ROMAN IMPERIAL ARCHITECTURE

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Most public buildings make statements about Rome's power, efficiency, so they are not purely functional

Imperial History

• Julio-Claudians (27 B.C.-68 A.D.): aristocratic family
  • Augustus (see previous handout)
    • problem of succession: required a relative with army support to survive
  • Tiberius (Augustus' middle-aged stepson), 14- 37 A.D.
    • an experienced general, kept empire stable
  • Caligula (Tiberius' grandnephew), 37-41
    • insane: wanted to make his horse consul, etc.; murdered by Praetorian guard (military police)
  • Claudius (Caligula's elderly uncle), 41-54
    • lame, studious, stuttering; he surprised everyone by governing long and well
    • started a sort of civil service in Rome
  • Nero (Claudius' stepson), 54-68 : "irresponsible, amoral dilettante" (Nagle p. 359)
    • succeeded when his mother poisoned her husband Claudius
    • committed suicide when his general Galba revolted
• Year of the 4 emperors (69 A.D.)
  • civil war followed Nero's death; 4 emperors in turn
    • Galba, killed by Praetorian guard; Otho, killed in battle; Vitellius, killed by army; and finally Vespasian who begins the Flavian dynasty
• Flavians (69-96 A.D.): Italian middle class family
  • Vespasian, 69-79
    • stabilized Rome, regularized Claudius' civil service
    • son Titus sacked Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
  • Titus, 79-81
  • Domitian, 81-96
    • good administrator but increasingly paranoid and brutal; finally killed in a palace plot including his own wife
• the five "good emperors"
  • Nerva, 96-98: unimportant
  • Trajan, 98-117: first provincial emperor, from Spain
    • campaigns against Dacia (Romania) recorded on Trajan's column
    • died on military campaign in Cilicia (southern Turkey)
  • Hadrian (adopted son of Trajan), 117-138: fine administrator
    • travelled in provinces most of the time
    • loved all things Greek; went bearded, took male lover Antinous
  • Antoninus Pius, 138-161: from Nîmes, in France
    • let empire stagnate while he stayed in Rome as a caretaker
  • Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus' adopted son), 161-180: Stoic philosopher

Imperial society

• all these emperors depended on the army for stability
• Romans introduced various aspects of Roman culture into every province
  • Roman system of patronage, social hierarchy based on wealth and public service
  • Greek and Latin taught and old texts rigidly analyzed; public speaking important for success
  • similarity of art and architecture throughout empire: markets, temples, theaters etc.
• public games organized for public amusement and spectacle
  • classes mixed together in amphitheaters, baths, gymnasia, etc.
  • circus races (chariots), gladiatorial contests attracted masses, particularly
    • Circus Maximus ('biggest circle') in Rome could hold 250,000 people
    • gladiators (criminals, slaves, prisoners of war) fought each other or wild animals

Town plans

• standard type, regular layout anchored by two perpendicular main streets, the cardo (N-S) and the decumanus (E-W)
  • good example: plan of Timgad in Algeria, same as any Roman city in Italy
• arches make ceremonial entrances
  • Porta Maggiore, Rome is also confluence of two aqueducts
  • Arches of Titus, Trajan, Constantine--see sculpture handout

Temples

• standard old type found throughout the empire; with colonnades, sometimes with some attached half-columns
  • good example: Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France
• remarkable round temple, the Pantheon, built in reign of Hadrian
  • porch is a normal looking temple facade
  • building itself is a rotunda, with a dome 143 feet in diameter, 143 feet high at center
    • ceiling coffers, open oculus ('eye') at apex

Forums in Rome and elsewhere

• various emperors added various elements; not planned as a single unit; standard features include a large colonnaded court, prominent temple, markets, law courts
  • good example: Forum and markets of Trajan and Hadrian --last and greatest addition
    • Trajan's Basilica Ulpia: a law court, but a basilica (rectangular building with an apse at each end) could serve any administrative purpose
      • this one is BIG (385 x 182 feet); central hall supported by many columns
    • Trajan's market: over 150 shops, as big as a modern mall
      • brick with concrete surface; groin-vaulted main hall
• forums added to towns throughout empire, with similar range of buildings; designed to show off Rome's power and glory as well as to be functional
  • cf. Pompeii
  • cf. Market Gate from Miletos in Turkey (Stokstad fig. 6-30)
    • composite order combines Ionic and Corinthian capitals; broken pediment in center
    • added by Hadrian to a market Trajan started there

Amphitheaters

• 2 theaters put together to make an oval; site of gladiatorial contests and other spectacles
  • good example: the Colosseum, built in reigns of Vespasian and Titus
    • in Rome, near Nero's Golden House
    • 615 x 510 feet, 159 feet high; capacity 55,000 people
    • free-standing; lots goes on behind (and under!) the scenes
    • three levels of arcades with half-columns: Tuscan (adapted from Doric), then Ionic, then Corinthian
    • barrel-vaulted entrances and ring corridors, meeting in groin vaults
    • arena itself had canvas that could be moved across for shade

Baths

• recreational center, place to meet friends
• hypocaust system--floor raised on stacks of bricks; heat circulates below, heating room above
  • rooms for hot, tepid, cold water: caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium
  • exercise and changing rooms, toilets
  • good example: Baths of Caracalla in Rome: huge complex of 50 acres
    • 5 acres of baths, plus gardens, libraries, art gallery, stadium

Houses

• houses: see Pompeii handout
• apartments: for ordinary people--blocks of apartments (insula, plural insulae); crowded, cheaply built; they regularly collapse

Aqueducts

• monuments to Rome's efficiency, organization, widespread power--found all over the empire
• good example: Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France