Roman Temples Research Paper

Words: 865
Pages: 4

Roman temples form derived from Etruscan prototypes. Roman temples were frontal with stairs leading up to a podium and a deep portico filled with columns. They are usually rectilinear and the interiors consist of at least one cella, which contained a cult statue or image. If multiple gods were worshiped in one temple, each god would have its own cella and cult image. Roman temples were usually made of brick and concrete and then faced in either marble or stucco. Columns that are decorative and not needed for structural support, adorn the exterior sides of the temples. This creates an effect of columns completely surrounding a cella, an effect known as psuedoperipteral . This technique is most often seen in Greek peripteral temples. The altar of the temple, used for sacrifices and offerings, always stood in front of the temple.

Most Roman temples followed this plan, while some were dramatically different. At times, the Romans erected round temples that imitated a Greek style. Examples can be found in the Forum Boarium in Rome, at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli and, most famously, the Pantheon at Rome, also built by the emperor Hadrian. The first two examples are very similar to round Greek temples, while the Pantheon's plan includes a deep colonnaded porch that
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Multiple arches can be used together to create a vault. The simplest type is known as a barrel vault . Barrel vaults consist of a line of arches in a row that create the shape of a barrel cut in half. When two barrel vaults intersect at right angles, they create a groin vault. These are easily identified by the x-shape they create in the ceiling of the vault. Furthermore, because of the direction, the thrust is concentrated along this x-shape, so only the corners of a groin vault need to be grounded. This allows an architect or engineer to manipulate the space below the groin vault in a variety of