Introductory American History | Page 8

temple was not
left a glistening white, but parts of it were painted in blue, or red, or gilt,
or orange.
[Illustration: THE TOP OF THE ACROPOLIS 2000 YEARS AGO
The Parthenon is the large temple on the right]
OTHER GREEK TEMPLES. This beautiful temple is now partly
ruined. Ruins of other temples are on the Acropolis, and one better
preserved, called the Theseum, stands on a lower hill. There are also
similar ruins in many places along the shores of the Mediterranean. The
most interesting are at Paestum in Italy, and at Girgenti in Sicily. Long
before these temples were ruined they had taught the Romans how to
construct one of the most beautiful kinds of buildings, and this the
Romans later taught the peoples of western Europe.
GREEK METHODS OF BUILDING STILL USED. If we look at our
large buildings, we shall see much to remind us of the Greek buildings.
Sometimes the exact form of the Greek building is imitated; sometimes
this form is changed as the Romans changed it, or as it was changed by
builders who lived after the time of the Romans. If the model of the
whole building is not used, there are similar pillars, or gables, or the
sculpture in the pediment and the frieze is imitated. The Greeks had
three kinds of pillars, named Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Doric is
simple and solid, the Ionic shows in its capital, or top, delicate and
beautiful curves, while the Corinthian is adorned with leaves springing
gracefully from the top of the pillar.
[Illustration: Doric Ionic Corinthian GREEK ORDERS OF
ARCHITECTURE]
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE GREEK THEATER AT EPIDAURUS]

THEATERS. The first Greek theater was only a smooth open space
near a hillside, with a tent, called a skené, or scene, in which the actors
dressed. Later an amphitheater of stone seats was constructed on the
hillside, and across the open end was placed the scene, which had been
changed into a stone building. On its front sometimes a house or a
palace was painted, just as nowadays theaters are furnished with
painted scenery. In these open-air theaters thousands of people gathered.
Plays were generally given as a part of religious festivals, and there
were contests between writers to see which could produce the best play.
Sometimes the plays followed one another for three days from morning
until night. Many of them are so interesting that people still read them,
after twenty-five hundred years. The Romans studied them, and so do
modern men who are preparing themselves to write plays.
[Illustration: THE MODERN STADIUM AT ATHENS]
THE STADIUM. A building which somewhat resembled the theater
was the stadium, where races were run. The difference was that it was
oblong instead of half round. The most famous stadium, at Olympia,
was seven hundred and two feet long, with raised seats on both sides
and around one end of the running track. The other end was open.
About fifty thousand persons used to gather there to watch the races.
PORTICOES. There were other buildings, some for meeting places,
some for gymnasiums, and still others called porticoes, where the
judges held court or the city officers carried on their business. The
porticoes were simply rows of columns, roofed over, with occasionally
a second story. As they stretched along the sides of a square or market
place they added much to the beauty of a city.
GREEK SCULPTURE. We know that the Greeks were skilful
sculptors because from the ruins of their cities have been dug
wonderful marble and bronze statues which are now preserved in the
great museums of the world, in Paris, London, Berlin, and Rome, and
here in America, in New York and Boston. Museums which cannot
have the original statues usually contain copies or casts of them in
plaster. The statues are generally marred and broken, but enough
remains to show us the wonderful beauty of the artist's work. Among

the most famous are the Venus, of Melos (or "de Milo"), which stands
in a special room in a museum called the Louvre in Paris; the Hermes
in the museum of Olympia in Greece; and the figures from the
Parthenon in the British Museum in London.
[Illustration: THE DISCUS-THROWER (DISCOBOLOS) An ancient
Greek statue now in the Vatican]
Artists nowadays, like the Roman artists long ago, study the Greek
statues and the Greek sculpture, in order that they may learn how such
beautiful things can be made. They do not hope to excel the Greeks, but
are content to remain their pupils.
PAINTING AND POTTERY. The Greeks were also painters, makers
of pottery, and workers in gold and silver. Many pieces of their
workmanship have been discovered by those who have dug in the ruins
of ancient buildings and tombs.
[Illustration: A GREEK BOOK The