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