DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4266#0044
GRECIAN ORNAMENT. 11
however, who retread the track of this ingenious but sanguine traveller, we have imagined, will find
it hopeless to discover an aquatic plant in Greece, from which to attach a symbolic origin to the Ionic
capital. The ancient altars on the most archaic Grecian vases, executed probably before the introduc-
tion a of that order, resemble the Ionic capital; we are therefore inclined to suppose, particularly as
Altars were anterior to Temples, that the Volutes of this Capital were originally imitative of such Al-
tars, or rather of the horns of rams often anciently affixed, and represented, or indicated, at the angles
of them; for it is known that altars were sometimes constructed even with the sculls and horns of
victims; and we have the venerably ancient authority of Holy Writ for the descriptive and figurative
expression, ' the horns of the altar,' although not allusive to those of animals b. It is to be observed
also that Vitruvius, who was profoundly versed in the multifarious writings of the great Architectsc of
Greece, does not refer to any emblem, but gives a fanciful origin to the Ionic capital from the female
person ; a proof, that before the order had arrived at perfection, the mystic prototype, if any existed,
had been lost sight of. With regard to the idea of the above antiquary, that the spiral line derived
from a vegetable tendril may have been a symbol denoting water, we preferably conclude that such
scrolls, when allusive to water, were imitative of the curling of waves, or more technically speaking,
of the effect of wind on water a: this is evident on coins and other ancient productions of art which
we could adduce ; and the above-mentioned figures with wings associated with botanic ornament, may
solely be personifications of the Genius presiding over Vegetation, Fertility, and Reproduction.
It might be expected, from the frequent repetition of the flowering part of this decoration on
the capitals and walls of the Erechtheum, that some positive explanatory mention must have been
made of it in the celebrated Architectural Inscription c recording a survey of that building j and it
is to be confessed that the word Anthemion f, which however the English commentators on the marble
deduce from Hesychiuss to mean the volute h, is the only term in it that can be appropriately1 applied
to such ornament. This term 'AvOe^ov, derived from the radical word"^00*, c a flower', had not alone
relation to a mere winding line, but according to Theophrastus it was the name of a plant, and it was
also a term applied to artificial floral ornament by Xenophon, who lived at the date of our inscription,
opinion; since on maturor reflection (as above evident by the
extract from his Travels,) he appears to have wavered regarding
the fancied representation of the lotus, by supposing such deco-
rations to have been derived from some unknown aquatic plant of
Greece. Indeed, with a capital of the Erechtheum before us,
We cannot trace in the ornament of it, cither the Lotus plant, or
any remote imitation of its representation in Egyptian Sculpture.
In the painting on an Athenian vase, excavated by the present
rl of Aberdeen, bearing writing from right to left, and which
consequently is of very remote antiquity, was represented an altar
rudely resembling the capitals of the Erechtheum, in having orna-
ments beneath Volutes. It is engraved in the Travels edited by
the Rev. R. Walpoie . Vol. I. p. 323. To the Temple of Juno, at
Samos, supposed to be one of the earliest Ionic edifices, is given the
a e o ui. 00. about 540 b. c, subsequent therefore to the cessa-
tion of the oriental manner of writing at Athens, and posterior to
the vase discovered by Lord Aberdeen '. See note a, page 14.
Exod. c. 38. v. 2. Kings, B. 1. c. 2. v. 28. Psalm 118,
v. 27- °
C Vltr- Llb- 1,c-1: also in the Procemium to Book the Seventh,
he mentions the names of the Grecian architects, Ctesiphon, Me-
tagenes, Phileos, Herrnogenes, Argelius, as having written trea-
tises on the Ionic order, and on several celebrated Ionic temples,
doubtless built from their designs, remains of some of which still
exist, and delight the beholder. V. Ionian Antiquities.
d Flaxman's Lectures on Sculpture PL 42.
" This Inscription is introduced in Vol. II., page 64, Note f,
»i our accompanying new edition of Stuart and Revett's Athens.
A fac-simile of it is engraved, attended by the remarks of Mr.
VVilkms in the Memoirs edited by Walpoie, Vol. I. p. 585.
is less correctly represented in Chandler's Ins.
e tn^ Inscription where cited, line 48 :—
' • /» "'"V Ki0,ul" ^TfxrjTa Ix. tov e»to; avH^ioti Ixitrrou Toil jciojo;
rp»a n^vib*. <0f the IV attached columns, a foot and a half of the
1 This superior nobleman has had the distinguished honour as his Majesty's se-
nate tor F°™gn Affairs, of sisnintr. conjointly with the ministers of
France and Russia,
signing
. a protocol, dated London, March 22, 1829, with the view to
anthemion [[honeysuckle ornament] of each column [[measured]
from the inside is left unfinished.' It is a remarkable fact, that
these four columns appear to have been prepared too short to
correspond with the height of the eastern architrave, for in the con-
struction beneath their capitals, may be observed, as mentioned in
the work of Mr. H. W. Inwood, an additional narrow slab not three
inches in height, which could have been introduced on no other
account. This defect however, did not constitute the deficiency of
the carving noticed in the inscription, for this extra narrow tam-
bour, or rather cylindric section of the two southern semi-columns,
comprised the lower additional spirals of the honeysuckle orna-
ment, and in the other two semi-columns, the echinus moulding
above it. The want of carved work above described appears to
have been at the front of the columns, and at the time of the in-
scription, one of the capitals was not in its place, (I Kio^am
uQirov) 1. 29.; from which it is also to be inferred that the defi-
ciency strictly speaking did not apply to them, for the peculiar
plaited torus formed the bed of all the capitals at this edifice.
8 'AvOe'jUiok,—h ypa/ji.^ Ti; sAucoi^j; rjv h To"i^ xUcri, ' Anthemion
was a certain spiral line in columns.' Hesyc. in v.
h Wilkins's Translation of Insc. in Walpole's Mem. Vol. I.
p. 593, and in his Atheniensia, p. 207- Mr. Rose, while adopt-
ing this architect's translation ' Volute/ in a note, thus expresses
a doubt of its propriety, « De Voluta noli cogitare ; quae enim
inter quaternas Volutas est w ekto;? This scholar, however, ap-
pears not to have borne in mind that these columns were en-
gaged, and consequently that a term, denoting ' interior or inside
part,' applied to the ornament of the summits of them, is suf-
ficiently intelligible. Ins. Graic. Vetust. H. J. Rose, p. 189.
1 See the Corpus Ins. Grace of Boiickh, Vol. I. p. 277, with
whose judgment, supported by that of the Prussian Architect
Hirt, regarding the acceptation of this term in the Inscription,
on reconsideration we more comprehensively concur.
establish by treaty a territory comprising the ancient Hellas, as a part of the
already regenerated Grecian State, which will consequently now include Attica,
without which, Gueece could scarcely be said to have real existence.
however, who retread the track of this ingenious but sanguine traveller, we have imagined, will find
it hopeless to discover an aquatic plant in Greece, from which to attach a symbolic origin to the Ionic
capital. The ancient altars on the most archaic Grecian vases, executed probably before the introduc-
tion a of that order, resemble the Ionic capital; we are therefore inclined to suppose, particularly as
Altars were anterior to Temples, that the Volutes of this Capital were originally imitative of such Al-
tars, or rather of the horns of rams often anciently affixed, and represented, or indicated, at the angles
of them; for it is known that altars were sometimes constructed even with the sculls and horns of
victims; and we have the venerably ancient authority of Holy Writ for the descriptive and figurative
expression, ' the horns of the altar,' although not allusive to those of animals b. It is to be observed
also that Vitruvius, who was profoundly versed in the multifarious writings of the great Architectsc of
Greece, does not refer to any emblem, but gives a fanciful origin to the Ionic capital from the female
person ; a proof, that before the order had arrived at perfection, the mystic prototype, if any existed,
had been lost sight of. With regard to the idea of the above antiquary, that the spiral line derived
from a vegetable tendril may have been a symbol denoting water, we preferably conclude that such
scrolls, when allusive to water, were imitative of the curling of waves, or more technically speaking,
of the effect of wind on water a: this is evident on coins and other ancient productions of art which
we could adduce ; and the above-mentioned figures with wings associated with botanic ornament, may
solely be personifications of the Genius presiding over Vegetation, Fertility, and Reproduction.
It might be expected, from the frequent repetition of the flowering part of this decoration on
the capitals and walls of the Erechtheum, that some positive explanatory mention must have been
made of it in the celebrated Architectural Inscription c recording a survey of that building j and it
is to be confessed that the word Anthemion f, which however the English commentators on the marble
deduce from Hesychiuss to mean the volute h, is the only term in it that can be appropriately1 applied
to such ornament. This term 'AvOe^ov, derived from the radical word"^00*, c a flower', had not alone
relation to a mere winding line, but according to Theophrastus it was the name of a plant, and it was
also a term applied to artificial floral ornament by Xenophon, who lived at the date of our inscription,
opinion; since on maturor reflection (as above evident by the
extract from his Travels,) he appears to have wavered regarding
the fancied representation of the lotus, by supposing such deco-
rations to have been derived from some unknown aquatic plant of
Greece. Indeed, with a capital of the Erechtheum before us,
We cannot trace in the ornament of it, cither the Lotus plant, or
any remote imitation of its representation in Egyptian Sculpture.
In the painting on an Athenian vase, excavated by the present
rl of Aberdeen, bearing writing from right to left, and which
consequently is of very remote antiquity, was represented an altar
rudely resembling the capitals of the Erechtheum, in having orna-
ments beneath Volutes. It is engraved in the Travels edited by
the Rev. R. Walpoie . Vol. I. p. 323. To the Temple of Juno, at
Samos, supposed to be one of the earliest Ionic edifices, is given the
a e o ui. 00. about 540 b. c, subsequent therefore to the cessa-
tion of the oriental manner of writing at Athens, and posterior to
the vase discovered by Lord Aberdeen '. See note a, page 14.
Exod. c. 38. v. 2. Kings, B. 1. c. 2. v. 28. Psalm 118,
v. 27- °
C Vltr- Llb- 1,c-1: also in the Procemium to Book the Seventh,
he mentions the names of the Grecian architects, Ctesiphon, Me-
tagenes, Phileos, Herrnogenes, Argelius, as having written trea-
tises on the Ionic order, and on several celebrated Ionic temples,
doubtless built from their designs, remains of some of which still
exist, and delight the beholder. V. Ionian Antiquities.
d Flaxman's Lectures on Sculpture PL 42.
" This Inscription is introduced in Vol. II., page 64, Note f,
»i our accompanying new edition of Stuart and Revett's Athens.
A fac-simile of it is engraved, attended by the remarks of Mr.
VVilkms in the Memoirs edited by Walpoie, Vol. I. p. 585.
is less correctly represented in Chandler's Ins.
e tn^ Inscription where cited, line 48 :—
' • /» "'"V Ki0,ul" ^TfxrjTa Ix. tov e»to; avH^ioti Ixitrrou Toil jciojo;
rp»a n^vib*. <0f the IV attached columns, a foot and a half of the
1 This superior nobleman has had the distinguished honour as his Majesty's se-
nate tor F°™gn Affairs, of sisnintr. conjointly with the ministers of
France and Russia,
signing
. a protocol, dated London, March 22, 1829, with the view to
anthemion [[honeysuckle ornament] of each column [[measured]
from the inside is left unfinished.' It is a remarkable fact, that
these four columns appear to have been prepared too short to
correspond with the height of the eastern architrave, for in the con-
struction beneath their capitals, may be observed, as mentioned in
the work of Mr. H. W. Inwood, an additional narrow slab not three
inches in height, which could have been introduced on no other
account. This defect however, did not constitute the deficiency of
the carving noticed in the inscription, for this extra narrow tam-
bour, or rather cylindric section of the two southern semi-columns,
comprised the lower additional spirals of the honeysuckle orna-
ment, and in the other two semi-columns, the echinus moulding
above it. The want of carved work above described appears to
have been at the front of the columns, and at the time of the in-
scription, one of the capitals was not in its place, (I Kio^am
uQirov) 1. 29.; from which it is also to be inferred that the defi-
ciency strictly speaking did not apply to them, for the peculiar
plaited torus formed the bed of all the capitals at this edifice.
8 'AvOe'jUiok,—h ypa/ji.^ Ti; sAucoi^j; rjv h To"i^ xUcri, ' Anthemion
was a certain spiral line in columns.' Hesyc. in v.
h Wilkins's Translation of Insc. in Walpole's Mem. Vol. I.
p. 593, and in his Atheniensia, p. 207- Mr. Rose, while adopt-
ing this architect's translation ' Volute/ in a note, thus expresses
a doubt of its propriety, « De Voluta noli cogitare ; quae enim
inter quaternas Volutas est w ekto;? This scholar, however, ap-
pears not to have borne in mind that these columns were en-
gaged, and consequently that a term, denoting ' interior or inside
part,' applied to the ornament of the summits of them, is suf-
ficiently intelligible. Ins. Graic. Vetust. H. J. Rose, p. 189.
1 See the Corpus Ins. Grace of Boiickh, Vol. I. p. 277, with
whose judgment, supported by that of the Prussian Architect
Hirt, regarding the acceptation of this term in the Inscription,
on reconsideration we more comprehensively concur.
establish by treaty a territory comprising the ancient Hellas, as a part of the
already regenerated Grecian State, which will consequently now include Attica,
without which, Gueece could scarcely be said to have real existence.