Roman Architecture

Mary Megan Heintz

CEP 817

What is Roman Architecture?

• Roman architecture stands today as a testament to the ability and grandeur of this once great civilization that, at one time, covered three continents. The common style of architecture formed a thread that helped keep the vast Roman empire connected.

• The Romans adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Sometimes that approach is productive, and sometimes it hinders understanding by causing us to judge Roman buildings by Greek standards.

Roman and Greek Architecture

The architecture of Classical Greece and Rome did not come about all at once, but came in different stages of design and style. There were five different styles that the Romans and Greeks used throughout classical times, from pre 500 BC to the first century AD.

The Five Architectual Styles

Learn more about Roman Architecture

1~ Doric Style

2~ Ionic Style

3~ Corinthean

4~ Tuscan

5~ Composite Order

Doric Style

• Columns built in this style usually had no base and consisted of a massive shaft with 20 flutes. Doric architecture predates the 5th century BC.

Doric Style

• The earliest temples were built in the Doric style. Doric temples are simple and strong.

• In Doric temples, the columns have no base, but just sit right on the floor. At the top of the columns, there's a capital made of a sort of small pillow in stone, and then a square block, under the architrave (ARR-kuh-trayv).

Examples

These are examples in which the Doric columns were used.

The Parthenonin Greece

The Colosseumin Rome

picture of Parthenon taken by Brian Heintz

Back to the 5 Styles

Ionic Style

• More visibly complex than that of the Doric style, being of slender proportion, and their height being generally about nine times the column's lower diameter; the order is always used with a base and the column shaft usually has 24 flutings.

Ionic Style

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In Ionic temples, the columns have a small base to stand on, instead of sitting right on the floor. They are still fluted, but they have more flutes than Doric columns. At the top of the columns, there's a double curve in stone, under the architrave (ARR-kuh-trayv). On the architrave, there is a continuous frieze (FREEZE) where the triglyphs and metopes would be on a Doric temple.

examples

Back to the 5 Styles

This is an example in which the Ionic column was used.

Temple of Athena Nikein the Acropolis in Athens

Triglyphs and Metopes

Most Greek temples have a pattern under the pediment known as triglyphs and metopes. The triglyphs alternate with the metopes across the front of the temple.  Triglyphs have three parts, and then in between the triglyphs are the metopes.

Greek temple

at Agrigento, Sicily

Corinthian Style

• The Corinthian style is fancier and heavier than the Ionic style.

• This is the most ornate of the classical styles and is generally much more slender than the Ionic style. The Romans used the Corinthian order in numerous monumental works of imperial architecture. They gave it a special base, made carved additions to the cornice, and created numerous capital variations, utilizing florid leafage and sometimes human and animal figures.

Corinthian Style

In Corinthian temples, the columns have a fancier base to stand on. At the top of the columns, on the capital, there's a stone carving of acanthus leaves, under the architrave (ARR-kuh-trayv). On the architrave, as in Ionic temples, there is a continuous frieze where the triglyphs and metopes would be on a Doric temple.

examples

Temple of Castorin the Roman Forum

Maison Carréein Nimes, France

These are examples in which the Corinthian columns were used.

Back to the 5 Styles

Triglyphs and Metopes

Most Greek temples have a pattern under the pediment known as triglyphs and metopes. The triglyphs alternate with the metopes across the front of the temple.  Triglyphs have three parts, and then in between the triglyphs are the metopes.

Greek temple

at Agrigento, Sicily

Tuscan Style

• The Tuscan column was the next form to be introduced and it was introduced by the Etruscans. The Tuscan Column is a very simple, plain column with a base and non-fluted shaft. No major examples of this architectural type survive today.

Back to the 5 Styles

Composite Order

• The Composite form is a combination of Ionic and Corinthian orders. This form was the most complex due to the fact that it used the arch. Due to the advances of the Composite style of architecture and the skill that the Romans had with concrete, the Romans were able to develop such architectural marvels like the arch, the vault and the dome.

examples

The Pantheon

• One of the most famous domed buildings to come from the ancient Romans was the Pantheon built in the last century BC by Marcus Agrippa and later refurbished by Hadrian. This building was originally built as a temple to all the Roman gods but was later converted into a Christian temple. This building has the honor of being the oldest, and largest, free standing dome in history.

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

picture of Pantheon taken by Brian Heintz

The Pantheon

Click on the picture to learn moreabout the Pantheon

These are examples in which the Composite Order was used.

Back to the 5 StylesArch of Titus

picture of Pantheon taken by Brian Heintz

Aqueducts

• The Roman development of the arch also led to the building of the great aqueducts for which were used to transport great amounts of water over vast miles of land. The need for aqueducts occurred in Rome during the mid republic due to the fact that the Tiber river had gotten too muddy and polluted from waste dumping and other deeds. As time went on, numerous aqueducts were built in Rome and throughout the empire in general.

• Perhaps the most well preserved aqueduct is Pont du Gard near Nimes, France

Pont du Gard

near Nimes, France

To transport the water over great distances, the Roman Aqueduct worked with the principals of gravity and they also had special basins between the source and the destination that would help purify the water. Once the water had reached the destination, it was kept in a storage tank where it would be distributed by pipes to different locations in the city. Some lucky upper class people had water piped directly to their residence, the earliest known form of a sophisticated pipe system.

Roman Baths

• With the water system that the Aqueduct allowed, the Roman public baths got more sophisticated and grew in size as time went on.

• By the second century AD, public baths had grown in size and variety. In these new facilities, the pampered could do everything from eat, to exercise, and even read.

Baths• Under such famous emperors as

Titus, Caracalla and Diocletion, magnificent baths were constructed that could house thousands of people at a single time. These later baths were constructed in different sections.

Roman Bathin Bath, England

• Upon entrance into the bath house, the patron would first enter a changing room in which they would undress themselves before continuing into the exercise room. After a period of exercise, the patron would then go to the warm baths, in the tepidarium, then to the cold baths, in the frigidarium. After their bath, the patron could have a massage if he/she wished so.

Baths of Caracallain Rome

Click on the picture of the Baths of Caracalla to see the floor plan.

Key to Baths of Caracalla:1.Original front entrance 2.Changing rooms 3.Gymnasia 4.Natatio (outdoor pool) 5.Frigidarium (cold room) 6.Tepidarium (warm room) 7.Caldarium (hot room) 8.Conference rooms 9.Greek and Latin libraries 10.Stadium

Baths of Caracalla in Rome (floor plan)

Great Advances

• The system that the Romans had for maintaining their bath houses was an engineering wonder. – In the cold and hot areas of the bath, the water

temperature was actually regulated by the use of underground fire furnaces.

– Also, the dirty water in the baths was actually drained and replaced regularly.

– The bath house also had a hookup to the complex Roman water system and so always had an ample source of water, for both bathing in, and for drinking.

The great sanitary conditions of the bath house were major factors that helped to make the Roman empire the cleanest society up until the 19th century.

Great Roman Structures

• The grand public structures that the Romans left are the greatest legacy to their once great empire. Their great amphitheaters and monuments, such as the triumphal arch, were great structures that were a marvel to the Romans and are still a marvel to us today.

Amphitheathers and Monuments

Amphitheater

• The Roman Amphitheater, like most styles of buildings, was influenced greatly by the Greek civilization. These structures were generally circular and used the arch as their style of building but some were known to be built into a mountain or hillside. The theaters and amphitheaters were quite big in size and could hold upwards of 50 000 spectators.

Examples of the Colosseum

Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

•The biggest, and most famous, Roman amphitheater was the Colosseum which was built by the Flavian emperors Vespasian and Titus. This building was used for everything from mock sea battles to gladiatorial fights. A special fact about the Colosseum is that it was originally built with a huge removable canopy to protect the spectators from the elements.

picture of inside the Colosseum taken by Brian Heintz

Monuments

• The great monuments that the Romans leave behind show a great skill and an admiration for the accomplishments of their leaders and the grandeur of their empire. Most Roman monuments were constructed using the arch and had the details carved into them. The arch was usually very big and was a prominent feature of the skyline of the town in which it was located.

Arch of Constantine

Conclusion

Those Romans and Greeks were really amazing!

From columns…

To aquaducts…

Arches…Baths…

Back to Beginning

Amphitheaters and Monuments…

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