Re: Monday answer
Gary Smyth
Entasis. If you got the answer shout it out. In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upwards. In the Hellenistic period some columns with entasis are cylindrical in their lower parts. Some Roman columns are 'cigar-shaped', with the widest point some distance above the foot, but this obvious distortion to most eyes is unattractive--unlike the Greek "straight" tapered style.
The word derives from the Greek word ἐντείνειν, to stretch tightly.
Probably the first use of entasis was in the construction of Egyptian pyramids, but it can also be observed in portions of the Far East and, especially, the classical period Greek column designs, for example in the Doric-order temples in Segesta, Selinus, Agrigento and Paestum. Noted architects, such as the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio, used it in their buildings, and a student of Palladio's work, Thomas Jefferson, also used the technique in his designs.
More recently, Rolls-Royce cars all made use of it in their radiator grills to give an illusion of greater solidity.
For me the interesting story is not the fact that columns were altered but how it was done.
The deciphering of entasis happened reasonably recently (1970's) at a temple of Apollo most people never have heard of on the west coast of Turkey. In the variety and complexity of its interior spaces, Didyma is unique. In its time, it was approached by a white stone paved Sacred Way about 17km long. This may have been as early as 2000 BC! It is exceptional for another reason: In 1979, fine, barely visible lines were discovered incised on the high interior walls. They are the actual blueprint of the temple, rendered in full-scale and precisely scratched into the surface of the marble to serve as a guide over the several lifetimes it would take to complete construction. They survive at the Didymaion because the temple never was finished and the walls of the cella court did not receive their final polishing.
Vitruvius' "De Architectura" originally was illustrated with ten drawings, outlining the elements of entasis. Unfortunately all have been lost. However, one set of inscribed lines at Didyma actually provides a scheme for laying out the entasis (the slight convex bulge of the column to make it appear straight) and so provides an example of how the missing scale drawing might have looked.
(Information all from the net)