Ten Books on Architecture

BOOK ONE

A woodcut illustration encased in a rectangular double-border. The image depicts three female figures, identified in architectural history as Caryatids, standing atop individual molded pedestals. Each figure is dressed in a long, draped gown with a high waist and wears a flattened, cylindrical headdress. Their arms are positioned in front of their bodies with hands clasped. Above their heads are horizontal lines representing an entablature or roof structure that they support, illustrating their function as architectural supports.

In the same way, the Spartans original: "Lacones"—under the leadership of Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus—defeated an almost infinite number of the Persian army with only a small force at the Battle of Plataea a decisive 479 BCE battle during the Greco-Persian Wars. After celebrating a glorious triumph, they used the spoils and booty of war to construct the Persian Portico original: "porticum Persicam"; a roofed colonnade or porch as a sign of victory for posterity and a trophy dedicated to the praise and courage of the citizens.

In that place, they positioned statues of the captives dressed in foreign attire original: "barbarico uestis ornatu", forced to support the roof as a punishment for their pride and as a mark of well-deserved insult. They did this so that enemies would be struck with dread at the sight of such fortitude, and so that citizens, looking upon this example of valor, would be inspired by glory and remain ready to defend their liberty.

Consequently, since that time, many architects have placed statues of Persians to support entablatures: the horizontal layers of a building (architrave, frieze, and cornice) that rest upon columns and their ornaments. Through this historical motif original: "argumento", they have greatly increased the magnificent variety and richness of their architectural works.