Essay/Term paper: Ancian roman arcitecture

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Political Science

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