Trachelium (from the grc, τράχηλος for "neck") is the term in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

given to the neck of the capital of the

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

and

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

s. In the Greek Doric capital it is the space between the annulets of the echinus and the grooves, which marked the junction of the shaft and capital. In some early examples, as in the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

and temple of

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whic ...

and the temple at

Metapontum Metapontum or Metapontium ( grc, Μεταπόντιον, Metapontion) was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus (modern Basento). It was distant about 20 km from ...

, it forms a sunk concave moulding, which by the French is called the gorge. In the Roman Doric and the Ionic orders the term is given by modern writers to the interval between the lowest moulding of the capital and the top of the

astragal An astragal is a moulding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes ( fillets). An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus. It can be an architectural element used at the top or base of a column, b ...

and annulet, which were termed the hypotrachelium.

References

{{EB1911 article with no significant updates Columns and entablature