il band is apparently the only feature in which
that origin can now be traced. The crowning member of the cornice is a
partly hollow moulding, technically called a "cyma recta," less
vigorous than the convex ovolo, of the Doric: this moulding, and some
of the bed mouldings, were commonly enriched with carving. Altogether
more slenderness and less vigour, more carved enrichment and less
painted decoration, more reliance on architectural ornament and
less on the work of the sculptor, appear to distinguish those examples
of Greek Ionic which have come down to us, as compared with Doric
buildings.

[Illustration: FIG. 70.--THE IONIC ORDER. FROM PRIENE, ASIA MINOR.]

[Illustration: FIG. 71.--IONIC ORDER. FROM THE ERECHTHEIUM, ATHENS.]

[Illustration: FIG. 72.--NORTH-WEST VIEW OF THE ERECHTHEIUM, IN THE
TIME OF PERICLES.]

The most numerous examples of the Ionic order of which remains exist
are found in Asia Minor, but the most refined and complete is the
Erechtheium at Athens (Figs. 72, 73), a composite structure containing
three temples built in juxtaposition, but differing from one another
in scale, levels, dimensions, and treatment. The principal order from
the Erechtheium (Fig. 71) shows a large amount of enrichment
introduced with the most refined and severe taste. Specially
remarkable are the ornaments (borrowed from the Assyrian honeysuckle)
which encircle the upper part of the shaft at the point where it
passes into the capital, and the splendid spirals of the volutes
(Figs. 68, 69). The bases of the columns in the Erechtheium example
are models of elegance and beauty. Those of some of the examples from
Asia Minor are overloaded with a vast number of mouldings, by no
means always producing a pleasing effect (Figs. 74, 75). Some of them
bear a close resemblance to the bases of the columns at Persepolis.

[Illustration: FIG. 73.--PLAN OF THE ERECHTHEIUM.]

[Illustration: FIG. 74.--IONIC BASE FROM THE TEMPLE OF THE WINGLESS
VICTORY (NIKE APTEROS).]

[Illustration: FIG. 75.--IONIC BASE MOULDINGS FROM PRIENE.]

The most famous Greek building which was erected in the Ionic style
was the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. This temple has been all but
totally destroyed, and the very site of it had been for centuries lost
and unknown till the energy and sagacity of an English architect (Mr.
Wood) enabled him to discover and dig out the vestiges of the
building. Fortunately sufficient traces of the fo