Final+Summary

Back to Home Page Final Summary: 1. Architecture In General ***DONE*** 2. Arches ***DONE*** 3. Columns ***DONE*** 4. Early Influence ***DONE*** 5. Later Influence ***DONE***  Roman architecture was a fantastic advancement that took the architecture of the time and improved it to its maximum potentional, these styles are still used today in buildngs such as the [|U.S. Supreme Court] (Washington) which highly resembles the [|Pantheon]. Rome took the post and lintel style of the time and altered and changed it so buildings could hold so much more weight and used columns and arches to support their buildings. Not only had the ideas of Roman architecture advanced building, but it also helped the success of Rome. Each specific structure, such as temples and basilicas, served a role and helped the empire succeed by advancing things such as transportation and communication. Not only did artists and builders construct and design these magnificent pieces ( [|for entertainment] ), emperors also created things such as temples and [|victory arches]. When an emperor creates something such as a temple, it signifies that that emperor was dedicated to the traditional customs of Rome. For example, the [|Colosseum] was built by Vespasian, who was the emperor at the time. 
 * Include primary sources as examples *

Arches were heavily used in Roman architecture and can be found in almost any building.  The arch is considered to be one of Rome’s greatest architectural contributions. The arch has extremely good structural support, and looks appealing. The idea of arches eventually lead into domes, aqueducts, bridges and pathways.  An aqueduct is a long system of tiered arches that runs from a source of water to a town. The [|aqueduct] was built with large arches on the bottom tier, next smaller arches were stacked on top, and then a final, smallest tier that had a trough cut out and lined with lead. Water would then flow from the mountain springs to the villages pulled by gravity. Domes were mainly used in religious buildings to allow the space needed for religious ceremonies and statues. The [|Pantheon] was the largest dome built.

[|Columns] were a very dominate part of Roman architecture and were used to their full potential. The Roman's adapted some of Greeks architectural styles including columns. There were three main types of columns. [|Doric, Ionic, Cornithian]. The first and most basic type was the Doric style, which had no base and was not as detailed as the later styles. The Doric styles were used in government buildings. Then came the sligtly more elaborate Ionic style. This column had decorative scrolls at the top and bottom and was used in religious buildings. It also was more detailed and decorative than the Doric style with a continuous frieze running the whole lenght. The last main style was the Cornithian Style. The Cornithian style was very similar to the Ionic but instead of having a carved scroll at the top this style of column had a Canthis. A canthus looks like leaves and and flowers and decorateive swirls and patterns engraved into the columns. Instead of only using one type of column per building the Romans used multiple, for example each tier of the Coliseum's arches has different style columns. Roman architecture was highly influenced by the Greeks and the Etruscans. They used the Etruscan ideas of concrete and the arch to build many amazing things such as aqueducts, insulae, the Parthenon, and the Colosseum. These buildings represented the Roman mindset that strength and endurance was more important than beauty and grace.

The Roman architecture also influenced many major cities. One example would be in Paris, the Vendome Column. This column was based off of the Column of Trajan. Not only had Paris used the ideas, but also the Americans. The U.S. Supreme Court (Washington) was also very much based off of Roman Architecture. The characteristics matched up to the Roman temples. Being raised on a podium, a formal front staircase approaching the building, the columns only being in the front of the building, and white marble on the outside. Not only had these structures served a purpose, but they also helped with the advancement of the empire and the later cities that came after it.

Roman architecture was some of the most advanced of it's time. Using adopted knowledge from the Greek's and Etruscan's the Roman's built some of the worlds most famous buildings such as the Parthenon and Coloseum. Many of today's government buildings are influenced by the practical mindset and style of Roman architecture.