Dating back to the earliest civilizations, man has erected structures that exemplify the cultural ideals of their time. These architectural creations lent themselves as gathering places for religious ceremonies, venues where business and commerce were conducted and places where people met to socialize and for entertainment. From the great Ziggurats and Temples of the Mesopotamians and Persians, we can also see the similarities in ancient Egyptian architecture. The scopes of the architecture built by these cultures were massive. They signified the relationship of human kind with the gods and in the case of the Egyptians whose pyramids were built for their Pharaohs “Kings” who were considered gods. When the Greek civilization arose, they developed a different style of architecture that was tailored to the community and the culture that they established. For example, Greek temples were both large and small, built to accommodate the amount followers for a given area or region and displayed the importance of the deity. Where the temples of the Persians and Egyptians were massive to show the strength and majesty of the gods, the Greek temples and places of worship were sized to show humanity on a level similar to the gods. The gods of the Greeks were …show more content…
“From the Etruscans they absorbed the fundamentals of urban planning, chariot racing, the toga, bronze and gold crafting, and the most ingenious structural principal of Mesopotamian architecture – the arch” (Fiero, 2013, p. 66). The Romans exploited the Greek culture by taking their gods and architectural principals. The Roman Empire, at its peak held sway over a huge portion of the known world, and thus was able to impose and disseminate their culture to others. Roman culture impacted western civilization immensely, playing a key role in the rise of Christianity, the spread of political ideals and gave rise to the Holy Roman
This book talks about the experiential aspects of the Pyramids Of Giza, discussing how the size of the buildings, as well as the spaces and materials used, make the pyramids feel very grand, reflecting the pharaoh’s power. (Fazio 2013) suggests that the pyramids were built to such grand proportions to emphasis the power of the pharaoh in society as well as his god like status.
The Greek and Egyptian Temples have differences and similarities. One of the main reasons they have differences is because of their geographical areas. The Egyptians were more into creating great monumental and fancy structures, whereas the Greeks preferred smaller and literary pieces of art. The Egyptian Temple’s layout has a more complex plan such as, courts, halls and chambers with the sanctuary deep inside the temple.
Monumental architecture in Pharaonic Egypt is represented primarily by the funerary complexes of the pharaohs. The principal function of these elaborate complexes was to ensure that the pharaohs, who were exalted as living gods, would attain the afterlife they desired. This required that two basic conditions be fulfilled: the body had to be preserved from disturbance or destruction; and the material needs of the body and the ka had to be met (Edwards 20). Pharaonic burial complexes were also centers of worship for the god-king interred there and were designed to exalt his memory and deeds.
Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians also believed in god and goddesses and was one of the first to develop their unique writing system called hieroglyphics. Egyptian’s also were the first to construct triangular pyramids with magnificent tombs to bury their dead pharaohs and queens. These pyramids were very comparable to the ziggurats built by the Mesopotamians. The Egyptians unlocked more access when they started using papyrus to make paper in order to communicate. They also inven...
Another difference in these civilizations is in the architecture of each region. The architecture of the Romans was also more advanced than that of the Greeks; they used concrete and placed emphasis on arches, vaulted ceilings, and domes while Greece emphasized balance and symmetry. Greek temples aimed at impressing by designing intricate, aesthetically pleasing outer views, while Roman architecture's goal was to impress by enclosing a vast amount of space. Thirdly, the Romans were far more advanced than Greece in terms of engineering progress. In both the areas of civil and hydraulic engineering, Rome towered above Greece.
Greek palaces and temples, consisting of massive columns, were built for the gods or other religious purposes. The temples found at the center of the polis, the acropolis, were made as earthen dwellings for the gods, a place for storage of sacred objects and offerings, and also served out tasks for the polis such as keeping records. Temples, along with other sacred places were sometimes only open to certain peoples or cults, and people who were not ritually purified or had “religious pollution” were not allowed to enter sacred places (Adkins & Adkins 338). The fact that the religion centers are in the middle of the cities symbolizes how Greek religion was central to Grecian life, it was one of the most important things to them. The temples also represent the architectural and cultural achievements of the Greeks. The magnificent style of these temples has influenced not only Greece but the whole world as Grecian columns have been a staple in architecture since there creation; this is even evident in the United States with buildings such as the United States Capitol, built hundreds of years after the establishment of Ancient Grecian architecture. Along with architecture, Greek art, most notably pottery and sculpture, was also influenced by religion. Greek pottery, depicting mythological and heroic scenes, and statues, portraying the human form often made in the image of gods,
The Romans adoption of the Greek culture allowed for them to improve upon their own beliefs and make the Greek culture more profitable for the Roman Empire. This cultural exchange, then helped the Romans advance in their community to become one of the greatest empires of that time. We know the Romans for their beautiful art, their outstanding architecture, even for their form of government but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the adaptation of the Greek culture, because their art and their architecture was an establishment from the Greeks that the Romans took. If it wasn’t for the Romans taking up the culture from the Greeks then there would not have been a possibility for the Roman Empire to have even expand and spread to the point where other cultures would have also adopted to the customs of the Romans, or make the Roman empire well known. Because of this, Romans were now open to new ideas that expanded their way of thinking and allowed their empire to expand with great power. From the structure of their government, education, and even industrialization this cultural exchange with the Greeks allowed the Romans to create a successful development of their Empire.
Over thousands of years, the ancient Egyptian civilization been closely associated with religion, mythologists have considered itself one of the most important fundamentals of the Egyptian civilization, more than five thousand years, and the pillars of the establishment of the Egyptian state and standardization. However, I was always fascinated about the myths in the middle east, not because I was born in Iraq and grew up in an Assyrian family, it’s because the ancient Egyptians have contributed in adding many civilizational achievements to the world through the knowledge of their agriculture, stability, creating the first major central country in the region, and may be accompanied by the presence of major achievements in various fields in
The two ancient civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome were the best of the best during their time periods. Ancient Greece began around 2000 B.C. by the inhabitants known as the Mycenaean’s, followed by the Minoans. The Minoans built the foundation of Greece. The Roman Empire was founded around 753 B.C. by the two twins, Romulus and Remus. Romulus ended up killing Remus and built the city of Rome on one of seven rolling hills. Architecture was very important to both civilizations and they were always trying to out due the other. The architectural style of the Ancient Greeks and Romans was overall constructed and used differently.
... Athena. The difference between the Pyramid and temples of Greece is that the pyramids was built for the tomb of the Pharaohs while the temples in Greece was built for the different gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece.
Going back a few thousand years in history, the exotic and flourishing empire of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt existed. Ancient Egypt, one of the world’s oldest and technologically advanced empires dominated Northern Africa. The New Kingdom, which was from 1550-1069 B.C, “was an explosion of creativity, wealth and power in Egypt that would make it the envy of the world” (PBS). During this time period, Ancient Egypt exhibited a golden age, where Egypt experienced political stability, expansion of territory and the promotion of Egyptian culture. Leading up the New Kingdom, Ancient Egypt experienced the cultures and practices of other races, such as the different ethnic groups during the transition of the Archaic period to the Old Kingdom in terms of different factions of ethnicity between Upper and Lower Egypt. In addition, the Hyksos, who were of Asian descent, during the Second Intermediate period took over parts of Egypt and brought an Asian flare to the Egyptian Culture. The concept of race, however, during
Seemingly static in appearance, to the untrained eye, Egyptian Art is somewhat formal and blocky, with very little to no naturalism; in opposition to ancient western art such as Greek and Roman artistic traditions. (Neer, 2012) However, Egyptian Art serves a purpose that celebrates the afterlife as well as appreciating life. Egyptian visual imagery expressed animals not in the typically assumed static and rigid form, but in naturalistic dynamism that is largely ignored in general Egyptian Art scholarship. Ancient Egyptian art endures a steady artistic tradition and despite various changes and modification in style occurred during the 3,000 years pharaohs ruled; they are recognizably Egyptian in origin. What was wholly unique was the artistic
In Ancient Greece, religion dominated their life, so it is understandable that their architecture would be dominated by their religion. Before Greece became many different city-states, they had kings, and they would build a room called a megaron to show they King’s authority. A typical megaron is a single chamber with a fire pit in the middle with a throne off to the side. This room opened up into a porch (portico) that had four columns in the front. After there were no more kings these megarons turned into temples. The fire pit, which turned into some type of altar or a place to show a sacrifice for that god, was now outside in front of the temple. The altar was now outside so people could see you make these sacrifices to their gods. The first Greek temples were made out of wood and were long rectangular buildings with a porch all the way around which was supported by columns made from tree trunks. A Greek temple consists of five basic parts: the pediment, entablature, columns, base, and the cella, or the inner sanctum. The pediment is triangular and would have a type of sculpture or ornament known as acreteria on each corner. An entablature consists of three parts: the cornice, frieze, and architrave, which holds up the pediment. The columns are the support between the entablature and the base. The base usually consists of three steps. The cella is the inner sanctum, which has different rooms with more columns for support. Each temple would have a cella but they were not identical.
The ancient Egyptians were people of many firsts. They were the first people of ancient times to believe in life after death. They were the first to build in stone and to fashion the arch in stone and brick. Even before the unification of the Two Lands, the Egyptians had developed a plow and a system of writing. They were accomplished sailors and shipbuilders. They learned to chart the cosmos in order to predict the Nile flood. Their physicians prescribed healing remedies and performed surgical operations. They sculpted in stone and decorated the walls of their tombs with naturalistic murals in vibrant colors. The legacy of ancient Egypt is written in stone across the face of the country from the pyramids of Upper Egypt to the rock tombs in the Valley of the Kings to the Old Kingdom temples of Luxor and Karnak to the Ptolemaic temples of Edfu and Dendera and to the Roma...
"Temples, tombs and pyramids - all have witnessed this earth for thousands of years. What better than to say that these architectural achievements show us that Egypt's greatest virtue lay in its architecture" (Fumeaux:11, 1964)