As will be observed from the diagram (Woodcut No. 5) the lowest step of the pyramid is buried to half its height in the gutter behind the cymatium; and with that projecting 2 feet beyond, it could not be seen anywhere within
400 feet of the building,—practically not at all. At the same time I am inclined to believe that the lowest visible step was at least twice as high as the others. The authority for this is, of course, the Lion Tomb (Woodcut No. 1); but I think every architect will agree that a pyramid fading away behind a cymatium, without any marking line, would be most unpleasing architecturally; and especially when the pyramid slopes upwards at so low an angle, and is placed so high, the arrangement seems especially wanted. Assuming this, the 9-inch step is just what is required to bring the taller step perpendicular over the frieze, and preventing the cymatium at the same time appearing to have too great a projection at such points as it could be seen from. Mr. Pullan makes the whole height of the twenty-four steps equal to 25 feet English. If this were added it would be 26, or about 25 feet 9 inches Greek; leaving thus 11 feet 9 inches for the height of the meta or pedestal of the quadriga.
In so far as any accordance with Pliny’s dimensions is concerned, the height of the pyramid steps is not of the smallest consequence. Whatever is added to the pyramid must be taken from the meta; whatever is taken from the meta, which there is nothing to govern, must be added to the pyramid. What its height really was, can only be ascertained when some system of definite proportions for the vertical heights of the building shall have been satisfactorily settled, which, as will be explained farther on, is rather difficult to establish absolutely, though easy to fix within certain tolerably narrow limits.
Vertical Heights.
With regard to the vertical heights, there is absolutely no difficulty in making them agree with those found in Pliny. The pyramid,—“in metæ cacumen se contrahens,”—was 25 Greek cubits, or 37 ft. 6 in. The order was the same in height exactly, and if we choose to assume that the expression “pyramis altitudine inferiorem æquavit” referred to the pteron as the “lower part,” it comes out correctly. If we add to the pyramid the quadriga, estimating that at 13′ 9″, we have 51′ 3″, and taking the same quantity for the basement, we have
| Greek Ft. | In. | |
| For the pyramid and quadriga | 51 | 3 |
| For the basement | 51 | 3 |
| For the pteron 25 cubits | 37 | 6 |
| ———— | ||
| 140 | 0 | |
or exactly the dimensions found in Pliny.
All this is so clear and so satisfactory, that there the matter might rest. There is no real necessity to look further, were it not that one or two peculiarities come out in the investigation which seem worthy of being noted.
In restoring the basement, after making its entablature of such proportions as seemed to me most appropriate, I was surprised to find, on applying a scale, that I had obtained exactly 37 ft. 6 in. for the height from the ground line to the soffit over the piers. Though I have tried several other dimensions since, this seems so appropriate that, as very little depends on it, we may allow it to stand.