Week 3: Classical Civilizations

 This week we covered classical civilizations, specifically focusing on Greek and Roman Civilizations. 

    Greek civilization was the master of philosophy, science, fine arts, geography, medicine, legal systems, and astronomy. The Classical Period, the Hellenistic Period, was from 323-30 BC. Greece is a mountainous country surrounded by three seas. With this, there was a lot of competition among communities with independent governments, a lot of trade, advances in architecture, and growing sizes of communities. 

    The Golden Age in Greece was from 480-400 BC and consisted of the Parthenon being built, the ideology of the Classic Orders of Architecture being born, and Ancient Greek Architecture. Balance in the architecture was brought through entablature bowed in the center, columns inclined inward, changes between columns changes, tapering the shafts, and having the heavier columns on the corner. 

   Floors in this period were plastered and painted if you were wealthy and there were many mosaic techniques made with pebbles, glass, and stone. The walls were unplastered mud brick or plastered and painted. The windows were placed high on the wall and differentiated between the first and second floors. Doors were wood, stone, or marble frames with bronze or fabric. Ceilings were often coffers, especially in the dining room. 

    The furniture was made of many different things but the main ones were leather and cords. Gold, ivory, and gems were used for inlays, and copper, bronze, marble, and wood were used as well. Seat furniture, such as thrones, klismos, and stools all had round shapes, and legs were invented for these. Tables were small, portable, and lightweight with a height based on the height of the couch. Beds and couches were for sleeping and eating. 

Greek design was concerned about visual perfection in textiles so the proportions were exquisite and simple. they used a lot of wools, linens, silks, and cotton. 

Some modern applications of Greek design are in the patterns on columns that are used in interior design and architecture. 

Next, we learned about Rome. It was the greatest power west of China for the longest time. They used their power to spread civilization to everything under their rule. They controlled the commerce in the western Mediterranean Sea and were very inspired by Greece. They wanted new and exotic. The mastered road building and took the post and lintel construction of the Greeks combined with columns. They made the discovery of concrete. There was also major development of the arch, vault, and dome throughout this time period. 

The Roman Orders are the five different types of column heads. 

The Coliseum was built in 80AD. It seats at least 50,000 and hosted Gladiator fights and cultural events. It is made of concrete and stone and it is the prototype of the modern sports arena. It uses arch and barrel vault and every level has a podium, column, and entablature. 

 

something that is similar in todays architecture is the following. 

The Pantheon was finished in 126 AD and was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian. It is a round temple with a dome and is the World's largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world. 

The interiors consisted of mosaics, stucco, and frescoes and there was an obsession with ornamentation. black gilt and red colors were mainly used and many illusionistic paintings were in the houses. Furniture was mostly made of wood, metal, and stone. Stools, also known as "sella" were seats of honor and a symbol of legal authority. The tables were multipurpose and made of marble.