DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0180
POMPEII
132
The temple was of mixed construction, part stone and part
wood. The entablature must have been of stone, otherwise the
intercolumniations would not have been so narrow. The space
between the entablature and the cella, however, could only have
been bridged by means of timbers. The stone used was the
gray tufa, but the capitals were of the more durable Sarno lime-
stone. The surface was coated with stucco, which in part at
least was painted in bright colors. The projecting edge of the
eaves trough, also covered with stucco, was painted red, yellow,
and black, and ornamented with waterspouts in the shape of
lions’ heads alternating with rosettes.
The proportions of the columns (lower diameter 6.07 feet,
upper diameter 3.12 feet) with their flaring capitals, and the
Fig. 58.— The Doric temple, restored.
narrow intercolumniations (Fig. 58), point to an early period;
the archaic character of the capitals will be more fully appre-
ciated if they are compared with those of the colonnade of the
Forum Triangulare. In respect to age this temple ranks with
the oldest of those at Selinunto; it must have been built in the
sixth century b.c.
The cella, as our plan shows, was divided into two chambers.
In the inner chamber (3) a large rectangular flag is embedded
in the floor at one side so that a second (indicated on the plan
by dotted lines) must have been near it; the supports of a stone
table in front of the image of the divinity perhaps rested on
them. On the long pedestal at the right of the cella stood a
deer of terra cotta, above life size, of which some fragments
have been found.
132
The temple was of mixed construction, part stone and part
wood. The entablature must have been of stone, otherwise the
intercolumniations would not have been so narrow. The space
between the entablature and the cella, however, could only have
been bridged by means of timbers. The stone used was the
gray tufa, but the capitals were of the more durable Sarno lime-
stone. The surface was coated with stucco, which in part at
least was painted in bright colors. The projecting edge of the
eaves trough, also covered with stucco, was painted red, yellow,
and black, and ornamented with waterspouts in the shape of
lions’ heads alternating with rosettes.
The proportions of the columns (lower diameter 6.07 feet,
upper diameter 3.12 feet) with their flaring capitals, and the
Fig. 58.— The Doric temple, restored.
narrow intercolumniations (Fig. 58), point to an early period;
the archaic character of the capitals will be more fully appre-
ciated if they are compared with those of the colonnade of the
Forum Triangulare. In respect to age this temple ranks with
the oldest of those at Selinunto; it must have been built in the
sixth century b.c.
The cella, as our plan shows, was divided into two chambers.
In the inner chamber (3) a large rectangular flag is embedded
in the floor at one side so that a second (indicated on the plan
by dotted lines) must have been near it; the supports of a stone
table in front of the image of the divinity perhaps rested on
them. On the long pedestal at the right of the cella stood a
deer of terra cotta, above life size, of which some fragments
have been found.