Roman Architecture Essay - 1439 Words

When one thinks of Roman architecture, many things come to mind, such as arches, columns, statues, and richly covered surfaces in marbles. One must stop to think that this empire, which gained power and influence in the first century BC, must have been influenced from the thousands of years of cultures preceding them in order to create their masterpieces of ingenuity. This phenomenon can be seen in our borrowing of ideas of ancient Greece and Rome for the construction of our capitol buildings in the United States. The Romans surely considered design principles of other cultures when developing their buildings, since daily conquests of new lands opened Roman soldiers’ eyes to innovations from the great vastness of their empire. This†¦show more content†¦Doing so, he managed to design the most captivating section of his estate, the Great Canopus and Serapeum, which have roots in ancient architecture, while also displaying Hadrian’s own capability to produce innov ative designs through many different elements of their construction. Ancient Egypt, which lasted as a powerful empire from 3150 to 30 BC, left a huge legacy on the world of construction and architecture. Although their architecture revolved around veneration of the dead, it served as inspiration to many Greek buildings and as a key source for Hadrian’s Canopus design. Through his travels to Alexandria, Egypt, Hadrian was inspired for the overall design of the estate by attempting to recreate an Alexandrian garden with sacred landscapes, as seen through the Villa’s structures conforming to the terrain. Unfortunately, in the 16th century AD, these example of an Alexandrian garden, created through the use of statuary and fountains were removed from Hadrian’s villa and re-used in order to create a Renaissance garden based upon â€Å"Roman† ideals of gardening. The large lake in the center of the Canopus is representative of a branch of the Nile River that connects Alexandria to the Egyptian city of Canopus on the Nile Delta, fo r which this section of his villa was named after. The city of Canopus was long revered for its great nocturnal celebrations for which Hadrian wanted to recreate throughShow MoreRelatedRoman Architecture1056 Words   |  5 PagesThe White House, The Capitol Building, The Lincoln Memorial, all these things have been affected by ancient Roman architecture. This ancient Roman architecture came to be around the time period of the Pax Romana in the Roman Empire. It was a time of great wealth and prosperity for the empire which brought it into a time of a sort of golden age for architecture. This type of architecture was influenced by the ancient Greeks, but it took their ideas and transformed them to better advantage their ownRead MoreRoman Architecture : Architecture And Structure1753 Words   |  8 Pages2010 Jun 09 Roman Architecture and Structure Roman architecture followed the heritage of earlier Greek architects. The Romans had respect for the Greek s architectural traditions, order, and design. The Romans were innovators that had the adaptability to use and improve existing techniques as well as new and existing material to create some of the most famous architectural structures like the temple, triumphal arch, and amphitheater. As time advanced so did the society needs of the Romans and withRead MoreRoman Architecture And Its Impact On Society1550 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction Roman architecture is a thing of the past; however, it still has a large impact upon society today. Roman buildings are what our buildings were derived from, a lot of the art we think of when we see a building was once thought of by the romans, was once built by the romans, and some of these buildings are still standing today, not many, but a few. Now, roman architecture is significant because of how it affected the growth of our architecture, how it evolved changed how weRead More Roman Architecture Essay2647 Words   |  11 PagesRoman Architecture Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the city of Rome grew, prospered, and developed into a thriving Republic. As in most cultures, Romes buildings became more elaborate and impressive. They developed fantastic building technologies and ideas. The feats of Roman engineers were groundbreaking, and many structures built by this culture still stand today. With knowledge borrowed from the Greeks, Rome made impressive architectural achievements, these were namely majorRead MoreRoman Architecture And The Renaissance1277 Words   |  6 PagesRoman Architecture and the Renaissance In the renaissance days, the designers reject the many-sided quality and vertical of the Gothic style for the straightforwardness and balanced degrees of class. Balanced bends, vaults, and the built up solicitations were revived. This reclamation was refined through direct view of Roman leftovers. The renaissance structural planning is the construction modeling of the time frame between the mid fifteenth and mid seventeenth hundreds of years in distinctiveRead MoreGreek to Roman Architecture544 Words   |  2 PagesGreek and which is Roman, However, show them pictures of the Forum of Trajan, the Pantheon, or the Agora, and they will be flipping coins trying to guess which is Roman architecture and which is Greek architecture. It is one thing being able to identify which building belongs to which civilization, it another being able to distinguish the subtle style changes within each mega structure. Very similar to a textbook and essay, Greek architecture is like a textbook, and the Romans used the textbook toRead MoreThe Roman Architecture And Engineering1798 Words   |  8 Pagestribes, the Roman Empire was done for, and had no chance of coming back to greatness; so why is it still looked upon as an amazing feat of ruling? A legacy is a reminder of something, like an empire, that was once great and inspired many things today, the way Roman architecture and engineering has. If we didn t have any of these great Roman architectural feats, then many people today wouldn t have a roof over their heads, and it would take much longer to get from place to place. The Roman legaciesRead MoreThe Influence of the Greeks and Romans on Architecture894 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction â€Å"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.† (Gehry, 2012). What Frank Gehry was trying to say in simple terms was our culture cannot do without proper appreciation of its classical roots and it goes without saying that the Romans and Greeks have influenced art and architecture with its classical style in a number of different ways. Allow me to give a definition for the word classical. â€Å"Classical† refers to any art or architecture modelled after ancientRead MoreThe Influence of Roman Engineering and Architecture1573 Words   |  7 PagesThe ingeniousness and beauty of Roman architecture has not been lost on us in the 2000 years since it was built. Even today, we still marvel at what incredible builders the Romans were, and at the sheer scale and integrity of many of their projects. It is hard to argue that today’s architecture will maintain the same lasting grandeur as that which the Romans built. If we can still re spect and admire the grandeur of Rome as it was in it’s day, one can only imagine how much of an influence peopleRead MoreRoman Architecture : The Temple Of Apollo1211 Words   |  5 Pagesmuch of their culture, and as a result many aspects of their architecture. Because the Roman style of architecture had developed over many years, once they adopted their ways of building, they rarely changed it. A case in which the Romans used some Etruscan elements in their building is the Capitoline Temple in Rome. However, a very important exception of this is how they adopted greek elements that they liked into their style. Once the Romans came in contact with the Greeks, they used some of their