Roman And Greek Architecture

Very little is known about exactly how the Roman Empire began. One myth is that twin brothers Romulos and Remus settled on palattine hill in about 753 B.C. The first known inhabitants, the Latins, settled there in about 1000 B.C. The city was taken over by the most civilized culture in Italy, the Etruscans. Many shepherds and farmers prospered there and the city grew. In 509 B.C., the Roman people drove out the Etruscans and began to set up what would become one of the largest, most illustrious empires in Europe. Roman architecture was greatly influenced by the bland and uncreative style of Etruscan architecture. From the Etruscans they adopted the semicircular arch, the vault, and the dome. Roman architecture also took elements of Greek architecture, most likely because the two empires were geographically close. The architecture of this period represents two different styles, the Republic’s architecture, from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C., and the Empire’s architecture, from 27 B.C. to the end of the Roman Empire in about 476 A.D. There are several subdivisions of each style related to significant political leaders who ordered the construction of various buildings. One of the most well known was Augustus, who had many structures built duri

. . .