Ancient Roman
Achievements
Directions
 Anything
with a check mark next to it, you
write on your Tree Map.
 If there’s no check mark, you don’t have
to write it. Just read it and listen!
Barbaric, brilliant or both?
Romans were well know thieves. Although
most of their ideas were stolen from other
societies, Romans improved upon the
stolen ideas and made them great!
Art

Virgil depicted in a fresco
 Rome
stole
Greek art and
copied their art
style.
 But Roman art
was more
realistic than
Greek art

Mosaics- art made out of small pieces of tile
or stone to form a design.
Frescoes- paintings on plaster
Pompeii. Villa of the Mysteries
The Romans painted murals. These depicted everyday scenes around Rome. They
also painted mythological scenes such as the heroic deeds of Hercules, Achilles,
Ulysses, and Theseus.
As the Roman Empire became larger the Britons, Spanish,
Carthaginians, Phoenicians, etc. mixed their art styles with
the Romans styles to form many different styles
throughout the Mediterranean area. Around 200 A. D. the
German influence was first seen in the Roman art. At this
time the art showed people suffering such as having their
head cut off or their insides ripped out.
The drill was invented making sculpting easier and faster.
This gave the art a little different look.
By the 300's A. D. Christianity influence began to show up
in Roman art. The artwork had less blood and gore. Some
figures were sculpted with the eyes looking towards
heaven. At this time the body was less important. Sculptors
took less time with the body and at times the body was not
in the correct proportions.
Architecture
Grandeurbeing grand,
the WOW!
effect
 Arches
 Domes

 The Roman Pantheon- temple to
all the Roman gods
 The Colosseum
The Coliseum- a blend of Greek
and Roman architecture




The arches are supported
by central columns.
The columns on the first
floor are Doric.
The columns on the
second floor are Ionic.
The columns on the third
floor are Corinthian.

Victory arches
The glorious Arch of Triumph in Rome, Italy.
Arches of Triumphto celebrate military success
Engineering

Aqueducts- system
of pipes or channels to
bring water from its
source to cities.
Aqueducts
Aqueductsa way to carry water
There wasn’t enough water in the city of
Rome.
 The Romans brought water in from the
surrounding countryside.
 The water was brought in by tubes called
aqueducts.

Why arches?
Water is heavy stuff.
 The Romans needed
a structure strong
enough to hold all
that water to move it
from the mountains
into the city.

Where did the water go?
The water was
transported in
concrete tunnels.
 The tunnels were
underground if
possible.
 Sometimes the tunnel
had to go above
ground.

How did the aqueduct work?
The water flowed in
a tube on the top of
the aqueduct called
a water channel.
 The arches
supported the water
channel.

What did the water channel look
like?
The water flowed
through a rectangular
channel.
 The channel was lined
with concrete.

 Romans
invented
concrete.
How does an arch work?
Keystones
The keystone is the
red stone at the top
of the arch.
 The keystone is what
the weight rests on.

How does an arch work?
Voussoirs
The semi-circular
stones on either side
of the keystone are
the voussoirs.
 The voussoirs bring
the weight to the
columns that go to
the ground.

Modern arches
US Capital
Public Bath houses
Roads promoted trade.
"All roads lead to Rome."
The Appian Way
 Bridge and dams
The Roman dam at Hantes in Belgium. The thirteen small arches
each have recesses for lifting cataractae (vertical lifting water
doors).
Literature
 Latin
is the root of many modern
languages.
 Virgil wrote the Aeneid
 Ovid wrote the Metamorphoses
History
 Livy-
a patriotic Roman historian
 Tacitus- criticized Roman emperors in his
writings
Law
law- laws that applied to all citizens
 Law of Nations- laws that applied to all
who lived in Rome
 Roman ideas helped shape Western legal
 Civil
systems