Rome structure
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July 10, 2020Rome structure
- Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>After reading Chapter, 6, especially pp. 174-5 and 191-207, let us consider and discuss some of ancient Rome’s major structures and what they tell us of life there. The Colosseum was more often called the Flavian Amphitheater after the emperors who constructed it. It is very large, but it actually took its name from a colossal statue of Nero that used to stand next to it. See this Website at http://www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/amphitheatrum-en.htmRoman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>, and look for two (2) pieces of information: 1) the important formal difference between a theater and an amphitheater; and 2) the flimsy but ingenious wooden movable structure of Scribonius Curio (the Curionis Theater). But the Colosseum was never the largest entertainment venue in Rome. That label would go to the Circus Maximus, which was primarily for Rome’s most popular sport – chariot racing. It really was the ancient world’s largest horse race track, what the Greeks called a hippodrome. (In the fictional movie Ben Hur, the famous chariot race is at a hippodrome that actually did once exist in Jerusalem). See http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.htmlRoman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>, http://romancolosseum.org/circus-maximus-in-rome/Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>, and http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/circusmaximus.htmlRoman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”> for information and images about the Circus Maximus.
Discuss a specific example of life in Ancient Rome that is found in contemporary life in the U.S.
- Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>In Chapter 8, we encounter the great Hagia Sophia (pp. 266-7), constructed in the 500s AD as the most spectacular church structure for many centuries. See http://www.hagiasophia.com/listingview.php?listingID=18 Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";”>for a fun tour; it can be visited in modern Istanbul, Turkey. The Hagia Sophia once had many mosaics. The surviving mosaics from St. Catherine’s monastery (pp. 267-9) and from the churches of Ravenna (pp. 270-3) give us a sense of the types of subjects and beauty of the mosaics that might have been in the Hagia Sophia. After reading and exploring these places, consider here the role of architecture and art in Christian worship in those days. Describe a specific aspect you see in the art and/or architecture of Ravenna that reflects Augustine’s views of Christianity found in Confessions and The City of God.
