In the center of modern Rome's business district stands the Pantheon, which means "temple of all the gods." This huge domed temple was built by the emperor Hadrian (118-125) and was converted to a Christian church during the Middle Ages. Its basic shape—a large domed structure with a classical portico in front (a portico is a kind of porch, in this case a triangular roof supported by many columns)—has influenced architecture to the present day. Many government buildings and monuments, including the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D. C., use this basic shape.
But what makes the Pantheon really amazing is that its massive dome, 140 feet high and the same distance across, is made of concrete—concrete that has withstood the elements for almost 2,000 years and that includes no steel reinforcing, which is the way we hold modern concrete structures together.
Roman concrete consisted of three parts: a pasty, hydrated lime; volcanic ash from the town of Pozzuoli in Italy; and fist-sized pieces of rock. What made Roman concrete so special is the chemistry of pozzolan ash. People had long been using an inferior form of concrete, using plaster, lime, rocks and water, for small building projects. But the mixture was very thin and difficult to work with, and it did not last long. The Romans
Discovered that mixing a little volcanic ash in a fine powder with the moist lime made a durable concrete that could be submerged in water. In fact, some of the complex chemistry of ancient concrete matches the chemical formula of modern concrete.
But chemistry alone will not make good concrete. The Romans hand mixed their components in a mortar box with very little water to give a nearly dry composition, carried it to the construction site in baskets, placed it over a previously prepared layer of rock pieces or a wooden frame, and then pounded it into place. This close packing reduced the need for water in the mix, and water is a source of bubbles and weak spots. Pounding also produces a better bond. This is the reason the concrete in modern roads is compacted with a giant roller during their construction.
The development of strong, durable concrete enabled architects to develop exciting, original designs, including domes, for centuries to come. It freed them from the limitations of rectangular stone blocks or bricks and the expense of carved stone. Concrete is lighter than stone, enabling architects to be more flexible in their designs. And the fact that it is so easily molded when wet makes it ideal for decorative elements on buildings.
The Golden Age also produced one notable historian, Livy. His work was not always accurate, because he usually tried to present Rome in the best light, but his writing style used poetic and dramatic touches that made his books enjoyable to read. He is one of the major sources for modern historians studying the foreign battles of the early and middle years of the Republic.
Up the column about 100 feet. If the relief sculpture were laid out in a straight line, it would stretch about 650 feet. Trajan’s Column can still be seen in Rome today.
Roman painters usually worked on the walls and ceilings of homes, rather than on canvases. The artists typically used bright colors, and they painted a wide range of subjects: scenes from everyday life, buildings, gods, and scenes from myths. Some Roman paintings can be seen today on the buildings at Pompeii. Other examples have been taken down from their original sites and moved to museums.
Another Greek art style popular in Rome was mosaics. Tiny colored pieces of glass and stone were used to create pictures or patterns, usually on the floors of buildings, though sometimes on the walls. The best mosaic makers could almost exactly copy the details captured in a painting.
World History
