Nicole Blakeman Arianna JimĂŠnez Yamirelys Rivera
Ancient Roman Architecture
S. Garced 10th Grade English
Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus was Rome’s greatest horse racing track. It was built by Tarquinius Priscus, a Roman ruler of the sixth century before Christ. This arena could hold up to 250,000 spectators (about five times the amount the Coliseum could accommodate.) The seating, that surrounded the racing area, was three stories high and there were specific boxes for senators, military elite, and politicians. The royal family or the Emperor’s family would sit and
view the race from their Imperial box that was high up in the palace area. In addition to these higher social classes, the more humble or lowly citizens were also enjoyed the races for free. The form or shape of the Circus Maximus was extensive in length and shorter in its width, giving it a circular rectangle shape (oblong.) A spina or a long barrier ran through the middle. Under the arena, about ten feet deep was a canal that ran around the arena. The canal called Euripus was ten feet wide.
The spina was a brick wall four feet tall and twelve feet wide. At each end there were three columns on one base. In the middle of the spina was a tall an obelisk 132 feet tall. There was also a smaller obelisk 88 feet tall. By the ends of the spina there were two columns with a crossbar of marble. On one crossbar was mounted a line of marble eggs and on the other there was a line of bronze dolphins. The eggs and dolphins were there
for religious motives.
Buildings Markets: The emperor Trajan had constructed markets that were semicircular and three stories high; above was a large arched hall. The market consisted of many shops that faced a hall so that people could see what was on display or for sale. Basilicas: Rectangular in form with a roofed hall, with many columns supporting the building. The central aisle was usually wider and taller than the rest so that the light could enter through the clerestory windows.
Town houses: Each town house had a porch that lead to the building with a roof structure held up by
columns or enclosed by walls. Palaces: Palaces had gardens with fountains and play grounds. The floors were usually mosaics, if not marble. The walls too had mosaics, or were painted with frescos. The ceiling vaults were colorfully painted. Marble columns made up the palace image.
Tenement Apartments: The lower classes lived in these six story high buildings that contained rooms that had no water or heating. This is why there existed public bathrooms and fountains.
Aqueducts Aqueducts were structures constructed by the Romans in order to supply large and small cities of the empire, as well as industrial sites with potable water. Their construction, which used to take about 500 to 600 years, solved the problem of water supply to all the people of Rome and provided water to the baths and fountains of the entire city. The first Roman aqueduct, constructed in 312BC by Appius Claudius, was called Aqua Appia and its main source of water was the Tiber River. Aqueducts were composed by concrete channels that ended in sewers or drains, in which the waste-water was discharged.
First Roman aqueducts were eleven miles long, but several others were fabricated afterwards that were about forty miles long. Also they were of such height that a man in a horse could ride through them without difficulty. A good example of a Roman aqueduct was the Aqua Claudia aqueduct, which supplied water to 14 Roman districts and was 45-46 miles long. These Roman creations were useful and valuable innovations for Rome. This is one of the reasons why the Roman population fell by 90% when the final destruction of Rome destroyed most of the aqueducts of Rome.
Temples & Theatres Roman temples were mostly elaborated to honor their gods and goddesses, although several were dedicated to the Emperors who have been proclaimed as gods. Among these gods were Jupiter, Cupid, Venus, and Apollo. Romans are characterized by having hundreds of different gods for all occasions. Because of this, they used to create many temples in which they offered tributes and prayers to thank the gods for things such as their victories in the wars.
Roman temples were located in important places, such as at one of the major roads of the
city. Also these temples are distinguished by other characteristics: - They have gambled roofs - Its structure is made of a portico, or the entrance, the podium, which is the front staircase, and the different styles of columns that support it. - It contained statues of the gods and goddesses. - The walls of its interior were painted in Fresco, which portrayed Roman life. Roman also used to do sacrifices in the temples. They considered that it was very important to worship for the Gods in order to make them happy. They usually sacrificed white animals and its sex had to correspond to the sex of the god or the goddess to whom the tribute was offered.
Romans built a lot of theaters that even today are still standing from the Hellenistic period. Roman theaters were outdoors and were shaped with a half circle space in front of the stage, where the orchestra performed. The stage was 8-12 feet high and was supported in front by open columns. In the back of the theatre, it had 1-3 doors that opened onto the stage.
The construction of the theaters was so well done that the arena was as high as the rest of the structure, which prevents the audience to look out beyond the stage. Also they were created in such an enclosed way that it kept out the noises of the city.
Pantheon The Pantheon was named from a Greek word meaning “Temple of all the gods”. It was built in 27AD by Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law of Emperor Augustus Caesar, and whose name is inscripted in the façade of the Pantheon. The construction of this temple was dedicated to all the gods of Ancient Rome, reason why the structure acquired its name.
The Pantheon is 158 feet high and about the same of width. Its interior has a round shape which helps to support the cupola, or the circular base at the top of the temple that forms the roof of the Pantheon.
Inside the temple, there’s a hole at the top of the ceiling, which serves very well for the admission of light since there’s no windows in it. Because the hole in the roof does not have a glass or something that covers it, rain was able to soak the Pantheon’s floor, which is why Romans created rain water drains in the floor. Its walls are mostly made of marble and its columns were quarried in Egypt. The columns that made up the Pantheon are said to be wrongly sized by the Romans because of the difference in proportion between the size of the building and its portico.
The interior of the Pantheon also contains many niches, surrounded by Corinthian columns, containing seven statues of the most important gods and goddesses for the Romans. These seven gods were: Apollo, the God of the Sun; Diana, the Goddess of the Moon; Jupiter, the King of the Gods; Mars, the God of War; Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods; Saturn, the God of Time; and Venus, the Goddess of Love. Their statues were place in a round shape so that all of them would have the same level of importance.
Roman Baths Public baths are known to have existed in early Egyptian palaces and bathing occupied an important role in the life of the Greeks but it was the Romans that developed the baths. Baths were part of the Roman’s daily life. Roman houses had water supplied via lead pipes. The pipes were taxed according to their size. Many houses had just a basic supply because they could not afford a bath complex. Many people went to the local baths. It was a gathering point, where people could clean themselves and socialize. A bath complex consisted of three types of baths: the frigidarium (cold bath), the tepidarium (warm bath), and the caldarium (hot bath). It also had an exercise area, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium.
Roman engineers invented a system of heating baths called the hypocaust. The floor was raised off the ground by pillars and spaces were left inside the walls so that the hot air from the furnace could circulate through these open areas. Rooms requiring most heat were place closest to the furnace, whose heat could increase by adding more wood.
The Roman forts were tested to
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Roman Arches and Columns The Romans introduced stone arch technology over two thousand years ago. They would use the arch in most of their constructions and buildings. The arches were used to support roofs, roads, aqueducts, and bridges. The arches varied in appearances and were usually decorated with pictures or scenes. To support the weight of the arches, it was necessary to provide a way of transmitting the force to massive piers to the foundation of the arch. The Romans achieved this by using the Keystone block. The force was directed down onto the top of the keystone, holding everything together. Columns were often part of the arch.
The Roman columns’ designs and details were heavily copied from the Greek culture. The purpose of the columns was to provide support and decoration. There are three types of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric columns are simple and elegant. Ionic and Corinthian are more decorative. Corinthian columns are the most elaborated ones. The columns are wider as it goes down to make the illusion that they are straight.
Roman Arquitecture Photos