Chapter 4: Ancient Rome
Etruscan Influence
• Architecture
– Etruscan Temples
• Steps only on one side.
• Deep front porch.
• Enclosed area (cella) is divided into three rooms.
Etruscan Influence
• Architecture
– Etruscan Tombs
• Two types:
– Corbeled domes
– Rock cut chambers forming
rectangular rooms.
• They were made with tufa,
a type of stone that
hardens when exposed to
the air.
Etruscan Influence
• Architecture
– Etruscan Tombs
• They tended to replicate home-life.
• Men and women appeared to be equal in status.
Etruscan Influence
• Etruscan Sculpture
– Capitoline She-Wolf
• This was a bronze sculpture created ca. 500 B.C.E.
• The twins, Romulus and Remus, were later added by
the Romans.
The Roman Republic
• Social Structure
– Classes
• Patricians: landowning aristocrats.
• Plebeians: poor
class.
• Slaves
– Commonly
captured in war.
– Also debtors.
The Roman Republic
• Social Structure
– Pietas is the total
obedience to the father of
the household.
– Government, in regard to
class, was supposed to
work in the same fashion.
– Patricians were the adults
when compared to the
plebeians.
The Roman Republic
• Social Structure
– The patricians also were patrons in some cases.
– If they favored a particular art, they would
support the artist, becoming their patron.
The Roman Republic
• Military Expansion
– Punic Wars
• It began over the ownership of Sicily.
• The war was fought against the African city-state,
Carthage.
The Roman Republic
• Military Expansion
– Punic Wars
• The Carthaginians were descended from the
Phoenicians.
• The Latin term for Phoenician is Punic.
The Roman Republic
• Military Expansion
– Julius Caesar
• He conquered Gaul,
modern France.
• He manipulated the
Roman Senate into
declaring him dictator for
life.
The Roman Republic
• Military Expansion
– Julius Caesar
• He was later
assassinated on March
15, 45 B.C.E.
• This led to a civil war
that led to the downfall
of the Roman Republic.
The Roman Republic
• Roman Art
– They copied the Greeks.
– They focused on “larger
than life images.”
– They also displayed real
people as opposed to
mythical and perfect
figures.
– They also created
imagines, death-masks.
The Roman Republic
• Roman Art
– Architecture
• Composite order were
columns in which they
combined the acanthus
leaves and the volutes.
• Corinthian columns were
commonly used in Rome.
• Engaged columns were
aesthetic columns that had
no structural support.
The Roman Republic
• Roman Art
– Architecture
• Engineering Advances
– Concrete
– The Arch
– The Dome
The Roman Republic
• Roman Art
– Architecture
• Engineering Advances
– The Aqueduct which
brought fresh water to
Rome from mountains
seven miles away.
– Road construction.
The Roman Republic
• Roman Literature
– Catullus wrote love poems.
– Plautus and Terence both wrote comedic-dramas.
Catullus
Plautus
Terence
The Roman Empire
• Octavian Caesar (r. 27
B.C.E-14 C.E.)
– He was Julius Caesar’s
adopted son and
nephew.
– He ended the civil war,
avenging his uncle, and
eventually became the
Augustus.
The Roman Empire
• Octavian Caesar
– His administration and conquest would develop
the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace.”
– Within the empire, trade and the economy were
escalated.
The Roman Empire
• The Decline of the Empire
– Rome would experience
approximately 170 years of
successful emperors.
– However, with the rise of
Commodus, the empire
began to slowly crumble.
The Roman Empire
• The Decline of the Empire
– Emperor Diocletian divided
the empire into a tetrarchy
which helped to prolong the
downfall of Rome.
The Roman Empire
• The Decline of the Empire
– Emperor Constantine
• He restored the empire.
• However, he moved the
capital to Byzantium, which
became known as
Constantinople.
• This move would save the
Eastern Empire (Byzantium)
but destroy the Western
Empire.
The Roman Empire
• The Decline of the
Empire
– Romulus Augustulus
• He was the child emperor.
• He was deposed by the
Goth, Odovacer in 476 C. E.
• This brought the official
end of the Western Roman
Empire.
The Roman Empire
• Music of the Empire
– It was loud and aggressive
(militaristic).
– Instruments
• Tuba
• Hydraulos (water power
organ)
The Roman Empire
• Architecture of the Empire
– Roman Forum was the center of city life and
resembled the Greek agora.
The Roman Empire
• Architecture of the Empire
– Colosseum was an amphitheatre (amphi = both
and theatre = semicircle) used for sporting events.
The Roman Empire
• Architecture of the Empire
– Pantheon
• It has an interior circular room and is dedicated to all
the gods.
The Roman Empire
• Architecture of the
Empire
– Pantheon
• The top has an oculus
(eye) that allows light in.
• Coffers are the square
indentation that were
overlaid with gold,
reflecting light into the
interior.
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the Empire
– Augustus of Primaporta
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the Empire
– Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace)
• First real use of perspective in
sculpting.
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the Empire
– Column of Trajan
• Roman columns were built
to celebrate victories.
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the
Empire
– Equestrian Statue of
Marcus Aurelius
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the
Empire
– The Head of Caracalla
• One of the first
sculptures to show
stress.
– Pupils and irises carved.
– Brow is contracted and
the head furrowed.
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the
Empire
– The Head of
Constantine
• Shown as both mystical
and majestic.
The Roman Empire
• Sculptures of the Empire
– The Arch of Constantine
The Roman Empire
• Paintings of the Empire
– The only type of paintings to survive were murals
(wall paintings).
– First Style: The wall is given the illusion of marble.
The Roman Empire
• Paintings of the Empire
– Second Style
(cubiculum): creates
open spaces using
perspective, which is
inconsistent.
The Roman Empire
• Paintings of the Empire
– Third Style: is ornamental or ornamented with an
emphasis on monochromic.
• Red
• Black
• White
The Roman Empire
• Paintings of the
Empire
– Fourth Style: is a
blending of all three
previous styles.
The Roman Empire
• Stoicism of the Empire
– The two main adherents of stoicism in the empire
were Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius.
Epictetus
Marcus Aurelius
The Roman Empire
• Historians of the Empire
– Sallust
• He wrote about the
corruption of Roman
politics.
The Roman Empire
• Historians of the
Empire
– Livy
• He wrote Rome’s
most extensive
history.
The Roman Empire
• Historians of the Empire
– Tacitus
• He analyzed the decline
of political freedom and
the increasing role of
dynastic power.
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the Empire
– Virgil
• He wrote The Aeneid, a
Roman epic recounting
the founding of the city
and its history.
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the Empire
– Gaius Lucilius
• He was one of the best
known satirists (this was the
only new contribution the
Romans made to writing).
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the Empire
– Horace
• He was well known for his odes (lyrical poems).
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the Empire
– Ovid
• He was wrote witty and ironic poems.
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the
Empire
– Seneca
• He wrote revenge
tragedy.
The Roman Empire
• Literature of the Empire
– Petronius
• He created a realistic picture of the manners, luxuries,
and vices of the age.