Egyptian Culture And Architecture: The History Of Egypt

Roman artwork is extremely intricate and diverse, however, a lot of what is referred to as Roman art can better be described by the cultures it conquered. The ancient Greeks were the most influential of these cultures, from their temples and sculptures, to their reliefs and paintings. Greece was the first culture to create major programs for sculpture, painting, and architecture. Many of the first Roman artists were of Greek descent as their artwork reflects the Classical and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece. A lot of what is considered to be Roman artwork is criticized as being mere copies of Greek artwork since they modeled their forms and styles after the Greeks, but other cultures influenced the Romans as well, mainly the Etruscans,

In the time of Ancient Greece, the Parthenon was the epitome of all Greek temples, possessing desired traits from hut-like temples, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, and other temples. All the column styles were established in 6th century BCE, but the styles were named afterwards (Spawforth 62). The chief column styles of Greek temple building were Doric and Ionic, and they were named in the 5th century BCE (Spawforth 62). The Corinthian column style was named in the 4th century BCE (Spawforth 62). Doric columns from the 4th century BCE are skinnier than the 6th century BCE columns (Spawforth 62).

Etruscan architecture was really the beginning of Roman architecture. For example in Etruscan tombs people would find many types of architectural traits found in many Roman buildings. Like the fact they had vaulted entrances. Some cities had an influence, such as the fortified city of Norba. After this Greece started to gain control in Italy that greatly affected the Roman architecture of this time but not as much as Etruscan does in the future.

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 Archaic period evolv... ... middle of paper ... ...mples had exterior Corinthinan columns, such as the colossal temple of Zeus Olympius in Athens, begun in 174 BCE. In the Ionic order, Hermogenes of Priene evolved new canons of proportion concerning the temple plan and the height and spacing of columns. His writings were also passed down to Roman architects who emulated his designs. Long after the Roman army captured Athens, the principles of Greek architecture continued to govern building designs in mainland Greece and in Anatolia and strongly influenced Roman architecture throughout the empire.

I believe the Greek architects with its development came into existence before Roman civilization. Therefore, the Roman civilization took some features from Greek architecture when they started building. Greek architects provided some of the best and most typical buildings in the Ancient World. Some of their constructions, such as temples, theatres, and stadia, would become primary features of towns and municipalities from ancient times forward. In addition, the Greek was alarmed with simplicity, quantity, perception, and synchronization in their buildings that would go on to significantly impacting architects in the Roman world.

The Romans took and borrowed a lot of things from the Greek culture. For example, the took the Greek Gods and renamed them. They also took the styles of Greek temples, but they changed them some. The temple was rectangular, with a gabled roof, with a frontal staircase giving access to its high platform. They used mainly the Corinthian style, but they also made combinations, for instance the Corinthian-Ionic style.

Before the Archaic Period, the major elements on the Greek potteries are the geometric patterns such as Zigzag, Triangle, and Meander. However, in the archaic period, the major elements become the palmate and the volute. The Palmate: the palm tree leaf shape figure and the volute: the swirling figure are two of the major elements in Ionic Culture, and these two elements are widely used by Greek artists not only on the potteries but also on the architectural structures. In terms of the architectural, one of the good examples would be the Marble column from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis. This huge column is about 361 cm height, and despite of its humongous size, its capital is also worth consideration.

The rectangular-shaped temples of the Greeks and the Romans appear to be quite similar; however, they have their differences in material, method, and purpose among others. As you can observe, the Pantheon is quite different from the traditional Roman temples; so it is easy to say that the Parthenon and the Pantheon are not alike at all. But the truth is that the Pantheon was renovated and so many features changed from the familiar Roman temples.

Although the Romans copied many aspects Greek culture, they also have made distinct contributions. Greece and Rome have also made tremendous contributions to our civilization with art and architecture. The Greeks invented the column and the Romans took these Greek features with some of their own, such as a strong new concrete concept, dome and arches and created marvelous structures. The Roman and the Greek gods seem to relate to each other. A similarity between the two mythologies is that the symbols and designations of powers are the same in the two.

“… Roman art is not solely a continuation of Greek art. The Romans were very different the Greeks, and their art is accordingly different in emphasis and focus… They were superb engineers. Their sculpture and painting is realistic, with an emphasis on particulars – specific people, places, and times…” For architecture, the Romans selected Greek orders and was influenced by the Etruscan architecture. “…The Romans made Doric columns taller and slimmer and gave them a base.” The Romans used Composite order and engaged columns in their architecture, in contrast to the Greeks. In comparison, both the Greeks and Romans built their buildings out of the uses of ashlar masonry.