In the most ancient days of Greece the royal fortresses were the finest structures, but in later days the temple became the supreme object upon which thought and labor were lavished. The public buildings which served the uses of the whole people were second in consideration, while the private dwellings were of the least importance of all. The Greek temple was built upon a raised structure like those of Assyria and other Oriental nations, but the Greek temple was much smaller, and by a dignified and simple elegance in detail, and a harmony in all its parts, it expressed a more noble religious sentiment than could be conveyed by all the vast piles of massive confusion that had abounded in more Eastern lands. [Illustration: FIG. 36.--TEMPLE OF DIANA, ELEUSIS.] The earliest and simplest Greek temples were merely small, square chambers made to contain an image of a god, and in later times, when the temples came to be splendid and grand, the apartment containing the sacred image was still called the _cella_ or cell, as it had been named from the first. The simplest form of temple was like the little cut (Fig. 36), and had two pillars in the centre of the front and two square pilasters at the front end of the side walls. These pilasters are called _antæ_, and the whole style of the building is called _distyle in antis_; the word distyle denotes the two pillars, and the expression means two pillars with antæ. [Illustration: FIG. 37.--SMALL TEMPLE AT RHAMNUS.] The above picture shows the next advance that was made in form (Fig. 37). A porch was added to the cell, the two parts being separated by a wall with a doorway in it. After a time the number of pillars in front was increased to six, and the two outer ones were the first of a row which extended along the entire length of the sides of the temple, thus forming a peristyle, or a row of columns entirely around the cell; the cell itself remained, according to the original plan, in the centre of the building. The ground plan of such a temple is given in the next wood-cut (Fig. 38). [Illustration: FIG. 38--PLAN OF TEMPLE OF APOLLO, BASSÆ.] A large proportion of the Greek temples were built in this manner, and were called _hexastyle_ from the six columns on the front. The different orders of ancient Greek architecture are called the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The Greeks were very fond of the Doric order, and used it so extensively as to make it almost exclusively their own. The picture of the Parthenon will help you to understand the explanations of the characteristics of the Doric order (Fig. 39). [Illustration: FIG. 39--THE PARTHENON. _Athens_. (RESTORED.)]