Pythius (Greek:Πύθιος), also known asPytheos (Greek:Πυθεός) orPythis, was aGreek architect,architecture theorist, andsculptor of the 4th century BC. He designed theTemple of Athena Polias atPriene and theMausoleum at Halicarnassus, which was regarded in antiquity amongthe Seven Wonders of the World. It is presumed that he came from the Greek city ofPriene.^[1] The first-century BCRoman architectVitruvius called Pythius a "celebrated builder" (de Architectura I.1.12) and referencedlost treatises on architecture written inGreek by Pythius as sources for hisLatin architecture manualde Architectura (I.1.15).^[2]

Pythius'Commentaries are lost, butVitruvius paraphrases his philosophy of architectural education, in which the architect should aim to be apolymath knowledgeable "in all the arts and sciences (De architectura I.1.12)." Pythius was a pioneer because he "propounded the importance of architecture as alearned discipline and sought to establish standards for it."^[1]

Pythius together withArcesius andHermogenes disparaged theDoric order, according to Vitruvius (IV.3.1), for the "faults and incongruities" caused by the frieze oftriglyphs, which required altering the regular spacing of columns at the corners ("the Doric corner conflict"). Pythius, who worked inIonia, appears to have used theIonic order exclusively.

The plan for the Temple of Athena Polias at Priene is based on a regular grid with uniformly spaced columns and marks an important development ofthe grid plan in Greek architecture.^[3] J.J. Pollitt called Pythius' grid-based design "'order' in an extreme degree" and a display of "a kind of icy, intellectual elegance."^[1] The grid designs of Pythius were a major influence on the Hellenistic architectHermogenes.

Pythius andSatyros were the co-designers of theMausoleum at Halicarnassus (modern-dayBodrum, Turkey), the tomb for theCarian kingMausolus. The Mausoleum was covered in statues and reliefs by four important 4th-century Greek sculptors:Leochares,Bryaxis,Scopas ofParos, andTimotheus. Pythius, however, is credited with sculpting the great marblequadriga on top of the structure, fragments of which survive and are today displayed in theBritish Museum.

An inscription on an anta of the Temple of Athena Polias at Priene, which today is in theBritish Museum, recordsAlexander the Great as the temple's dedicator ca. 330 BC. The temple was not completed until much later.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pythis".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

• Ancient Greek architects
• 4th-century BC Greek sculptors
• 4th-century BC architects
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

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