DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4642#0057
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About a hundred and fifty yards S.E. of the Great Temple stands a detached Temple, which must have
been one of the most beautiful of those fine buildings in its early day. The entablature and cornice are
supported by six columns on projecting bases, like the radii of a circle, forming a grand stylobate,
with two columns on each side of the door. A broad flight of steps led to the entrance. The stylobate
curves inwards between every two columns, thus forming a graceful corridor. It seems to have been
crowned with a cupola, and to have been about twenty-three feet high from the ground. The study
of ornament in all these fabrics is remarkable; wherever a wreath, a bust, or a statue, could be
introduced, it has been placed there. In every interval between the columns, niches have been
formed, evidently for statues, for the pedestals remain. The contrast of this Temple, in its diminutive
size and delicate beauty, with the colossal piles in its neighbourhood, must have been peculiar and
striking.1
The interior consisted of two stories, the upper surrounded with Corinthian pillars, the lower with
Ionic; and in the time of Maundrell, it appears to have been used as a Church. An exact architectural
description of the fabric is given in the folio of Wood and Dawkins, Plates XLII. &c.2 Dismantled as
it is, the eye is instantly captivated by its style. But, a few years will probaby level it to the ground.
The wild inhabitants have but little value for ruins, beyond their iron and limestone. Earthquakes are
continually shaking the soil, and the only hope of saving the last honours of Syria is by rescuing and
reviving them in England.
1 G. Robinson's Travels, ii. 100. " Wood and Dawkins—Baalbec, p. 27, Plates xlii. &c.
* #0
/
Wduu.M.di)yr:r.:t,ci».:-ii=;^"V---' '-\ '. 44
sm
2LA3E T.
3F3L
3BAA3L1I
About a hundred and fifty yards S.E. of the Great Temple stands a detached Temple, which must have
been one of the most beautiful of those fine buildings in its early day. The entablature and cornice are
supported by six columns on projecting bases, like the radii of a circle, forming a grand stylobate,
with two columns on each side of the door. A broad flight of steps led to the entrance. The stylobate
curves inwards between every two columns, thus forming a graceful corridor. It seems to have been
crowned with a cupola, and to have been about twenty-three feet high from the ground. The study
of ornament in all these fabrics is remarkable; wherever a wreath, a bust, or a statue, could be
introduced, it has been placed there. In every interval between the columns, niches have been
formed, evidently for statues, for the pedestals remain. The contrast of this Temple, in its diminutive
size and delicate beauty, with the colossal piles in its neighbourhood, must have been peculiar and
striking.1
The interior consisted of two stories, the upper surrounded with Corinthian pillars, the lower with
Ionic; and in the time of Maundrell, it appears to have been used as a Church. An exact architectural
description of the fabric is given in the folio of Wood and Dawkins, Plates XLII. &c.2 Dismantled as
it is, the eye is instantly captivated by its style. But, a few years will probaby level it to the ground.
The wild inhabitants have but little value for ruins, beyond their iron and limestone. Earthquakes are
continually shaking the soil, and the only hope of saving the last honours of Syria is by rescuing and
reviving them in England.
1 G. Robinson's Travels, ii. 100. " Wood and Dawkins—Baalbec, p. 27, Plates xlii. &c.