Architecture in Ancient Rome
4. Identify two key structural advances made by Roman builders and discuss their use in one large civic building. Why do you think the ancient Romans built on such a large scale?
Upon the many structural advancements that Roman builders made, two that were revolutionary were the use of the arch and the creation of the a more durable form of concrete. These two advancements allowed the Romans to build in a large scale due to their ability to create structures that could carry more weight and withstand harsher conditions. Arches were able to distribute the weight evenly on the buildings that they were added to, therefore allowing the Romans to make larger scale buildings. Concrete had an earlier and less durable form before the Romans decided to adjust its creation. In the end, they were able to create a stronger from of concrete and began to use it to create large civic buildings. This stronger form of concrete allowed the Romans to build their structures faster and it would also be less costly. This also gave them more creative freedom because they could now focus on making the building more visually appealing and on modeling the space inside the building. One civic structure that incorporates the two advancements was the Pantheon. The Pantheon used arch technology on the large dome it flaunts behind the traditional Greek façade. The arches that were used to make this dome were thinner leading towards the top of the dome and got thicker towards the bottom. This gave the building a more stable foundation which has made it a well-preserved structure. Concrete also has to do a lot with the preservation of the Pantheon because although it’s heavy, the Romans were able to manipulate the material to were they could make it lighter. By removing sections of the domes inner ceiling, they did not have to sacrifice aesthetics or the strength of the building. For example, in the Pantheon’s dome, the celling was coffered which essentially meant that ceiling had sunken in panels that created indentations on the ceiling. With these two advancements alone, the Romans were now able to build stronger and more durable structures that could stand the test of time.
For More information about the Pantheon go to
https://www.ancient.eu/Pantheon/
​
4. Distinguish the attributes of the Doric and Ionic orders, focusing your discussion on a specific building representing each.
The Doric and Ionic orders are the two most used orders in Roman architecture. These two orders are easily distinguishable due the big difference in the capitals that the columns had. Other major differences that these orders had were the differences in the entablature and pediment which can be more confusing to distinguish. The Ionic order had a continuous freeze also with a continuous relief while the Doric order had triglyphs and Metopes in the freeze which broke up the relief. The most easily distinguished difference were the capitals of the columns where the Doric had a simple capital that only connected with the top of the façade and the Ionic capital had two volutes on its capital. These orders can be observed on the two structures the Parthenon (Doric) and the Erechtheion (Ionic). The Parthenon is surrounded by faceless columns that are connected to a simple roof. That roof or entablature consists of the alternating triglyphs and metopes which have reliefs in the breaks. The pediment in this building also had a relief sculpture. On the other hand, the Erechtheion has a freeze that surrounds the building. Along with the ionic capitals that the columns have, the columns are caryatids which are columns shaped as women. The Doric order was more ornate when it came to the entablature and the Ionic order had a simpler entablature/pediment but, more ornate columns and capitals. The Parthenon and the Erechtheion are two structures that show these two orders well.
​
For More information about the Doric and Ionic orders go to
https://smarthistory.org/greek-architectural-orders/
​