Doctorate Collin Wells
Ottawa University
Greek Influence in Roman Architecture
1986
Table of Contents
The question of Roman architecture being unique or not is a very complex and still poorly misunderstood phenomenon.
I. Different Civilisations and Their Influences
II. Slavery in Rome
III. Capitals
- Doric
- Ionic
- Corinthian
- Composite
IV. Greek Influences in Augustan Architecture
- The Forum
- Temples
V. Miscellaneous Greek Influences in Roman Architecture
- The Theatre
- The Baths
- The Circus
Greek Influence in Roman Architecture
Roman architecture is one of the most famous classical works that our world has ever seen. However, if we were to approach Roman architecture, to a certain degree, and challenge its uniqueness, of it not being so unique, we would have with no doubt in our minds a legitimate case. Roman architecture was influenced by Greek architects. In most cases of Roman architectural developments, the Romans themselves were tutored by Greek architects. Let us look at with some detail the different aspects that led up to this type of influence.
It is equally important to examine the civilizational heritage of Rome, handled in parallel, as it is the influence of Roman architecture of the Greeks. In 753 B.C., Rome was a small community.1 As far as we know, Rome's first inhabitants were that of Indo-European, Mediterranean, and Illyrian tribes; all three were in a primitive stage of culture. For civilization, as we know it, began in the Near East, and from the harbours and plains of Italy on the West Coast. Civilization came to Italy later that it did to Greece. When it did appear, it was brought by Carthaginians, Greeks, and Etruscans. The Carthaginian influence was never very strong. The Etruscans also did not leave behind a considerable amount of influence on the later Romans, despite the scholarly debate thereof. However, amongst these cultures (Carthaginian, Greek, & Etruscan), the Greeks made a lasting, and in the end, the most major imprint on Roman architecture.
When the Romans came into contact with the Hellenic culture, they recognised its superiority. I was in 272 B. C. that the Romans captured the Hellenic city of Tarentum, which is now Taranto on the instep of Italy.2 The Greek prisoners who became slaves - servi - also became the tutors of Roman children.3 These captured tutors, at the time for some, were better intellects than the Romans themselves. They taught a variety of things from philosophy to literature, to architectural design. Many of these slaves, descendants of Greece, became Roman citizens, and moreover they became Roman architects who worked for the army, the civil service, or were in private practice as Pliny the Younger had noted. (Letters 10.40)4 And thus began the process by which to quote the famous cliché, "Captive Greece took her rude conquerors captive."5 That trend was intensified by Rome's conquest of Greece proper and the entire Hellenistic Near East.
Let us introduce ourselves to the basic four Capitals of the ancient classical Greco-Roman world: Donic, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. It is evident without scepticism that the Doric Capital (see Appendix fig. 1) is a classical Hellenistic architectural design. Parallel to the Doric Capital of it being architecturally Greek is that the Ionic Capital (see Appendix fig. 2). The Corinthian Capital (see Appendix fig. 3), although designed in its early stages by Greek architects, had taken a slight change in Roman time (p. 7). It is said that the Corinthian Capital had been derived from the Ionic Capital, with the exception of the added leaves.6 We can easily imagine this if we were to picture an Ionic Capital and its spiral design with two added spirals and leaves underneath. The Composite Capital (see Appendix fig. 4) is a close duplicate of the Corinthian Capital. As Sebastiano Serlio said in his book, "The Book of Architecture," that the Composite Capital is almost Corinthian.
It is important to give the Romans credit especially where credit is due. The Roman architects had invented, to some degree as some people might believe, the Composite Order. However, it would be immature for us to oversee the resemblance between the Composite Order and the Corinthian Order. Perhaps then, we may understand that if the Romans were in existence in our modern society, they would have been subjected to the penalties provided by law for the distribution in whole or in part of the Corinthian Order - liability. But, because Greeks were captives, the Romans were able to take Hellenic architectural ideas and make them their own without question, as would be the case in modern times.
The age of Augustus represents the coming of age of Roman architecture. Until then, Roman buildings had been a somewhat rough and ready mix of Roman engineering techniques and Hellenistic veneering. During the 40 years of his ambitious building programme, almost certainly resulted in a major influx of foreign craftsmen and architects. Outside influences, particularly Eastern and Greek are a constant factor in Augustan architecture. It seems that after an initial experimental period at the beginning of his Principate, he had determined that Classical and Hellenistic architecture was to be his model.
The Ara Pacis (13-9 B.C.) draws its inspiration from both the Classical and the Hellenistic perdiod.7 A more obvious example of the Augustan classicism is the Forum he build in Rome and dedicated in his own name. Finished in 2 B.C., it is doubtful whether any of the actual architecture had begun before 20 B.C. The sculptures and architectural details are strongly Classical in feeling and the deeply carved Corinthian Capitals are almost certainly the work of Greek craftsmen, albeit by this time in history, Roman craftsmen would have copied the Greek counterparts. As one might imagine, the Caryatid figures which adorned the surrounding colonnades are close copies of those in the Eruchtheum.8 Indeed, we know that the Erechtheum underwent drastic repairs in 27 B.C. and that the circular Temple of Rome and Augustus on the Acropolis, built a few years later, was heavily based upon the Erechtheum in its Capitals and other architectural details. Unfortunately, one of the Caryatid figures from the Forum Augustum bears the signature, despite the artisan and bearer of the duplicate figure being Caius Vibius Maximus, a non-Greek name to say the least. However, in the ferment of building which took place under Augustus, it is perhaps not surprising to find that Roman sculptors were being trained in Greek workshops. Indeed, the Caryatid in question has a certain Italian peasant quality about her.
The mood of exuberance and richness changed to a much soberer one over the next few years because of influence from Athens. One of the first products of this new influence was the Ara Pacis. The procession breathes the spirit of the Parthenon frieze and figures, especially the allegorical ones on the short ends are those of Periclean Athens. The acanthus scrolls could be Polycleitan, and the very form of the altar is inspired by the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora.9
To imperial patrons and their architects, two distinct languages of form were available by the end of the fist century A.D. Hellenistic design relying on colonnades, ashlar masonry, and the timber truss still reigned in eastern provinces and produced superb results in Rome. For example, in the series of Imperial Forums that began with Julius Caesar Augustus as an extension of the congested old Forum. But the passion of the Capital was the Roman vaulted style.10 To be sure, externally as well as within, the new fangled buildings dressed their walls in Hellenistic decor. Facades were not in the least revealing of interior arrangements, and the surprise of entering into the unconventional spaces that lay behind these familiar screens was the principal reward. And within, the sheathing of functional piers and walls of concrete with Hellenistic trappings gave the vaulted superstructure a feigned advantage of the lightness and magic.11 Concomitantly buildings in the Hellenistic mode freely admitted curves in their plans and vaulted shells that responded to them. Still each one of the two design options, the heritage of Greece and the conceit of Rome, conjured fundamentally a unique environment.
The Romans learnt the art of building along with many other things from their neighbours, the Hellenes. At their first lessons, the Romans were apt and docile pupils, copying faithfully what they were taught. As they had learnt from the Greeks to worship their gods, so they learnt to make houses for these gods. Their like, temples, might be found almost anywhere in the Greek colonies of South Italy and Sicily, or in Greece itself.
Like the Forum Augustum, temples are perhaps the most significant monuments of Augustus' reign because it was in the Composite Order - the modification, that fancied the duplication of the Greek Corinthian Order, and developed the orthodox Roman Corinthian Order. This type of Order seems common in Pompeii and central Italy.12
Even in the Temple of Mars Altor, the Corinthian Order had not yet achieved full orthodoxy.13 The Greek Corinthian Order was at large still in use. The modillions, also to the point, had a Hellenistic "S" shaped profile. The Temple of Castor, dedicated in A.D. 6 was the first to have the full scrolled modillions typical of Roman Corinthian with an acanthus leaf on the underside. In other respects, the temple is similar to the Temple of Mars Altor except that the details show a return to the richness which marked early Augustan architecture. The Capitals are cut from two blocks Carrara marble. (Corinthian Capitals composed of two blocks were common in the Republic, but by the end of the Augustan period, they were usually carved from one block.) The lower half of the bell is decorated with a row of acanthus leaves alternately high and low.
The overlapping lobes of the leaves form pear-shaped cavities while in later Corinthian Capitals, the cavities became wedge-shaped and near vertical.14 From the leaves spring the cauliculi to support the volutes which run up to the corners of the abacus.15 From the same cauliculi spring the helices which join together under the middle of the abacus to support a flower. Unusually, the two helices of the Castor Capitals interlock. The abacus is decorated, a fairly uncommon feature later on, but used more often in this early period. Thus, by the end of Augustus' reign, the Roman Corinthian Order was fully developed. How many temples using this same basic Order were to be built throughout the Roman world over the next three centuries is almost beyond counting.
There must have been many Greek architects active in Italy during the later second century B.C. Victorious generals often employed their own architects to build temples via ex manubiis, the campaign booty. These generals must have done much to shape architectural taste in the late Republican Rome. The first temple in Rome to be built entirely of marble was the Temple of Jupiter Stator (146 B.C.), the work of a Greek architect Hermodorus of Salamis.16 It was commissioned by Q. Caecilius Metellus who conquered the Macedonians. Also, completely of marble is the circular Corinthian temple built about 120 B.C. in the Forum Boarium. The building used to be called the Temple of Vesta, but has recently been identified as the Temple of Hercules Victor.17 The temple seems to have been built by a Greek architect and the material used is Pentelic marble. The columns rest upon a stylobate consisting of three steps, and the marble masonry of the cella wall is drafted. Both of these features come straight from Hellenistic building practice. The Capitals with their pointed acanthus leaves and rounded fleshy leaf ribs close analogy to Hellenistic Capitals in Greece and Asia Minor. Some elements of the entablature and some coffering survive in fragments and these too can be connected with the late Hellenistic architectural tradition.
The Roman theatre changed extensively from an amphitheatre to a semi-circular theatre. The amphitheatre in Pompeii (80B.C.) is an example of an early Roman type theatre.18 It is said that Pompey built the first permanent Roman semi-circular theatre at Rome in 55 B.C. But, that was supposed to have been copied from the Greek theatre at Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos, and if so, the development of the semi-circular form may belong to the Late Hellenistic period. It is also important to note that semi-circular Roman theatres had basically an Orchestra, Proscenium, Scene, Pardos, and Ramp, that of which most Greek theatres had, too.
The circus and the baths were both buildings for recreation. Often, they were combined in the same complex. The transition from the Greek type of bathing establishment with rows of hip baths filled and emptied with running water and heating systems can be seen in the Stabian bath at Pomeii.19 The Roman Circus Maximus, which was 2,000 feet long and 650 feet wide and could seat 255,000 spectators was similar in shape to that of the Stadium at Olympia.20 In the Circus Maximus, chariot races took place, whereas at the Stadium of Olympia, athletic games took place. Nevertheless, the architectural designs are comparable. The Circus Maximus was far larger, however, and the largest of its kind throughout the Roman world than the compared Stadium of Olympia.
The list of Roman architectural achievements could go on and on, not to mention their influence by Greek architects. Perhaps this type of influence requires further research of specific structural details. And if so, we should find throughout our advanced research more Greek influences. For a group of people, this fact is hard to digest. A quotation by Professor Colin Wells of the University of Ottawa, explicitly expresses the Greek influence in Roman architecture: "If Rome were to conquer a Greek city, the citizens especially the educated were to be slaves. To say the least, through slavery the Romans adopted Greek ideas. They learnt Greek. They borrowed Greek philosophies; furthermore, they copied certain Greek architectural techniques and designs. This influence took place around the 3 century B.C., and which continued to become evident throughout the early stages of the Roman Empire. It is not to be overestimated that the Roman Empire was a combination of Greco-Roma."21
APPENDIX
(fig. 1) Doric Capital: by Paul-Robert Hipkiss
West End of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens 447-432 B.C.
(fig. 2) Ionic Capital: by Paul-Robert Hipkiss
Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens 447-432 B.C.
(fig. 3) Corinthian Capital: by Paul-Robert Hipkiss
Temple of Zeus, Completed by Hadrian in A.D. 131-132, Athens
(fig. 4) Composite Capital: sketch by Susan Lori Wachnuik
"The Book of Architecture" of the fourth Book, the ninth Chapter, Vol. 60: by Sebastiano Serlio.
Notes
1 W. G. Hardy, The Greek and Roman World (Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Company Inc, 1970), p. 73.
2 W. G. Hardy, The Greek and Roman World (Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Company Inc, 1970), p. 74.
3 Thomas Wieldemann, Greek and Roman Slavery (London: Croom Helm Ltd., 1981), pp. 25-27, 128.
4 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 69.
5 R. H. Barrow, Slavery in the Roman Empire (New York: Barnes & Noble Inc., 1968), pp. 110-113.
6 Sebastiano Serlio, The Book of Architecture (New York: Benjamin Blom Inc., 1970), the fourth Book, the seventh Chapter, Vol. 44-45.
7 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 49.
8 William Smith, A New Classical Dictionary (Great Britain: Harper & Brothers, 1981), p. 178.
9 R. A. Tomlinson, Greek Architecture (Great Britain: Hazell Watson & Viney Limited, 1983), pp. 332-333.
10 R. A. Tomlinson, Greek Architecture (Great Britain: Hazell Watson & Viney Limited, 1983), pp. 294-298.
11 Spiro Kostof, A History of Architecture (New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1985), pp. 206-209.
12 Frank E. Brown, Roman Architecture (New York: George Braziller Inc., 1961), p. 20.
13 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 61.
14 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 63.
15 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 67.
16 R. A. Tomlinson, Greek Architecture (Great Britain: Hazell Watson & Viney Limited, 1983), pp. 294-298.
17 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 22.
18 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 115.
19 Frank Sear, Roman Architecture (London: Batsford Academic and Education Limited, 1982), p. 39.
20 Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Roman Art and Architecture (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968), p. 125.
21 Wells, Colin. "Lecture." Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: The University of Ottawa, 1986.
Bibliography
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