Читать книгу A History of Roman Art - Steven L. Tuck - Страница 23

It might first be helpful to point out that the Romans also differed from other ancient people in their art and architectural forms. Contrasting Greek and Roman temples makes a good visual case for that difference. This Roman style temple is often referred to as Etrusco‐Italic because of its use in many cultures and communities in central Italy.

Etrusco‐Italic

refers to architecture, especially temples, shared by cultures of central Italy. The temples generally featured tall podiums, deep front porches, wide roofs, small cellas, and rooftop sculptures.

1.5a and 1.5b Greek Temple of Hera, Paestum, c. 450 BCE, compared with Roman Temple of Portunus, Rome, c. 150 BCE.

Photos courtesy Steven L. Tuck.

Greek temples were generally very large buildings; this example is 197 ft (60 m) in length. Roman temples, based on the traditions of the Etruscans, were generally much smaller, here 85 ft 4 in (26 m) in length. The Greek temple is raised on a three‐step platform while the Roman one has a tall 7 ½ ft (2.3 m) podium. This changes the relationship of the temple to the viewer as the Greek temple is accessible from all sides while the Roman one is strictly frontal and forces anyone approaching to do so from one direction. It essentially channels anyone viewing or engaging with the temple into a single point of view. By contrast, the Greek temple is peripteral with a colonnade that extends to all four sides allowing approach from every direction and actually shielding the building within so that the front and rear are virtually indistinguishable. Probably as a result of their frontality Roman temples were more often found on hills projecting the religious and cultural identity of a community.

peripteral

refers to a building, usually a temple, with a single row of columns surrounding it.