Roman Architecture

Rome is most famous for it's architecture. To their architecture the Romans brought forth many new and different things. Three of those things are the arch, the baked brick, and the use of cement and concrete.(source)

The first Romans to be architectures were priests. They wanted a place to say " Whatever happens here is a sign from the gods". They wanted a place for rituals and the gods. During this part of Rome, they were taught to build with solid and stable materials.(source)

"Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia. The two principal orders in Archaic and Classical Greek architecture are the Doric and the Ionic. In the first, the Doric order, the columns are fluted and have no base. The capitals are composed of two parts consisting of a flat slab, the abacus, and a cushion-like slab known as the echinus. On the capital rests the entablature, which is made up of three parts: the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. The architrave is typically undecorated except for a narrow band to which are attached pegs, known as guttae. On the frieze are alternating series of triglyphs (three bars) and metopes, stone slabs frequently decorated with relief sculpture. The pediment, the triangular space enclosed by the gables at either end of the building, was often adorned with sculpture, early on in relief and later in the round. Among the best-preserved examples of Archaic Doric architecture are the temple of Apollo at Corinth, built in the second quarter of the sixth century B.C., and the temple of Aphaia at Aegina, built around 500–480 B.C. To the latter belong at least three different groups of pedimental sculpture exemplary of stylistic development between the end of the sixth century and beginning of the fifth century B.C. in Attica."(source)

In the 5th century A.D. Roman architects were beginning to be influenced by the Etruscans and the Greeks. One of the many features of Roman architecture was their the way they used arches. "Although at first tentatively employed in the spaces between the classical columns, the arch eventually came to be the chief structural element. Flanking columns, usually engaged and superimposed (partly embedded into a wall and laid over it), served merely as buttresses or for decoration."(source1, source2)

In early Rome, one of the main uses for the arch was for aquducts. The arches were made in different sizes so that they could be stacked one on top of the other in rows called arcades. Normally the aquaduct was made with three levels with arcades of different sizes. At the bottom was the larger and wider arches, they were the support. In the middle was the smaller and less wide arches. And at the top was a trough of lead called the sluice. The sluice was a "U" shaped spout that water would flow out of. Do to this, many people in Rome were supplied with crisp cool mountaim water. It is believed that the Roman Empire eventually killed itself do to lead poisoning from the sluices. In places like Spain and France, the Roman aquaducts are still being used today.(source1, source2)

Book 1
Book 2

Life in Rome

In Roman civilization there was no equality. Women were treated as substandard, slave trade was making a come-back, but Rome had become a great civilization. In Roman society, different rules were given to different people.

Only with the permission of their husbands could women do things such as go shopping, go to the baths, and go to things such as festivities. But, they were not allowed to vote unless she was a vestal. She was not allowed to own anything for herself and she had to depend on her father as a wife, and to her husband, a widow.

In Rome it was not considered right to sing and dance, but in Greece it was perfectly fine. In Rome it had been thought that dancing lead to prostitution. However, during the imperial times of Rome, boys and girls were allowed to attend dance classes.

Birth was normally held at home without a doctor. Instead there were female friends and relatives. There could not be any males present during the experience. For the mother, there was a special kind of chair that helped her to sit in a position to give birth in.

In early Rome fathers were the ones that taught their sons to read, write, and use weapons. With their fathers, boys went to religious ceremonies and public functions. When the sons turned 16 they received political teachers. When they turned 17, they spent the year campaigning for the army. In the 3rd century B.C. a new system of education developed in Rome, it was much different than the Greeks system. With his teacher, the young man was taught Greek and Latin literature so that they could develop an effective speaking habit.

To the Romans money was everything. During the Empire, wealth and resources had been unequally divided. In Rome, slaves and their children were considered property of whoever owned them. They were sold and rented and even sometimes exchanged. The way the slave was treated varied. It was rare that a slave was treated poorly because the owner had to keep in mind that if he harmed the slave he would be ruining his investment. Some historians have found out that slaves often worked in chain gangs and were locked up during the night. This mostly occurred in Southern Italy and Sicily. Usually the owners of the slaves would make them wear inscribed metal collars or they would be branded, this was done to lessen the chance of an escape. However, a large sum of slaves worked as teachers, doctors, and architects which helped them earn large quantities of money.

The reign of Caeser Augustus

Augustus was born with the name of Gaius Octavius on September 23, 63 B.C. He was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in 44 B.C. after his great uncle, Julius Caeser, had been murdered. In his will Caesar adopted Octavian which made him his heir.(source)

Gaius was not expected to be the next ruler of Rome. When he became ruler, he was only 18 years old. He didn't look old enoughto be the leader of a country, but he soon proved his importance by soing things to help benefit Rome.(source)

One thing that Caesar did was restore peace in Rome after many years of civil wars. Because of the assination of Caesar's great uncle, Julius Caesar, Rome had been cast into a war. He was killed while Octavian, at the time, was busy in another area. When he got back, he soon found out about his uncle's death and that he was to be the next ruler of Rome. (source1, source2)

In 276 B.C., Caesar Augustus had turned Rome from a Republic to an Empire.During his reign he spent much of Rome's money to turn it into a magnificent city. He is thought to have built the Coliseum. During his time, he built many wonderful things for Rome.(source)

Caesar also built for Rome public baths and aquaducts, which supplied Rome with water. After a little while Caesar made Rome worship him. But, only as a mortal man, not as a man of earth. And finally in 14 A.D., Caesar Augustus died.(source1, source2)

Book 1

Book 2

The Roman Empire

Through the years as Rome rose and fell there were many different rulers to go along with it. During this time, the government had to go through the cities rise of power and decline then eventually the fall.(source)

At the beginning Rome was ruled by kings. The first king of Rome was Romulus, who supposedly founded Rome. In all there were seven kings of Rome. The last one was named Tarquin Superbus. He was also known as Tarquin the Proud. At the end of his reign, he had somehow made the Romans hate the idea of monarchy. So towards the end in 509 B.C. Tarquin and monarchy were brought to an end. After that the Roman republic took over the idea of monarchy.(source, book1)

While under the Roman republic, the Senate and the assembly were able to rule over the Roman citizens. For about five hundred years this republic lasted. Elected to govern Rome were two consuls who were also leaders of the Senate. Since the Roman citizens hated kings, they decided to try out rulers. However, before the second century B.C. the Republic began to have problems with it. The roman land was rapidly growing and they didn’t want it to grow too fast and too chaotically.(source)

Through all of this the generals still had the craving for more power. One general, Julius Caeser, did eventually get to rise to power, but was then assassinated by those he considered to be his friends. After Caeser’s death in 27 B.C., the Roman Empire ended. (source)

The first empire lasted from 14-476 B.C. and it was ruled by more than one hundred emperors. In 364 B.C. the Western Empire emerged do to the split of the Empire. And when the Western Empire split the Eastern Empire started, but then soon after the Eastern Empire the Roman Empire ended. (book2, source)

Through the years many leaders had risen and fallen long with Rome. First Rome was ruled by kings then it was ruled by the Republic after that it was ruled by emperors. Rome had finally fallen after end of the eastern empire.





Book 1-Zoch Paul A.Ancient Rome: An Introduction History. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman. 1998

Book 2- Keaveney, Arthur. Sulla, the Last Republican. 2005. Routledge. New York and London.