Ancient Greek Art : The Legacies Of Ancient Rome

From the beginnings of human existence art has been used to depict, glorify, and eternize the cultures of a society. Though the ages of time none have become more world renown than the workings of the Roman civilization; an art form which incorporated the customs of the Etruscans and Greeks to create an individualistic style that appealed to the cultural aesthetics of the time period. Of the various forms of art used by the Romans, the one which most clearly illustrates this is the Roman's architecture, arguably the most influential and impressive use of artistic ideals. By using innovative new materials, establishing new building methods, and absorbing surrounding and past cultural ideologies the Romans were

Ancient Greece architecture, well known for their different types of columns, the Doric order, the Ionic order, and the Corinthian order.2 The Doric columns appeared stout, they had smooth and round capitals, and a square abacus that connected the capitals to the entablature. The Ionic columns had a small base and a double curve at the top of the stone column.3 The Corinthian columns are the most ornate out of the three types of columns. This column weighed more than the others and was not used as often by the Greeks. These columns helped

The Rome’s Pantheon and Greek’s Parthenon are both significant and innovative structures that have influenced the architecture around the world. This essay will describe the style and function of each building as well as the similarities and differences between ancient Greece and Rome in four characters including history, design, usage, and similarity.

Both the Greeks and the Romans made a number of contributions to western culture in the field of architecture, many of which can still be seen to this very day. Architecture played a pivotal role in both the religion and daily life of ancient Greek society. The Greeks produced some of the world’s most enduring architectural monuments, many of which are still standing today. These include the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus, and the Temple of Poseidon. Perhaps one of the largest contributions of the ancient Greeks to western civilization in regards to architecture was their development of the three fundamental architectural systems of design, the Doric, Iconic, and Corinthian orders. The following excerpt from an article

Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders are the three main column styles developed by the ancient Greeks. These column styles still are used in buildings today. Doric is the simplest Greek column. The column is plain, and it has no base. Doric columns often had statues of gods or heroes on top of them. Ionic is taller than the Doric, and its surface has carved lines from top to bottom. The base of an Ionic column looks like a stack of rings, and the capital on top of the column looks like a giant scroll. Corinthian, like Ionic, has carved lines from top to bottom on its surface and a base that looks like a stack of rings. The capital of Corinthian columns, however, has flowers and leaves below a small scroll, making Corinthian columns the most decorative of all the Greek column types. Doric is the shortest of the Greek columns. The height of a Doric column is five and a half times its width. The height of an Ionic column is nine times the width of the column. The height of a Corinthian column is 10 times its width, making it the tallest of the Greek columns. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece, is the most famous building with Doric columns. The Temple of Athens on the Acropolis is the most famous Ionic building. The Temple of the Sybil in Rome is a good example of Corinthian

Onto our next subject, we will look at the Greeks and the influence they have had on Architecture in Western Civilization. A simple observation of the Acropolis and you can see familiar designs and influence in western architecture from the columns to the moldings found in buildings today for example, the White House is filled with columns and moldings imitating Greek design. It’s easy to see why we have adopted the strong yet elegant designs of the Greeks, the designs are sturdy

The capacity of a society to produce art is, in effect, an exercise of its power. It is through the presence of affluence that a nation is capable of focusing not solely upon survival, but the development and proliferation of culture, of which art is a central element. The Greek and Roman Empires will be explored from this perspective. Herein, the way in which the power of these two empires was exemplified through the art they were capable of producing will be explored in-depth herein.

Columns, as noted, were a prominent feature of Roman architecture, which was drawn from the Greeks. Although Rome did not copy Greek columns exactly, “Greek influence is evident in the use of columns,”18 nevertheless, which is to be expected since Romans greatly admired Greek columns.19 Rome also adopted the Greek's mortar and ashlars.20 Additionally, since Greeks believed “that beauty lies in mathematical harmony,” Greek influence is seen in Imperial temples which contained set, mathematical ratios of design. As noted, when Rome began producing sculpture, they began producing Hellenistic-influenced idealistic sculptures.21 The reversion to older Greek forms is not a surprise if one considers Rome's admiration for Greek sculpture. Such admiration of Greek sculpture is evidenced by Rome's copying of Greek sculptures, such as the Venus di Milo.22

Greek architecture has a distinct design of structure and character that make it easily identified. The Crane History The Crane is a tool invented by the ancient Greeks that allows the movement of heavier objects than the human body can handle.

The Greeks had a strong influence on the Roman architecture. It can be clearly seen in the Temple design. Although Roman architects took the influence and made something with different characteristics.

The word “renaissance” which is the Latin word for rebirth refers to the flourishing of literature and arts in fifteenth century Italy. Ancient culture played a big role in this new and exciting movement. It was the source of creativity for the new up-and-coming Italian artists, it set a platform of ideas for these new artists to use as a blueprint. Competing with ancient Greek and Roman art, Italian artists were aiming to emulate the achievements of the ancient culture and were looking for a new form of expression; therefore, they used the ancient Greek and Roman art for inspiration.

The Corinthian order columns are the most extravagant type of column. It was the last column to be developed by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks did not really use this type of column to its full potential, but the ancient Romans did (“Ancient Greece” 3). Some examples of monuments or building that used the Corinthian order consisted of the temple of Zeus at Athens. It was probably the most notable of the Corinthian temples (“Ancient Greece” 3).

     "The arts of the western world have been largely dominated by the artistic standards established by the Greeks of the classical period" (Spreloosel 86). It is from the Greek word theatron, meaning a place for sitting, that we get our word theater. According to James Butler, "The Greeks were the first people to erect special structures to bring audiences and theatrical performers together" (27). "The theaters were normally located near a populated area at the bottom of or cut out of a carefully selected, sloping hillside overlooking a seascape, a plain, or a city" (Butler 30). "They eventually with few exceptions consisted of three distinct parts: theatron

Roman Art reveals multiples aspects of how the people in Rome used to live. It gives us a vivid description on how things used to be for them . Art is a very pivotal part of the Roman Culture, and it made Rome what it is today. Art is associated with the everyday feel, and vibe with Rome today. People that live in Rome are used to beautiful architectures , and sculpture in their everyday lives. Art is displayed in various ways throughout Rome. One form of art that has changed the culuture is Theatre. Theatre has changed , and evolved tremendously over time in the Roman culture. The first form of art introduced in the Roman culture was introduced by the Etruscan Kings. The Etruscan kings established a faction known as the Republic. The Republic was founded in the year 509 BC. Art in Rome is split into one categories. The category of art was The Art of the Republic . Although there is one major category of art there are several subdivisions of art. The other subdivisions of art were established from other major corresponding imperial dynasties .

I included 4 pictures representing Roman art. Numbers 2 and 4 of small colored pieces that come together to make one image represent ancient Roman mosaics. These mosaics were small pieces of colored tile that were glued to a wall in a pattern that forms a new image. The new image was often of people in their daily lives, or scenes from Roman mythology. Some additional information about these is that mosaics were symbols of wealth and fortune, especially because they took so long to create. Number 12, the image of the pottery, and the number 13, the image of the statue, are also some example of Roman art. The Romans were not very skilled with their painting, and did not have very many paints, but they were amazing sculptors, and made incredibly small and delicate statues and figures, along with fine dinnerware.