Classics midterm 2 terms

Arch: triumph

Romans build arches to show their dominance or physical control of the place

its possible that the Glanum arch (built in 10-25 BCE) is a triumph arch because its at the city entrance, but its embedded in the city wall so it might not be.

example: glanum arch in this picture, one that is for sure a triumphal arch is the arch of titus

Attic

The flat top part of a triumphal arch (the part that sits on top of the piers

Single bay arch

less common, only one arch window in a triumphal arch

example: the arch of titus

Arcade: running arches over and over next to each other

example: the exterior of the colosseum has three stories of arcades (the fourth story is just windows)

Forum

the place of public meetings, law courts, the main area for Roman activity during the republic.

Emblema

Central panel, usually made off site and set into the pavement

example could be in the house of the painters at work, or the paintings of families/imperial people in the forum of trajan

Apotheosis

Deification: glorification of a subject to divine levels. Done to Julius Caesar after his death. Diefied people do not wear shoes.

triple bay arch

more common roman arches

three arch categories

example: the glaunum arch

Ashlar masonry

regular cut and quarried stone

no mortar to glue together different pieces of stone

first style of painting is made to look like ashlar masonry. The colosseum uses more of this traditional style by using iron clamps to connect travertine piers rather than using mortar

capital

Tuscan: smooth column without volutes

Doric: ribbed column without volutes

Ionic: ribbed column with swirly volutes

Corinthian: heavily decorated top

colisseum used tuscan, ionic, corinthian in that order for the arcades

Cella

cell

the inner area of a temple

usually etruscan temples are tripartite aka three cells

Dromos

passageway in greek (usually entrance to a tomb)

Forum

the roman forum was a large rectangular plaza that had all the buildings necessary for civic functioning. There were other forums (the main was forum boarium) but there was also the forum built by Pompey and Caesar.

Manubial temple

temple dedicated by a general to a god before going to battle to celebrate their eventual conquest

most built in campus martius

example: temple of portunus, temple of herculus victor, temple in the forum of trajan was built from the spoils of Trajan’s victory over Dacia

Necropolis

city of the dead, lots of earthen burial mounds. This was common in Etruscan culture seen in cerveteri

example: cerveteri

Travertine

local stone in Rome that looks and acts like marble, but is local rather than the greek marble

most of the colosseum used travertine, very little of it used concrete (more for decor)

Tumulus

above ground earthen burial mounds

tombs

seein cerveteri and tarquinia

Axial orientation

direction of entrance for a building/temple

etruscan temples have frontal axial orientation

greek temples have access on all sides

the pantheon has a frontal axial orientation which makes you see a very ancient approach (triangular pediment, corinthian columns, marcus Agrippa’s name) and it confuses you when you walk into the dome

Pediment

top of the temple (the triangular part)

traditional pediment on pantheon, but there is a second one as well

peripteral

having columns all around a building

greek style

temple to augustus and roma in Judea has peripteral columns (very much influenced by hellenistic styles)

pseudoperipteral

having columns just in the front of the temple that are freestanding and the others are engaged in the back

roman style mimicking a greek style but slightly different

podium

lifted platform that the temple sits on

common for roman/etruscan temples

porch

deep porch is common for etruscan temples

where the columns stand

Tholos

round building

more common for greek architecture

example: temple of herculus victor, monument of Julii (the top of it)

Tripartite architecture

three part architecture

common in etruscan culture

seen in the triple bay arches (the triumphal arch of tiberius at orange)

arena

the main stage area in an amphitheater

the arena in the colosseum used to be sand previously, and then was filled in later

Cavea

seating area in an amphitheater

Atrium

the entrance foyer type of area

house of the vetti atrium has lockboxes

Fauces

entryway into the roman domus (the roman house)

fauces have apotropaic images

impluvium

the sunken basin in the peristyle garden that catches rainwater or has a fountain

tablinum

area for the client patron meetings (salutatio)

house of vetti has this removed and has a peristyle garden instead

triclinium

the dining room in a roman domus

likely the unfinished room in the house of the painters at work

dado

bottom strip in a fresco painting

usually has a different pattern or color

left unfinished in the triclinium in the house of the painters at work

fresco painting

using pigment on wet plaster to seal in a water based color painting onto the wall

acroterion

a sculpture that is placed on the top of a pedestal or building

the acroterion of minerva and hercules was the only surviving part of the archaic temple on the tiber

historical relief

common in roman art

displays a roman historical retelling in sculptures

imago

likeness, word for portrait

roman domus has imago showing the comparison or similarities to their ancestors

register

division of a sculpture into horizontal bands or rows

ara pacis has two registers

terra cotta

baked earth

a lot of terracotta used in etruscan culture (cerveteri)

sarcophagus of the spouses

Verism

showing age and wisdom through wrinkles on the face

example: veristic portrait of a mid first century BCE male (head covered)

claudius goes back to this veristic idea because he comes to power at a later age and wants to connect himself with his legacy

Emblema

central panel usually made off site and later set into the pavement

??? example

Opus vermiculatum

worm like mosaic work

in the house of the faun (the alexander the great and theater mask mosaics)

opus sectile

more geometric cut mosaic work

in the tablinum of the house of faun

tessera

small regular cut stones used in mosaics

obverse

head side of a coin

reverse

tails of a coin

Apotropaic

wards off evil

the fauces image of priapus in the house of the vetti is an apotropaic

apotheosis

deification: turning a mortal into a god like divine figure

the arch of titus “apotheosis of Titus” shows this

decursio

roman military parade in honor of the deceased

damnatio memoriae

public condemnation of a person’s memory

this is a modern term for the common roman practice at this time

seen in the cancelleria relief where domitian is removed and repalced with nerva’s head

paludamentum

military cloak worn by a general

seen in the portrait of the Tivoli general

profectio

a ritual before a departure for war

this is seen in the cancelleria relief

princeps

means “first”, the title given to Augustus in 27 BCE when he didn’t want to come to power as “emperor” but the people named him princeps or first citizen

pater patriae

father of the fatherland

name given to augustus in 2 BCE

fibula

pin

granulation

covering a surface with tiny granules of precious metals or gold

this is seen in the fibula found in the regolini galassi tomb

spolia

war booty

often displayed in different sculptures or reliefs showing victory

seen in the arch of titus (the side showing Spoils from the sack of jerusalem, the menorah is a spoil of that war)

souvetaurilia

sacrifice of a bull

seen in the altar of domitius ahenobarbus

trophy

captures arms of the enemy are built to look like a scarecrow on a wooden post

shows victory sign

iconography

interpretation of visual symbols or images