Ancient Rome doesn’t have most of its own architecture.
Most of the architecture seen in the Greek civilization has got traces of the Greek Architecture. Most of the Roman architectures have adopted the architecture of Greek for their own purposes through which they have created an architectural style, which is unique. The Roman architecture has been largely influenced by the Greek architecture. An example of this can be seen by the use and introduction of Triclinium as a place of dining which wasn’t seen in early buildings of Rome.
Similar to this, the Romans took the help from Etruscan civilization from where they obtained a large amount of knowledge, which helped them in the buildings they prepared in the future. Uses of such obtained knowledge are evident from the construction of arches as well as the use of hydraulics. During the reign of Pax Romana, the architecture flourished. Greek and Roman architecture, though derived from the same source, have still got a few differences. Greek architecture is mainly consisting of three different styles that are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
Roman architecture has been derived from Greek architecture but it has been edited with their ideas from their culture, which distinguish it from Greek architecture. Roman architecture includes factors in their buildings that display the power they possess and their architecture serves the purpose of bringing people together that is displayed by their buildings. Greek buildings were designed due to one or the other political purposes most of the times such as the celebration of civic power and pride or they were made to offer thanksgiving to city’s management on their success in war. The Roman Empire on the other hand consists of different types of basilicas and temples and other buildings such as bridges etc. that are utilitarian and prove of significance in the unification of the people of empire. With the construction of roads and bridges, the communication between people was enhanced across the large empire.Public BuildingsRoman Theaters- Place for the public to go and see numerous events throughout the Empire- Located close to the business center of the city- Derived from Greek models- Build out of concrete- Had the seats ramped up on tilted concrete vaults raised on stone piers- Exactly semicircular with a half-circle orchestra where senators were often seated- Every Roman city had one or more theatersAspendos Theater, Turkey- Designed about 155 CE by the Greek architect Zeno- With a diameter of 96 m (315 ft), the theater provided seating for 7,000- The high stage served to seemingly isolate the audience from the rest of the world- Postholes for 58 masts are found in the upper level of the theatre to supported a velarium awning that could be pulled over the audience to provide shadeAmphitheater- The combination of two theater- For gladiatorial contests and other large-scale amusementsColosseum, Italy- Construction completed in 80 CE- Built of concrete and stone- 156 x 189 m- The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian- The floor was overlaid with wooden planks covered with sand for gladiatorial contests- Below were the animal cages- 45,000-55,000 people could be seated at one timeCircus Maximus, Italy- An ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue- 555 x 380 m- Could accommodate over 250,000 spectatorsPublic BathThe Baths of Caracalla- Built in 216 CE- Contained shops, restaurants, exercise yards, libraries, and lecture hall arranged around spacious gardens filled with sculptures, in addition to hot bath, cold bath and swimming pool- The baths consisted of a central frigidarium (cold room) measuring 55.7 x 24 m under three groin vaults 32.9 m high, a double pool tepidarium (medium), and a caldarium (hot room) 35 m in diameter, as well as two palaestras (gyms where wrestling and boxing were practiced)Later Roman “Baroque” ArchitectureThe popularity of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation.An Architecture of UniversalityActually Greco-Roman combined elegance of detail and refinement of form of Greece with pragmatic functionalism, civic scale and sense of power of Rome.Unlike Egyptian architecture, which focused on the next world, Roman architecture focused on the here and now.
