Ancian Roman Arcitecture Essay, Research Paper
Ancient Roman Architecture The ancient Romans are
famous for many things. One thing is their adaptation and
development of architecture. From the Etruscans and early
tribes the Romans found most of their basic architectural
skills. From the Greeks some components of Roman
architecture were adapted. Which gives some early Roman
architecture some characteristics of oriental architecture
because of Greek contact with the Orient. The heart of
Roman architecture was the Roman forum, which was
really being constructed under the rule of Octavian
(Augustus) Caesar. As time progressed the Roman
architecture went into a stage of Greek like buildings. After
this Roman architecture as we know it today was starting
to take form. Etruscan architecture was really the beginning
of Roman architecture. For example in Etruscan tombs
people would find many types of architectural traits found
in many Roman buildings. Like the fact they had vaulted
entrances. Some cities had an influence, such as the
fortified city of Norba. After this Greece started to gain
control in Italy that greatly affected the Roman architecture
of this time but not as much as Etruscan does in the future.
When the Greeks came in Rome was building their new
buildings in the classic Greek vaulted construction with
Doric style columns. The start of this was in 179 B.C., it
started with the planing of the Temple to Fortuna Virilis.
This was completed in approximately 100 B.C. Then
shortly after the completion of the Tabularium built in the
time of Sulla. In this period under the dictator Sulla,
Hellenistic architecture flourished in Rome, with the
buildings Lindos, Cos, the acropolis at Pergamon, Fortuna
at Praeneste, the sanctuary of He! rcules Victor at Tibur,
and the temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina. Though all
these buildings were noticeably Hellenistic, they retained
the Roman?s own unique architectural style. Such as the
cylindrical shape of Forum Boarium, this was an original
shape for the Romans along with the roof. Eventually the
Hellenistic architecture was being pushed out by
Romanization. When Rome gained leadership over
Neighboring countries and was starting to unite the cities, in
about 300 B.C. Rome started to gain it?s own unique
architectural culture. When Rome was expanding they build
grids of roads, and with this advance Rome had a much
greater ability to build massive projects. Such as Octavian
(Augustus) Caesar?s Forum, aqueducts, temples, jetties,
safe ports, bridges, marsh drainage and the first truly
planned cities. These cities were truly planned to certain
specifications and were built and optimized for certain
purposes. After the Hellenistic period was nearing an end in
Rome Octavian (Augustus) Caesar took control of Rome
and started to start some major development programs. A
tribute to the god of Mars called the Ultor for the death of
Octavian (Augustus) Caesar?s father who was
assassinated, was the first That later became the Forum of
Augustus was to have the Ultor, an Other temple dedicated
to Julius Caesar called the Cella, and a courtyard. The
Forum of Augustus was built across from Julius Caesar?s
Forum on a piece of land that measured one hectare. The
Forum of Augustus was designed in a symmetrical style.
Other achievements of Augustus were to build one of the
earliest aqueducts at Minturnae was one of the first
construction projects to use arcs. This structure was made
completely of stones with a reticulated bond. Most would
figure Caesar would have a great home because he was
very absorbed in to architectural projects. On the Contrary
Caesar?s home was a simple, it was almost! small
compared with other emperors homes. It?s only features
that were appealing were the location and the wall
paintings. Of course when he became emperor it was
enlarged but not by much. Under Caesar’s reign as
emperor Agrippa built the first Pantheon in Caesar?s honor.
The Pantheon as we know it, was a replacement of
Caesar’s built century and a half later by Hadrian.
Aqueducts were one of Rome?s new devices described as
?indispensable in urban life.?(Stierlin 48) The aqueducts
were one of Rome’s many revolutionary devices. In these
science, architecture and art were combined to bring the
cities the water they need to survive. An other revolution is
the Roman network of roads. The Romans were the first
civilization to make well-designed roads. Around the time
of Augustus the major roads were constructed to keep the
incredibly large empire linked so it would not fall. The
Romans added a number of things to the basic idea of
roads, such as archways, city streets, and arch bridges.
This greatly increased the ability to build because of the
way roads were laid out. One of the most famous Roman
projects is the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome. Commonly
known as the Colosseum this massive stadium had seating
for about 50,000 people, a feat that is amazing considering
the tools used for construction. Construction started in 69
AD by Vespasian, and was finished in 80 AD when his son
Titus inaugurated it. On the outside the building was made
of travertine, ?a creamy colored carbonate material.?
(Michael Raczynski)On the inside it was made of tufa, and
the ramping were made of concrete. The quality and
advanced designs were easily viewed as superior because
it has lasted so many years, through earthquakes and wars.
It gained it?s nick name, the Colosseum because it was
located to a giant K5Ä