HE erection of structures for shelter, for worship, for commemoration, or for any other useful or ornamental purpose, is one of those branches of art in which mankind very early excelled. Hence it is that in Eastern countries, from which, as a starting-point, we trace the progress of civilisation, some of the noblest and most stupendous of human erections are still to be found. Egypt, Syria, Persia, India, and China had their pyramids, catacombs, walls, towers, and temples long before Greece and Rome had being; and though these may be deficient in that taste and ornamental gracefulness which make the Athenian structures models even to the present day, still many of them possessed a vastness and grandeur of conception which has stamped them as wonders to all following ages. When science and art arose in Greece, and flowed onward along the southern and western shores of Europe, even to our own remote island, the genius of architecture displayed itself in another form; the semi-barbaric vastitude of the Oriental pile gave way to chastened elegance and symmetrical compactness-beauty of form and skilful arrangement were substituted for mere magnitude and expense of labour.

No. 63.

I

ANCIENT AND PAGAN ARCHITECTURE

It may be convenient to separate into two groups the structures taken as illustrative examples-the one comprising those which are either ancient or pagan, the other those which are either Christian or modern.

PYRAMIDS AND MONUMENTS

OF EGYPT.

The whole of this interesting country is crowded with monuments of the gigantic architecture of former times and of different ages; among the most ancient, and by far the most stupendous of which are the Pyramids. These colossal erections, to which there is no parallel in other countries, are situated on a rocky tract at the foot of those mountains which form the western boundary of the valley of the Nile. They are about thirty in number, and are scattered along a tract of nearly seventy miles in length-commencing with those of Gizeh, near Cairo, and ending with a small group a little below Feshu. The principal group occurs near the place where stood the ancient city of Memphis, and consists of four nearly entire pyramids, with a number of smaller ones in a state of dilapidation. The four faces exactly correspond to the four cardinal points. The most northern, commonly known as the Great Pyramid,' is the largest ; its perpendicular height being little short of 500 feet, and its base covering more than eleven acres of land. The base forms a square, whose side is 733 feet; and as the length of the sloping side upwards is about equal to that of the base, each face may be regarded in a general way as an equilateral triangle. It must not be supposed, however, that these structures are smooth-sided, sharppointed, mathematical pyramids; for the summits are not now entire, and the sides, whatever may have been their original condition, consist in reality of a number of steps formed by the successive layers of stone. The steps in the Great Pyramid are variously estimated at from 207 to 212, the length of some of the blocks forming them being not less than thirty feet. The size of the blocks is unequal, but they have all right angles, that they may fit closely together. The external layers have neither mortar nor cramps; but in the body of the Pyramid a kind of cement is used, composed of lime, sand, and clay. The only foundation is the surface of the subjacent rock, which is about eighty feet above the level of the ground annually overflowed by the Nile.

Respecting the purpose of these erections numerous conjectures have been offered; but the opinion generally entertained is, that they were erected by the ancient kings of Egypt as private mausoleums or tombs. This idea is so far supported by the fact, that the

larger pyramid, near Memphis, has interior chambers, in one of which is a marble sarcophagus, supposed to have contained the ashes of the monarch who completed the structure. It is necessary to mention, however, that Mr Piazzi Smyth published, in 1864, a large volume on purpose to develop a theory that the Great Pyramid was built as a universal standard of weights and measures. passages and chambers of this pyramid, which are walled and

The

Section of Great Pyramid of Gizeh (from Vyse's Pyramids of Gizeh).

D, débris and remains of casing; Q, queen's chamber; K, king's chamber; O, outer casing line; S, N, air channels; W, well; Sub., subterranean apartment.

covered with polished marble and granite, are of a curious and intricate kind (see cut). They have been entered and explored by various travellers.

Since the above was written, Mr Piazzi Smyth has published a second work concerning the Great Pyramid, in which he gives some measurements recently obtained by Mr Inglis. It is found that the base of the pyramid is not a perfect square, the lengths of the four sides being respectively 9120, 9114, 9102, and 9104 English inches. Of course, such small deviations may be due to instrumental errors. The vertical height Mr Inglis found to be 5478 inches up to the platform, or 5857 to the once existing apex. There have been many hypotheses concerning the proportions of the pyramid. (1.) That the perimeter of the base equals six times the vertical height; (2.) That the perimeter of the base is to the vertical height as the circumference of a circle to the radius; (3.) That the vertical height, the sloping height from the middle of one side of the base, and the length of one side are in the ratio of 4, 5, 6; (4.) That each face of the pyramid equals in area the square of the vertical height. Colonel James, in 1867, found that the rise at the four angles is in the ratio of 9 vertical to 10 horizontal; and that the length of each side of the base equals 360 Egyptian cubits.

The Egyptian pyramids, as has been stated, are of different ages; but those we have described are considered by Sir Gardner Wilkinson to be the most ancient, and to have been built by Suphis, and his brother Sensuphis, about 2120 years before the Christian era. But whatever was the time of their erection, or by whom erected, there can be no doubt of their being amongst the earliest, as they are unquestionably the most stupendous, monuments of human architecture. Diodorus Siculus asserts that the building of the Great Pyramid occupied about twenty years, and that three hundred and sixty thousand men were employed in its construction.

The other architectural monuments of Egypt which have attracted the attention of after-ages are the Great Sphinx, the labyrinth of Arsinöe, the reputed musical statues of Memnon, the hieroglyphical obelisks of Luxor, the catacombs of Thebes, the obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles, and the Pillar of Pompey. The Great Sphinx, though sadly mutilated, is still to be seen about sixty yards to the south-east of the Great Pyramid already described. This enormous figure--which is intended to represent the body of a lion with the breasts and head of a woman-is cut out of the solid rock, and seems to have been formed as a monument in connection with the inundation of the Nile, which takes place when the sun passes from Leo to Virgo. Its huge recumbent body, about sixty feet in length, and its outstretched fore-legs, are almost entirely buried in sand and rubbish; but the neck and head rise above the wreck-the latter being twenty feet high-and, though much mutilated, still possessing a considerable degree of feminine beauty.

Of all the labyrinths of antiquity, that of Arsinöe was the largest and most costly; those of Crete and Lemnos being mere imitations, and not one-hundredth part of its dimensions. It was so extraordinary that Herodotus, who partly explored its chambers, declares it to be even more wonderful than the Pyramids. It was situated near the city of Crocodiles, or Arsinöe, a little above the lake Moris, and is reputed to have been the conjoint work of the twelve kings among whom Egypt was at that time divided. It seems to have been designed as a pantheon, or universal temple of all the Egyptian deities which were separately worshipped in the provinces. It was also the place for general assembly of the magistracy of the whole nation; for those of all the provinces met here to feast and sacrifice, and to judge causes of great consequence. For this reason every province had a hall or palace appropriated to it—the whole edifice being thus divided, according to Herodotus, into twelve, though Pliny makes the number sixteen, and Strabo even so many as twenty-seven. The former authority tells us that the halls were vaulted, and had an equal number of doors opposite to one another, six opening to the north and six to the south, all encompassed by the same wall; that there were 3000 chambers in this edifice-1500 in the upper part, and as many under ground; and that he viewed

every room in the upper part, but was not permitted by those who kept the palace to go into the subterranean part, because the sepulchres of the holy crocodiles, and that of the kings who built the labyrinths, were there. He reports that what he saw seemed to surpass the work of man; so many exits by various passages, and infinite returns, afforded a thousand occasions of wonder. He passed from a spacious hall to a chamber, and from thence to a private cabinet; then again into other passages out of the cabinets, and out of the chamber into the more spacious rooms. All the roofs and walls within were lined with marble, and adorned with hieroglyphic sculpture. The halls were surrounded with pillars of white stone, finely polished.

Of the other monuments above mentioned, we can only shortly advert to the so-called 'Pillar of Pompey,' situated about a quarter of a league from the southern gate of Alexandria. It is composed of red granite, apparently brought from the quarries of Upper Egypt. What renders it particularly wonderful is, that the shaft and the upper member of the base are of one piece, 90 feet long, and 9 feet in diameter! The base, which is a square block of marble, rests on two layers of stone, bound together with lead. The whole column is 114 feet high, beautifully polished, and only a little weathered on the eastern side. 'Nothing can equal,' it has been said, 'the majesty of this monument. Seen from a distance, it overtops the town, and serves as a signal for vessels; and on a nearer approach, it produces an astonishment mingled with awe. One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the capital, the proportions of the shaft, and the extraordinary simplicity of the pedestal; although the latter has been rather damaged by the instruments of travellers, who were anxious to possess a relic of this antiquity; and one of the volutes of the capital was immaturely brought down, in 1781, by some English captains, who reached the summit by a rope-ladder, carried thither by the ingenious device of flying a kite, to the string of which the ropes were attached.'

STRUCTURES OF SYRIA AND PERSIA.

In the region comprehended by these names-a region which is generally considered as the cradle of mankind-arose some of the most magnificent cities, temples, and monuments which the world has yet beheld. The wasting hand of time, and the devastations of war, have long since laid most of them in ruins; the very sites of some of the most renowned are even matter of doubt; their history, mingled with not a little of fable, is all that remains. Among these, Babylon holds a prominent place-its walls, towers, and hanginggardens having been considered as the noblest of the seven ancient wonders of the world. As an example of the decisive instead of the critical way of treating such subjects two or three centuries ago, we