Roman Architecture Influence
History is known to influence our modern day society in many ways we have never thought about. The Roman are known to be one of the greatest early river civilizations. . Our society has borrowed so many elements from the Romans as they had many bright ideas and forward-thinking notions. In fact, many of their ideas still exist in our culture today. In our modern day society, we have so many things in our daily lives that have been influenced by the Romans. We might of have never notice or know because we simply think well someone from our time invented such things from government, art, literature religion and other things date back to the days of the Romans.
The Romans have been one of the sources that have affected the modern day society …show more content…
The Romans engaged in extensive city-building activities as they consolidated their empire. Roman military and colonial towns were laid out in a variation of the highly planned grid. Developments in the architecture of fortification, relating to compact space and fast maneuverability, and the discovery of perspective, focusing the description on the eye of the viewer, led to the radial focus in city plans and the development of ideal town plans. Many courthouses throughout America can be seen to be based on Roman architecture.A particularly striking example is the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washingon. Designed by Cass Gilbert, the core of the building can be seen to be directly based on the Roman Temple type including the characteristics of being raised on a podium and approached by a formal front staircase. Like Roman temples, the free-standing columns only appear on the front of the Supreme Court building. Like many of the other major public buildings in Washington, the exterior of the Supreme Court is dressed in white marble. The choice of marble was deliberate to echo the authority of Roman formal architecture. The biography of Augustus describes how when Augustus transformed Rome from a city of brick to a city of marble. The decision to base courthouse designs in America on Roman temples is understandable when it is remembered that our legal system traces its authority back to the tradition of Roman law. Latin is still the language of legal
The Romans have been one of the sources that have affected the modern day society …show more content…
The Romans engaged in extensive city-building activities as they consolidated their empire. Roman military and colonial towns were laid out in a variation of the highly planned grid. Developments in the architecture of fortification, relating to compact space and fast maneuverability, and the discovery of perspective, focusing the description on the eye of the viewer, led to the radial focus in city plans and the development of ideal town plans. Many courthouses throughout America can be seen to be based on Roman architecture.A particularly striking example is the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washingon. Designed by Cass Gilbert, the core of the building can be seen to be directly based on the Roman Temple type including the characteristics of being raised on a podium and approached by a formal front staircase. Like Roman temples, the free-standing columns only appear on the front of the Supreme Court building. Like many of the other major public buildings in Washington, the exterior of the Supreme Court is dressed in white marble. The choice of marble was deliberate to echo the authority of Roman formal architecture. The biography of Augustus describes how when Augustus transformed Rome from a city of brick to a city of marble. The decision to base courthouse designs in America on Roman temples is understandable when it is remembered that our legal system traces its authority back to the tradition of Roman law. Latin is still the language of legal