ies involved. Could we see the great theatre of
Athens as it was when perfect, we should probably find that as an
interior it was almost unrivalled, alike for convenience and for
beauty; and for these excellences it was mainly indebted to the
elegance of its planning. The actual floor of many of the Greek
temples appears to have been of marble of different colours.

_The Walls._

The construction of the walls of the Greek temples rivalled that of
the Egyptians in accuracy and beauty of workmanship, and resembled
them in the use of solid materials. The Greeks had within reach
quarries of marble, the most beautiful material which nature has
provided for the use of the builder; and great fineness of surface and
high finish were attained. Some interesting examples of hollow walling
occur in the construction of the Parthenon. The wall was not an
element of the building on which the Greek architect seemed to dwell
with pleasure; much of it is almost invariably overshadowed by the
lines of columns which form the main features of the building.

The pediment (or gable) of a temple is a grand development of the
walls, and perhaps the most striking of the additions which the Greeks
made to the resources of the architect. It offers a fine field for
sculpture, and adds real and apparent height beyond anything that the
Egyptians ever attempted since the days of the Pyramid-builders; and
it has remained in constant use to the present hour.

We do not hear of towers being attached to buildings, and, although
such monumental structures as the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
approached the proportions of a tower, height does not seem to have
commended itself to the mind of the Greek architect as necessary to
the buildings which he designed. It was reserved for Roman and
Christian art to introduce this element of architectural effect in all
its power. On the other hand, the Greek, like the Persian architect,
emphasised the base of his building in a remarkable manner, not only
by base mouldings, but by planting the whole structure on a great
range of steps which formed an essential part of the composition.

_The Roof._

The construction of the roofs of Greek temples has been the subject of
much debate. It is almost certain that they were in some way so made
as to admit light. They were framed of timber and covered by tiles,
often, if not always, of marble. Although all traces of the timber
framing have disappeared, we can at least kn