Etruria & Ancient Rome

Flashcards covering the history, art, and architecture of Etruria and Ancient Rome, including terminology for urban planning, structural components, and domestic life.

Tumuli

Conical mounds used as graves in Etruscan culture.

Necropolis

A term used to describe cemeteries or large burial grounds.

Apollo from Veii

A statue from the Etruscan temple of Minerva in Veius dating to the $6th$ Century B.C.

Tripartite Cell

The internal structure of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus divided for three deities: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.

The Capitoline Wolf

A bronze statue of a she-wolf from the $5th$ century BC; twins were added later by Antonio del Pollaiolo between $1471-73$.

Castrum

The name for a Roman military camp.

Cardo

North-South oriented street in Roman city planning.

Decumanus

East-West oriented street in Roman city planning leading out of the world.

Roman Monarchy

The period of Roman history spanning from $753/52$ BC to $509$ BC.

Roman Republic

The period of Roman history spanning from $509$ BC to $31$ BC.

Roman Empire

The period of Roman history spanning from $27$ BC to $476$ AD.

Romulus

The first Roman king who ruled from $753$ TO $716$ BCE.

Tarquin the Proud

The final Roman king who ruled from $534$ TO $509$ BCE.

Opus cementicum

The term for Roman concrete, which marked a major development in construction.

Keystone

The ashlar placed at the vertex (top center) of an arch.

Voussoir

The wedge-shaped stones that form the curved part of an arch.

Impost

The block from which an arch springs, located at the top of a pier or column.

Intrados

The interior or lower curve of an arch.

Groin vault

A type of vault also known in late Romanesque architecture, formed by the intersection of two barrel vaults.

Basilica

Originally a building for civil and judicial business for Romans, later adapted as a Christian church.

Trajan's Column

An honorary column located in the Forum of Trajan.

Pantheon

A Roman temple originally built by Agrippa ($27-25$ BC) and reconstructed by Hadrian ($118-128$ AD) and Apollodorus of Damascus.

Oculus (Eye)

The unglazed opening at the center of the Pantheon's dome designed to make the structure lighter.

Circus Maximus

An ancient Roman stadium used primarily for horse races.

Caldarium

The hot water room in Roman thermal baths.

Tepidarium

The lukewarm water room in Roman thermal baths.

Frigidarium

The cold water room in Roman thermal baths.

Latrinae

Public toilets in the Roman world, part of the first sewage systems.

Domus

A type of private Roman town house.

Impluvium

The basin in the center of the atrium of a Roman domus designed to collect rainwater.

Insula

A Roman apartment block where the lower classes (poor) often lived on higher floors while the wealthy lived on lower levels.

Tuscan Order

A classical architectural order characterized by simplified Doric style with a base and pedestal.