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suicide (in Apollonian Culture): *
In Rome, suicide was never illegal, their attitude was pragmatic. Livy tells of the colony of Massalia; those who wished to commit suicide applied to the Senate & if judged sound received hemlock free of charge. Only those accused of capital crimes, slaves & solders were forbidden suicide (in all 3 the reason was economic). The Romans approved of suicide as an alternative to dishonour. For the Roman Stoics it was a guarantee of personal freedom, a way out of an intolerable existence. Cato the Younger killed himself after the Pompeian cause was defeated at the Battle of Thapsus. His example was later followed by Seneca. But suicide for private reason (love) was disapproved of (e.g. Mark Antony who killed himself for love).
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Mexican architecture:: *
The Hueyi Teocalli (Great Temple) was built of stone covered with stucco & polychrome paint; it dominated the Sacred Precinct, one of 75-80 buildings which included other pyramids, ornamental walls, gathering places, shops & bathrooms. Its architectural style is late Post-classic (Mesoamerica). It was dedicated to 2 gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of war & Tlaloc, god of rain & agriculture, each with a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases. The spire in the center was devoted to Quetzalcoatl as the wind god, Ehecatl. The first temple was built after 1325 AD, it was rebuilt 6 times, the last one completed 1497. It was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new cathedral.
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Corinthian capital: *
the Pantheon, Rome Italy, originally built during the reign of Augustus (27 BC-14 AD), following its destruction by fire, rebuilt under Hadrian (dedicated 126 AD). The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (8 in the first rank & 2 groups of 4 behind) under a pediment.
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difficulty… of triglyphs & metopes: *
Originally triglyphs were heads of wooden beams, every column had to bear a beam which lay on the centre of the column. Arranged regularly, the last triglyph was centred on the last column (illustration I). This was the ideal. When the medium changed to stone cubes, they required full support of the architrave load on the last column. The final triglyph was moved, terminating the sequence (see illustration II) leaving a gap disturbing the regular order & which was off centre. Seen as inharmonious. This was not regarded as harmonious. One solution was to use a broader corner triglyph (illustration III) but this was not satisfying.
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intercolumniations: *
A solution to the Doric corner problem was to adjust the intercolumniation, the metopes being flexible. Often the last 2 columns were set slightly closer together (corner contraction) to give visual strengthening to the corners. That was the "classic" solution (see illustration IV). Triglyphs could be arranged in a harmonic manner again & the corner terminated with a triglyph, however, final triglyph & column were still not centred!
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Colosseum (3 rings) *
The outer wall's façade consists of 3 stories of superimposed arcades (this is what Spengler’s “three rings” refers to) surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The 3 arcades are framed by half-columns of the Doric, Ionic & Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. Each of the arches in the 2nd & 3rd-floor arcades framed statues, honoring divinities & other figures from mythology.
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Didymaeum of Miletus:*
The Milesians designed their temple to rival the largest temple in the Greek world, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. It was over twice the size of the Parthenon. The temple platform was huge (5,500 square meters) & here were placed 122 columns, each 2.5 meters in diameter, supporting a coffered roof that extended over the entire platform. Its walls rose 28 meters above the ground. The peripteral temple (10x21) was surrounded by a double file of Ionic columns, its pronaos having 3 rows of 4 columns, the approaching visitor passed through a grove formed of columns. As was common for such temples of immense size, it was never completed.
