The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-05-20
TEMPLE OF JUPITER,

TEMPLE OF JUPITER.
Progress Of the Excavations at Olympia
Rich Discorcrtcs of Greek antiquities.
, The Berlin correspondent of the Lon
don Standard writes to his paper of tn,
progress of exhuming the Temple o
Jupiter at Olympia, as follows:
=" The excavations in Olympia are pro
ceeding without interruption. Theil
purpose, as is well known, is to free the
Temple of Jupiter from the surrounding
rubbish. By last accounts this has been
already done for the most part from the
east side. There the old pavement has
been found, consisting of twenty-three
thick blocks of stone, resting on layer
of bricks and other materials. The en-
trance to the temple was not as in the
Parthenon, by intermediate steps before
the inter-Columnium, but by perron
leading to the second temple step, and
forming before the middle of the temple
front terrace, on which the foundation
of an altar has come to Ii hit.
l
| The clearance of the south side has
been vigorously begun from east to west.
Among the many discoveries, important
for the history of architecture, are to be
reckoned the lions head or gargoyles of
the temple. They are in three different
styles, in antique form Especially at the
southwest corner), quite naturalistic,
and, finally, in traditional style, which
clearly proves that the temple was not
built all at once, like the Parthenon, but
was the work of several very different
epochs. At the north side of the temple
was found a pedestal of porous stone,
four metres long, with draped figures in
relief, and at the south side of the base,
an inscription, in honor apparently of
the Empress Faustina. 1t is especially
interesting that several remarkable in
scriptions have been completed. On the
I'd of March was found the second part |
of the so-called Ageladas inscription,
which shows that Ageladas was the father
of Argeiadas, the founder of the temple. |
The inscription of Praxiteles, mentioned
in former letter, is now complete, in
two distiches, and shows us the whole
career of an Arcadian who, at the close
of an adventurous life of wandering, re-
tired to his native mountains.
The greater number of the discove-
rios have been made on the west side.
There wall came to light, running from
the southwest corner westward, oddly
heaped together, pedestals, drums o.
columns, triglyphs, Ionic and Doric cap
itals, blocks of marble and tiles. Also,
a base, with the artist inscription OF one
Sophocles (of the fourth or third century
B. CO., an inscription in honor of
Lycomedges, a victor at the Olympic
games, and series of admirably pre-
served lions heads in terra Gotta, adorned
with rich colors, perfectly fresh, and an
probably by Lucius Mum.
MUS, on the statue of Zeus mentioned
by Pausanias. Ten PAGES southeast from
The southeastern corner of the temple
The foundation walls of round building
IF marble have been brought to light.
Near by eight PAGES south-southwest)
appeared on the 18th of March round
marble base, followed ,out within like
.he mouth of we'll, on the brink of
which is very ancient inscription, the
'ame which Pausanias (chapter "a, 81
read at the foot of the statue of Zeus.
,he votive gift ''of the Lacedemonians
after their second conquest of Messene.
"The statue and pedestal of the god
less of victory, with which the discov-
cries began, have been brought nearer
by further excavations.
More of the huge blocks, four or five
meters high, of which the bases consist,
nave been found, besides marble wing
md fragments of the goddess, which will
greatly enhance the beauty of the statue.
The whole environments of the goddess is
low clear. The old path, fenced in by
votive gifts, which used to lead through
he grove of Zeus, are now recognized,
md the original order of the monuments,
Ill OF which stand on their old places, is
low for the first time ineligible. Of
he other antiquities that have been
ound, may mention various remains of
ound marble slabs with traces of gayly-
'olored painting, the fore part of $
lorse's body, and tiles from the roof, with
in the dialect of Ellis. Last ,
month was very rich in manifolds and |
-ery instructive results for architecture, ,
and the knowledge of monu- ,
nents. The work has been carried on j.
hitherto without interruption, but will ]
DON be stopped for several months by |
leat in the Alpheios valley t