Parts of this column were found during excavations conducted from 1911 through 1914 at Sardis, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Lydia. It is modeled after the Greek Ionic style and was part of the temple dedicated to Artemis at Sardis. Sardis was one of the cities of western Asia Minor in which Greek influence was continually interwoven with local tradition. After the conquest by Alexander the Great, it became part of the Seleucid empire, which spanned Asia Minor, the Levant, Persia, and as far east as India.
Consistent with the predilection for enormous scale already manifest in Archaic temples, for instance, at Ephesus and Didyma, the one at Sardis ranks among the seven largest of all Greek temples. This column, with most of the shaft omitted, was reconstituted from one or more similar columns and would have stood over fifty-six feet high in its original location. Its shortened form makes it easier to appreciate the fine carving of the foliate ornaments on the Ionic capital, as well as the scale pattern on the torus at its base.
opd
<p>Parts of this column were found during excavations conducted from 1911 through 1914 at Sardis, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Lydia. It is modeled after the Greek Ionic style and was part of the temple dedicated to Artemis at Sardis. Sardis was one of the cities of western Asia Minor in which Greek influence was continually interwoven with local tradition. After the conquest by Alexander the Great, it became part of the Seleucid empire, which spanned Asia Minor, the Levant, Persia, and as far east as India. </p><p>Consistent with the predilection for enormous scale already manifest in Archaic temples, for instance, at Ephesus and Didyma, the one at Sardis ranks among the seven largest of all Greek temples. This column, with most of the shaft omitted, was reconstituted from one or more similar columns and would have stood over fifty-six feet high in its original location. Its shortened form makes it easier to appreciate the fine carving of the foliate ornaments on the Ionic capital, as well as the scale pattern on the torus at its base.</p>
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