Classical Civilizations

Ancient Greek & Rome

Gina Christopher

Ancient Greece and Rome brought many great ideas to the world. Ancient Greek architects introduced order to structures, most notably the column. Large columns of different stature are often are seen in prominent buildings of ancient architecture, such as the Parthenon, Palace of Knossos, Temple of Apollo, Coliseum and many more. Along with structural order, the Greeks introduced the idea of spatial planning, They organized their homes/cities in a certain order. Often, the courtyard is in the center, the bedrooms and personal ares are toward the center or on the top floor, and then shops fill the outside of there planning sequence facing the roadways. The Greeks were noticed for their geometric mosaic techniques, and painted walls. Windows were placed at a high enough height to allow for privacy. They also advanced wooden furniture from the ancient Egyptian models by making a a larger variety of furniture and using more advanced materials such as leather and marble. Greeks were all about their details. It’s important to note that all there patterns and molding were particular from their textiles to their facades. Romans took many ideas inspired by Greece and put their own twist on it. One of the most prominent roman features are their archways and domes. The discovered concrete as you can probably guess if you look at all the most popular r buildings of this time period. The Romans took the Greek columns and gave them 5 roman orders; doric, Tuscan, ionic, Corinthian, and composite. (Each one has a more intricate level of detail and order). The romans also had a love for sports, hence the huge Coliseum (shown above). They also started the Olympic Games and the idea of building and structure to house sports, thanks to this we now have all our sports field and arenas today! The romans took the order of Greek housing and further developed them. Their residential dwellings were larger with more floors, but still held the concept of a courtyard in the center, and shops on the outside. They did add some upper class housing, known as a Domus or a Villa. These structures were more private for the wealthier people and were often located in the countryside. Mosaics and ornamentation was further developed and patterns became more and more popular. The romans contributed some crown molding techniques, frescos, further developed furniture, and lighting. The oil lamp was one of the first forms of artificial lights!

FAVORITE ART/ ARCHITECTURE 

Columns 

Columns primary consist of a base, shaft, and capital. A Doric and Tuscan order column are the most simple columns. They are what you think when you think about a column. The Ionic order gets a little more detailed and includes the scroll element at the top or capital of the column. The Corinthian order defines more abstract details, but still symmetrical, and the composite order combines the details of them all and is the more ornamented. 

Pantheon 

The Pantheon is one of the most studied buildings today. It is admired for its large dome shape (roman), combined with 8 Corinthian columns and triangular pediment in the front of the facade. The temple faces north and the front facade is like all the other temples, because you can’t see the dome head on, but then you walk into this large void and it is stunning. The Pantheon needs no artificial lighting because the oculus on top of the dome lets in light. The oculus also lets in rain in to form a glimmer full water column from the top of the structure to the bottom. 

Mosaics/Frescos

Ancient Greek pioneers used small stones, glass, or other materials to create geometric patterns as an art from. These mosaics are often found in the interior of the Ancient Greek buildings. The importance here is their use of geometry to create symmetrical patterns. Not only were they good at art, but they were good at math! Romans strived more in the painting department and made beautiful frescos on the inside of many of their buildings. These frescos often told biblical stories, and included angels and human bodies. You may have seen frescos like this on the ceiling of some Italian restaurants! 

ONE STEP FURTHER 

Torriti was an Itlalian painter and mosaic artist from the Roman School of stylistic art. Some of his most famous works are in the churches such as, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and the Santa Maria Maggiore. His works were very detailed and were mostly about biblical stories. 

CURRENT APPLICATIONS 

Sheraton Grand Los Angeles

This hotel has modern day columns, that almost look like a sculpture, but they are still structural elements! These are cool!

Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory

This conservatory has 3 large glass domes. There is a tropical dome, a desert dome, and the show dome. You can go visit these in Milwaukee!

Harvard Stadium

This stadium was clearly derived from the Colosseum. The shape and archways are almost identical! I mean gladiator fights and football are basically the same thing. Go Harvard!

Extra links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBt-SNg9qlE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZaQrhFFnHQ

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