Rome:

The Arts

Art As Propaganda

• Roman Government began to create buildings and sculptures that portrayed the peace and prosperity brought about by the rule of Augustus.

• Altar of Augustan Peace– Built to honour Augustus.– shows Augustus’ family, scenes from Rome’s

history, symbolic figures of fertility and prosperity (Mother Earth, fruit, flowers, children, animals, wheat).

Wall Paintings• Paintings of architectural scenes, landscapes,

marine scenes, mythological narratives.

• Mosaics– Used one colour at first– Evolved into multicolored – Status symbols– Made of cubes of glass

Architecture: The Arch

• First used by the Etruscans and further developed by the Romans.

• An inexpensive method for creating a strong roof.

• Made of cement or clay bricks. – Weight of the bricks hold the arch together.

Barrel Vaults

• Looks like the inside of a barrel.

• Used for making doorways or windows.

• Made by placing arches side by side.

Cement

• Romans first to mix lime and powdered clay with water to form wet cement.

• Once dry, if it gets wet it won’t turn soft.

• For stronger material, sand or gravel was added to make concrete.

• Main building material of the Romans.

The Pantheon

• Circular temple built by Agrippa in 25-23 BCE.

• Made of cement.• One of the most architecturally influential

buildings in the Western world.• It’s height and diameter are the same - 143 ft.• Dome made by rotating arches on their axis.

Roman Homes

• Pompeii offers a wealth of information on the types of Roman homes. Two main types:– Domus (wealthy class)– Insula (poor class)

• Certain rooms of a domus were open for the public.

Public Baths

• A public facility used for bathing, exercising, and relaxing.

• Provided hot water (uncommon in many homes).

• A place for socializing.

• Modern equivalent - library, theatre, mall, spa, sportsplex, and bar.

Basilicas

• Gets its shape from the public baths. • A public buildings where judges heard

court cases, politicians gave speeches, or teachers held classes. – Like a modern day town hall.

• When Christians began to build churches, they modelled them after these basilicas.

Beliefs

• Very superstitious people.

• Adopted Greek Olympian gods and added their own. Top gods were Juno (Hera) and Jupiter (Zeus).

• Believed in minor deities, werewolves, and magic.

• Adopted belief in astrology and the signs of the zodiac.

Roman Views on Religion The Romans were very superstitious, even one

bad omen could cause governors to withdraw armies.

For the Romans, politics and religion were very closely bound. Religion had a powerful impact over the government.

Romans viewed their relationship with the gods as a contract.

Until Christianity gained control, the Romans were polytheistic.

Religion provided guidance and comfort for Rome and it’s citizens.

Before the Rise of Christianity In the beginning of Roman beliefs, many spirits were

seen as natural forces. In time they developed human personalities and form and were regarded as gods and goddesses.

The Romans made many sacrifices, such as the popular simultaneous sacrifice of a pig, sheep and ox. These were made to appease the gods during troubled times to earn good fortune.

Temples and shrines were also built for gods and goddesses, including miniature shines that were built in the homes of Romans for personal worship and prayers.

Their rituals were taken very seriously, failure to correctly perform a ritual was thought to anger the gods and lead to punishment.

Romans would also worship their emperors as gods.

Temples and Shrines Romans had many temples and shrines. These shrines and temples were places of

worship. Animals were sacrificed at temples, their

gender corresponding to that of the designated deity.

Temples were numerous and very ornate. One of the most famous temples was the

temple of Julius Caesar.

Pontifex Maximus• Man in charge of supervising the official

religions and calendar.– Decided the months and days when

various deities would be honoured.

• Do ut des - “I give so that you might give.”– principle of Roman religion. The Romans

honoured the gods and practiced animal sacrifice so that the gods would help them in times of crisis.

Introduction of Christianity Romans had initially welcomed Christianity as it began to

spread, but soon saw Christians as intolerant and controlling.

Christians showed little or no reverance for Roman emperors, refusing to worship them as gods.

Christians condemned all beliefs but their own. Because of this, some early Christians were executed

publicly at the Roman colosseum. Christians often had to hide their beliefs and practice

rituals in secret, otherwise they risked being excluded by society. They had to bury their dead in catacombs under the ground.

Christians were persecuted for their beliefs.

Rise of Christianity Diocletian’s rule brought with it the last of the Christian

persecutions. Despite being persecuted, the Christian population continued to

increase. Constantine I “the Great” (307-337 C.E.) had a dream telling him

to paint Christian emblems on all shields before their upcoming battle. Rome won the battle and Constantine believed it was credited to the Christian god. Constantine then became a firm supporter of Christianity.

Constantine and Licinius restored all the property the Christians had lost and declared absolute toleration of Christianity.

Newfound support gave Christians a firm foot-hold in political and religious spheres, despite being a minority of the population.

By 360-370 C.E., the growing of Christianity accelerated and paganism was put under attack by Christian bishops.

Theodosius I (379-395 C.E.) abolished all pagan cults and practices and closed all the temples.

Family Life• Men were the heads of the household.

– Had complete power over wives, children, and slaves. They had the legal right to abuse and even kill.

• Women were excluded from politics, but could own property and engage in business.

• Women’s duty to bear children.• Girls as young as 12 were married off to bear

children. Males were preferred. • Families with 3 or more children were

rewarded by the state.

Marriage

• Purpose of marriage was to continue the family line.

• Usually arranged by parents.

• Normal age of marriage was ~15.

• Two types of marriage:– In manum (into the power)– Cohabitation

In Manum• The authority of the father was handed to

the husband. • Daughter was symbolically sold to the

bridegroom. • Cohabitation

– Most common by end of Republic.– A couple simply agreed to live together and

once they did so, were considered married. – To divorce, a messenger was sent telling

him/her to take their belongings away.– The woman remained legally subject to her

father.

Inheritance of Property• Most important element in Republican

life.

• Inheritance was through the male line.

• Women who could not bear males could be divorced.

• Adoption was common in order to gain a male heir.

• If an infant was not recognized by its father it could be left for dead in public.

Education• Males and females of the patrician

class were educated together by a nurse or family tutor until puberty.

• Between age 7-11 taught to read and write Latin.

• From age 12-15, learned about language and literature.

• Males studied rhetoric (logic and persuasive argument) at public lectures at age 16.

Education• Upon entering manhood, introduced to

public life and led to the Forum dressed in a toga.

• After this, males expected to serve the interests of the patricians.

• They had to serve the state first and themselves last.

• Children of the poorer class received no education at all.

Circus Maximus• Chariot racing was Rome's oldest and most

popular pastime. • In 326 BCE, during the Roman Monarchy, The

Circus Maximus was built by Tarquinio Prisco.

• The site was first used for public games and for the entertainment of Etruscan kings of Rome.

• The first version, later rebuilt, was made completely from wood and could hold up to 150,000 people.

The Roman Colosseum • The Roman colosseum was originally known as

the "Flavian Amphitheater“, it was changed to the Colosseum when the western empire collapsed. It was built on the orders on the Emperor Vespasian.

• The grand opening of the coliseum was in 80 CE by Titus. He killed over 5000 animals in the opening days.

• Total Area of 320 000 feet²

• Central Oval of 50 000 feet²

Gladiators• The best known gladiators throughout the

Roman Empire were brought to the Colosseum to fight.

• Most gladiators didn’t have a choice to fight. They were usually slaves that were sold into the business of entertaining. Gladiators were sent to schools designed specifically in how to fight in gladitorial combats.

Gladiators

• Not all gladiators that lost died.

• They had to option of raising their hand for mercy if they were wounded.

• The crowd would show what they wanted by raising a thumb in the air - either up for life, or down for death.

• It was up to the emperor or a dignitary to make the final decision.