The colosseum

The Roman temple was not, like the Greek, approached on all sides by a low flight of steps, but raised on a high platform (podium) with a staircase in the front; in many cases the cellar was placed in order to house the divine Etruscan triads (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, etc.) and this cellar was faced by a deep portico, which often occupied half the platform and thus resorted to the outer structure the canonical length of the classic temple. This high podium is a first step in the development of building in a vertical direction whereby the Romans paved the way for medieval and more particularly Gothic architecture. The round temple which originated in the primitive Latin hut, was adopted for the house of the king and for the ancient cults of Vesta and of Hercules. Another specific achievement of the Roman architect was the application of the arch the vault, and the dome. The aesthetic effect of curves was well understood by the Romans; and they were the inventors of those decorative combinations of the Greek orders with the arcade, of which the more famous- the Triumphal Arch and the Arcade order had a far reaching influence.

The Romans also excleed in the creation of huge public spaces and buildings, and successive emperors tried to outdo their predecessors in constructing ever more grandiose monuments: forums (open meeting places); basilicas (roofed buildings for public assembly); temples (often in imitation of Greek models,with their Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns); circuses (huge arenas for chariot races - the Circus Maximus was 2,000 feet long and accomodated a quarter of a million people); theaters; public baths; and triumphal arches.

Many of these great buildings survive today These two pages look at one of the Romans' greatest achievements.

The Colosseum was built in the first century A.D., and still stands in the center of modern Rome.

VAULTS

The Colosseum, which seated 50,000 spectatores for gladiator combats and other spectacles, had three tiers of arched arcades on the outside and a honeycomb of arched, vaulted passageways in its vast structure. A vault is simply an arch extended lengthwise, and a semicircular one like the Romans used is a barrel vault. The later Romans discovered that one vault could cross another at right angles and still stand up; this cross vault could cover a large square area successfully, supported only at the corners on columns.

Outside, the first three levels of arcades are faced with Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.

Inside, the spectator galleries seated the most important people at the bottom, the least at the top.

The Colosseum was dedicated by Emperor Titus in A.D. 80 with 100 days of games. Two years later Emperor Dominitian added the top, Corinthian, story.

THE COLOSSEUM

The use of one material more than any other made building the Colosseum possible- concrete. The Romans, in the third century B.C. discovered that mixture of sandy volcanic ash and lime mortar combined with sand and gravel dried to a completely waterproof hard synthetic rock. This material gave the builders the means to cover large spaces.

HOW IT WAS BUILT

The Colosseum was begun by Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 70 Mass concrete was used for the 40-foot deep foundation and brick - faced concrete for most of the vaults.

Building the Colosseum took over 10 years. Beneath the arena was a vast labyrinth of passageways, stores, accomodations for combatants, and dens for the wild beasts.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the difference between the Roman and the Greek temples?.

2. What was the Roman round temple adopted for?

3. What decorative combinations did the Romans develop?

4. What was the peculiarity of Roman buildings and temples?

5. When was the Colosseum built?

6. What was the Colosseum used for?

7. How many spectatores did the Colosseum include?

8. What did the Romans discover about the vaults?

9. Where were the places for the most important people in Colosseum?

10. What material was the Colosseum built of?

11. Who began the building of the Colosseum?

12. How many years did it take to build the Colosseum?

2. Give the Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

step; podium; staircase; cellar; portico; to pave; vertical; direction; curve; arcade; semicircular barrel vault; concrete; mixture of sandy volcanic ash; lime mortar; labyrinth; passageways.

3. Give the explanation of the following words and notions:

podium; Etruscan triad; forum; basilica; temple; circus; concrete.

4. Translate the following phrases from Russian into English:

1. Римские архитекторы "вымостили дорогу" для средневековой архитектуры.

2. Триумфальная арка - это самый известный пример комбинации греческих ордеров с аркадами.

3. Римляне очень преуспели в создании огромных общественных зданий и пространств.

4. Колизей, вмещавший 50.000 зрителей, был предназначен для гладиаторских боев и других представлений.

5. Влиятельные люди Рима располагались внизу зрительской галереи, а простой народ - вверху.

6. В третьем веке до нашей эры был открыт бетон.

7. Строительство Колизея заняло 10 лет.

8. Под Колизеем находились помещения для гладиаторов и клетки для диких зверей.

5. Retell the text.