Transcript Ancient Roman Architecture, Arts, Education, and Language By: Lauren Spears, Peter Gaskas,

Ancient Roman Architecture, Arts,
Education, and Language
By: Lauren Spears, Peter Gaskas,
and Devin Nakao
Art
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They believed that painting and
sculpting life like images of
people would keep their spirits at
rest when they died.
They used portraits and statues
to portray important people’s
power. And were sign of the
Roman’s rule over their empire.
Paint brushes were made from
twigs, wood, reeds, or rushes.
Shaped wood or ivory was used
for writing. Paints were made
from various natural materials.
Julius Caesar (top)
Sculpture of Augustus: -roman
general –shows as a handsome
young man –barefooted to show
he is a hero (bottom)
Art (Altar of Augustan Peace)
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During the rule of Augustus visual
arts such as architecture, wall
paintings, mosaics, and
sculptures flourished.
On his wife Livia’s birthday in 9
BCE, he dedicated the marble
altar of Augustan Peace.
On two sides of the altar the
family of Augustus is sculpted.
And on the front there are
sculptural relieves such as
symbolic figures of mother earth
and the winds. This assured
viewer that the emperor could
trace his family back to the
beginning of Rome.
It was decorated with symbols of
fruit, flowers, children and wheat.
Symbolizing bounty and fertility
of the Peace of Augustus.
Forms of Art
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Wall paintings became popular in
the first century CE
At first they were used to imitate
masonry, which led to
representation of architectural
scenes, sacred landscapes,
marine scenes and mythological
narraratives
The first mosaics consisted of
only one colour, and later became
multi-coloured master pieces
They were made of thousands of
tiny “tesserae”, which were cubes
of glass. They usually had an
intricate geometric border around
a central scene, often from Greek
myth or daily life
Forms of Art
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Roman sculptures continued to
imitate the Classical Greek style,
usually closely resembling works
by the sculptors Praxiteles and
Polyclitus
Relief sculpture began to develop
into Roman styles, especially on
triumphal arches, columns, and
other political monuments
Sculptures, symbols, and figures
usually complimented the
victories of the great, conquering
emperors, such as Titus,
Constantine and Hadrian
Roman Education (Boys)
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Boys and girls born into elite
republican families were brought
up together untill they reached
puberty
From the ages 7 to 11 the kids
learned to read and write Latin
From 12 to 15, the children were
taught language and literature
Boys were taught in public, while
girls were taught at home
When the boys turned 16, boys
began to study rhetoric at public
lectures, which was logical and
persuasive argument
There was a ceremony for boys
who were on their way to
becoming an adult
They were led to the Forum
Romanum dressed in a toga of
manhood
After this ceremony they were
expected to attempt a career in
the army or law courts
Roman Education (Girls)
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Usually children from poor
families received no education
Girls studied language and
literature, singing and dancing,
and the crafts of spinning and
weaving
These types of skills were meant
to exemplify old Republican
virtues, and were honoured on a
gravestone reading “casa fuit;
domum servait; lanam fecit”,
meaning “She was chaste, she
kept the house, she worked the
wool”
The education system was meant
to stabilize the state’s social
order by teaching those of the
upper class about their benefits
and duties to Rome
Concrete: Rome’s Significant
Architectural Breakthrough
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The Roman invention of concrete
will forever impact how we design
and construct large architectural
structures today
Although the formulas for mixing
concrete have been altered and
changed, the same techniques
used during the Roman period
are used today
The Romans loved to imitate
Greek architecture but were not
able to get marble easily
They began to mix materials
available, such as lime, mortar,
gravel, and rubble
Strong walls were constructed
out of this and then covered with
decorative brick or marble
They eventually added volcanic
ash, which created concrete that
could set under water
Roman Architecture
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Roman architecture was a
combination of Greek and Roman
culture
The Greek temples with columns
all around was fused with the
Roman front-facing temple built
on a high podium
Ancient Rome emphasized the
use of columns in their
architecture
The columns were utilized as a
support and decoration. The
Romans came up with five
different types of columns, which
are the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian, and Composite. Most
of these, however, were adopted
from Greek columns
The architectural technique of the
arch and column is a trademark
of Ancient Rome.
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The Romans applied the arch to
many of their buildings
Two of the first structures to
carry arches are bridges and
aqueducts. Triumphal arches
were later constructed to honor
their leaders, and vaults came
into practice, which are arched
roofs.
Roman Architecture
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One of the main uses of the arch
was to build aqueducts which
carried water from the hills to big
tanks or cisterns in the cities
Aqueducts contained pipes lined
with cement, on the top of the
arches, which carried the water
The pipes were covered to stop
the water evaporating and to
prevent contamination in the
water
Coliseum
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The Coliseum was built during the
reign of Emperor Vespasiano in
72 AD
It stood 160ft tall holding a large
amount of 50,000 spectators.
Making it one of the biggest
monuments in Rome.
In the upper class sections of the
coliseum spectators sat on
marble, while in the lower class
section they sat on wood.
A wall 15 feet high separated the
spectators from the bloody
events in the arena.
The main events that took place
in the Coliseum were gladiatorial
fights, and wild animal hunts.
During gladiator matches as
many as 10,000 participants
would die, along with many
animals.
The coliseum to date is one of the
most famous tourist attractions
and is one of the finest examples
of Roman architecture.
Pantheon
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The Pantheon is a circular temple
which was originally built to
honour the seven deities in 2725BC but changed to a Christian
church in the 7th century.
Is over 1350 years old and still
stands to this date.
The first temple was built by
Augustus general Agrippa, then
in 126-128 CE it was totally
rebuilt by Hadrian due to a fire in
80 AD
Whatever the reasons, the
Pantheon is the only structure of
its age, size and span that has
successfully survived the scourge
of time
Language
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Latin was the main language
spoken in the early years of
Rome.
As Rome became dominant, there
language spread like wildflower.
Only a few cities in southern Italy
kept their language such as
Greece.
The favourite writing material
was papyrus. For writing on
papyrus pens that were dipped in
ink were used. Ink was made
from soot, resin, and the
excretions of squid and cuttlefish.
For just daily writings wax sheets
were used. The writer would
carve a message in the wax then
send it to whom ever their want.
Once the message was received
and read, the recipient would
scrape the wax smooth and
return a message.
Latin today may be a dormant
language but it remains an
important piece of our linguistic
puzzle.
When was the coliseum built?
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72 AD
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How old is the Pantheon?
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Over 1350 years old
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What two architectural techniques
are trademarks of Roman
architecture?
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The arch and the column