Vitruvius Origin of the Orders

8/9/2019 Vitruvius Origin of the Orders

1/13

Yale University, School of Architecture

Vitruvius and the Origins of the Orders: Sacrifice and Taboo in Greek Architectural MythAuthor(s): George L. HerseySource: Perspecta, Vol. 23 (1987), pp. 66-77Published by: The MIT Presson behalf of Perspecta.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1567108.

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2/13

Vitruviusnd

he

Origins

f he

Orders:

Sacrificend

Taboo n

Greek

rchitectural

yth

George

.

Hersey

When

itruvius'

yths

re

nalyzed,

he

rigins

f

heDoric nd

onic

rdersm-

66

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3/13

RITUS

partgruesome

essons.

They

re

tales

of

betrayal,

enslavement,

invasion,

colonialism,

though

lso

of

marriage

nd

procreation.

But

even

he

Corinthian

rder,

he

outcome

of

that

procreation,

memorializes

n

unwonted

death

....

The

rows

of

columns

n

Greek

temples,

hese

rhythms'

f

punished

r

exalted

ancestors, re

figures rom

sacred

dance

or

march,

igures hat

hold

aloft

he

witnesses

f sacrifice.

67



4/13

The

Origins

f he rders

Louis

uc,

Doric

apital

estoration,

he

Colosseum,

ome,829.

Louis

uc,

onic

apital

estoration,

he

Colosseum,ome,

829.

Louis

uc,

Corinthianapital estoration,

TheColosseum,ome,

82.g.

Erechtheion,thens,

aryatid,

etail.

THE ORIGINS OF

THE ORDERS1

The Roman architectural riter

Vitruviuswas esteemed

by

Renaissance

architects,

who

rightly

onoredhis treatise s the

only

uch

book

to survive rom

ntiquity.

ut

his

reputation

as

diminished

n

the

past

one hundred

ears

r so as the ruenature f

Greek nd Roman

building

as

gradually

ecome evident. t has been shownthathe

had a distorted iew of his subject.He ignored mportant uildings fhisowntime

(the

first

entury

.D.)

and

incorrectly

escribed

Greek

buildings

e had

apparently

not een.His

knowledge

f henow-lostGreek rchitecturalreatises hathe

quotes

or

paraphrases

eems

econdhand,

nd his own

language

s often

onfusing.

These

charges

re well-founded.

etthefact emains hat

Vitruvius

ossessed

n

advantage

hatwe lack: he was

steeped

n an architectural

ensibility

hat

vanished

two thousand

years go.

For all his narrowness nd bias he had at east een

buildings

and

books,

and had encountered

rchitectural

deas,

about whichwe know

only

what

he has

related.

o,

in

spite

of his

faulty

Greek

nd

pretensions

o

high

ulture,

t be-

hooves us

to

pay

attention.

pecifically,

et us

closely nalyze

his

mythology

f the

orders,

bout whose

origins

he tells five tories hatdeal withracial or nationalbe-

trayal,

olonization,

nd individual eath.

THE CARYATIDS

OF SPARTA

Thefirst

alenVitruvius'exts that f he

aryatids

i.z).

Inthe trictestense ar-

yatids

renot ne

f he hree asic

rders,

utwithout

uestion

he ale f heirri-

gin

s

part

fVitruvius'cheme.

e

says

hat

aryatids

erenvented

uring

Persian

invasionf he

eloponnesus-either

hat

f

90o

r hat

f

80

B.C.'

During

hese

n-

Charles

ercier,

.F. L.

Fontaine,

illa

Albani,

.179o,

aryatid

edicula.

vasions

many

maller

Greek states llied themselves ith the

Persians.

The

town

of

Caryae,

n northern

aconia,

was one such. After he Persianswere defeated

nd

driven

way,

ll

Greece

urned

gainst

he raitor-town:

[It]

was

captured

nd all themenfolk illed.The marriedwomenwere

ed off n

cap-

tivity,or werethey llowedto remove heclothingnd ornament hat howedthem

to be marriedwomen.

They

were

ed

through

he

city

not

in

the manner f

a

tri-

umphal

procession

eld on

a

particular

ccasion

but ratherwere

displayed

s

perma-

nent

xamples

ustaining weight

f

punishment

or heir

eavy

ins

before he

city.

Thus the rchitects

f hat ime

esigned

or

ublicbuildings igures

fmatrons

laced

to

carry eavy

urdens;

n order hat he

punishment

f he inof he

Caryaean

women

might

e known o

posterity

nd

historically

ecorded.

In other

words,

hematronswere et

nto

multiple illory

hatmade them

ook like

piers

or columns.

68



5/13

George ersey

But before

urning ully

o this

text et us notice the

associationsof the word

Caryatid,

whichmeans

imply

inhabitant

or child)

of

Caryae,

s

they

efer o

the

Spartan

own f

Kapial.

There herewas a famous

emple

fArtemis

hose

priestesses

or female

worshippers

ere

called

KapudlSeq.

The focusof the

ceremonies

was

an

outdoor statueof thegoddess.An annual round-dance alled thecaryatawas per-

formed

y

the

young

people.3Kapui--lq

was

also,

naturally

nough,

n

epithet

or

Artemis

erself.4

Artemiswas a stern nd

sometimes

ruel

goddess

who

in

early

imesdemanded

human acrifices.sateron

surrogate

ictimswereoffered. or

example,

n

Sparta

nd

elsewhere

irgin irls

ffered er

goats.6

One of the mostfamous

mages

of

Artemis,

the tatue

n

theVilla

Albani,

howsher s thereceiver f

amb-victims.

he

philologi-

cal

sources nd

etymological rigins

or

Artemis'

ame

haveto do with

butchery,

ur-

der,

nd

hanging.

A

publichanging

r,

even

more,

he

display

f a

criminal

on

scaf-

fold,

re

punishmentsnalogous

to that f

the

Caryaean

matrons.

The

caryatis

ance

s described

n

detail

by

Lucian as a

fighting

ance,

performed

before

attles,

n

which t the limax

hedancers aise heir ands s

they

ine

up

row

by

row

n

battle

formations.7

he neat inesof

caryatis

ancers

predict

herows

n

which

caryatids

re

so

often

isplayed.

Rows

of columns

n

Greek are

u0p1a,1

hythms.)

That the

women

n

Vitruvius' ale are

punished y

being

made to dance theirnative

war dance would

certainly

e an

appropriaterony.'

As to the

dancers'raised

arms,

fragment

rom he

playwright

yncaeus

hows

that hese ould be

interpreted

s

supporting eight.

A

character

n

the

play,

ucrates,

D.

Magnan,

illa

Albani,

775,

edicula ithtatuefArtemis.

scoffst ome

eople

ho re

partying

n room hose

eiling

s

collapsing.

e

says

to them: You atwith

our ight

ands

utwith

our

eft

ou

have o hold

p

the

ceiling

ike

he

aryatids. '

hedance's aised rm

esture,

n

other

ords,

ashere

adapted

o

upport

roof

ust

s the

aryaean

atronso

n

Vitruvius'

tory.

But he onnectionetweenaryatidsndArtemisoesdeeperhan his.Ac-

cording

oRoscher'sexikonhe

ommon oun

cpeprjlq

means

eligious

hastity.'o

Certainly

he

main

toriesbout rtemis-her

ntouchability

nd he aboo

gainst

o

much

s

ooking

pon

er,

hich asActaeon's

ownfall-reinforce

hisdea.

When

Greek omen arried

hey

ften

acrificedlock f

hair

o

Artemis

n

rite nown

s

the

npo

eiela,

o ward

ff er

nger

t theirenunciationf

virginity.

his

matri-

monialheme

s

recalledn

Vitruvius'ccount.t s

only

hemarriedomenf

Caryae

whowere

unished,

hich eems o

mply

ome

pecial ulpability.

his

may

ave

been inkedo theirroteleiaows. n

sum,

he

ssociational

ura

f hewordcar-

yatid

s

very

ifferentn

Greek

orLatin)

rom hatt s

n

English.

I.

Some f he deas n his rticle

ppeared,

n

preliminary

orm,

n

my

TheClassicalrders

of

Architectures Totems

n

Vitruvian

yth,

Umanesimo

Roma

el

uattrocento

(Rome

nd

New

York,

I984),

p.

213

ff.

2..

Herodotus

I.I83.

3-

Pratinas

yricus,

Fragmenta

yrica,

ed.

T.

Bergk,.4.

4.

Pausanias

3.xo.7,

8.

5.

Adolf

laus,

De Dianae

ntiquissimapud

Graecos

atura,

diss.

Breslau:881),

.

36.

Friedrich

chwenn,

Der

Krieg

n

der

riechischeneligion,

Archiv

ir

Religionswissenschaft,

19zz,

p.

z2;

Paul

tengel,

Diegriechischeultusaltertimer

(Munich,898),

p.

, 133;

Walter

urkert,

Greek

eligion

(Cambridge:

985),

p.

151

ff.

6.

Walter

urkert,

Homo ecans:

nterpretationen

ltgriechischer

pfer-

ritennd

Mythen

(Berlin,

972),

p.

77.

7.

Lucian,

De

saltatione,

p.

Io.

8.

Corpus

nscriptionum

raecarum,

P. 1444.

9.

Lycaeus,

Frag.

.241d.

IO.

Roscher,

Lexikon,

s.v.,

iting

omer,

Iliad,

7.308;

Plato,

Kratyl.,

406b.

II.

Roscher,

Lexikon,

s.v.

Artemis, ect.

xo

(573

ft.).

69



6/13

TheOrigins

f he rders

I 2.

Vitruvius.1.6.

SeePausanias

3.xII.3.

13.

Aristophanes,

Lysistrata

I2.48

ff.

I4.

Herodotus.56;

Diodorus iculus

4.37.58

ff.

Temple

f

eus,

grigentum,

estorationf

the

rder,

ithelamones.

THE

PERSIAN

PORTICO

The hemesfGreekictoriesver

ersians,

nd f

acrifice,

ppear

gain

n

Vitruvius'

etiology

f he rders.n he entence

mmediately

ollowing

is ale f he

aryaean

womenerecords

hat

hen,

n

his ame

nvasion,

partanroops

nder

general

namedausaniasonqueredn nfinitelyargerersianorce,s a trophyf ictory

to heirescendants

hey

uilt

portico:

There

hey laced

tatuesf heir

aptives

n

barbaric

ress-punishing

heir

ride

with eservednsults-to

upport

he

oof,

hatheirnemies

ightuake,

earing

he

workings

f uch

ravery,

nd hat heirellow

itizens,

ookingpon pattern

f

manhood,

ight

y

uch

lory

e

rousednd

repared

or he efensef reedom.

Thererom

any

ave et

p

Persiantatueso

upport

rchitravesnd heirrna-

ments.hismotiveas

upplied

or heir orksome

triking

ariations. 2

Thiss

ssentially

retelling

f he

aryaean

alewithhe

ubstitutionf ersian en

for reek omen.othePersids'remates,f orts,orhe aryatids,ut rophies

too.And heresno

hint

f

Artemis,

hough

hewas ne f he hiefncitersfGreek

patriotismuring

he ersian

nvasions. 3

The wo toriesavemore

n

ommonhan heirtructure.

irst

f ll

both he

Artemis-worshipping

omenf

Caryae

nd he

aptors

f he

ersiansre

partans.

Both

ypes

f

ortico

erenventedo ommemorateictoriesnd othse

ostume,

decoration,

nd

weaponry

o

dentify

he

unishedroups.

bove

ll,

othtoriesell

how cts ostileo he reeks

ere

unishedy

henventionf

ew

ypes

f olumn.

THE DORIC AND IONIC ORDERS

InBook .I wediscoverhat he olumnarommemorationsfPersianefeatelong

toa muchlderraditionf olumnnvention.itruviusere escribeshe

rigin

f

the oric rder.

his,

e

ays,

as nvented

y

Dorus,

on f

Hellen

nd

he

ymph

Phthia,

ho uled

chaea nd he

eloponnesus.

orus

epresented

race f on-

querors

ndruled ne ffour asic ubdivisionsf

he

Greek

opulation

the

thers

being

he

Aeolians,

he

onians,

nd he

Achaeans).

nder isdescendantsorend

more

f

he

eloponnesus

as aken ver.

hucydides

ates he inalorian

onquest

to about

ighty

ears

fterhe

Trojan

War,

hat

s,

during

he ate welfthr

early

eleventh

entury

.C.

Thebeginningsf his egemonyremarkedy he nventionf new ype f

column.he irstemple ith he ew olumns asbuilt yDorus nArgosnddedi-

cated oJuno.ater n, ays itruvius,theremples,mitatingorus' riginal,ere

constructedhroughouthe itiesfAchaea. he olumn asnamedfterts nventor:

AfterwardsheAthenians,n accordance ith he esponsesfApollo, ndby he

generalonsentf llGreece,oundedhirteenoloniesnAsia tone ime. hey p-

pointedhiefsn he everalolonies,ndgave he upremeuthorityo

on,

he on

ofXuthusndCreusawhom pollo,nhis esponsest Delphi, addeclaredo be

his on).He led he oloniesntoAsia nd eized he erritoryfCaria. here ees-

tablishedhe arge ities fEphesus, iletus, yus etc.]. hese ities rove ut he

CariansndLelegesndnamed hat egionf arth

onia

romheireader

on,

nd

establishinghereanctuariesf he mmortalods, hey egan o build emplesn

7o



7/13

Leopold

on

Klenze,

ew

Hermitage,eningrad,

840-50,

ortico

ith

tlantes.



8/13

The

Origins

f he rders

15.

At

Mycale

here as

Pan-Ionium

edicatedo

Apollo.

Corpusnscriptionum

tticarum,

III.

175.

or

Apollo

ndArtemis

s

navi(vloq,

all-Ionian,

erodotus

.I48,

Roscher,

Panionios,

ol.

1535.

16.

Vitruvius.1.5,

.

I7.

Lewis

nd

hort,Oxford

atin

ictionary,

s.v.

Caria,

uote

s a

proverb:

Quid?

e ota

Caria onne oc estraoce

ulgatum

st,

i

quid

um

ericulo

xperiri

elis,

nCare d

pot-

issimumsse aciendum.

18.

Roscher,

Artemis,

ol. 82

ff.,

bid.

Apollon,

col. 440 ff.

ig.

Roscher,

Lexikon,

s.v. Artemis.

ZO.

For

he

Athenian

olony

t Miletus

ee

Roscher,

Artemis,

ol.

574.

2I.

Hippocrates,

Epidemiae,

3.1.

them.

irst,

o

Pan-Ionian

Apollo s

hey

stablished

temple

ased on those

hey

ad

known

n

Achaia.

Then

they

alled t Doric because

they

ad first een t built n

that

style.

When

they

wished o

place

thecolumnsnthat

emple,

ot

having

heir

ropor-

tions,

nd

seeking

y

what

method

hey

ould

make

themfit o bear

weight,

nd in

their ppearance o have an approvedgrace, heymeasured man'sfootstepnd ap-

plied

t to his

height. inding

hat

he footwas

the

sixth

part

of the

height

n a

man,

they

pplied

this

proportion

o thecolumn

....

So the

Doric column

began

to

furnish

the

proportion

f

a

man's

body,

ts

trength

nd

grace.

In

otherwordsVitruviuss

saying

hat

he

Doric

temples esigned

y

Dorus him-

self,

nthe

Peloponnesus,

werenot

proportioned

fter

men,

but that

hose rected

y

Ion

in

Ionia

were. t

was

this econd

type

f Doric

thatbecame definitive.

That

Caria,

a

mountainous

egion

n what s

now southwestern

urkey,

hould

have almost he ame name as

the

Spartan

own

where,

enturies

ater,

aryatids

ere

to be

invented,

s a coincidenceworth

onsidering-especially

incetheseAsian Car-

ians,

ike the

Caryatid

matrons,

ere

notorious or heir

reachery.

he

coincidence

is also

ironic

n that

Apollo

and

Artemis re not

only

brother nd

sister

ut,

ncertain

ways,

male

and female

spects

f

the ame

divinity. 8

n

Caria

they

were he

objects

of

special

cults,

and Artemishad a famous shrine at

Mylasa.

Callimachus'

hymn

to

her

describes

t:

Once

on

thebanksof

Ephesus

heAmazon

warriors rected

our

mage

t the

foot f

a

beech-tree.

ippo

[their

ueen]

celebrated herites

nd,

O

Queen

Oupis

[a

name

for

Artemis,

meaning

nknown],

heAmazons

performed

heir rmed

dance,

thesword-

dance,

around the

statue,

nd then formed

heir

great

hoir n a

circle.The

sharp,

astringent

music

of

the

syrinx

ustained

heirfeet s

they tamped

on the

earth n

unison;

.

.

the echo resounded s far

as

Sardis,

nd to

the

country

f

Berecynthe

[Phrygia]. heirfeet tampedwith tirringoise and their uiversdanced.

The

poet

then

oes

on to

describe

he

anctuary.

utwhat

nterests

s sthe

dance,

for t

is

clearly

he

aryatis

r

somevariant. t

s

more

warlike han

Lucian's

version,

orhere

the

dancers

wear

weapons.

These Ionian

honorswere

appropriate,

or,

ike

Apollo,

Artemiswas a

divinity

f

colonization,20

and

indeed

Vitruvius

ays

the first

emple

built

n

onia,

which as alsothe

irst

f ll

onic

emples,

asdedicatedoher

(4.1.7).

But bove allVitruvius' ccount

wicemakes

new

columns,

nvented o mark

new

Dorian

conquests, nto

personifications.ndeed he

adds that

Greek

Doric columns

have

no flutes

4.I.7;

an

error:he is

thinking f Roman

Doric) but rather

ave plain

undecorated

hafts ikenakedDorian warriors.Moreover, e usestheword entasis

to describe

he slight

utward urvaturen the

silhouette f

the Doric

shaft

(3.3.I3),

and

Evaolq,

which means

tension, training,

xertion f the

humanbody.21

Both

the Achaian and

the onian

Doric, however,

ersonifiedonquerors

ather han

pris-

oners, nd

the onian

Doric actually ossessed n

a sensethe

form nd

proportions f

those

conquerors.

The

Dorians fulfill

he next tep n Vitruvius'

esignwith

he nvention

ftheir

second order, he onic.

The

proportions f he olumnwere

modeled n the

bodies of

their

women. So Ionic

columnshave caryatid'

proportions

n two senses:

they re

metaphors

or women's

bodies, and the women

n question

nhabitCaria-not

the

Spartan ne but the

Asianone.

71.



9/13

George ersey

Richard orris

unt,

etropolitan

useumf

Art,

ew

York,

9oz2,

orinthian

apitals.

Gordon,

racy

nd

Swartwout,

onnecticut

avings

ank,

New

Haven,

906,

onic

apital.

There sa third

caryatid'spect

o onic olumns: itruviusdds

that

onic

ol-

umns esembledot

only

he

physiques

ut he haracteristicress

nd ornamentf

the

aptured

omen. he

hafts

reflutedn mitationf he

women's

leated

hitons,

andthe urled olutes f heir

apitals

re ike heir olled air.

inally,

hefact hat

theDoric nd onic rders

n

the ccount

riginate

n

conjunction

ith ach

other,

s

it

were,

eflectsere arlier

airing

f hewomen f

Caryae

ndthe

ersiannvaders.

THE CORINTHIAN ORDER

The ast

myth

itruviusells bout he

rigins

f

he rders

uts

hefinal lementn

his

pattern.

t dealswith heCorinthian

apital.

he

story oes

hat

allimachus,

n

architect,

ne

day potted

he omb f Corinthian

irl

whohaddied

ust

before er

marriage.

he

girl's

urse ad

decorated

he ombwith basket

ontaining

he

young

woman's rized

ollectionf

goblets,

nd on

top

of hebasket ad

aid a tile o

keep

the

goblets

n

place. According

o

Vitruvius,

ith

ime,

n acanthus

lant

grew p

from hebase of the

basket,

tstendrils

urling

oward he ile.

Callimachusrans-

formedhe ittle

ableau nto

he

Corinthian

apital.

He used

twith

etails hatwere

eitherriginalo t 4-1-9) rborrowed rom heDoric nd onicorders4.1.1).So

theneworder ad the

genes

f

both

arents.

ike he

Doric,

Caryatid,

nd

Persian

columns,

he

Corinthians

a memorialo thedead.

There s a sort

f

plot

o

Vitruvius'ive ales. hefirsthree

ypes

f olumnmark

Greek

victories,

he

expulsion

f Eastern

nvaders,

nd then he establishmentf

Greekolonies

n

the ast.

The

ppearance

f he onic s a

turningoint.

t marks he

end f he

eriod

fwar

nd,

with ts

inking

fmale nd

female,

uggests marriage,

one that

n

fact esults

n a

Corinthian

aughter.

his

daughter,

ikeall theother

orders,

ossesses specific

uman

hysique

rcostume:

itruvius

ays

thasthe

hys-

ique

of

young

irl

(4.I.9),

which

uggests

ot

only

hat t s the

daughter

fDoric

and onicbut

personification

fthe

riginal

orinthian aiden.

urthermore,

er

deathbeforemarriage-ofhichVitruvius akes point-preventsewoffspring.

That

s,

n

terms fthefive

myths,

he

girl's

eath

revents

hebirthfnew

ypes

f

column.

he

pattern

f

he ales

s

complete.

Anotherommonhreadhat niteshe ivealess the hemef

acrifice.he

matronsf

Caryae

nd he ersians

ay

etermeditualictims.

hey

inned,

nd

were

ffered

o he

ods.

he onian

olonistslso

acrificed,

ut

more

ositively.

he

firstwo emplesn he ewandwere edicatedespectivelyo he rothernd ister

colonization

ivinities,pollo ndArtemis.eanwhile

he orinthianirl'somb as

also acrificial,

ortwill ave esemblednaltar

ecoratedith basketf fferings.

22.

For

he

canthus,

r bearsfoots it s

called,

ee

Helmut

aumann,

Die

Griechische

flanzenwelt

n

Mythos,

unst

nd

Literatur,

(Munich,982),

.

169

ff.

2.3?

Vitruvius

oes ot iscusshe

omposite

rder

(Corinthian

apital

ith

onic

olutes)

rother

variants.heTuscan

emple

as olumns ith

veryimpleapitals,

nd or hich o

myth

s

provided

(4.7).

73



10/13

The

Origins

f

he

rders

24.

Burkert,

Hormoecans,

41,

who

oints

ut

hat

hough

ccepted

he

proposition

annot

ruly

e

proven.

25.

Salomon einach,

La

Mort

'Orphee,

n

his

Cultes,

ythes

t

religions,

zd

ed.,

,

(Paris,

909),

p.

o3

f.

2.6.

Livy,

3, 55,

7-

2-7.

Sophocles,

Antigone,

2.56.

2.8.

Jean-Pierre

ernant,

Th aorie~n ale du sacrifice

t

mise

mort

dans a

29

grilcque,

livier

everdinnd

Bernard range,

ds.,

Le

Sacrifce

ans

r'antiquitd,

SACRIFICE

AND TABOO

It soften

aid hat

yths

re he

lots

f

acrificial

ituals.24

his

ives

s ll

he

more

reasono

nterpret

he

unishment

f he

aryaean

atronss a

sacrificef tone-

mento

Artemis.

he ame

oes

orhe

ersians:

god,

e

ssume,

erhaps

rtemis

again,old he partansobuildhe ortico.ertainlytwasher rother,pollo,

who

irected

heAthenianso

nvade

onia,

nd o

whom

acrifice

asmade

nhis

new

ype

f

emple

sArtemis

as n

hers. hese

re he

myths.

he

itualsould

e

the

epetitions

f hese

yths,

epetitions

f

he

irst

arving

f he

olumn

henever

artisans

epeated

he

ormsf

heserders.

Ritual

epetition,

n

his ormf

rchitecture,

s he

ranslation

ntoulesf

rna-

ment

f he

riginal

cts

f

evenge-sacrifice,

arriage-sacrifice,

nd

death-sacrifice

that

re escribedn

hese

yths.

he

ery

ord

rnamentum

eanso

quip,

s

Aeneas

equipped

imselfor

acrificen

he ccasion

f

his

ather's

eath

Hyginus,

abulae

173-14).

nother

reat

haracteristicf

acrifices

bound

p

withhe

most

angerous

of ll

aboos:hose

nvokedhen

sacrifice

ucceedsnd

he

od

rrivesn

he

midst

of isworshippers.uchacrificesereangerousut lso eneficial-theost ene-

ficial

ctions

community

ould

ndertake.

This,

ays einach,

was

ecause

he

act

f

laughter

eleased

n

ambiguous

orce-or

ather

blind

ne,

errible

y

he

very

acthat

twas

force. 25

Taboo

s

he

rotection

gainst

his

anger.

et

aboo,

ikeacrifice

tself,

s

peril-

ously

ouble-edged.

oth

reeknd

atin

mphasize

his

n

heir

ords

or

t,

espec-

tively

iyoq

nd

acer.26

huswithin

he ame

lay,

ntigone,

ophocles

ses

fyoq

o

mean oth

ollution

nd

scape

rom

ollution.

aboos

luster

round

uildings

n

thicklouds.

hey

re

acrednd

amnedt

nce. nd

hese

aboos

o

hand

n

hand

withhe

acrifices

hat

maximizeoth

he

angers

nd

he

enefitsf

he

aboos.

e

see hisnVitruvius'iveccounts.heweightorney heolumnersonificationss

either

hat

f vil r

hat

f

ood,

ither

in r

virtue,

ither

efeat

r

victory.

ary-

atids nd

ersidsre

mblemsf

treachery

nd

barbarism

hat

ought

o

under-

miner

destroy

reece.

oric,

onic,

nd

orinthian

rdersre

mblemsf

he

reek

reply.

If aboo

s

he rmor

hat

rotects

acrificerom

oing

ragically

wry,

he

metal

of

hat

rmor

s

scrupulosity.

he

ules or

acrificeere

egion.

lood-sacrifices

usually

he

most

omplex,

hough

ther

ypes

ere

ot ar

ehind.

he

breeding

and

raining

f he

ictim,is

ress

nd

rnamentn

garlandsnd

gold-plated

orns,

the

ceremonial

or

bringing

im to

the

altar, he

rites

f

slaughter,

he

6.o.iryrl

or

loud

cry rom hewomen tthemomentwhen hebeastdiesandthegodappears-an

event

which

ncidentally as

accompaniedby

the

caryatid-like

aising f

arms

Iliad

6.30I)-the

cooking,

he

distributionf the

meat,

he

communion

meal, and

the

dis-

positionf

he

emains,

erell

ubjecto

minute

pecification.

ften,

ven

when

ll

went

well, he

priests

r

priestesses

hemselves ad

to be

sacrificed

fterward,o

filled

were

hey

with

aboo.

Even the

act

itselfwas

denounced

bythe

very

articipantss

a

crime.

The

knife

hatdid

the

deed, n

the

Athenian

ouphonia,

was

cast nto

the

ea,

and the

laughtered

x,

after he

sacrifice,as

stuffed

nd

hitched

o his

plow,

s if

o

show

that

nothing

ad

happenedto

himafter

ll. 2

Meanwhile

the

eftovers-bones,

head,

garlands, nd

ribbons-were

isposedon a

table of

offerings

r hung

n a

tree.

The

rules

for he

orders,

which

were

after ll

invented or

he

buildings

n

which

74



11/13

GeorgeHersey

Richard

Morris

unt,

Metropolitan

useum f

Art,

New

York,

902oz,

nthemions ith aces.

or beforewhich

acrifices

ccurred,

werefurtherorms

f sacrificial aboo.

Vitruvius'

presentation

f these ulesmakes

such a conclusion lmost

nevitable. hus in

3.1

he

divides

up

the human

body-one

wants to

say

sacrificially,

he

way

a

priest

ivides

victim3?-into

arts

measured n fractions f the

whole,

those fractionsn turn

being

fingers,

alms,

nd feet.He also uses

the

head,

again

ikethe

acrificer,

ho

saved this

part

of thevictim ill

ast

and caused

its

tongue

o utter. he

body-parts

re then

or-

relatedwith

pecific

roportions

r

fractions,

or

xample,

he

81iolpog,

two-thirds,

the

nev-dpolpoq, ive-sixths,

nd so forth. he elements

f

temples

re

divided,

mea-

sured,

nd

named

n

terms f these

body-parts.

n

the

onic

Order,

or

xample,

fter

the column

bases

are in

place,

the thickness f the

plinths

et on

top

of themmust

equal

one-half he column

diameter,

nd

project

one-sixth f a diameter rom

he

shaft. hese are the

only ptions.

As if o

prove

he

point

his ne-sixth

rojection

as

a name f ts

own,

K)o0pd.

f

thebase s

Attic,

urthermore,

ts

height

s divided

o

that he

pper art

sone-thirdhe olumniameter.

he ower

art

f

hisatter

s

n

turn ividednto our

arts,

ith n

upper

orus

molding

hats onefourthf

hat

distance.he owerwo

arts

mustonsistf nother

orusnd scotia

3-5.-).

r,

o

move

n

o

3.5.Io:

The

ymatium

f he

rchitravehould emade

ne eventhfts

height

nd

he

rojection

f tthe

ame. heremainder

part

rom

he

ymatium

s

tobedividednto welveartsfwhichhe owestascias tohave hree;he econd

four,

he

op

ive.

And o

on,

age

fter

age.

When

he ulesre

roken,

e remade o

regard

he

result ot s solecism

ut

lasphemy.

itruvius'

inuteness,

is

dmonitory

one,

is

frequent

nvocationsf he

gods, ive

histext he

uality

f he

eemingly

ndless

i-

etary

aboosn

Deuteronomy

4

andLeviticus

i,

or

the

ong

ists f

prohibitions

in ome

rphic

r

Pythagorean

ect;

r,

ppropriately

othe

resent

iscussion,

hey

soundike he

rescriptions

or lood-sacrifice.

THE ENTABLATURE AS A TABLE OF

OFFERINGS

All his

makes he ntablaturef

temple

ot

nly

yog

or

ood

r

vil,

ut sacri-

ficialepresentationswell. ndeedhe ery ordentablature,houghnglishot

Latin

the

atins

epistylium,

eam n

op

f

olumns),

uggests

hatt

ould e

hought

of

s

a

table,

ike he ne n

he

anctuary

n

whichhe

emains

f

acrificeere

aid.

Archeological

vidence

tronglyuggests

hat

lthough

nimal

arts

ere et n

these

tables,

he

most

requentaterialsf acrificeere egetables,

rain lants,nd ther

food,

ncluding

ggs.3

Theflowers,

ibbons,ndgarlands

hat ad

ornamentedhe

offeringrvictimere

lso aid n

the able. n a

burntfferinghese

hings ould

have

uffered

corching

nd

consumptiony

fire. heremainsf

nimalshat

ad

been artly

onsumedy he

ommunicants

ere lso stored

ere. ormally

hese

consistedf he

horned ead r

skull, high ones r

femursovered

ith at, nd

James ambleRogers,dward . Harkness

House,

New

York,

1904-o7,

guttae.

[Entretiens

ardt] Geneva,

980),pp.

o

ff.,

I7.

29.

Vernant,

Theorie

enerale, p.

1o

ff.,

7

ff.

G.

S. Kirk,

Some

Methodological

itfallsn the

tudy

f

Ancient

reek

acrifice,

n Reverdin

nd

Grange,

Le

acrifice,

p.

70.

30.

Marcel

Detienne nd

Jean-Pierreernant,

La Cuisineu acrificen ays rec

(Paris, 1979),

p.

84

ff.

31.

Kirk,

Pitfalls, 7.

75



12/13

TheOrigins

f he

rders

32.

Herodotus

4.76.

33-

Pausanias

7.I8.II

ff.

34.

Giulia

iccaluga,

L'Olocausto

i

Patrai,

everdinnd

Grange,

Le

Sacrifice,

.

243.

ff.

otherones ith kin

tretchedver hem.

he

rimary

eaning

f

fripaivov,

rum,

comesnto

lay

ere. drums an

animalkin

tretchedver

framework,

nd

he

earliest

reek

rums,

hich ere

sed

n

the

worship

f

Dionysus

nd

heMother

Goddess,

ad

frameworksf

bone.3 It

s

probably

rom

his

ackground

hat he

en-

tral aneln pedimentame obecalledhe ympanum.

Sacrificeso

Artemis,

he

oddess

ostnvolved

n

Vitruvius'

yths,

ould

nvolve

wild

irds nd

nimalss

well

s

the

omesticnimals

acrificedoother

ivinities.

The

most otoriousf

he

wild-animal

acrificesere

elebrated

t

Patras.

plat-

formf

dry,

asily

urnt ood

was

urrounded

y palisade

f

green

ood

hat as

relatively

ninflammable.he

acrificers

ssembled

ild

nimalsnd

birds

hat ad

been

aught

n

ritual

unt,

illing

he

latform

ith

ive

ame

hat

ere

ecured

o

they

ould ot

scape.

he

riestesses

et ire

o he

latform

nd he

elebrants

anced

around

t

n

circle,

s n

he

aryata.34

his

acrifice

ould ave

roduced

ird's

eaks,

skulls,eeth,

ones,

nd

the

ike,

ut

lso

the

nets, arts,

nd

other

mplements

ith

which

he

game

was

caught,

nd

whichwere

onsidered

acramental.

Now etusreturnoclassical

moldings.

his

imewe

shall

ook

not t

their

ro-

portions

ut t

their

ames.A

taenia s a

hair

ibbon;

corona

s a

crown,

arland,

chaplet,

r

wreath;

cavetto

molding ets

ts

name rom

eavy

ope;

nda

guilloche

is

a

bias-cut

et.We

are all

familiar

ith he

darts

hat lank

ggs

n

egg-and-dart

moldings.

similar

molding

s

the

egg-and-tongue.volo,

another

molding,

lso

means

gg,

nd

cyma

s a

sprout

f

abbage.

he

nthemion,

r

camomile,

s

another

edible

lant.

A

dentils a

tooth,

s

by

xtension

rostrum

s

a

bird's

eak

molding.

These

re

mong

he

most

ommon

nglo-Latin

ames

or

lassical

moldings.

f

we

go

to

the

Greek

ames

hat

Vitruvius

et uch

tore

y,

we

get

more

f

he

ame.

Ancones,

yKW~

eq,

door

intel

orbels)

re

primarily

lbows;

Apophysis,

n6'#uoq,

thehollow urve etweencolumn'saseand haft,spart f bone rbloodvessel;

an

astragal,

oCpacydAoq,

efers

o

vertebraer

other

ones;

base,

s in

a

column

base,

doiq,

s

a

foot.

apital,

eCd6Auov,

eans

ead.

imilarly

he

olumen

r

main

block n

a

tympanum

s

n

Greek

OpUviaOV,

hose

irst

eaning

s

the

pper

im

f

a

hunting

et

nd

whose

econds

the

ead

arts

f

acrificed

nimals.

fastigium

or

pediment

ithts

descending

ings

s an

deu6q,

agle.

he

colicolus

f

he

Corin-

thian

apital,

he

upright

rowth

t

the

orners,

s a

K6UA10ov,

talk.

he

space

be-

tween

he

hannelsn

triglyph

s

called

femur

n

Latin

nd

prlp6q

n

Greek,

he

thigh

rthigh

one

thatwas

particularly

mportantn

sacrifice.he

vertical

illets

created

y

arving

lutesna

column

re alled

d

80m,

ods,

taves,r

wands,

word

used lsofor pear hafts. hetrachelionndhypotrachelion,arts f heneckingr

upper

orizontal

olding

n a

columnhaft,

omefrom

pdXeAog,

eck

r

throat.

torus r

oncipa

s a

twisted

ope.

When

Vitruvius'

ythsre

analyzed, he

originsf the

Doric

and

onic

orders

impart

ruesome

essons. hey re

ales

f etrayal,

nslavement,

nvasion,

olonialism,

though

lsoof

marriage

nd

procreation.ut

ven he

Corinthian

rder,he

utcome

of

hat

rocreation,

emorializesn

unwonted

eath. lanked

y

Apollo, he

resid-

ing

goddess

or

much f

he

ive-parttorys

Artemis.

he

rows f

olumnsn

Greek

temples,

hese

rhythms'

fpunished

r

exalted

ncestors,

re

figuresrom

sacred

dance r

march,

igureshat

old loft

he

witnessesf

acrifice.

Finally,

racticallyll

classical

moldingsre

called

fter

hings

sed n

catching

76



13/13

GeorgeHersey

Temple

f

Vespasian,

ome,

ragment

f he rieze ecorated ith

mplements

f acrifice

nd bulls' kulls.

and

eating

victims-human, nimal,

or

vegetable-or

fter its and

pieces

of the vic-

timsthemselves. he

moldings

f a Greek

temple

re

patterns

f war and

hunting

weapons,

of

animal

parts,

nd

of acrificial

ood. As

surely

s do

the

caryatids

nd

the

Persian

prisoners,

hose

porticoes

would

n

any

case

have been decked

with ome of

these

forms,

he classical

ordersmemorialize acrifice.

Thomas

astings

ith verett.

Meeks,

Alumni ar

Memorial,

ale

University,

ew

Haven,927,

column

ase.

77

Documents

Vitruvius Origin of the Orders