Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

326 COLUMN A. COLUMNA.
_____________________ cornice between the architrave and the frieze, and
all three members of the entablature are more or
less ornamented with mouldings. The finest specimnens of the order in'its most simple form are
itiL l.i_-.',-i those in the temple of the Ilissus, and the temple
of Athena Polias at Priene; the latter is usually
H;~!, FAilh' Iconsidered the best example of all. The portico
l f l H!.-HHX of the temple of Athena Polias, adjoining to the
Erechtheitum, at Athens, displays a greater profusion! i of ornament, but is equally pure in its outlines.:_.. _ _ It is shown in the preceding engraving.
jL U - The use of the ionic Order presented one important difficulty. In the side view of the
capital, the volutes did not show their beautiful
spiral curl, but only a roll, bound together by
astragals; so that, where the order had to be carried round a corner, it was necessary that the
__ {capital of the corner column should present two
faces. This was accomplished by giving the outer
volute an inclination of 450 to the surfaces, and
sculpturing the spiral on each of its sides, as shown
in the following engraving; in which the upper
figure shows an elevation, viewed from the inner, side, and the lower figure a plan, of a corner capital
of the Ionic Order.
and sometimes, as in the Erechtheilum, adorned
with leaf-work (&,Odellov). The capital itself con- X,
sists of, first, an astragal moulding, above which
is an echinus, sculptured into eggs and serpents'
tongues, and above this (sometimes with a torus
intervening) the canalis, from which spring the
spiral volutes, which are the chief characteristics.!
of the order. There is generally an ornamented
abacus between the capital and the entablature.
The architrave is in three faces, the one slightly
projecting beyond the other; there is a small
tors, frequently made all the capitals with corner
________________ volutes. Their volutes also are usually stiff and
meagre, and the order, as a whole, remarkably inferior to the Grecian examples. For a collection of
specimens of the order, see the plates of Mauch.
III. The Coritluian Order is still miore slender
than the Ionic, and is especially characterised by
its beautiful capital, which is said to have been
suggested to the mind of the celebrated sculptor
Callimachus by the sight of a basket, covered by
a tile, and overgrown by the leaves of an acanthuts,
on which it had accidentally been placed. The
lowest member of the capital, answering to the
I ylypotracleliui, is a sort of calyx (calatlhs), from