Ancient Roman Architecture, Arts, Education, and Language By: Lauren Spears, Peter Gaskas, and Devin Nakao Art 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) 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 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 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) 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) 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 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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? 72 AD How old is the Pantheon? Over 1350 years old What two architectural techniques are trademarks of Roman architecture? The arch and the column
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