Read on Twitter
#CLST6 #RR20 When I think of the Roman world, I think of stone, and I think of large structures. Aqueducts, temples, cities, roads, you name it. Lots of stone, lots of structures, and a color palette dominated by hues of tan and white. https://twitter.com/FlintCLST6/status/1326218955812450304
Here's a great example; the Sanctuary of Jupiter at Baalbek in Lebanon. It's got multiple large structures all centered around a large open area. It was so big it took 2 centuries to build! But what's symbolic about it is the synthesis of Greek and Roman architectural styles.
It's a giant heap of stone too! there may have been some wood used, but that has no longer visibly survived. For us today, it's what has survived that shapes our perceptions of the past. The Romans had to know-how to marshal great quantities of stone and do wonders with it.
Here's another example. It's a theater in Sabratha, Libya, and it's very ostentatious. Look at all the columns stacked up on top of one another! This look a lot of time, money, and skill to build. This was the result of a society with a lot of resources to spend.
In a way, it's an image of decadence, which is also what I think of when I think of Rome and its material culture. As it got to its peak, it got soft in a way. Not that that was bad - these are some very beautiful buildings. But, Rome fell in part because of internal reasons.
Rome left behind a very tangible legacy. We have no shortage of architecture to look at across the Mediterranean world, and it is largely that architecture which shapes our perceptions of its builders. It's a very dramatic legacy indeed.
Citations:
Baalbek photo and info: A History of Roman Art, Kleiner, pp 290
Sabratha photo and info: A History of Roman Art, Kleiner, pp 288
Baalbek photo and info: A History of Roman Art, Kleiner, pp 290
Sabratha photo and info: A History of Roman Art, Kleiner, pp 288
