Ariana Lester

Art History
27 July 2015
Greek and Roman Influences: The Capitol Building (Washington D.C.)
The Capitol Building in Washington D.C. is among the most symbolically important and
architecturally impressive buildings in the nation. It has housed the meeting chambers of the
House of Representatives and the Senate for two
centuries. The Capitol, which was started in 1793, has
been through many construction phases. It stands
today as a monument to the American people and their
government.
Dr. William Thornton, whose design for the Capitol was selected after a national
architectural competition, is regarded as the first Architect of the Capitol. The construction
gradually continued under a series of architects including Stephen Hallet, George Hadfield, and
James Hoban who completed the Senate wing in 1800. By 1811, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a
famous architect of early 19th-century America, renovated the Senate wing and completed the
House wing.
Greek influences resonate throughout the architecture of the Capitol Building. One
instance of the ancient inspired construction lay at the central temple-like pavilion fronted by a
monumental portico with 16 Corinthian marble column, that resembles those of the Temple of
Olympian Zeus at Athens. Dedicated to Olympian Zeus, the Olympieion was situated on the
bank of the river Ilissus southeast of the Acropolis. It was built on the site of an ancient Doric
temple, the foundation of which had been laid out by the tyrant Pisistratus, but construction was

abandoned several decades later in 510 BC when his son Hippias was expelled from Athens and
a democracy established.
The second greek influence of the US Capitol Building are the dentils
that line the front temple-like pavilion. Dentils are a number of small,
rectangular blocks resembling teeth and used as a decoration under
the soffit of a cornice. They are similar to the ones seen in the Porch
of the Maidens, Erechtheion at the Acropolis, Athens. The
Erechtheion (or Erechtheum) is an ancient Greek temple constructed
on the acropolis of Athens between 421 and 406 BCE in the Golden
Age of the city in order to house the ancient wooden cult statue of
Athena and generally glorify the great city at the height of its power
and influence.The Erechtheion, named after the demi-god
Erechtheus, the mythical Athenian king, was conceived as a suitable
structure to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena, which
maintained its religious significance despite the arrival of the
gigantic chryselephantine statue within the nearby Parthenon.
Not only are there greek aspects of the Capitol building but there are Roman as well. The
staple piece of the building is that large dome that sits directly in the center. On May 17, 1861,
with the start of the Civil War, Secretary of War Simon Cameron ordered a halt to work on
Capitol Dome construction due to lack of funding. However, the contractor already had 1.3
million pounds of iron on site and had an outstanding escrow amount they feared would be lost,
so the company continued work without a contract. The dome has obvious inspiration from the
Roman building, The Pantheon. The Pantheon is the best preserved building from ancient Rome

and was completed in c. 125 CE in the reign of Hadrian. Its magnificent dome is a lasting
testimony to the genius of Roman architects. The circular part of the building or rotunda was
entranced via two bronze doors measuring 12 x 7.5 m (those of today are ancient but not
original). The rotunda measures 43.2 m in diameter which is exactly the maximum height of the
dome, itself a perfect hemisphere. At the very top of the dome is an
opening to the sky (oculus) which is 8.8 m in diameter and has a
decorative bronze sheet frieze. The dome is made from a light tufa and
scoria (a type of pumice) mix of concrete (caementa) and its interior is
further lightened by five rings of 28 coffers which reduce in size as they
rise towards the centre of the dome. These may have been originally
covered in bronze sheets.
Romans were very fond of utilizing the arch, this same
architecture is a prominent medium from entry ways. One of the best
example of romans using arches is the Flavian Amphitheater (the
Colosseum). Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone
amphitheater known as the Colosseum (built by Vespasian and his two
sons) was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of
the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155
meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. There are four arcaded
stories, the first three each have eighty arches, framed respectively by engaged Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian columns. Seventy-six of these arches are numbered to assist spectators in finding their
assigned seats. An attic, which serves as the fourth story, has Corinthian pilasters framing bays

that alternate between windows and large decorative shields of gilded bronze, which had been
added by Domitian, the brother of Titus.