart above these carried a plain face on which is found the new feature introduced by the Romans, viz. the modillion. This, though carved out of one solid block with the whole bedmould, suggested an appropriate support to the projecting cornice. The modillion was a bracket, a horizontal version of the ancones which supported the cornice of the Greek doorway cornice, and was here crowned by a small cyma-reversa carved with leaves which profiled round the modillion and along the upper part of the plain face. The cornice is simple, consisting of a corona, fillet and cymatium, the latter omitted across the front of the temple, but carried up over the cornice of the pediment. All the columns are equidistant with an intercolumniation of 212 diameters. The order of the interior of the rotunda built by Hadrian (A.D. 121) is similar to that of the portico, the lower moulding of the bedmould and the bead being carved, and the tongue or anchor taking the place of the dart between the eggs.
The order of the temple of Castor (fig. 11) was enriched to a far greater extent, and parts were carved with ornament, which in Greek examples was probably only painted. The base was similar, but the columns (10 diameters high) had twenty-four flutes, with fillets between. The capital was further enriched with foliage, which rising from the caulicolae was carried along the cavetto of the abacus, whose upper moulding was carved with the egg-and-dart. The middle fascia of the architrave was carved with a version of the Greek anthemion, the cyma-reversa under the upper fascia being carved with leaves and bead-and-reel under. The lower moulding of the bedmould was carved with the egg-and-tongue; the dentil course was carved with finely proportioned dentils, the cyma-reversa and mouldings above being similar to those of the Pantheon portico. In the latter, on the soffit of the corona, square panels are sunk with a flower in the centre. In the temple of Castor the panel is square, but there is a border in front and back, which shows that the cornice had a greater projection. The corona was carved with fluting, departing from the simplicity of the Pantheon example, but evidently more to the taste of the Romans, as it is found in many subsequent examples. The intercolumniation is only two and one-third of the diameter. Though not quite equal to Greek foliage, that of the capitals of the temple of Castor is of great beauty, and there is one other feature in the capital
