Ancient Roman Architecture and Sculpture Masterpieces
The Flavian Amphitheater or Colosseum
The Colosseum was the largest amphitheater and the most spectacular built in the Roman Empire. It was built under Emperor Vespasian, but it was his son Titus who inaugurated it in 80 AD. The grand opening party lasted 102 days, during which he offered much entertainment. The four-story facade was lined with travertine marble, and it used the three Greek orders: Doric (first floor), Ionic (second floor), Corinthian (third floor), and a free order on the fourth floor. It had a capacity of 80,000 spectators.
Triumphal Arches
These memorials were usually placed in some important passageway, inside or outside the city. The triumphal arches were single-arch or triple-arch structures. They were usually decorated with reliefs and sculptures. In the pediment, a commemorative inscription was often sculpted. Many triumphal arches are kept in good condition, like that of Titus in Rome and the one in Medinaceli, Spain.
Roadways or Roman Roads
In Greece, there was not much initiative to build land transport due to its rugged geography. The Romans continued the tradition of travel by sea but also built an extraordinary network of roads that connected Rome with the most distant points of its empire.
Primary Routes
Numerous routes departed from Rome (Appia), which, through a complex network of secondary main roads, connected all parts of the empire. In Hispania, the roadways facilitated communication inside the Peninsula with the main ports of the Mediterranean (Via Augusta, Via Argentea or Silver Route).
Bridges
Bridge construction by the Romans was normally part of their road-building efforts. They were built when the road needed to cross rivers or deep valleys. They had great consistency as they were made of stone. The ribbed arch was used in their construction. The pillars that supported the arches used to have a seawall or spur-shaped or rounded bow.
Aqueducts
The aqueducts are a defining feature of Roman building. They were used to get water from a spring or a river to the cities, where it was stored and cleaned in large deposits.
From there, it was distributed to homes and fountains. The aqueducts were formed by a series of arches attached laterally, on which there was a channel through which water flowed. They could have up to three rows of arches, like those in Merida or the Pont du Gard.
Ramparts
The construction of walls reflects the need to protect the city from external dangers. While in Greece there are signs of strengths in building walls, Rome practiced systematic construction of walls in cities. For the construction of a wall, two parallel walls were erected, built with stones or rocks. Between the two walls, a space was left that was filled with a mixture of mortar, waste materials, or debris. The walls used to have four doors, one at each cardinal point. They were punctuated by defensive towers, square or circular, protruding from the outer wall.
Greek and Roman Sculpture
Sculpture reached its highest perfection in the classical period. The sculptors idealized the human body, translating physical beauty, expression, and movement. They created images depicting spiritual balance and serenity.
Classical Period
Important sculptors:
- Myron: Author of the Discus Thrower.
- Polykleitos: Fixed the ideal proportions of the human body, applying the canon in Doryphoros and Diadumenos.
- Phidias: Directed the work of the Parthenon friezes and pediments and carved statues of Athena Parthenos and Zeus.
- Praxiteles: Author of Aphrodite of Knidos and Hermes and Dionysus Child.
- Lysippus: Author of Apoxyomenos, fixed a new canon, where the extent of the head is one-eighth of the whole body.
Hellenistic Period
Art became more graceful and agitated. The sculpture showed a concern for the colossal, and classical idealism was replaced by a realism that was almost pathetic. It became fashionable to show imbalance of the body (forced poses), dramatic expression of the faces, and the ugliness of the monsters (The Victory of Samothrace and Aphrodite of Melos).
Roman Sculpture
Diffusion in Rome. The most relevant are the portrait heads and busts, which are characterized by being extremely realistic. The historical relief is another original manifestation of Roman sculpture. The Greeks used the relief on the friezes and pediments; in Rome, commemorative columns were applied to triumphal arches (Trajan’s Column, Rome).