Purpose of the Roman Forum

Roman Forum

Forum is a Latin word meaning open space or market place. A Forum was the public space in the middle of a Roman city. Temples, shops, and basilicas might surround typical Ancient Roman forums. There were several forums in Rome, the most notable being the world famous Roman Forum. The inclusion of the Senate House made the Roman Forum the most important of all the Forums.

The Roman Forum is so famous that many are surprised to learn that there was more than one forum in Rome. The Imperial Fora (Fora meaning public squares) were a group of Forums built by the Roman emperors around the Roman Forum beginning with the Julian Forum and ending with the Forum of Trajan. There were two kinds of forums, the fora civilia and fora venalia. The first was designed for the ornaments of the city such as Triumphal arches and for the use of public courts of justice. The other was erected for the necessities and conveniences of the inhabitants and was equivalent to our markets. The Roman Senate was housed in a building in the Roman Forum.

Purpose of the Roman Forum

The forum was initially a market place in Rome and the site was also used for festivals and funerals. Justice was also administered here and it naturally became a place business, then for politics and popular assemblies, and later on for amusement. The Roman forum consisted of public buildings that were three times as long as they were broad. The Roman Forum was built by Romulus. Arched porticos surrounded all the compass of the Roman forum with some passages being left as places of entrance. (A portico is a porch that leads to the entrance of a building with a roof structure supported by columns or enclosed by walls, such as the portico of the Pantheon). The Comitium (the place of assembly of ancient Rome) and the Curia, the Senate house was also located in the Roman Forum, which became the stronghold of aristocratic government and tradition. The inclusion of the Senate House made the Roman Forum the most important of all the Forums.

Colosseum

The Colosseum was situated in the centre of Rome, it was in fact a symbol of the might, the wealth and the power of the Roman Empire. The Colosseum took less than 10 years to build, a remarkable achievement for the excellent engineers and their famous engineering skills. The architecture of the Roman Colosseum illustrates their use of one of the Romans most famous inventions - concrete. The Roman arch was prominently featured in the design and building of the Colosseum as were the different styles of architecture reflected in the Roman columns. Look carefully at pictures of the Colosseum and you will see Tuscan columns at the bottom, then Ionic, with Corinthian columns in the third storey.

This history of the Roman Colosseum started hundreds of years before it was actually built when the tastes of Roman citizens craved the excitement and blood lust of the gladiatorial games. Their taste for blood and this form of entertainment dates back to 264AD when the first recorded Roman gladiatorial combats took place in Rome. The Roman Colosseum was opened in 80AD and was originally the called the Flavian Amphitheatre. The idea of this great arena was that of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and the construction started in c70AD and was financed from the proceeds gained from the Roman sacking of Jerusalem. The history of the bloody arena continues through the reigns of various emperors, the emergence of the new Christian religion, the horror stories of the deaths of Christian martyrs in the Colosseum, the Gladiator fights and the killing of thousands of exotic animals in Ancient Rome. The madness of the mob and craving for this type of entertainment finally ended in the 6th century.

Circus Maximus

The Circus Maximus was a massive arena. It accommodates 250,000 spectators at one sitting, which was about 5 times the number that could be accommodated in the Colosseum.

The Circus Maximus was first built by Tarquinius Priscus. Various improvements were made to the design of the massive arena, which was magnificently adorned. The Circus Maximus was located in a valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills in Rome. The design was oblong in shape, with a long barrier (spina) that ran down the middle of the track containing statues and monuments. The Circus Maximus measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width. Its circumference was a mile. The arena of the Circus Maximus was surrounded with a ditch or canal, called Euripus, which was ten feet wide and ten feet deep. The stadium was surrounded with rows of seats all around, three stories high, called Fori or spectacula, which rose one above another. The lowest seats were made of stone and the highest of wood. Separate places were allotted to the Senators. There were starting gates, permanent viewing stands and private boxes for the politicians, senators and important military personnel. There was also an Imperial box high up in the palace area on the Palatine for the Emperor and the royal family.

Circus Maximus and Chariot Races


The Circus Maximus was designed for chariot races. The chariots had to circle the Spine seven times—a total distance of about four miles. In different parts of the Circus Maximus there were entrances and exits for the people to go in and out without disturbing other spectators. On one end there were several openings, called ostia, from which the horses and chariots started. The stalls were called the caceres. Before the stalls stood two small statues of Mercury holding a chain or rope to keep in the horses. There was a white starting line (alba linea), filled with chalk and lime, at which the horses were made to stand in a straight row. Persons called moratores kept the horses in order

Roman Roads

The soldiers of the Roman army travelled all across the Empire by necessity and provided all of the required labor. The roads were built as follows:

▪ Fact 1: Roads were generally laid out in a straight line, although sometimes they followed the natural curves of the terrain

▪ Fact 2: Ancient surveying techniques using 'Sighting Marks' were employed

▪ Fact 3: The land was first cleared of any trees

▪ Fact 4: A trench was dug where the road was to go which was then filled with big stones creating an embankment

▪ Fact 5: Roman roads were generally built on top of an embankment (called an Agger)

▪ Romans were the first to build roads on this foundation basis

▪ The foundation, or Agger, contained a layer of rubble with stones which were laid in such a way to provide drainage

▪ Fact 6: A middle section which consisted of a layer of sand or gravel was laid on the foundation

▪ Fact 7: The top surface were paved with gravel or flint and small broken stones

▪ Fact 8: There were ditches on either side so that water could drain away

▪ Fact 9: Road widths measured between 8 and 40 feet - wide enough to take Roman chariot with two horses. There were even lay-bys allowing other chariots past!

Pantheon

With its thick brick walls and large marble columns, the Pantheon makes an immediate impression on visitors. But the most remarkable part of the building is the more than forty-three meter high dome. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed.

At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which was the only source of light. The front portico has three rows of columns; the first row has eight columns while the other two have four each. A huge bronze door gives access to the cylindrical building. Its diameter equals the interior height of 43.3 meters.

Interior

Originally a temple for all pagan gods, the temple was converted into a church in 609. The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian kings. Its ecclesiastical interior design contrast with the temple's structural design, but the marble floor - which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns - is still the ancient Roman original.

Earlier Temples

Before the current Pantheon was built, two other buildings occupied the same site.

The first one, a traditional rectilinear, T-shaped structure was built in 27-25 BC by general Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law of Emperor Augustus. The temple was dedicated to the gods Mars and Venus. It burned down in 80 AD but was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian. In 110 AD the building was struck by lightning and burned down again.

In 118 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon to be rebuilt again but this time in a totally different, circular design. It was completed seven years later, in 125 AD. This latest version of the Pantheon would stand the test of time much better: it is still standing almost intact today.

The Dome

The most important problem the Romans faced during the construction of the Pantheon was the massive weight of the large dome. In order to support it without proper reinforcement as is common today; the thickness of the walls was gradually decreased as the height increased.

The Romans also used a different type of concrete for the dome than for the walls. At the base very thick (6m, 20ft) walls were constructed. At the top of the dome, a lighter type of concrete was used and near the oculus it is only 7.5 ft or 2.3 m thick. The use of coffers in the ceiling and the opening at the top also helped reduce the weight of the dome.

The Portico

The portico's sixteen huge, sixty tons weighing columns were quarried in Egypt. They were transported all the way to Rome using barges and vessels. The columns, each one with a diameter of 1.5 meters, support a pediment with an inscription attributing the Pantheon to Marcus Agrippa even though Hadrian built it.

In Ancient Times the pediment was decorated with statuary in gilt bronze. These were removed on the orders of pope Urban VIII to create the baldachin in the St. Peter's Basilica.

Piazza della Rotonda

The Pantheon borders the Piazza della Rotonda, a rectangular square with at its center an eighteenth-century fountain crowned with an obelisk. The constantly crowded square is situated in the historic center of Rome, not far from the Piazza Navona, one of Rome's most beautiful squares.

Atrium

The atrium was the central hall, almost like a modern-day foyer, and it was the most conspicuous room in a Roman domus. It was open at the roof, which let in light and air for circulation, and also allowed rainwater for drinking and washing to collect in the impluvium, a small draining pool in the middle of the atrium. Cisterns were also located throughout the domus to collect rainwater, which acted as the primary water supply in the absence of running water.

The atrium was one of the most richly decorated rooms in the domus. For one, symbols of the family’s wealth and hereditary power were present, in addition to imagines, wax representations of the family’s ancestors. Paintings and mosaics were also commonplace, and many examples of these have been preserved in houses from Pompeii.

Finally, before a funeral, the body of the deceased was displayed in the atrium with his/her feet always pointed toward the door. Family and friends then viewed the body

(See attached for handout students will be writing on!)