From Parthenon to Pantheon: The Archtitecture of Ancient Greece and Rome

3 units

Classical architecture, defined as the architecture of the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, forms a major part of the foundation of western architecture. Consistently updated, responded to, rejected, revived, dismissed, and revived again, classical architecture has been a touchstone for architects for over two and a half millennia. This course examines the invention of classical forms in Greece and their subsequent development and spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the cultures of Greece and Rome. We will study form, function, style, and construction techniques, and we will see how these characteristics interact and influence one another over the course of time. We will see how different cities and cultures appropriated and interpreted canonical forms to create distinct regional styles. In the Roman period, we will see how emperors used architecture as a form of communication and propaganda to interact with their subjects. At the end of the class, we will briefly chart the course of classical architecture in later periods, to see how it has been accepted and rejected at different times.