peristyle of the Great Temple of Jupiter and spring from a platform raised nearly fifty feet above the level of the plain, and thirty feet above the level of the general temple area.
Driving through the dirty little village sprawled at its side you soon reach the Eastern portico of the Acropolis. Originally approaching by a grand staircase long since quarried away, you now enter by an inclined causeway to the propykea measuring 260 ft. by 36 ft. deep and flanked at each end by square towers of cut masonry. At one time these towers were embellished with pilasters and decorative friezes but they are a sad mess now due to the ruthless
expediency of countless wars. They were formerly connected by a double row of columns, twelve in number, only the bases of which remain.
Entering the forecourt by a makeshift opening you gasp at the waste of broken masonry lying before you. Your eyes slowly sweep across the
two large courts, littered with fragments of all descriptions, until they rise and rest on the towering columns of the Great Temple seven hundred feet away. The forecourt is hexagonal in shape, measuring 195 ft. by 249 ft. and was paved with
marble slabs terraced toward the outer walls. These outer walls, composed of large cut blocks of the native rusty-yellow granite, are set close without mortar. The inner facing stone, probably marble, has disappeared. Small exedrse or chambers of the priests, jut from the walls and show somewhat of the early decoration of classic mouldings and panels but all are in poor condition. The walls have been pierced for catapult and cannon and many granite boulders, missiles of ancient war machines, lie about in mute testimony.
Pass on to the Great Court through a waste of broken columns, pediments, lintels, etc., lying in great confusion. This large court measuring
Plan
The Hexagon and Great Court, with Altar
Driving through the dirty little village sprawled at its side you soon reach the Eastern portico of the Acropolis. Originally approaching by a grand staircase long since quarried away, you now enter by an inclined causeway to the propykea measuring 260 ft. by 36 ft. deep and flanked at each end by square towers of cut masonry. At one time these towers were embellished with pilasters and decorative friezes but they are a sad mess now due to the ruthless
expediency of countless wars. They were formerly connected by a double row of columns, twelve in number, only the bases of which remain.
Entering the forecourt by a makeshift opening you gasp at the waste of broken masonry lying before you. Your eyes slowly sweep across the
two large courts, littered with fragments of all descriptions, until they rise and rest on the towering columns of the Great Temple seven hundred feet away. The forecourt is hexagonal in shape, measuring 195 ft. by 249 ft. and was paved with
marble slabs terraced toward the outer walls. These outer walls, composed of large cut blocks of the native rusty-yellow granite, are set close without mortar. The inner facing stone, probably marble, has disappeared. Small exedrse or chambers of the priests, jut from the walls and show somewhat of the early decoration of classic mouldings and panels but all are in poor condition. The walls have been pierced for catapult and cannon and many granite boulders, missiles of ancient war machines, lie about in mute testimony.
Pass on to the Great Court through a waste of broken columns, pediments, lintels, etc., lying in great confusion. This large court measuring
Plan
The Hexagon and Great Court, with Altar