Ancient Greece through Ancient Rome: Key Concepts

Next Quiz: Covers Ancient Greece through Ancient Rome. A second quiz study guide will be available on Google.
Formal Analysis Assignment: A short, out-of-class writing assignment will be introduced after the second quiz. It is a formal analysis, and specific details and examples will be discussed.
Readings: Students should continue to keep up with their readings.

The Romans successfully took over an enormous amount of land and people.
A key method of persuasion used by the Romans was their visual culture.
Key Considerations: Note the differences and changes in the representation of the figure over time, and how Romans assimilated and appropriated the visual cultures of conquered peoples.

Identity: Not Romans, but an indigenous Italian tribe residing in modern-day Tuscany (north of Rome).
Time Period: $750 - 500 ext{ BCE}$ . These civilizations coexisted with Ancient Greece.
Greek Influence: The Etruscans had a strong trade relationship with Greece, with Greek colonies (e.g., Magna Graecia) across the Italian mainland. They were highly familiar with Greek art and aesthetics.
Geographic Context: Their ancestral homes include current cities like Florence, Siena, and Pisa.

Context: From the roof of the Portonaccio Temple.
Archaic Period: Inspired by Greek aesthetics of the same period.
Characteristics:
- Archaic Smile: Similar to Greek kouroi.
- Size: Life-sized male figure ( $5 ext{ feet } 11 ext{ inches}$ tall).
- Clothing: Clothed, unlike the nude Greek kouroi.
- Material: Made of terracotta (baked earth/clay), a common building material in Tuscany, as opposed to bronze or marble.
- Movement: Shows more realistic movement than Greek kouroi, despite both striding forward.
- Idealization: An idealized male figure with attention to musculature.

Materials: Primarily wood and fired mud brick, which is why only models (not ruins) exist today from the $6^{th} ext{ century BCE}$ .
Knowledge Source: Roman architect Vitruvius's treatise on architecture provides descriptions.
Similarities to Greek Temples (but with differences):
- Columns: Etruscan columns, made of wood, were similar to Doric style but simpler, lacked fluting, and were more slender. This became known as the Tuscan style.
- Staircase: Had a central staircase, not open stairs on all sides.
- Column Placement: Columns were only on the front porch.
- Entrances: Three separate entrances, reflecting their three major gods, unlike the single central entrance of Greek temples.
- Sculpture Placement: Statues were placed on the roof, not in the triangular pediment (e.g., Parthenon).

Material: Bronze.
Mythological Allusion: Represents the founding myth of Rome, where Romulus and Remus (abandoned twin brothers) were nursed by a she-wolf, leading to the founding of Rome.
Artistic Style: A blend of naturalism (realistic head and musculature) and stylization (patterned/regimented hair).
Size: About life-sized ( $2 ext{ feet } 7 ext{ inches}$ tall).

Geographic Shift: Moved south from the Etruscan territory.
Etruscan Recognition: Etruscans referred to Romans as the Latins (origin of the Latin language).
Duration: The Roman Kingdom lasted for about $200$ years ( $753 ext{ BCE} - 509 ext{ BCE}$ , traditionally). The Roman Republic lasted for approximately five centuries ( $509 ext{ BCE} - 27 ext{ BCE}$ ), a very successful and long-lived venture.
Influences: Strongly influenced by both the Greeks and Etruscans, whose cultures were absorbed as Rome expanded.
Political Structure: Ruled by a Senate and two elected Consuls. Power remained concentrated among old, wealthy families.

Distinctive Style: Marked by heavy naturalism, emphasizing age, wisdom, and experience, a stark contrast to the idealized youthful figures of Greece and Etruria.
Examples:
- Head of a Roman Patrician: Shows extreme naturalism with stubble, folds around the eyes, bulbous nose, sunken cheeks, and a crepey neck.
- Verism/Veristic: The vocabulary term for this hyperrealistic style, avoiding idealization.
Ancestor Worship: A unique aspect of Republican Rome where wealthy families commissioned portrait busts of ancestors to display in courtyards or specific rooms, emphasizing family lineage and history.
Portrait of a Roman General ( $75 - 50 ext{ BCE}$ ): Combines an idealized youthful marble body with a veristic, naturalistic older man's head, creating a striking juxtaposition.

Date: $75 ext{ BCE}$ . A small but significant temple in Rome.
Hybrid Influence: Shows both Greek and Etruscan influences, a characteristic of Roman architecture.
- Etruscan Elements: Frontal staircase, freestanding columns only in the front (porch).
- Greek Elements: Ionic order (volute capitals), built of stone (tufa and travertine marble), columns extending all the way around.
Engaged Columns: A distinct Roman feature where columns in the back are partially embedded in the exterior wall, visible but not freestanding.
Materials and Appearance: Originally overlaid with stucco to mimic expensive marble, showcasing Roman skill in using less costly materials for a grander effect.
Dedication: Likely built by a naval captain to honor Portunus, the Roman god of harbors and ports, after a significant naval victory.

Eruption: Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, famously erupted in $79 ext{ CE}$ .
Preservation: The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were almost immediately covered and perfectly preserved by volcanic ash, leading to invaluable archaeological ruins.
Context: These were Roman resort towns for wealthy citizens, offering an escape from the hot, less pleasant summers of Rome (located $12$ miles inland from the Tiber River, lacking sea breezes).
Domestic Architecture: Wealthy villas featured beautiful interior courtyards with gardens, fountains, and sculptures. Unlike modern front yards, all landscaping was private, for family and visitors.
Mosaics: Floor mosaics were common, including the earliest known