This book examines the development of Roman temple architecture from its earliest history in the sixth century BC to the reigns of Hadrian and the Antonines in the second century AD. John Stamper analyzes the temples' formal qualities, the public spaces in which they were located and, most importantly, the authority of precedent in their designs. He also traces Rome's temple architecture as it evolved over time and how it accommodated changing political and religious contexts, as well as the affects of new stylistic influences.
Few things have had such a great cultural and architectural influence on Western society as the architecture of Roman temples. Where did the Romans find their inspiration? What did these temples really look like? Beautifully illustrated with Minecraft, "Roman Temple: A Story of its Origins and Construction" by Jessie Craft tells the story of the evolution of Roman temple architecture through the eyes of a young Vitruvius (a Roman architect during the Age of Augustus). Readers journey alongside Vitruvius to places near and far to find the answers to questions about inspiration and appearance. On this journey, they will witness the construction of some of the most well-known temples in antiquity: from the creation of mud bricks, quarrying of stone, and polishing of marble to the raising of huge stone pediments, and the decoration of the temple's interior and exterior. "Roman Temple" is a concise and succinct account of Roman temple architecture presented in a simple, straightforward and accessible language.
This work relies on the results of archaeological surveys and excavations of Roman temples, shrines and temene, discovered in Israel. Unfortunately, the literary sources are curiously silent with regard to most of the constructions. Nonetheless, literary sources, archaeological-architectural analogies and circumstantial evidence do provide some additional information for the understanding of their context, architecture, functions and religious-cultic perceptions. Their remains reflect a large scale of sacred buildings or complexes in the Roman period throughout the country, evincing the veneration and worship of many and varied deities of the Graeco-Roman and Oriental pantheons. Many temples and shrines are depicted on coins or mentioned in literary and epigraphic sources. These indicate that a large number of temples/shrines, dedicated to various gods, existed in Israel in the Roman period. Thus, it may be assumed that they reflect not only the architectural reality, but also the religious cultic atmosphere. It would seem that these architectural complexes had either been deliberately concealed and/or destroyed in Late Antiquity (fifth and sixth centuries CE) by order of the Christian authorities and Byzantine emperors, or converted into churches. Some of them were demolished by later generations, natural disasters, fires, conquests, etc. The chronological range of the temples/shrines and temene, discussed in this book, extends over a period of approximately 250 years, from Herod's reign up to the Severan era.
This groundbreaking study traces the development of Roman architecture and its sculpture from the earliest days to the middle of the 5th century BCE. Existing narratives cast the Greeks as the progenitors of classical art and architecture or rely on historical sources dating centuries after the fact to establish the Roman context. Author John North Hopkins, however, allows the material and visual record to play the primary role in telling the story of Rome’s origins, synthesizing important new evidence from recent excavations. Hopkins’s detailed account of urban growth and artistic, political, and social exchange establishes strong parallels with communities across the Mediterranean. From the late 7th century, Romans looked to increasingly distant lands for shifts in artistic production. By the end of the archaic period they were building temples that would outstrip the monumentality of even those on the Greek mainland. The book’s extensive illustrations feature new reconstructions, allowing readers a rare visual exploration of this fragmentary evidence.
The architects of ancient Rome developed a vibrant and enduring tradition, inspiring those who followed in their profession even to this day. This book explores how Roman architects went about the creative process.
Every society builds, and many, if not all, utilize architectural structures as markers to define place, patron, or experience. Often we consider these architectural markers as “monuments” or “monumental” buildings. Ancient Rome, in particular, is a society recognized for the monumentality of its buildings. While few would deny that the term “monumental” is appropriate for ancient Roman architecture, the nature of this characterization and its development in pre-Roman Italy is rarely considered carefully. What is “monumental” about Etruscan and early Roman architecture? Delving into the crucial period before the zenith of Imperial Roman building, Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture addresses such questions as, “What factors drove the emergence of scale as a defining element of ancient Italian architecture?” and “How did monumentality arise as a key feature of Roman architecture?” Contributors Elizabeth Colantoni, Anthony Tuck, Nancy A. Winter, P. Gregory Warden, John N. Hopkins, Penelope J. E. Davies, and Ingrid Edlund-Berry reflect on the ways in which ancient Etruscans and Romans utilized the concepts of commemoration, durability, and visibility to achieve monumentality. The editors’ preface and introduction underscore the notion of architectural evolution toward monumentality as being connected to the changing social and political strategies of the ruling elites. By also considering technical components, this collection emphasizes the development and the ideological significance of Etruscan and early Roman monumentality from a variety of viewpoints and disciplines. The result is a broad range of interpretations celebrating both ancient and modern perspectives.
But study of the peninsula itself has often been brushed aside as insignificant and uninteresting. In Temples and Towns in Roman Iberia Mierse challenges such a view."--BOOK JACKET.
Perhaps the finest record of classical architecture ever made. Detailed illustrations offer unparalleled three-dimensionality and effects of scale. Parthenon, Roman temples, Pantheon, Colosseum, many others. Introductory notes. Preface. 127 plates.
This book offers the first critical study of the architecture of the Roman triumph, ancient Rome's most important victory ritual. Through case studies ranging from the republican to imperial periods, it demonstrates how powerfully monuments shaped how Romans performed, experienced, and remembered triumphs and, consequently, how Romans conceived of an urban identity for their city. Monuments highlighted Roman conquests of foreign peoples, enabled Romans to envision future triumphs, made triumphs more memorable through emotional arousal of spectators, and even generated distorted memories of triumphs that might never have occurred. This book illustrates the far-reaching impact of the architecture of the triumph on how Romans thought about this ritual and, ultimately, their own place within the Mediterranean world. In doing so, it offers a new model for historicizing the interrelations between monuments, individual and shared memory, and collective identities.
This book provides a survey of the architecture and urbanism of Provence during the Roman era. Provence, or "Gallia Narbonensis" as the Romans called it, was one of the earliest Roman colonies in Western Europe. In this book, James C. Anderson, jr. examines the layout and planning of towns in the region, both those founded by the Romans and those redeveloped from native settlements. He provides an in-depth study of the chronology, dating, and remains of every type of Roman building for which there is evidence in Provence. The stamp of Roman civilization is apparent today in such cities as Orange, Nimes, and Arles, where spectacular remains of bridges, theaters, fora, and temples attest to the sophisticated civilization that existed in this area during the imperial period and late antiquity. This book focuses on the remains of buildings that can still be seen, exploring decorative elements and their influence from Rome and local traditions, as well as their functions within the urban environment.
