Ancient Rome Response

Emma - I like how she went more in depth about the different styles of paintings. I also thought her information on Roman furniture was interesting.

Kiera - I thought her information on the different types of housing was interesting.

Ancient Greece Response

Angie - I thought the information on the different characteristics of the rooms in the homes was interesting and  I thought the wall painting was really awesome.

Krista - I liked how she went more in depth about the Olympics. I thought her explanation of pankration really interesting.

Ancient Rome

The Romans were also master architects and one of their specialties were arches, more specifically triumphal arches. Triumphal arches are basically arches that commemorate important things that happened. For example, if a Roman general won a battle somewhere he could go to the government, explain his victory and then the senate would decide whether or not he'd get an arch.  Most arches or any building paid for by the government would have the letters SPQR on it. SPQR stands for Senates Populusque Romanus meaning 'by right of the senate and the people of Rome.' 
One of the greater known arches is the Arch of Titus. This arch honors the victory over Jerusalem in 70AD when the Roman military destroyed the temple of Harrod. On it, it shows Titus on the back of an eagle symbolizing him becoming a god as well as the spoils of Jerusalem.

Arch of Titus

Spoils of Jerusalem

Titus on Back of Eagle

Another accomplishment of the Romans was the Pantheon which means temple to all gods. On the front it says 'Cos Terbium Fecit' which is translated to, 'Marcus Agrippa, Son of Lucius, in his their consulate, made it.' However, Marcus Agrippa didn't not make the Pantheon, it was actually made by Augustus who gave the credit to Marcus Agrippa in an act of false modesty The interior is made up of three sections the columns, the bands, and the dome. None of these line up making it seem like the interior is spinning. The floor is bowed to get rid of the water that comes in from the oculus. 

                                               

                                      

                                           

                                     

                                    

                                    

Extra Credit

Video close up of the Arch of Titus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSimlZI6I3I

More information on the Arch of Titus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiKg2rnKx7k

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece was a time a growth for art and sculpture. The Ancient Greeks took the concept of Egyptian Ka statues and changed it into something more unique to their culture. While Egyptians used Diorite, a hard stone meant to last, the Greeks were the masters of marble. In the beginning of Greek sculpture, Kouros and Kore statues were very popular. A Kouros sculptures were statues of young boys and Kore sculptures were of young girls. The Greeks stole the general concept of these statues from the Egyptians.                               

Egyptian Ka Statue

Greek Kouros

They made the statues in the awkward pose to help support the statue, preventing it from breaking easily. 

As time went on, the Greeks understanding of marble and sculpture grew and they were able to create sculpture in more natural and complex poses

The Greeks knowledge of marble was not limited to statues alone. They were also master architects and their speciality was optical illusions. The greeks were obsessed with the idea of optical perfection this shows in one of the most copied buildings in the world, the Parthenon, which is actually slightly bowed. 

Interior of Partenon

Not one of the approximately 500 pieces in this building are the same. Each drum on each column is slightly different which, in the end, gives it the illusion of perfection. They achieved this by using the golden ratio: 1 to 1.6. 

Extra Credit:

A brief explanation of the Parthenon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDtkzLgtVTg

Secrets of the Parthenon (Documentary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgEAn1c11tY

Ancient Egypt

Architecture played a bigger role in ancient Egypt then it did before this time. During this time, not only were larger scaled buildings created but architecture was used to define social class and to show power. Ancient Egyptians were focused on death and the afterlife. They took great care in insuring that they would be taken care of in the after life. One way that they did this was how they were buried. Pharaohs were buried in pyramids filled with their possessions loved ones, and even some slaves to take care of them in the after life. One example of this is the stepped pyramid of Djoser which was designed by Imhotep, who was the first known architect. Because these structures were easy to rob, the insides of the pyramids were well protected with false doors. The pyramid of Djoser had 34 of them to protect it.

 Later came the Great Pyramids of Giza which were the burial sites  of the Pharaohs Menkaure, Khaafre, and Khufu all of whom reigned during the Old Kingdom. All three of these Pharaohs were part of the same family who decided to have their tombs built near one another. To build these pyramids, it took 2.3 million blocks of stone, the largest one alone covered 13 acres and is 55 stories high. All three were completed within 75 years of each other.

From Left: Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu

Queen's Chanbers

King's Chambers

Prehistoric Period

The prehistoric period has two main ages, the Paleolithic and Neolithic. Design wasn't a main
concern for those who lived during the earlier periods because people didn't live in one permanent place, but moved around. However, the things that were designed during this period, such as tools, show that what was valued during this period was symmetry. This is shown in one of the first tools designed, the hand ax.
Symmetry was admired in both humans, because symmetry was a sign of health, and in objects.

This admiration of symmetry carried on to the Neolithic age, when Stonehenge was created.


Stonehenge was created with post-and-lintel construction which consists of two posts on each side and a lintel one top.



Also created with post-and-lintel construction are Dolmens which are created by a horizontal piece one top of two supports. This created an interior space and was a precursor to ceiling and walls as well as structurally created an opening indicative of future door frame construction.