‘The Authority of Competence: Ancient Rome Under the Romen Empire, architectur {emiy, wth lags burning before house ‘buoyed along by new techniques, hold gods, the penates, inthe atrium, or achieved a prowess that, in some areas, hall of thei villas; the vitues that they European erchitecture was nat again to extolled the most (along with physical reach until the seventeenth, eighteenth courage] were pietas (loyalty to parents oreven nineteenth centuy. Butthisis and ancestors) and gravitas (responsi rot apcorent at fret sight, partoulery it bit). They considered the Greeks ‘we have just been looking at Greek archi effete. They were convinced that the tecture and our aye is attuned to Greek Roman way of lfe alone was right, as proportions and orders, because, content we see from the following quotation to leave matters of art to the Greeks, the from Vitruvius, a military engineerin Romans borrowed many ofthe exterral the service of Julius Caesar and later reppings of that older cviization’s very Augustus inthe first centuries ac~a0, extemal architecture, So, viewing the who wrote the only extant treatise on Forum af Rome from the wast (ig. mah, architecture before the fifteenth century we might at frst see this as a stright Butaithough southern nations have translation ofan agora the keanest wit, and are infinitely Itis only when we come to examine clever in forming schemes, yet the some of the buildings in deta thet we ‘moment it comes to displaying valour realize how superficial are the simiarites they succumb because all manliness between the two peoples. Where the of soul's sucked out of them by the Greeks sought for men’s hermony ‘sun. On the other hand, men born in wath the universe, communed withthe cold countries are indeed reader to abstract, and expressed their cosmic con- meet the shock of arms with gaat sciousness in art as fine as man’s purest courage and without timidity, ut their ides, the Romans had no time for such wits are so slow that they wil ush idealism. They were ¢ robust practical 10 the charge inconsiderately and people with sharp logical minds, who inexcerty, thus defeating ther own fexealed in the making of laws, in eng devices. Such being nature's arange- neering feats end in administering terrte- ment ofthe universe, and al these ries. The harmonies they sought were nations being allotted temperaments not ef the spirt nor among the celestal which are lacking in due moderation, spheres, but in their immediate home the ty perfect territory, situated Circle and inthe territories they had con- under the middle of heaven, and hav~ sy Font du Gans aauecict. ‘quered. Their eign revolved sround the ing on each side the entire extent of Nimes, France, 420vilage-states in mid-taly..Th she took he fistsns |Pblilavteres inthe oman ety Dougge, Tunisia gonna 20 ‘and declaring herself republic. The national temperament now began to show itself in systematic conquest. ist ‘of her neighbours so that by the third cen ‘tury ashe dominated Italy inthe third and second centuries ac, the three Punic ‘Wars secured North Africa end Spin; by the first century ec, Rome possessed the entire Hellenic world, and when Augustus established the empire (go fac, all the known world was tir, and the Mecterranean truly was, as its name implies, the sea atthe centre of the woria Vietory achieved, the vanquished ‘were not forced to bury their national idantty and customs; these could be retained with Roman ctzenshio, provid ‘ed they were prepared to accept Rarran law, taxes, miltary service and an unde- rmanding religion. In ace and religion to: eration was probably greater than under vaunted democracy of the Greets. Evenin regard to class: although aristo cratic patricians dominated the Senate, plabeians had an established right to Constitutional office; and although the slavelabour force-swelled with each new conquest=had na palitial voce, there was a kind of apprenticeship sys- tom towards ciizenshin, “The Roman Empire’, says ANN. White head (in The Aims of Education, cheater ‘existed by vinue ofthe grandest application of technology thatthe world had hitherto seen: its roads, ts bridges, its aqueduct, its tunnels, its sowers, its vast buildings ts organized merchent navies, ts miltary science, its metallurgy, andiits agriouture,” It meant the dissolu- tion of political and commercial fronters, anda supply of commodities from abroad. It meant running water in homes; public lavatories, sometimes arranged in ‘runs (fig. m,n the grandest of which peope sat on marble seats between Sculpted dojphins, reading end chatting fora the world ike gentlemen of lisure at their clubs; it meant hot and cold public baths to relax i, forums for law and pol tics, double-harpinshaned crcusos for chariot races, and amphitheatres for glade iatorial fights o for watching Chrstians being eaton by ions; and theatres for drama, of which the most popular were not intense tragacies like those of class= al Greece, but rather the slapstick and secial comedy of Plautus and Terence. Itis therefore not surprising that the archtecture built by such a psople was directed to immediate practical purposes rather than to aesthetic satisfaction, The Romans were ready to leave matters of artto the Greeks, and leaned heavily on Greek forms and tastes when buildings of serenity, dignity and power, suitable to a (raat empire, wore called for. These qual- ‘tes are epperent nthe series of new ‘forums but by successive emperors toaccommadate increasingly complex social egal and commercial neecs. ‘Augustus (1 ~14 20) initiated the first by buling @ new Forum in Rome in con- trast tothe accumulation of buildings that had grown piecemeal round the old one: he set a colonnaded stoe along both sides ofa great rectangular space, closing the vista atthe end with @ Temple to ‘Mars. Atthough the orginal inspiration ‘was Holleistc, the Roman imprint quickly appears. Buildings are not sited in response to the natura environment, in mystical communion with the contours of the place; instead, there emerges ew concept: planned space enclosed ‘by architecture. The new forums are less ‘concerned with individual temples than they are with the total design, conceived ‘88 awe-inspiring setciaces that demon strate imperial power. A series of goo- rretric shapes unfold as one walks ‘through the forum at Baalbek, Lebanon; ‘and in Augustus's Forum at Rome, con- ‘rived views and vistas are enclosed by temple facade. In the amphitheatre known as the Colosseum, the architecture was distine- tively Roman. Whila the Greeks usedsi Taste Orange ‘thoi theatras exclusively for drama, the Romans required circuses and amphi haatres for races and contests. Many Foman theatres and amphitheatres are siil standing. The theatre at Orange (250 29; figs. m4, ng), in the south of France, of awesome proportions, is particularly well preserved, although the wooden awning that sheltered the stage, supported atthe front by two great chains fastened to high masts rising from corbelled piers atthe back, no longer exists; the amphitheatres at Aries and Nimes in Provence (both of the late first contury) are stil used for tul-fights. But the Orange theatre is for, ike the Greek theatres, itis atleast partialy hollowed out of the hil ‘And here we have the tesic difference setwean Greek and Roman forms. The 10k concentration on the exteriors, in the theatre, turned inside 0 has ne outside, being sited in a hollow below a Fil, usualy outside main citys sloping seats were bul into the hilsde, and nature provided her own kop of hils of sea forthe players on the stage. In contrast. the Colosseum, bu the En by erors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian between 72 and 82 49 (fg. 16) stands inthe oty centre, elliptical in shape, on level ground. For amphithe- atres such as this bath an inside and.an outside architecture were required, and for drama even the backdrop must be man-made, like the scenae frons, new ‘econstructed behind the stage in the Roman theatre at Sabretha in North Africa ‘of about 200 Ao. Once ins the Colosse- tm, whose enormous auditorium could seat 65,000 spectators, and which con tinued tobe used for animal games until the sixth century, we can gaze upwards at the remains of four tiers of seats, nd onnwards, though where the floo of rena once stretched, toa wed of ct culation passageways; and we are left in ‘ne doubt that ths is internal architecture of the most complex design. Vauited passages between the wedges of seats (all worked out mathematically) at each level gave speedy access to seating a moreover, speedy ext, so that the auto rium could be cleared quickly in case of fire, Below stage, cages and deteinment treas for beasts and criminals were provided by passageways closed by portulis gates, anc ramps were used bring performers up tothe arena Fe Iwas, clearly, a much more sophisti ceted and intricate construction than @ rectangular temple dependent on Columns holding up lintels, What gave usforo, luxuriant rer there is truth inthefock-cut ELDei Petra, on into the rose-ed rocks of the (Monastery) Temple, in ime caravan wading Romans did not have t rely on ‘the post and lintels because they had develope a muc sd of support in the Thay did not invent it: he rue arch may go beck asf more effective met 82500 a in Egyot, and we have an extant exemple mt inthe ameses Il at Thebes of about 1200 ae particulary invent less so than th superior. some justification: the Greeks had ideas, ry them into peao ‘choose to sol thei al, The Romans’ ct geometry and theo: have lagged behing knowledge fends. And so, while Greek ‘mechanical and hydraulic devices often but often fall ce, as if they did ne hands with the pr command of abst tical ‘emained on pager as ingenious toys steam-operated doors to temples or oracles, or pennysin-he-slot holyswater cispensers~the Romans set knowiedge to mer The same with struc peediy perfected the timber tie coving everyaay fe. s. Tey Their attention then turnad tothe tue here stones jutting from either side meet n the midgle is held together by ‘pressure on the wedge-shaped stones, led voussoirs, radiating around the ac. uring bulding the ar ‘oy temporary scatfolding called cen /ooden structure or mound of earth. A series of arches with ing in between to form a tunnel 2 and where two ults met at ightangles th was supported ‘The exploitation ofthis structure wer hand in hand withthe development of concrete. The properties of volcanic sol rmixad with lime to make a waterproot were early recognized on the volcanic island of Thera (rechisten Santorini during the Fourth Crusade), bu the best substance for concrete-making was pozzolane, a red voloanic soil from Puli today NNaolas, The Romans used saveral kinds ‘crete eggrecete, collectively called cc2ementum, which varied from a random collection of stone and brick rubole and even potsherds to carefully organized preferring this to poured concrete int framework or casin right be in traditional squared blocks of stone (opus ugh stone frame (opus Jncertu); ifthe framework was of brick, the bricks were either aid ciegonaliy to oi teeth for the concrete to clin pus reticuatur or in shape, laid point inwards (opus ere triangular combined arch/concrete struc- by rendering ollats unnecessary, opens world of spatial desion Engineering invention flowered in stuc- tutes which were nat to be emulated ‘9even, ctfused light penevates every where, andi is @ moment before one realizes that, since there are no windows from the outside the whole building in from the unglazed hole, the acu The dimensions are exactly planned; the ele centre of domes pertecthemisphere, its radius oits height. andit stars qual to the radius ofthe drum body of the temple. The upper parts of the dome ere made tram 3s, and are cut ise cut back or ight offering ative and st s cleverly d top of the dome. But there is penses with weight at the clever way in which the dome is support ed. fave look atthe building from the inside, we see that the dome springs ies floors ind he dome is, infact, set inside the drum, dy of the tem ple, and one storey of drum rises up whieh forms the mein around ton the outside, forming @ but tress, The Romans made muc buttresses, and every type of bu nen known accu in the Pantheon, screened from the interior by Corinthian colurmns, was use of The entrance peri built using the remains ofa ile tem bull by Acrippa, Augustus's son. he power of arch and concrete to act fon the environment spread to ala everyday Ife—roads, bridges, aqueduct, haroours, theatres, housing, water-supply ‘and drainage, Watar was usually piped jt where pipes had to emerge to cross a valley, aqueducts cer ried it long arched b those that carried ‘most beautiful functional p ova, Spain has 128 arches of white granite go feet (27.5 metres) hil The weter supaly to Nimes, France, which was 2g mils (4o km) lang, in cludes ig. standing as an eh enginaering Gvilzations before the Romans had, se, known of saritation. Terracotta nderarou 2, which, tke 020s, aro among the Sf arch tus's aque- famous Pant du Gard (ig 2; q th its dry-stone masonry, ent tibuta to Ri pipes led water into terracotta baths, and running water passed boiow lavatories in the Pak lof Assyria (721 byh nachario (704 ‘of Knossos in 2000 sc; Sargon su i figs cE ui lavatories; his sucoassor Se 681 8c) and Polyrates of constructed aqueduct Pergamum bot ‘The Flomans, however, planned drainage for whole cites. The main drain into the Tiber, the Closce Maxime, bul by theEtruscans before 510 ec, was the only major sewer in Europe until the sever- teenth century Inside the houses (domusi ofthe afiu- lent, water ran from taps, bath-water wa led along pipes trom boilers on the top of furnaces, and there were individual ave tories. Heating was largely by beziers of col earried Cold areas lke Britain and Gaul, nd ‘a4 raves, Osta Artes, naar for county vlas and public baths, the om ana cenuny ypecaust was used, that i, the fl ‘was raised up on brick plas, and heat from! rooms through patterned sits Life was less luxurious for the working peoole who inhabited the 46,602 i or high tenement blocks, sted in the census forthe ety of Rome of 300 a. “They were lucky if there was a common lavatory on the ground floor, and they had ‘water from a tapin the st 1 furnaces beneath ‘ose int the The lot, however, of men, in prtcuer, was much ameliorated by the high stan dard of the public services, Public baths ‘were either free or cost ver tle, and ‘were often in sumptuous buildings. The ths of the Emparor Caracal in (2216 4 fig 129), todey used re surtounded by gar dens and gymnasia, and boasted a round room with a dome which was divided ito @ hat room hot room (tepidarium, vaulted and it from the cerestory, and an open-air swimming 200) (frgidarium). Piens of baths, as with lt ‘at Baalbek in Lebaron, show the Roman {genius for erranging volumes of space, something that later inspired the erch tects of the Renaissance, Inaulae were often three or four storeys high, and may idrium), a medium forums such as that, ed five or six at one stage. Those at Rome's ort, Osta Antica fig. 124, although now ‘ins, show the common arrangement of ercaded shops on the ground floor. T pattern was teken up during the Renais sance by designers of palaces for mer- chant princes, and itis stil being folowed today. As in tenements today, inhabitants of ingulae were prey to excitation, and the poet Juvenal, in his satires written at the end of the fist century a0, talks of how landlords arrested the colapse of their property by shoring it up wit crack stays and props' and ‘papering over ‘great cracks in the ramshackle fabric They were also easy prey to fir, so that, says Juveral, ‘by the time the smoke has gat to your thi loor apartment (and You still asieen), your heroic downstairs neighbours roaring for water and shiting his bits and pieces to safety. Ifthe alarm ‘9028 at ground level, the last to fry wil be the atic tenant. According to Tacitus, after the Fra of 64 40 the height othe ingulae was limited to 70 feet (21 metres) and party walls were forbidden; instead of timber, the use of fire-resistant stone from the Alban Hils was recommended,‘a mosaic-paved courtyard with central oc, an impluvium, used for bathing o ty was rebuilt, arterial Simply to hold goitish. The impluviurn ‘ads lke the prasent Via dal Ci alse served to callact rainwater from the 19h previously built-up ste pitc the atrium and utted forward alte for Aire comps, whose officers beld army shade. From mopened the dir- status, had are ated by ingoor long couches piaced jong three sides ofa table (for the Romar had red-tied roofs which surtounded ate in the reclining position), 9 'ar study, the brary, the quest and owner's ara physicalneeds and be tions of the poor. The erue- the formal rooms were grouped around ius in 7g a0 sete death-mask the atrium, and the family lived in tw 38, and the lavetories, Sometimes storey quarters to ane sida. Larger hous- Pompei (igs. sides extended around an open courtyard anion, Herculaneum. Allwas trans- with a Greek peristyle, and tis, ke the fixed-paved streets, fountains on mosaic formal garden which where water had once spouted sessed, was laid out wit non and statues, bay het fulhouses with mural paintings, de velisiwalks, and perhaps even a daveco! ‘ate mosaic floors, fn and pride were 1nying to entice to his vila at L not far from Rome. Among its at sel support rentum josed by ll round and a vie from three sides, «library books! sith undertioor he conspicuous nthe road, Roman vill (ike Chinese winter bedroom welings| looked inwards tothe atrium ing, @ sur-pariour,