BEFORE ITS DESTRVCTIO RECONSTRV CTION OF ITS TEMPLES AND THEIR SVRROVNDI3S by C. WEICHARDT SH EDITION S88j» A-’ * \ . ■ ■. ... — < • .*? ■** *-■ V* .. i« ” * * * u > 1 Jr**-* g m ■'TT'ifoi' F .* > The LARGE EDITION (in German) of POMPEII BEFORE ITS DESTRVCTION by C. WEICHARDT is published by K. F. KOEHLER, 21 Taubchenweg, LEIPZIG, and may be obtained through all book-sellers of good standing. EDITION DE LUXE, LARGE FOLIO SIZE, 19'|j : 13 ins., lontains 12 folio-plates after water-color drawings in collotype an^N^also 125 pages of letter -press, together with 150 illu- strau^l s zincotype and autotype. In a rich binding. 50 SHILLINGS or 74 LIRE. / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/pompeiibeforeitsOOweic POMPEII BEFORE ITS DESTRVCTION RECONSTRVCTION OF ITS TEMPLES AND THEIR SVRROVNDINGS by C. WEICHARDT (ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY HARRY BRETT) PUBLISHER: IC. F. KOEHLER, LEIPZIG. 21 TAEVBCHENWEG E. PRASS, NAPLES. 59—60 PIAZZA DEI MARTIRI. CONTENTS. PREFACE Page 3 I. POMPEII’S POSITION IN THE LANDSCAPE „ 5 II. THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO 15 III. THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER . 2 I IV. THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNA . AUGUSTA 35 V. THE TEMPLE OF VESPASIAN 41 VI. THE TEMPLE OF THE THREE GODS 45 VII. THE TEMPLE OF ISIS ... 5 . VIII. THE GREEK TEMPLE ... , 55 CONCLUSION 64 (FORMING TOGETHER 6G PAGES WITH 40 ILLUSTRATIONS.) Printed by C. Grumbach, Leipzig. Preface. In view of the fact that scarcely more than a year has elapsed since the first appearance of the large edition of my work on Pompeii it may be deemed ne- cessary to offer some justification for the present issue of a small edition thereof, which comprises, in more condensed language and in reduced size, the most salient designs resulting from many years of research. While the large edition will find a welcome in the homes of the friends of Pompeii, thanks to the minute explanations furnished and to the evidence ad- duced in support thereof, the present work is calcu- lated to serve, when wandering through the spacious area of ruins, as a convenient hand-book, enabling one to form a mental, and yet visible, picture of the temples as they presented themselves to the eye at a time when the care -free inhabitants of the city still had no idea of the horrors awaiting them through the subsequent and awful outbreak of the crater of Vesuvius — which had so long been regarded as extinct. The present Pompeii is now scarcely a shadow, a suggestion, of the six centuries of culture which here sought to find expression in stone and color. The aim of this little manual, which takes us once more to the Sarno Valley (to which it owes its origin), is to give body to this shadowy record of the past, to represent this section of the antique world by the most faithful possible reproduction of its temples and of the position of the city — to bring the same to the light of day — as it were, like a dream of olden days conjured up out of the ruins — and to refresh the visitor exhausted at the sight of such terrible destruc- tion by reconstructing for him vivifying pictures of former beauty, pictures that may enable him to merge the depressing chaos of the present into the glorious order of the past. Leipzig, I st January 1898. C. Weichardt. 4 Chapter I. S,N VS POSIDOH'^ S I N VS CVMANVS. C CRATER.) Fig. I. POMPEII’S POSITION IN THE LANDSCAPE. He who wends his way from Naples to modern Pom- peii cannot shake off the pro- found impression made on him by the landscape lying between Vesuvius and the sea. The dark, blue-grey mountain, with its smoking summit, has placed its imperishable stamp upon this fruitful and richly-peopled region. Wide, black streams of lava, issuing from the mountain, flowed down slowly, charged with destruction and reached even into the sea. Showers of ashes and of stones served to bury the city; over them in turn flowed fresh lava-streams, and between these, above the ruins of the past, in the midst of a lavish vegetation, the settlements of our own days — all these combine to prepare the astounded eye for the mighty impression awai- ting us in Pompeii, in the buried and once more excavated ancient Roman City and the home of Greek culture. The mouth of the Sarno-river is now farther off. 5 Fig. 2. The Snow-clad Vesuvius of to-day (seen from the west). It is small, but well-charged with water. Once it flowed as a navigable river, constituting a harbor, under the very walls of Pompeii, but, on the overwhelming of the city and of the landscape, its waters were dammed up for a while until it made a new bed down to the sea, which, under the throes of the land, receded far and left a new outline of coast. The mass of stones and ashes under which Pom- peii was buried in A. D. 79 has an average thickness of 8 metres, so that we wend our course at a propor- tionated greater height over the ancient Sarno Valley. Going up-stream we see on the right of us the steep heights which form a connected chain from the Sorrento Peninsula up to the snow-clad heights of the Abruzzi and afford us a view exactlv as it was once presented to the inhabitants of the rich, terraced houses situated on the southern side of the prominent city, whose glances swept over the same mountains, as far as the Cape of Minerva on the one side and across the adjacent sea to the Island of Capri on the other.*) *) See the view at the head of this chapter. 6 It is only on the other, the northern, side of the river, on which lies to-day, half hidden behind high slo- pes of ashes, the now low-laid city, the grey mound of ruins which produces so melancholy an effect, that the landscape has been materially altered. The Mons Ve- suvius of the ancients, which is still recognisable by its rough contours, is now towered over by a new se- cond mountain that half veils the older one and stretches its base in a long, gently curved line right out, even into the sea. Masses of smoke, which spread them- selves out far over the mountain or else stand like mighty clouds above it, rise from its summit by day, while at night its fires periodically light up as an ever- threatening warning and as an inextinguishable beacon of the Gulf. When Vesuvius is snow-clad, as is often the case in winter-time (see Fig. 2), one can easily recognise how the new cauldron of Vesuvius lies on the older mountain and it is by no means difficult to picture to one’s self what the latter once looked like (see Fig. 3). / Pompeii was founded by a husbandry-folk known as OSCI or OPSCI (Greek: OPIKOl) on a pre-histo- rical lava-stream which towered over the Sarno Valley as a steep cliff (see Fig. 5). When such foundation took place is not known. The oldest building, the Greek Temple (Figs. 5 & 7), probably dates back to the 6 th century before the Christian era and was built by Greek colonists, who lived on the cliff in common with the Osci.*) *) About the year 420 B. C. the Osci-Greelc City of Pompeii was con- quered by the warlike race of Samnites, who adopted the language and customs of the Osci and, conjointly with them, developed under Grecian influence a grade of culture to which we are indebted for the best specimens of archi- tecture which have come down to us, as also for a very highly artistic style of decoration. After the third Samnite war Pompeii in the year 290 B. C. be- came, politically, a Roman dependency, but in the year 80 B. C. it was tho- roughly subjugated and converted into a Roman city. Under the domination of the Republic and, afterwards, that of the Emperors it developed into a highly flourishing city with about 30 000 inhabitants until it was almost en- tirely ruined by an earthquake in A. D. 63 and, 16 years later (when it had scarcely been rebuilt) it was entirely destroyed by the great eruption of Ve- suvius — in A. D. 79. The buildings erected before the year 80 B. C. belong to the pre-Roman period, the later ones are known as Roman. 8 Fig. 5. View from the South side of Pompeii, with the Greek Temple on the Forum Tiinngulare. 9 Although this cliff is buried to a depth of 8 metres in the ashes it is clearly recognisable on the southern side of the city (see Figs. 4 & 6). It first appears at the corner of the widely-extended Forum Triangulare, where it has been laid bare by a hole excavated to the ancient level. It rises here to a height of 9 metres over the former boundary of the city and thence, con- tinuing in a westerly direction, gradually reaches a height of 20 metres in the course of some 200 metres, while at the Herculaneum -Gate, the highest point of the city, it is 14 metres still higher. When one con- siders that there stood on the edge of the cliff of the Forum Triangulare a city-wall 7 metres in height, over which the Doric Temple towered, and that, on the lava- stream rising towards the west, stood houses of three and four storeys it is easy to picture to one’s self a city rising steeply out of the plain. Fig. 6. Ruins of Fig. 7. 10 South Side. The lava-stream with the city-wall and the Greek temple. A section of Fig. 7. ^ ■■ ■ T EiWPLVM-CR AE CVM 1 FORVAAT i\ IANGVL A R E • The Lava -cliff Fig. Aspect from the south side of Pompeii. le City -wall and tlie Greek Temple. The four- storey -bouse, Chapter II. The Temple of Apollo. When we enter the steep, lava-paved street of the city through the Porta Marina the first temple we come upon is that of Apollo, — formerly misnamed the Temple of Venus. It lies in a courtyard surroun- ded by shops or halls which formerly had an upper- storey. There where the courtyard in front of the Temple leaves a free space for the altar stood (in front of the columns and facing the courtyard) six statues, the greatly weather-beaten pedestals of which are still noticeable. Hermes alone still remains in his position. The other five: Apollo, an Hermaphrodite, Venus, Diana and Maia (the mother of Hermes), one must look for in the Naples Museum and, mentally, replace them on their pedestals, if one wishes to form 15 an idea of the brilliant and richly colored front court- yard to Apollo’s Temple, as it once was. The Temple itself, of which, in addition to the foundations and the high steps, there still remain parts of the Celia (Gr. NAO£) with the Omphalos,*) the symbol of Apollo, as also a Fig. 9. Ruins of Fig. 10. *) A stone in the form of half an egg, representing the central point, or navel, of the earth. 16 Fig, io, The Temple of Apollo and its Front Courtyard. 17 number of column -discs and capitals of tuf, was a Corinthian Peripteros*) (see Figs. 8, io & 1 2) of pre- Roman times. Of gables and timber-work no traces whatever are left. The symbol of the culte, which was kept in the Celia, has also not been found, but, on the other hand, the mighty sockle which was once faced with marble is forthcoming, and this leads one to infer that it bore a large statue of the god. The point of view selected for our reconstruction (Fig. 10) is under the eastern court-hall, behind the statue of Hermes, the which is still standing at the present day. We see the temple itself from between the columns of this hall. The point of view chosen for Fig. 1 2 is beneath the southern hall and behind Fig. 11. Ruine of Fig. 12. *) I. e. a simple hall of columns surrounded the temple on all sides, 18 Fig, 12. The Temple of Apollo and the front courtyard thereof. 19 the statue of Venus. To the left, in the foreground, stand two small figures serving as springs, and a spring was forthcoming at each corner of this front courtyard. Farther back, before the eastern hall, we recognise the statues of Diana and Maia, and in the middle space are seen 2 altars which were respectively dedicated to Venus and Diana, while there stood in the background the six-columned temple, in front of which is a marble column (still in a good state of preservation), which once bore a sun-dial. A lava-base, to the right in front of the steps, possibly bore a sacrificial table. The temple and court-halls were built of volcanic tuf, polished and painted. On a re- constructed portion of the eastern hall (Fig. 9) the style in which the Doric frame- work rested on the Tonic columns is still easily recognisable. It must have been a glorious spectacle when festal processions neared the temple, descending the two ranges of steps of the front hall and passing by the six sta- tues in the courtyard in order to halt round the principal altar and be greeted by the priesthood stan- ding on the high steps. 20 Chapter TIT. Fig- x 3- The Temple of Jupiter. We leave the courtyard of the temple of Apollo, wend our way through the gateway in the north-eastern corner and pass through a second gateway to the Fo- rum, — the principal square and former market-place of Pompeii. This square was likewise once surrounded by two-storeyed shops or halls, the original columns of which, as also the frame-work thereof, were likewise of tuf, but, after the earthquake in A. D. 63, they were rebuilt of a sort of Travertino limestone, — yet never quite completed. Ample remains of both Doric systems are still forthcoming, as also those of a rich Corinthian marble-hall, which stood on the eastern side of the 21 square, at the side of the Temple of Jupiter, in front of which macellum was laid. On the northen side of the Forum, flanked by triumphal arches, rose, as an imposing termination, the greatest Temple of Pompeii — that of Jupiter. It is the first to arrest our attention as we enter the market-place through the above-mentioned gateway Fig. 14. Ruins of Fig. 15. (Fig. 14): Two narrow sets of steps lead to an exten- ded platform, which probably served as a stage for orators. Thence one mounts up a broad flight of steps to the temple, a six-columned, Corinthian Pro- stylos*) of the pre-Roman period, some of the columns of which have been recently re-erected. The roomy *) The column-hall does not surround the Celia. It is only on the front side thereof, so that the walls of the Celia shut in the temple on the other 3 sides thereof. 22 Celia also shows on its inner longitudinal sides co- lumns that were arranged in Ionic order and, at the rear side of the space, a broad pedestal which probably served to hold several statues. Quite in the foreground (Fig. 14), on the left, are a row of Travertino columns of the Forum Colonnade, in front of which are tall marble-pedestals which once bore statues and, right close in front of us, in the foreground, is seen the wall-core for seven large sockles, the which were orna- mented with eques- trian statues. The small triumphal arch on the left of the temple still bears traces of marble pilasters and facings, so that it is not difficult to form an idea of the imposing impression which this beautiful temple, thus surrounded by halls graced with figures and triumphal arches, ornamented also by statuary, and equestrian figures rearing upwards in the air must have once made upon the beholder. (See the reconstruction, Fig. 14.) 2; Tf we pass beneath the small triumphal arch and look around we see the western side- facade of the temple on our left and obtain a view of the Forum through the arch (Fig. 16). But if we step on the Forum, closer up to the sloping terrace of the temple (Fig. 1 8), we see over it, through the antechamber and the wide open door, into the interior of the Celia (which is ornamented with Fig. 1 7. The Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter. columns) and thus into the “holy of holies” where Ju- piter once held sway and looked down upon the Pom- peiian populace assembled on the market-place whence, before the building of the amphitheatre had taken place, they watched the contests of the gladiators. Turning again, we recognise, opposite the eastern side of the temple, as a continuation of the Forum- halls, well-preserved marble-columns, a bilateral orna- mental moulding and 1 5 pedestals behind the columns, with remains of marble-facings (Fig. 19). Here, under 28 Fig. 1 8. View of the antechamber of the Temple of Jupiter and of the interior of the Celia. 29 the Emperors, a sumptuous hall was erected after the earth - quake. This stood on seventeen tall columns and ran two storeys high, but without an intermediate ceiling. 1 5 statues facing the interior helped to beau- tify this lofty and airy hall, from which one could gaze between the columns on the longitudinal side of Fig. 19. Ruins of Fig. 20. the Temple of Jupiter with its antechamber decorated with dedicatory offerings and thence see the 7 eques- trian statues opposite (Fig. 20). When one considers that to-day, even after the terrible destruction, over 60 large and small pedestals can be traced on the Forum and that these were partly ornamented by being used to support considerable groups, four-in-hand- chariots and statues of emperors, as also the marble figures of 30 deserving citizens, then one is compelled to acknow- ledge that this small provincial city produced a work of monumental beauty which compels our admiration in a high degree. ard ol the Temple of Jupiter Fig. 21. North side of the, so-called, Nero -Arch. 34 Chapter IV. Fig. 22. Marble-Relievo from the House of Csec. Jucundus. The Temple of Fortuna Augusta. Passing through the somewhat larger Triumphal Arch (erroneously called the Nero- Arch) which lies to the right of the Temple of Jupiter and the marble re- mains of which render a re-construction possible (Fig. 2 1), we soon reach the ruins of a temple, which (in the time of the emperors) was elegantly built of marble and de- dicated to Fortuna Augusta, i. e. to the Goddess of Fortune, as protectress of the popular and fortunate Au- gustus Caesar. This sumptuous marble-temple was un- doubtedly excavated again by the survivors after the destruction of Pompeii, who demolished and car- ried away the statuary of the interior, as also the string- boards. By mere chance the beginning of a pilaster, a piece of the rich, principal cornice and a few capitals alone have remained to us. These already betray the forms due to a retrogression in art but, combined with the remains of the fundamental building and of the Cella- walls, they suffice to enable us to reconstruct the edi- fice (Figs. 23 & 24). At a right angle to the facade of the temple, on the Strada Nolano, are the ruins of a tall triumphal arch, with traces of an water-conduit. A relievo (Fig. 2 2) affords us some data for the architecture of this arch, 35 which relievo was found in the house of L. Caecilius Jucundus and appears to represent the Temple to For- tuna Augusta. At the foot of this arch was found a bronze equestrian statue, broken into many pieces, which must certainly have crowned the same at one time and was erroneously supposed to represent Nero. It is now set up in the Naples Museum. Fig. 23. Ruins of Fig. 24. The arch and temple stood on one of the most frequented streets of the city. The latter was, conse- quently, shut off by an iron railing, remains of which are still clearly recognisable. An inscription on the aedicula (raising) of the pedestal in the interior records that a private citizen, one M. Tullius, had the temple erected at his own expense, and on his own land. 36 Fig. 24. The Temple to Fori — V •' Chapter V. Fig. 25. Marble breast-work to the Temple of Vespasian. The Temple to Vespasian. On the Forum, in addition to the Temple of Ju- piter, was another sacred edifice, situated in a mode- rately-sized fore -courtyard. Whereas it was formerly supposed to have been dedicated to Mercury and, later on, to the Genius of Augustus, it is recently definitely proved by A. MAU to have been vowed to the Em- peror Vespasian. It is the sole Temple at Pompeii in which divine honors were shown to an emperor or to his genius, and we may assume that, the statue of Vespasian stood on the pedestal in the Celia, clothed with the attributes of Jupiter. It was not erected until after the earthquake and was, therefore, the latest temple at Pompeii, while, at least according to the style of the courtyard, it appears to have been not completely finished when the city was buried. The temple -courtyard had, on its entrance-side, a hall borne upon 4 columns and this, probably, like the Forum-halls, had an upper-storey thereto. A marble 41 altar (now covered by an iron roof to protect it), which stands in the middle of the courtyard, shows excel- lently preserved relievos, whereas the temple itself is quite demolished, even down to the naked wall -cores and with the exception of a few marble sockles and facings. It is, therefore, probable that its materials were used by the Pompeiians to build elsewhere. Fig. 26. Ruins of Fig. 27. But for the fact that a pilaster- and door-base, together with the splinters of a column, have been accidentally left to us and that these give us some idea of about the position and the dimensions of the co- lumns, and were it not the case, moreover, that well preserved steps and facings of a platform are available, even an approximate reconstruction of this temple would hardly have been possible, but, as it is, we are 42 Fig. 27. The Temple of Vespasian with front courtyard. +3 Fig. 28. Side-view of the Temple to Vespasian. enabled to satisfy ourselves that we have to do with a four columned Prostylos, which, in respect of grace- ful, slim proportions, was probably the most elegant temple in Pompeii. The altar in question contains, on its front side, the relievo -representation of the sacri- ficing of a bull and, behind it, a temple — which was doubtless that of Vespasian, the one now under dis- cussion. The somewhat high and narrow temple -platform has a marble sloping-terrace a panel of which is pre- served in the court-yard of the Naples Museum. Fig. 28 gives a side-view of the temple with the steps of the entrance-hall of the court and a perspec- tive towards the Forum Civile. 44 Chapter VI. a si The Temple to the Three Gods. While the four temples which have already been discussed form a group of themselves in the horum Civile (or in the immediate vicinity thereof), the last three of the seven temples hitherto discovered are grouped round the open theatre, in the neighbourhood of the Forum Triangulare. Led by the guide, we first enter the small front- courtyard of the Temple of the three Capitoline deities, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, which is situated in the Strada Stabiana. It was formerly known as the Temple of FEsculapius, and we recognise there the last traces of a hall, supported by two columns, on the entrance-side of the court. The low, half- decayed walls of the narrow court- yard, as well as the spare remains of Cella-walls visible on the nine grades of foundation, before which we see two, still remaining, rich pilaster- capitals of different sizes, would hardly suffice to make one divine that a sacred edifice once stood here, did not the mighty altar placed near the steps, and which consists of elegant pre-Roman handicraft, convince us of the fact. 45 According to a discovered Oscian road-building- inscription the temple was originally dedicated to Zeus Meilichios and first later on, under the influence of Roman colonists, converted and dedicated to the culle of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Statues of the two first, of but middling artistic value and made of terra- Fig. 29. The Ruins of Fig. 30. cotta, and an unimportant bust of the latter, made of the same material and in half life-size, were found in the Celia. (Naples Museum.) The upper step of the temple and the well-pre- served plates of the longitudinal walls of the Celia 46 Fij;. 30. The Temple of the Three Gods. Fig. 31. The Temple of the Three Gods. (Fig. 32) might afford us data as to how the columns of the temple once stood thereon, as they show regular forms and recurring joint- sections, more espe- cially if one also takes counsel of the two still remaining pilaster-capi- tals, but it transpires, on closer inspection, that various possibilities exist and that it would be venturesome to give either one of them the preference, because the justification for the same is not forthcoming. Three of these pos- sibilities are illustrated in Fig. 30 — 32, two of which show a column in the middle of the temple. Fig. 32, on the other hand, shows an opening in the middle of the facade, which, according to our ideas of such a temple is the correct inference, whereas the stones of the fundamental work testify to a less fine arrangement under the other style. It is probable that error is best avoided by allow- ing the stones to speak for themselves and, in so 48 small a temple of a provin- cial city, not to take it for granted that all the condi- tions which were laid down as standards and observed as such in large Greek and Roman Temples, were rigidly adhered to. Such dicta has so penetrated the bone and marrow of us moderns that we may, perhaps, even imagine that the local master-builders of the little city of Pompeii were bound thereby, whereas, in fact, they built according to their fancy, without bothering themselves about possible posthumous fame. To weigh these unre- liable moods, which, in Pom- peii, often produced archi- tectonic distortions*) so that one might liken the provincial builders to the pro- vincialisms of the local language, is one of the most difficult tasks imposed upon the re-constructor. In Fig. 32. The Temple of the Three Gods. lify. *) The former existence of a column in the middle of a hall in Pom- peii can frequently be proved, p. e. at the entrance-hall of the fore -court of the Temple to Apollo, in the rear court-hall of the Temple to Isis, and in the much -discussed gable -points of the Greek Temple. (See Chapter VIII.) 49 Fig- 33- Side-view of the Temple to Isis. 50 Chapter VII. Not far therefrom stood the Temple to Isis, in the street named after it (Strada del Tempio d’Iside), in a fore-court surrounded on all sides by halls with co- lumns. The ruins of this temple are among those which are the best preserved and, with the niches made to receive figures, it makes a cheerful impression, — one may almost say a secular impression on the be- holder. It was built in pre-Roman times, wrecked by the earthquake of 63 B. G, and rebuilt with a portion of the former materials in almost baroque forms and with slovenly ornamental technics, the re-building occurring thanks to the foundation -grant of a six-year-old-boy, one N. Popidius Celsinus, as is recorded by an in- scription which once stood over the court-entrance and is now in the Naples Museum. On the high and long platform in the interior of the Celia stood, in ail probability, two statues of gods, but not that of the little, elegant marble statue of Isis 5i (now in the Museo nazionale of Naples), which was found in the fore-court and, doubtless, served to grace the same. The treasure -trove rescued from the Temple to Isis and the fore-court thereof, in the shape of pain- tings, objects of art, marble and bronze statues, is con- Fig. 34. The Ruins of Fig. 35. siderable and of importance for, in addition to the al- ready mentioned figure of Isis (which was richly painted and partly gilt) there were found a small Venus, an interesting specimen of polychromic coloring, further more, a bronze bust of the actor C. Norbanus Sorex 52 PIDIVS'N'FCELSINVS IDISTER R A E-MOT V' C ONLAPSAM NTOP-5RESTlTVITHVNCDECVRIONE5-OB'LIBERALITArEA ORVM-SEXS-ORDINI-SVb-GRATIS-A Fig- 35- The Temple to Isis. 53 on a marble Hermes foot, the decayed remains of a wooden statue (also of Isis) with head, hands and feet of marble, a little Bacchus -statue on the rear side of the temple, a table of heiroglyphs, a chest with va- luable temple- utensils, all of which, together with the splendid wall paintings illustrating the Isis-legend, are now in the Naples Museum. Six altars, which are still recognisable at this day, a broad chest of masonry for the remains of the sa- crifices, a bank with a painted niche against the wall of the hall opposite to the temple and, furthermore, a small, rich and not altogether tasteless building with relievo- stucco-work (a purgatorium to the left of the temple) and, added thereto, a number of apartments for priests and believers, afford an appreciable idea of the active intercourse connected with the popular culte of the new and fashionable goddess and of the deities venerated in company with her, before whose influence that of the ancient gods of Greece and Rome paled. While new and strange gods were being sought for, the Christian faith, persecuted and scoffed at as it was, began already slowly and mysteriously to penetrate men’s minds and to pave the way for the downfall of the Isis culte. 54 Chapter VIII While most of the temples of Pompeii which have been discussed up till now stood in closed-in courtyards, (that of Jupiter at the head of the populous market-place, whereas the temple to Fortuna was on the busiest street) we find the oldest temple, which was erected in the 6 Ll1 Century B. C. by Greek colonists, in the middle of a three-cornered open space (Forum Triangulare) on thesouth side of the city, where it towered high over the Sarno Valley. 55 Two sides of the triangle and the northern blunted corner of the place have Doric column-halls. In other respects it is open, and affords a wide range of view over the surrounding landscape. The approach to the Forum is from the north side. An extramural Ionic columned hall, facing the city, prepares one for the impression which must have been made on the Pompeiians on entering this place. They had left the noisy city behind them and entered immediately out of the same on to a haven of quiet and beauty. The halls, borne upon ioo columns con- cealed all that was secular, only the temple rose in all its compact Doric power from out of the long level space and surmounted the mountain-panorama and the line of the sea. In all truth this area, to which both nature and art had given their dowers, was of rare beauty. The long, shady halls, which contained entrances to the theatre, the promenade lying in the open, on the eastern side before it, and separated from the temple-area by a terrace high enough to serve for sitting down on, must all have combined to make this a favorite resort of the Pompeiians. On walking farther along the promenade to the spot where the ruins of a small spring, built in temple- style, are still to be seen, and gazing back, a long and glorious panorama (Fig. 39), was unfolded, showing, to the right, the city towered over by the Vesuvius of the ancients and the traffic-halls, in the middle the co- 56 Fig. 36. The Greek Temple (Excerpt from Fig. 39). lored Doric temple with the elegant spring -building before it, while, to the left, the eye strayed over the Valley of the Sarno and the busy harbor and, beyond these, to the distant coasts of the Sorrentino Peninsula, to the Island of Capri and the outstretched horizon of the sea (Fig. 38, 39). 57 In comparison with such a view, the impression caused to-day is sad in the extreme. All is wrecked and, excepting a few final traces, blotted out and eradi- cated. The high temple is cast down, only the five mighty steps of the foundations thereof, a few column- discs and some faint indications of the Cella-walls still rise above the level. Before the south-east side of the Fig. 37. The Ruins of Fig. 36, 38, 39. temple, almost close to the steps thereof, we can re- cognise a small building, which was probably erected later, on the spot where an altar or tomb had stood and, alongside of it, three sacrificial altars, showing that here, too, several deities were worshipped and, finally, at the rear corner of the temple, a round bank with a dedicatory inscription and a sun-dial. These, 58 litem 59 together with the remains of the long Forum - colon- nades and the small circular erection over a spring- trough, of which mention has already been made, constitute all that remains of the glorious former beauties of this place. Such data and materials would not have sufficed to enable one to reconstruct the temples were it not for the fact that a few pieces of terra-cotta- work, a lion’s head, as gargoyle frieze, (Fig. portion of the painted) tering - made o have been which, in view gous forms temples at in the temple render it pos- store these ferentially) signs upon paper, as shown in the heading to this Chapter and also in Fig. 39. It would lead us too far were we, in this issue, to enter into the details of the designs worked out in the large edition and which form the basis on which this re-construction has been carried out, and this the more especially applies to those relating to the seven front-columns of this pseudodiptero arrangement, which Fig. 40. Gargoyle, or Water-spouf. of the chief 40) and a (likewise cyma or gut- of baked clay, found, the of the analo- found in the Paestum and at Aegina, sible to re- ruins in (in- correct de- 62 latter has been attacked by some few scientists. Others, p. e. A. MAU (of Rome) and PUCHSTEIN (of Frei- burg), on the other hand, have expressed their approval of the results of the labor undertaken and brought to its issue. 63 Conclusion. The impression which the ruins of Pompeii pro- duce on both connoisseur and layman is, on the whole, a depressing and painfully thrilling one. When the first curiosity has been satisfied, this wandering through the silent and unpeopled streets, over the uneven lava- pavements, from one ruined house into another, soon produces fatigue, combined with a sense of horror, in the presence of the pictures of devastation by which one is surrounded. Even the Forum Triangulare is a hopeless home of ruin to him who knows what it once looked like. He who has no idea of what it once was — and such can hardly be formed without some cue thereto being furnished — will, with the present ma- nual in hand, be filled with a sense of satisfaction on entering this place. From the area where human happiness was turned to desolation, where on all sides one sees tangible traces of a life free from care, from the painted walls of the ruined houses, from the narrow streets, one passes out on to a broad surface overlooking the landscape. — Fresh, free air surrounds one, the broad firmament once more spreads over us, the mountains, the sea, the valley are seen and enjoyed again. The beautiful work of men’s hands, built in massive blocks 64 as if intended to stand to all eternity, is levelled to the ground and has become so small, so lowly, that Nature reigns here once more almost alone and, in her greatness, we can scarcely recognise the last remains of man’s handicraft. And so this place is once more a place of rest, for that which placed this stamp upon it, the elevated position over the surrounding landscape, remains. In spring-time the earth around the ruins, is covered with innumerable poppies, presenting a living carpet of joyous color, so that sunny Nature not only looks on us from afar as we stand on the Forum — she develops, even at our feet, from between the joints of the twenty five centuries-old temple-steps, a victorious vitality. No spot in Pompeii is so calculated to afford re- freshment as this Forum and we will therefore seat ourselves on the round stone-bank, on the broad steps of the temple, or on the long breast-work of the pro- menade, as did once on a time the Pompeiians and, while resting, master the impressions with which we are penetrated. — Nature works here so solemnly and peacefully that one speedily forgets how her ungover- nable powers once raged at this spot and that it is the peace of the grave which lies over the wrecked grey dwellings of the gods and of mankind. Only from afar, and yet distinctly, do we hear the ringing of the bells of the adjacent cupola-church of the modern settlement, Nuova Pompeji, wafted to- wards us. It is a pilgrimage-church dedicated to the 65 Virgin Mary of Pompeii, — there where once the Venus pompeian a, the protecting goddess of the ruined city, held sway. — - At eventide, at the Ave Maria, the tones of a splendid organ, played by an artist, accompany the singing of the orphaned children who have found an asyl there, and the troops of pilgrims pass through fumes of incense, by the altars of the saints, to the wonder-working figure of the Virgin Mary of Pompeii. All that is perishable is but a symbol — a pic- ture, an expression, a form to convey a thought, which, in stone and color, through the language of art, to-day, as before thousands of years, (whether it be in temples or in mighty cathedrals), seeks and strives after phy- sical symbols and which, whereever man may dwell, has always found and will ever find some other mode of giving expression to the indescribable. 66 THE LARGE EDITION OF WEICHARDT’S POMPEII (large folio, 1 9 1 / 2 : 13 inches), with German letter-press, is a popularly written work, based on thoroughly scien- tific principles, calculated to prove of great utility not only to archaeologists and architects, but also of great interest to art- and book-lovers and equally attractive to those cultured laymen who have already visited Pom- peii, or who purpose doing so. These pages presents to the investigator much that is new and, moreover, submits that which is already known in a new aspect, while it brings before the layman’s eyes a series of illu- strations enabling him to understand how, the ancient city appeared. A representation of the ruins, the ground -plan, the plastic figurings and individual remnants of the past accompanies each reconstruction and every capital is ornamented with a richly designed and appropriate head-piece, and with a final-stock. Over and above its importance as a monogram the work is compiled in a highly original style, presenting, at a com- paratively low price, a rich collection of matter devoted to artistic views and to authentic text and illustrations. This work may be obtained through all substantial book- sellers. — The undersigned publishing -firm is empowered to execute orders from places which are not provided with suitable bookselling establishments, against cash with order. LEIPZIG, January 1898 . 21 Taubchenweg 21. K. F. Koehler, Publisher and Bookseller.