When comparing Greek and Roman architecture and design we see many similarities as well as differences. Greek culture and society came into fruition roughly 1250 years before the rise of the Roman Empire and Roman artisans were strongly influenced by their Greek predecessors. However, the Greeks were not without their own influences. Egyptian building styles and art were refined by the Greeks as seen in their use of column and lintel construction. It is notable that influence from Persia and the Ancient Near East is also prevalent. Throughout the years Greece had six periods in which distinctions in art and design can be made. In order to compare and contrast the two cultures we must also look at the different geography surrounding them. Both …show more content…
Romans adopted variations of the Greek Doric order such as the Roman Doric and Tuscan. It is also very common to see the Romans using Ionic and Corinthian columns in their construction. When we look into the interior residential spaces of Greeks and Romans we find the floor plan to be quite similar, both were inward facing an usually had a peristyle courtyard and atrium type space with rooms leading off of it. But when we look into decor we see that the Romans were much more ornamental and lavish. We also have much better examples of Roman interior details than we have for Greece due to the preservation of the ancient cities Pompeii and Herculaneum. These cities were buried in the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius for almost 2,000 years. There we find bright, colorful murals adorn the walls and intricate mosaics cover the floors. Mural paintings were done in a variety of themes, depictions of daily life, animals, and portraits. Romans would also use architectural elements like columns in their interior paintings and most were created in true fresco style, paint applied to wet plaster. For the mosaic inlayed floors the Romans used stone, glass, ceramics, and shells such as mother of pearl. These were created in a many unique geometric patterns and intricate scenes. Ancient Greeks also fabricated mosaics and sometimes used pebbles left in there natural shapes giving it a more
The word temple from the Latin word templum means a dwelling place. One of the things Egyptian and Greek temples have together is that their temples serve as a worship places or dwelling place for their gods. The temples were built to house their gods. The sanctuaries where rituals are made to their gods on behave of the pharaohs (Egyptian rulers) and the kings (Greek rulers), and their people.
Thesis: The Greek influence of outstanding culture, gods, and their beautiful art to the Romans’ they took this inspiration on to their own creation. Both ancient build devotion to their gods they would bring the most precious things to them temples, however, they would focus on making large empire to rule and to take control of their city-states.
The Romans architecture was heavily influenced by Greek Architecture, in the way of columns and stone (Cartwright). The Coliseum is the largest of their structures, and Coliseum-inspired structures can still be seen around the world through football stadiums, or soccer stadiums. The Romans Pantheon inspired the Capitol Building, as well. The Capitol Buildings similarities to the Pantheon are so close, that the ceilings even look the same. Arches and heavy use of columns are both influenced by the Romans as well (Cartwright). The Romans were excellent architectures, and a lot of their larger structures are still standing, so it’s no wonder that they could influence buildings even
Greek and Roman architecture is truly amazing. They each had great ideas, and fabulous productions. It is said that the Pantheon is to Italy what the Parthenon is to Greece. Both are tremendous monuments that reek of culture and history. Each had a purpose which was displayed by the design and construction of each. There are such great meanings behind each of these architecural structures. The Romans and the Greeks alike worshipped and dedicated their structures and designs to the Gods and Goddess they believed in.
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.
The ancient Greeks and Romans were perhaps two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. These two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a vast amount of prosperity within these two cultures. It is because of this prosperity that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and a variety of other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest writers, leaders, and philosophers. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome made a number of contributions to western civilization in the form of advancements in literature, architecture, art, government, and philosophy.
Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the city of Rome grew, prospered, and developed into a thriving Republic. As in most cultures, Rome's buildings became more elaborate and impressive. They developed fantastic building technologies and ideas. The feats of Roman engineers were groundbreaking, and many structures built by this culture still stand today. With knowledge borrowed from the Greeks, Rome made impressive architectural achievements, these were namely major attributes of buildings, colossal structures, and a legacy that would influence later buildings (Cornell and Matthews 11).
Art was a big thing for both Greek and Roman culture. There were many sculptures made in both cultures. There were probably more sculptures made in Greek culture than in Roman. The sculptures were made very well. They had excellent shapes and curves in the sculptures. They held up for a very long
Greek and Roman temples are the most influential temples of all times. It is argued that the Greek influenced the Romans and this may be the reason why their temples are so alike. The Parthenon and the Pantheon are the most popular temples of both eras. However, the Pantheon does not look like other roman temples would to Greek temples – and this is because it has interior space and thus has a completely different composition. Despite their quite similar looks, Roman and Greek temples have unique differences in material, method, purpose, and others.
The Romans are famous for many things. One thing is their adaptation and development of architecture from other civilization. From the Etruscans and early tribes the Romans got most of their basic architectural skills. From the Greeks some components of Roman architecture were adapted from the Greeks. The heart of Roman architecture was the Roman forum, which was being constructed under the rule of Octavian Caesar. Eventually the Roman architecture went into a stage in which all the buildings looked like the Greek buildings.
When one thinks of Roman architecture, many things come to mind, such as arches, columns, statues, and richly covered surfaces in marbles. One must stop to think that this empire, which gained power and influence in the first century BC, must have been influenced from the thousands of years of cultures preceding them in order to create their masterpieces of ingenuity. This phenomenon can be seen in our borrowing of ideas of ancient Greece and Rome for the construction of our capitol buildings in the United States. The Romans surely considered design principles of other cultures when developing their buildings, since daily conquests of new lands opened Roman soldiers’ eyes to innovations from the great vastness of their empire. This
Architecture of the ancient Roman Empire is one of the most fascinating of all time. The city of Rome once housed more than one million residents. The Romans made great use of many architectural shapes like arches and columns. Using these they were able to build monstrous buildings of worship, entertainment and other services. The one building that comes in mind over the centuries, when you think of Rome is The Amphitheatrum Flavium or The Coloseum.
As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” however long it took to build the capital, the days, months, years, centuries of work can be viewed as a long lasting landmark which paved the way for new and challenging architecture to come (How Roman architecture influenced modern architecture [sa]). According to Tony Rook (2013: [sp] ch.2) the typical Roman temple shows the Etruscan tradition combined with the Greek one. Although some of their premature concepts were acquired from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Roman architects transformed the body of architecture for all time to come, offering buildings and structures that has never been before, along the side of public buildings and infrastructure that could be used by
The two ancient civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome were the best of the best during their time periods. Ancient Greece began around 2000 B.C. by the inhabitants known as the Mycenaean’s, followed by the Minoans. The Minoans built the foundation of Greece. The Roman Empire was founded around 753 B.C. by the two twins, Romulus and Remus. Romulus ended up killing Remus and built the city of Rome on one of seven rolling hills. Architecture was very important to both civilizations and they were always trying to out due the other. The architectural style of the Ancient Greeks and Romans was overall constructed and used differently.
The History of Greek Architecture The architecture of ancient Greece is represented by buildings in the sanctuaries and cities of mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, southern Italy and Sicily, and the Ionian coast of Turkey. Monumental Greek architecture began in the archaic period, flourished through the classical and Hellenistic periods, and saw the first of many revivals during the Roman Empire. The roots of Greek architecture lie in the tradition of local Bronze Age house and palaces. The following paper will cover the basic forms of Greek architecture.