C. M. Bowra says of Greek influence on contemporary society: “the modern world is far too deeply indebted to Greece to accept in unthinking ingratitude what it has inherited”. Similarly, Hadas notes that at the dawn of Roman civilization “ancient cities already had a layer of Greek culture. On this Rome superimposed imperial buildings...Augustus boasted of restoring 82 temples” These two extracts show us just how pivotal ancient Greek architecture, particularly temples, was at the time and continues to be to this day. It speaks of the restoration projects the Romans undertook to resuscitate decrepit Greek temples, and whilst the new temples “shared many basic characteristics with Greek architecture... it tended to be ornate and elaborate overall”. The Romans moved away from the simple, ordered and comparatively humble style of Greek temples and created more lavish, grandiose buildings, made possible by engineering developments such as concrete, arches, vaults and domes, to emulate the epicurean taste, vast wealth and power of the Empire.
They are most famous for their architecture, based on the new ideas and materials that they established. The Romans learned concepts from prior ages and altered them with the aim of building up their Empire and creating a stronger basis for living. Through mastering skills of architecture and engineering, the Romans were able to change the face of Europe forever. They learned not only to master ways of creating solid structures but also ways of giving them character and style. Roman architecture did not simply appear out of thin air; it has its roots in Grecian and Etruscan architecture.
They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron god of a city for success in war. Ionic Doric The earliest monumental buildings in Greek architecture were the temples. Since these were solidly built and carefully maintained, they had to be replaced only if destroyed. There were two main orders of early Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic, and their lasting example tended to make Greek architecture conservative toward changes in design or in building technology. The Doric style, which originated around 400 BCE brought rise to a whole new type of building technique and style, and was used in mainland Greece and spread to the Greek colonies in Italy.
The temple designed simply as a shelter or home for the cult statue and as a storehouse for offerings. This shelter consisted of a cella (back wall), a pronaos (columned porch), an opisthodomus (enclosure), an antae (bronze grills securing the porches), and a colonnade that provided shelter for visitors. The earliest monumental buildings in Greek architecture were the temples. Since these were solidly built and carefully maintained, they had to be replaced only if destroyed. The architectural orders, Doric on the mainland and Ionic in the eastern Aegean, were developed in the archaic temples, and their lasting example tended to make Greek architecture conservative toward changes in design or in building technology.
The Greeks believed that intellect is superior to forces of nature, while the Romans wanted their architecture to dominate the sites. A third similarity was their ability to be innovative during their time periods. Along with their innovations when it came to their temples, the Greeks also had the ability to create very life-like and dynamic sculptures, something that the Romans constantly struggled with during their time. Because of this, a lot of their sculptures were just replicas of Greek sculptures with small adaptations and changes occurring. One of the most innovative steps that the Romans took with their
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates University College of Humanities and Social Sciences Report about: Panting in Roman art * Introduction: Ancient Rome’s most important historian concerning the arts, recorded that nearly all the forms of art—sculpture, landscape, portrait painting, even genre painting — were advanced in Greek times, and in some cases, more advanced than in Rome. Though very little remains of Greek wall art and portraiture, certainly Greek sculpture and vase painting bears this out. These forms were not likely surpassed by Roman artists in fineness of design or execution. As another example of the lost "Golden Age", he singled out Peiraikos, whose artistry is surpassed by only a very few, He painted barbershops and shoemakers’ stalls, donkeys, vegetables, and such, and for that reason came to be called the 'painter of vulgar subjects'; yet these works are altogether delightful, and they were sold at higher prices than the greatest [paintings] of many other artists. The adjective "vulgar" is used here in its original meaning, which means "common".
The two main competitors were two master goldsmiths,Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, who has the support of Cosimo de Medici. Finally, Brunelleschi won and received the commission. The noticeable point is that it was the first 'octagonal' dome in history to be built without a temporary wooden supporting frame. The building of such a masonry dome posed many technical problems. Brunelleschi decided to follow the pantheon strategy but all the information about its construction was forgotten.
Author: James E. Packer Title: The Forum of Trajan in Rome, A Study of the Monuments in Brief Publication Information: ©2001, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London Marcus Ulpius Traianus was a Roman Emperor in AD 98-117, known as the Roman Emperor of Trajan. Because of the militaristic skill that he showed, Nerva chose him to be his successor on the Imperial throne. Trajan was praised in his time by the Romans because he built roads and aqueducts. Trajan’s forum was an elaborate one and was made of polished marble, bronze and gold. The two main elements of the new Forum of Trajan were that it had an open piazza as well as a basilica, both of which were very large.
The Greeks and Romans were two strong societies that brought great things to the Mediterranean. These two societies although always thought to be the same, were far more different than alike in a number of ways from the way they lived to how they treated women. The Roman society adopted many things from the Greeks, but always adding their own beliefs or style. One difference was the styles of governing. The Greeks were a democratic society, believing that the power should be given to a group of men instead of only a single leader.
Contributions of the Phoenicians It was very important for many early civilizations to expand their boundaries and trade routes on land to build a mighty and prestigious empire. Of the few that were able to do this, none were able to take their people to the ocean and beyond quite like the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were the first example of an accomplished society in the fields of trade and commerce. They spread their culture, which included an alphabet system soon to be adopted by the new western world, and goods on land and especially by sea with their exceptional skills in the field of maritime trade. The Phoenician’s homeland of Phoenicia was a thin strip of land stretching along the Syrian coast; it was only 160 miles long and about 20 miles wide.# In order to expand they had no other choice but to turn towards the sea.