Ancient Greek and
Roman Architecture
Greek Architecture
• Our word “architecture”
comes from the Greek
architecton, which means
“master carpenter.”
• Early Greek architecture
therefore used wood, not
stone.
• These early structures, as
well as those of mud-
brick, have not survived.
• Greek temples, like
Egyptian temples,
used basic post-and-
beam construction.
• Early temples had
massive pillars as
architects worried about
Temple of Hera, Paestum
their ability to support
the weight above.
• Later temples appear
more elegant.
Hephaistion, Athens
Temple Forms
• Greek temples, like
Egyptian ones, tended
to follow set patterns.
• Variations are few and
usually reflect one of
the classical orders,
rather than new and
novel design.
The Classical Orders
• The three
classical orders
are:
• Doric
• Ionic
• Corinthian
The Doric Order
• Doric columns are the
heaviest in appearance
• The capital, or top of
the column is plain.
• The shaft is thick –
though it loses some of
its mass over time.
• There is no base.
The Ionic Order
• This order has greater
elegance.
• The capital has distinctive
volutes, or curled scroll
designs.
• The column is thinner than
in the Doric order.
• There is a base.
The Corinthian Order
• This is also a tall,
elegant form.
• The capital has
distinctive acanthus leaf
decoration.
• It has a base.
Parts of a Greek Temple
• The next section is vertical and is
the column.
• Most columns had a base (though
not the Doric), at the bottom, a
shaft in the middle, and a capital at
the top.
• The shaft may be smooth or fluted.
Parts of a Greek Temple
• Above the column is the
entablature.
• If the column is the leg, think
of this as the tabletop.
Parts of a Greek Temple
PEDIMENT:
Depicted scenes
related to the
god/goddess of
that temple.
Designs of Greek Temples
Designs of Greek Temples
Plans of Greek Temples
• The greatness and value
of a temple can be seen
in the number of
columns it has.
• Simple temples have
blank walls around a
naos, or chapel. With an
open area or porch in
front with two or four
supporting columns.
Designs of Greek Temples
• Grander temples, like
the Parthenon, had
columns surrounding
the entire structure.
Reconstruction of the Parthenon
in Nashville.
Designs of Greek Temples
• Grander still, and
generally from the
Hellenistic age, are
dipteral temples.
• They have an inner and
outer row of columns
surrounding them.
Artist’s reconstruction of the Temple of
Artemis, Ephesus, Turkey
Designs of Greek Temples
Important Structures – The Acropolis
• The most
famous Greek
buildings
topped the
Athenian
Acropolis.
Greek Homes
The homes of the
farmers and laborers
were usually small
and made of mud-
brick.
The middle and
upper class Greeks
lived in houses very
similar to modern
houses today.
Andron =
• ________________
Gynaeceum =
• _________________
What social class do
you think is
represented by this
picture?
Other architectural features…
The Greek Heritage
• Greek architecture
had a lasting impact
on the world.
• The Romans
adopted it as an
ideal, but modified it
to meet their
practical needs.
The Greek Heritage
• Today, elements of
Greek architecture
surround us
everywhere, from the
Doric columns gracing
local homes to the great
Ionic capitals of the
Vancouver Art Gallery.
The Greek Heritage
• Greek forms
have become an
integral part of
the vocabulary
of world
architecture
The Supreme Court of the United States
Roman Architecture:
Prehistory: The Etruscans
• Etruscan civilization
• Preceded the Roman Empire in Italy
• Most of their architecture was destroyed by the Romans
• Only hidden structures, such as tombs, were spared
• Much of their architecture was greatly influenced by the
Greeks
• The legacy of Etruscan architecture lives on through its
influence in Roman architecture
Roman Architecture:
Roman Characteristics
• April 21, 753 B.C.
• Pinpointed by the Romans as the day Rome was founded
• Early Romans were militant and very disciplined
• Lacking in artistic culture
• Romans absorbed the Greek Culture
• Literature, philosophy, science, and painting
• New appreciation of the arts
Roman Architecture:
Roman Characteristics
• Roman architecture emerged from Hellenistic and
Etruscan influences
• It held many original aspects, however
• Materials and building techniques
• Fulfilled practical purposes
• Served commerce, industry, and shipping
• Ports
• Roads
• Aqueducts
Roman Architecture:
Building Materials
• Building materials were very important to the success of
Roman architecture
• Access to a wide variety of building stone including:
• Volcanic tufa
• Limestone
• Travertine
• Nearly unlimited quantities of white marble
• Quarry opened by Augustus north of Pisa
• Other varieties were imported from the Far East
Roman Architecture:
Building Materials
• Brick
• Romans perfected the art of brick-making
• Concrete
• Perfected this material
• Became the most characteristic material in Roman
structures
• Was used to construct massive walls and great vaults
Roman Architecture:
Architectural Ideals
• Space
• To the Romans, the space inside a structure was just as
important as the exterior
• Interior space was the primary focus of Roman
architecture and was shaped by vaults, arches, and walls
• Romans were fond of extravagance
• Architecture for the powerful was gaudy and colorful, not
like the ruins as seen today
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• The combination of arches, vaults, and concrete in
architecture are a pure Roman creation
• The individual elements had been used in earlier
civilizations
• Egyptians and Mesopotamians had used primitive arch
forms
• Greeks had experimented with the arch and concrete with
little success
• Etruscans had constructed vault-like forms
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Arches
• More intricate than a simple post-and-lintel system
• Formed by a multitude of small elements that curve over
space by resting against each other in a delicate balance
• Voussoirs
• The elements used to create an arch
• The shape of the structure keeps each voussoir in place
• Held together by their own force
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Vault
• Created by extending an arch along its axis
• Merely an extended arch
• Supports and provides a roof for a given area
• Types of vaults
• Barrel/Tunnel vault
• Cross/Groin vault
• Dome
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Barrel/Tunnel Vaults
• The earliest type of vault
• Appear in limited form in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and
Hellenistic Greece
• Has a few limitations
• Exerts a continuous load, therefore needing constant
support
• Difficult to illuminate
• Increases in length require thicker vault supports
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Cross/Groin Vaults
• Created to overcome the limitations of barrel vaults
• Employed by the Romans very heavily
• Formed by intersecting two barrel vaults at right angles
• Limitations
• Resistant to square plans
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Dome
• The grandest type of vault
• Types
• Cloister vault
• An eight-sided vault, with an octagon-shaped dome
• Formed by crossing barrel vaults over an octagonal plan
• Rare in Rome, more prevalent in medieval architecture
• True dome
• Perfectly rounded dome, preferred by the Romans
• Built up in complete rings wherein each ring forms a self-supporting
component of the final dome
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Concrete
• A mixture of mortar-like cement with an aggregate
• Many advantages over traditional stone
• Does not need to be quarried, shaped, or transported
• Highly skilled labor was not needed to prepare the concrete
• Can be cast in just about any shape imaginable
• Arches and vaults could be economically fabricated
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
• Concrete
• Surfaces
• Romans developed many types of facings that were weather
resistant and pleasant to the eye
• Opus incertum
• Random shaped stones of concrete
• Opus testaceum
• Brick facing; made concrete wall look as if it were constructed from
bricks
• Opus mixtum
• Decorative patterns of tufa, stone, or brick
Roman Architecture:
Structural Revolution
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Aqueducts
• Used to supply the civilization with water from afar
• Utilized an arch to create a continuous line of decent for
water
• Aqua Claudia
• Brought water over solid masonry some ten miles into Rome
• Some areas were over 100 ft. in height
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Bridges
• Were generally lower in height and broader than aqueducts
• Two important Roman Bridges:
• Pons Fabricus
• Pons Milvius
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Theatres
• Adopted the Greek theatre and transformed it
• The Roman theatre was closed, unlike the Greeks who
preferred an open, outside theatre
• Theatre of Marcellus
• Integrated Roman style with that of the Greeks
• Provided around 10,000 seats arranged in three tiers
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Arenas
• The Colosseum
• Built by Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Doitian
• Located on the site of an artificial lake that had been part of
Nero’s Golden House
• Extensive system of tunnels, chambers, and mechanical
devices below the arena floor
• Hydraulic provision used to flood the arena for naval
displays and mock battles
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Structure
Photo: Sullivan
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Circuses
• Circus Maximus
• Oldest and largest circus
stadium
• Rebuilt and destroyed
from the first through
third centuries A.D.
• Roman Baths
• Strenuous daily life prompted the Romans to construct
large public baths
• Wealthy citizens also constructed private baths in their
domiciles
• Featured elaborate heating systems
• Furnaces beneath floors
• Heat was transmitted to rooms by tile ducts, warming the
floors and the walls
• Roman Temples
• Earliest Roman temples were indistinguishable from those
of the Etruscans
• Axial plan
• Deep porch
• Widely spaced columns
• High podiums
• Roman Temples
• Temple of Jupiter
Capitolinus
• Originally built in the late
sixth century B.C.
• Rebuilt in 69 B.C.
• Roman Temples
• Pantheon
• Located in Rome
• Considered by many to be the greatest structure of antiquity to
have survived in a state of near completeness
• Built by Hadrian between A.D 118 and 128
• Three notable parts:
• Immense, domed cella
• Deep, octastyle Corinthian porch
• Block-like intermediate structure
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
Roman Architecture:
Roman Structures
• Roman Basilicas
• An important category of Roman architecture
• Most important Roman source for early Christian
architecture
• Pure Roman style of architecture
• Basilica
• Essentially means a roofed hall, rectangular in plan,
sometimes with an apse
• Roman Basilicas
• Basilica Ulpia
• A.D. 98-117
• Finest example of the
columnar basilica
• Built by Trajan
• Important model for
later ages
• Roman Basilicas
• Basilica in Trier,
Germany
• Early fourth century
A.D.
• Built by Constantine
• The final Roman
basilica
• Served as an
important model for
the Romanesque
period of architecture
Roman Architecture:
Civic Architecture
• Houses and Villas
• Private domiciles reflected their inhabitants
• Lower classes lived in meager, cramped apartments located on
the upper floors of shops and other buildings
• Middle classes lived on the lower floors and many homes had
balconies, good ventilation, and running water
• Upper classes usually owned a house, know as a domus.
• Standalone structures
• Featured courtyards and gardens
• Many had running water
Roman Architecture:
Tombs
• Tombs
• Romans were great builders of tombs
• Different from the Greeks and Egyptians in scale and
religious style
• Tomb of M. Vergilius Eurysaces
• Citizen who made a fortune selling bread to Caesar's army
• Built a tomb in the shape of an oven
Roman Architecture:
Tombs
Roman Architecture:
Tombs
• Tombs
• Roman catacombs
• Built by the poor as place
of burial
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