Roman Art and Architecture GLOSSARY

Roman Art and Architecture GLOSSARY

aedicula(architecture): a blind opening in a wall framed by columns supporting an entablature and pediment. It was often used to house statues.

adyton: a shrine or tabernacle constructed within a larger temple. It was usually the most sacred place in the temple and the home of the cult statue.

agora: place of assembly, market-place (Greek)

apodyterium (pl.apodyteria): changing area in a Roman bath.

apotheosis: the elevation of a human being to divine status.

apse: a semi-circular area located at the end of a hall. Common in basilicae.

architrave: the horizontal architectural element that spans two columns. It forms the lowest section of the entablature.

arcuate: curved; shaped like a bow.

ashlar masonry: blocks of cut stone used in construction.

attic (architecture): the upper storey. It was commonly used on triumphal arches as a rectangular section of masonry decorated with relief sculpture and statuary.

bisellia: marble thrones used by dignitaries when they attended the theatre.

caldarium: the hot room of a Roman bath.

calyx (pl. calyces): in art, the image of the curled bud.

candelabrum (pl. candelabra): lamp-stand, candlestick.

capital: the decorative section placed on top of a column or pilaster. There were four main orders used by the Romans: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite.

caryatid: a stone column carved in the form of a draped female figure.

cavea: the semi-circular seating area in a Roman theatre and amphitheatre.

cella: the central chamber of a temple, home of the cult statue.

centring: the system of scaffolding and moulds used to create concrete architecture e.g. domes, vaults, etc.

clerestory: section of wall raised higher than the surrounding roofline, often pierced by windows. Common feature of basilicae and thermae.

cornice: the top, projecting, section of the entablature.

cryptoporticus: partially subterranean vaulted corridor lit by windows placed in the ceiling; structurally it was used to buttress a raised area such as a portico.

cunei: wedge-shaped sections of seating, in a theatre or amphitheatre, which are created by a system of radial passageways.

dado: the lowest section of a wall.

domus: Latin for ‘house’ as in Nero’s Domus Aurea or Golden House

engaged column: a column that projects from but which is still part of the wall. It has a capital and rests on a plinth.

emblema: a mosaic picture created from opus vermiculatum and then inserted into a prepared space in a floor or wall.

Entablature: The upper part of a classical building; the collective name for the three horizontal sections (architrave, frieze and cornice) of masonry supported by the columns.

fluting: concave vertical grooves carved in the surface of a column.

forum: open area in the centre of a Roman city, the hub of political and administrative life.

frieze: central section of an entablature often decorated with relief sculpture.

frigidarium: the cold room of a Roman bath.

Genius Populi Romani: the spirit or essence of the Roman people embodied as a deity; the Guardian Spirit.

Genius Senatus: the spirit or essence of the Roman Senate embodied as a deity.

geornate di lavoro: Italian term for the sections of the wall marked out to be painted by a fresco painter.

hexastyle: with six columns

imagines: the wax masks of ancestors carried by noble Romans in funerary parades.

in antis: two freestanding columns stationed between the end walls of the cella.

keystone: the central wedge-shaped section of an arch. It was a vital component as it made the arch self-supporting.

Laconica: Super-hearted room in a Roman bath.

Lares: Italian household deities, associated with the penates as household gods who guarded the home and the welfare of the family.

liaculum: ‘float’ used to smooth the surface of a plaster wall before paint was applied.

lictor: The officer who held the fasces and meted out punishment. Lictors accompanied emperors and top officials.

lintel: the horizontal supporting section (wood or stone) placed over a window or door.

meander: the key pattern, a geometric motif

natatio: outdoor swimming pool in a Roman bathing complex.

nave: rectangular space in the centre of a basilica.

nymphaeum: literally ‘Place of the Nymphs’. A building or artificial grotto filled with fountains.

octastyle: with eight columns.

oculus: the round opening in the centre of a vault.

odeum : a small, roofed theatre.

opus caementicium Roman concrete; a mixture of lime mortar and small chunks of rock

opus sectile: decorative paving created from geometric sections of stone, assembled to create a repeating pattern.

opus tessellatum: a mosaic floor laid with tesserae

opus signinum: ‘worm work’, the most intricate form of mosaic paving; tiny pieces of tesserae laid in thin, curving lines to create a mosaic picture (emblema).

orchestra: area located at the base of the seating area, in front of the stage. It is circular in Greek theatres, semi-circular in Roman.

palaestra: exercise yard surroundedby covered porticoes, often attached to a bathing facility.

patera : a saucer or bowl used in Roman religious rites.

pediment: the triangular section at the end of the roof of a Classical building, composed of the typanum and raking cornice. It rests on the entablature and is often decorated with sculpture.

penates: a group of Italian deities which protected the Roman household.

peripteral: a single row of freestanding columns surrounding the cella.

peristyle: a row of columns surround a temple or courtyard; a space

pier: a vertical supporting structure. In Roman architecture the most common form was brick-faced concrete.

pilaster: a rectangular, engaged column of any of the orders

plinth: support for a column or statue; projecting section of a wall.

postscaenia: changing rooms and prop storage area located behind the stage backdrop in a Roman theatre.

praecinctiones : horizontal passageways set between the tiers of seats in a theatre or amphitheatre.

proscaenium: the stage of a Roman theatre.

pseudo-peripteral: a temple with columns

engaged to the wall of the cella; essentially half-columns.

radial: in the case of access routes: passageways that run from a central area to an exterior point (like rays).

rotunda: a building with a circular ground-plan; a circular hall or room.

scaenae frons: the elaborate backdrop to the stage.

spandrels: the triangular section created when an arch meets the horizontal and vertical section of the surrounding wall.

specus: the channel section in the top of the aqueduct that held the water.

stoa: a portico or roofed colonnade.

tepidarium: warm room in a Roman bath; placed so that it formed a transitional space between the hot and cold bathing facilities.

tessellarii: artisans who laid mosaic floors.

tesserae: small cubes of stone, tile etc. used to create opus tessellatum mosaic flooring.

tetrastyle: with four columns.

tribunal: the raised platform used as a seating area by magistrates.

triclinium: the dining room of a Roman villa.

Triumphator: the victorious general; a common motif in imperial sculpture.

trulla: trowel used to apply plaster.

voussoirs (s. voussoir): the wedge-shaped sections of stone used in an arch