The Ancient Roman World
I. Rome is the victim of “bad press” in many ways.
A. Rome's expansionist/imperialist practices tend to overshadow her practical contributions to Western culture (“What did Rome ever do for us?!”).
1. Engineering (roads, concrete, bridges, aqueducts).
2. Law (civil, natural, citizenship).
3. Architecture (arch, dome, vault).
B. Rome is sometimes regarded as a plagiarizer or scavenger of earlier civilizations (e.g., Greece).
1. But as far as art is concerned, Roman “copies” of Greek masters provides us with the only images of many Greek pieces that have been lost.
II. Early History.
A. The Etruscans: very little known about them.
1. Inhabited and controlled central Italy from approx. 700-509 BCE.
2. Etruscan temples, tombs, sarcophagi, bronze work.
3. Rome at this time is little more than a cluster of huts on the trade route between the Etruscans in the north and the Greek colonies in the south.
a. Romulus and Remus (753 BCE).
III. Republican Rome (509 BCE-27 BCE)
A. Suffering under Etruscan rule, Rome increased in size and power, and overthrew the Etruscan king, Tasquinus Superbus, in 509 BCE.
B. Roman Law.
1. Patricians: land-owning aristocrats.
2. Plebeians: laboring class (who's missing?).
3. Every male citizen has voting rights (who's missing?).
4. The Senate (the legislative body) is almost wholly Patrician.
5. The Plebeians formed a body of their own in 287 BCE-- the Plebiscite-- to protect themselves from the power of the Senate.
6. By 287 BCE the legislation of the Plebiscite became binding on Plebe and Pat alike.
C. Republican History.
1. 264 BCE: conquest of Carthage in North Africa.
2. 146 BCE: conquest of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Macedonia and Greece.
3. 107 BCE: the Roman army restructured as a “professional” enterprise in which one can serve for twenty years, and then receive a “pension” of land in the region in which one served, as well as Roman citizenship (if one wasn't a citizen already).
4. Financial opportunities of military conquest led to the creation of a new social class: the Equites (from their equestrian service in the military). The Equites were often of aristocratic origin, but they were interested not in leisure but in business and finance. In some ways, this was the missing “middle class.”
5. This led to civil war between the Equites and the Senate.
6. 60 BCE: the “First Triumvirate” is formed-- an alliance of military generals (Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar) to stabilize the unrest. But they are uneasy with one another's “ambitions.”
7. 49 BCE: Caesar conquers Gaul (France). But instead of leaving his conquering army in place in Gaul (as was the custom), he proceeded to march back into Rome to take control as “emperor.” Pompey runs off and is assassinated. Crassus???
8. Julius Caesar is now dictator of an empire consisting of North Africa, Egypt, Spain, Gaul, Greece and Syria.
9. 45 BCE: Julius Caesar's demise is plotted by the Senate; he is assassinated.
10. Upon his death, Julius' grand-nephew Octavian became the new emperor at age eighteen.
11. The Second Triumvirate formed: Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus (Cleopatra et al.).
12. 27 BCE: Octavian rules all and changes his name to Augustus (“the revered one”).
D. Architecture.
1. Temple features.
a. Pseudoperipteral (due to engaged columns-- imbedded or facade?).
b. The composite order (column capitals): Ionic and Corinthian.
c. Stairway on one side only, deeper porch, wider cella.
2. Aqueducts.
a. The arch arcade: each arch is buttressed on both sides by the adjoining arches.
b. The arch is in itself a weak form unless it is heavily buttressed on both sides (note the mass of the Roman commemorative arch).
E. Sculpture
1. Romans made numerous copies of Greek originals.
2. Portraiture: very naturalistic (as opposed to Greek preference for idealization).
a. A reflection of Rome's concern for the here and now (as opposed to Greece's more otherworldly perspective).
F. Theatre
1. While the Greek theatre was centered around tragedy, the Roman theatre was for the most part comedic.
2. Satirical word play, upsetting of the status quo, undermining of both moral and political values (what SNL used to be!).
3. A “ritual release” from the restrictions of Roman society. Compare to ritual role of comedy and satire today.
4. All spectacles (theatrical, gladiatorial, etc.) referred to as ludi (Latin, "entertainment").
IV. The Roman Empire (27 BCE-180 CE).
A. Imperial History.
1. The Pax Romana: “the Roman Peace.” Compare to the “Golden Age” of Athens.
2. Following Octavian (d. 14 CE), a succession of emperors both good and bad:
a. Tiberius Caesar (14-37 CE); during the ministry of Jesus).
b. Caligula (37-41 CE).
c. Nero (54-68 CE); Rome burned, but rebuilt on the grandest of scales.
d. The “Five Good Emperors:”
Nerva: 96 - 98 CE
Trajan: 98 - 117 CE
Hadrian: 117 - 138 CE
Antonius Pius: 138 - 161 CE
Marcus Aurelius: 161 - 180 CE
3. By 180 CE, the Empire had grown to its greatest dimensions (see map on p. 171).
4. During reign of Marcus Aurelius' son, Commodus (180 - 192 CE) [of “Gladiator” fame], the Empire begins to deteriorate. Of the 26 emperors to rule between 235 and 284 CE, 25 are murdered!
5. Diocletian and Maximian (284 - 305 CE) restore some sense of order by dividing the Empire into four regions-- the Tetrarchy. Diocletian governed over the Eastern Empire while Maximian ruled over the West.
6. The Tetrarchy continued for a short while after their abdication in 305 CE.
7. Constantine (306 - 337 CE): issued the Edict of Milan, proclaiming religious tolerance toward Christianity in 313 CE. By 324, he controlled the entire Empire and moved the seat of government from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).
B. Imperial Architecture.
1. The Colosseum (80 CE).
a. Freestanding (use of arch and concrete).
b. All three capital orders utilized.
2. The Pantheon (118-125 CE).
a. The dome: the 180 degree arch.
b. The oculus.
C. Imperial Sculpture.
1. A return to the ideal in portraiture.
a. Augustus of Primaporta: “armor with muscles.”
b. Equestrian statues: larger than life. Still evident in Western “civic art.”
2. The Arch of Constantine (312-315 CE).
a. Transition from Classical to Christian.
D. Painting.
1. “First Style” (Republican Rome): incrustation or masonry facade.
2. “Second Style” (Republican Rome): landscape and/or architectural illusion.
3. “Third Style” (Imperial Rome): ornamental or decorative.
4. “Fourth Style” (Imperial Rome): composite and/or intricate.
E. Literature.
1. Ovid: “witty erotica;” e.g., Ars Amatoria (“The Art of Love”): “technical” advice for men and women.
2. Petronius: “biting satire;” e.g., “Dinner with Trimalchio,” from the Satyricon : the decadence, immorality and vice of the “nouveau riche.”
3. Juvenal: political/social satirist; e.g., Third Satire: Juvenal's commentary on the trials and tribulations of city life in Rome.