Arch & Art Hist Rome Apr 1

polytheism

belief in many gods (ex. Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans, Ancient Egyptians)

monotheism

belief in one god (ex. Judaism, Christianity)

deus

a god (ex. Jupiter)

divus

someone who has become a god (ex. Augustus)

genius/genia

spirit of the self

laraium/lararia

household shrine

lar/lares

household gods

chi-rho

symbol of Christianity made by Constantine I, displayed on shields of his army, stands for Jesus Christ

Meta Sudans

‘the sweating stone’, 1st cent CE, right outside Colosseum, spot where triumphal procession turned into Via Sacra, more or less a fountain

Arch of Constantine

right outside Colosseum, 315 CE, triple fornix construction, constructed almost entirely of spolia

spolia

reuse of structural elements used for other monuments/projects

roundels

scenes set in round framings, popular with Emperor Hadrian

Basilica of Constantine

begun by Emperor Maxentius in 306 CE, finished by Constantine in 313 CE, along the Via Sacra in Forum Romanum, incredibly huge

apse

semicircular or polygonal recess (VERIFY)

Colossal Constantine

originally in Western apse of the Basilica of Constantine, now held in Palazzo del Conservatori, naturalistic, symbolic representation, 12-15 m tall