. Pompeii : its life and art . fore the eruption (Fig. 75).It has architecturally nothing suggestive of the Egyptian the plan presents a marked deviation from ordinary types,as if the builders, erecting an edifice for the worship of foreigngods, strove with set purpose to produce a bizarre effect; at theright and the left of the front of the cella is a large niche, pro-jecting beyond the sides of the portico, and inorganically con-nected with the main part of the temple by a pilaster. In theornamentation of this temple, as in that of the temple of Apollo, i66 POMPEII the simple and c
. Pompeii : its life and art . fore the eruption (Fig. 75).It has architecturally nothing suggestive of the Egyptian the plan presents a marked deviation from ordinary types,as if the builders, erecting an edifice for the worship of foreigngods, strove with set purpose to produce a bizarre effect; at theright and the left of the front of the cella is a large niche, pro-jecting beyond the sides of the portico, and inorganically con-nected with the main part of the temple by a pilaster. In theornamentation of this temple, as in that of the temple of Apollo, i66 POMPEII the simple and chaste forms of the Greek architecture werereplaced by gaudy stucco ornaments more in harmony withthe prevailing taste. Besides the broad flight of steps in front, a narrow stairwayat the left of the temple led to a side door opening into thecella. A base of masonry about six feet high extends acrossthe rear of the cella, on which were two pedestals of tufa, aboutsixteen inches square, for the statues of Isis and Osiris. In the. Fig. 74. — View of the temple of Isis. two large niches outside other divinities stood, perhaps Anubisand Harpocrates. The latter was apparently worshipped alsoat the shrine in the wall on the east side of the court (3), facingthe doorway of the cella. A painting from this shrine, now inthe Naples Museum, represents a statue of Harpocrates of thefamiliar type — a boy with his finger in his mouth holding acornucopia, with a lotus blossom resting on his forehead ; beforehim stands a priest in a long white robe, holding a candlestickin each hand, while in the background is a temple surroundedby a colonnade, evidently intended for a free representation THE TEMPLE OF ISIS 167 of the temple before us. In front of the shrine were thecharred remains of a wooden bench. No statue was found in the cella or in the two niches in may suppose that the images of the four divinities, beingof relatively small size, were carried off by the priests at thetime o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyorkmacmillan
