Roman Architecture and Empire Notes Module 6 done

Pantheon

  • Example of advanced Roman engineering.
  • Walls made of brick-faced concrete, an innovation used in major Roman buildings and infrastructure like aqueducts.
  • Walls lightened with relieving arches and vaults.
  • Concrete allowed for spaces to be carved out, such as alcoves around the rotunda and the apse.
  • Dome concrete is graded into six layers, using scoria (low-density, lightweight volcanic rock) at the top.
  • The structure was fine-tuned for structural efficiency and design flexibility.
  • Likely designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, Trajan's favorite builder, or someone closely associated with him.
  • Apollodorus had designed Trajan's Forum and other major projects.
  • Doubts about Apollodorus' role arose from accounts of Hadrian banishing and executing him for criticizing the emperor's talents, but these accounts are now doubted by many historians.
  • Pantheon became the church of the ever-virgin Holy Mary and all the martyrs in the 7th century after Pope Boniface IV asked the Byzantine emperor Phocas for the temple.
  • The Christian consecration of the Pantheon happened around May 13, 613. It was later known as Sanctae Mariae Rotundae (Saint Mary of the Rotunda).
  • The Pantheon became a station church, ensuring its continuous use and survival.
  • The Pantheon was a source of materials for new buildings, including cannons and weapons.
  • Many changes were made, including the replacement of easternmost portico columns, erection of doors and steps, replacement of red porphyry columns with granite, and removal/replacement of roof tiles.

Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius

  • A rare surviving example of equestrian statues from antiquity.
  • A gilded bronze monument from the 170s CE dedicated to Emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161-180 CE).
  • Important for the study of Roman portraiture and monumental dedications.
  • The statue's use over time demonstrates the connectivity between the past and the present.
  • The statue is over life-size (approximately 4.24 meters tall) and depicts the emperor on horseback during a public ritual or ceremony.
  • Originally cast using the lost-wax technique, with horse and rider cast in multiple pieces and then soldered together.
  • The horse is depicted in motion, with its right foreleg raised and left foreleg planted, controlled by reins held by the emperor.
  • The horse's musculature is carefully modeled, and its head turns to the right with its mouth slightly opened.
  • The horse wears a Persian-style saddlecloth, as opposed to a rigid saddle.
  • The horseman (Marcus Aurelius) sits astride the horse, guiding the reins with his left hand and raising his right arm with outstretched hand.

Late Empire & Decline of the Roman Empire

  • The Severan Dynasty was the last stable period of imperial reign until Constantine.
  • The assassination of Commodus in 192 CE led to a year of civil war.
  • Septimius Severus consolidated power and reigned until his death in 211 CE, establishing the Severan Dynasty (until 235 CE).
  • The economy, bureaucratic, and administrative power declined, making it difficult for the Severan emperors to maintain control.
  • To strengthen his claim, Septimius Severus declared himself the secret son of Marcus Aurelius and styled his portrait similarly.
  • His portraits depicted him as old but fit, without the wrinkles of wisdom seen in Republican veristic portraiture.
  • Two triumphal arches commissioned by Septimius Severus commemorate his victory over the Parthians.
  • One arch is at the northwest entrance to the Roman Forum, and the other is on the main road to Leptis Magna (modern Libya).
  • The Roman Arch of Septimius Severus recalls Augustus' triumphal arch and is a triple arch.
  • Decorative panels depict scenes of conquest, similar to the Columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, but stylistically resemble the figures on the Column of Marcus Aurelius.
  • Figures are carved in high relief, showing multiple scenes.
  • Small friezes recount the triumphal procession, framed by winged victories in the spandrels and two sets of four columns.
  • Reliefs on the pedestal of each column depict Romans leading captive Parthians away.
  • Caracalla's Baths: A large bath complex southeast of Rome's center, covering over 33 acres, with a capacity of over 1,600 bathers.
  • Bathing was an important part of Roman daily life, for leisure, business, socializing, exercising, learning, and illicit affairs.
  • The baths included bathing pools, exercise courts, changing rooms, Greek and Latin libraries, and a mithraeum.
  • Consisted of a central frigidarium (cold room) under three groin vaults, a double pool tepidarium, and a caldarium (hot room), as well as two palaestras (gyms). The north end contained a natatio or swimming pool.