Comparing Ancient Greece And Ancient Rome

Greek and Roman history is often intertwined. Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome certainly weren't far apart geographically, and they weren't alien to each other at all. Together, they've had a great influence on the modern world. Because of this, these two civilizations are often confused with one another. The purpose of this essay is to examine two iconic buildings in each of these civilizations and see how each is unique. I will also point out to some differences and similarities between the two buildings and their respective civilizations.

During what's usually called the golden age of Athens, a politician named Pericles commissioned a new temple to Athena, goddess of wisdom and war--among other things--and patron of the city-state of Athens (Martin, 2013). The years that followed Persia's defeat by Athens were particularly prosperous economically and militarily. Because the Greeks were very
religious, they thought Athena had conferred upon them all the success and growth they'd enjoyed and so they decided to build this magnificent temple, the Parthenon, as a way of giving thanks (Martin, 2013). The building was unparalleled in Ancient Greece in terms of its beauty and ambition. The architects fused Doric and Ionic columns, and used mathematics in the design and architecture of the temple. Mathematics had always fascinated the Greeks and they always associated it with the divine, so they chose to show this in the Parthenon, which is governed by mathematical laws and proportions (Smarthistory, 2014).

One of the meanings of the word pantheon in lowercase is "a temple to all the gods" (Dictionary.com, n.d.). That was certainly the purpose of the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods of antiquity built in the 2nd century AD. It is located in modern-day Rome, the capital of Italy. The building consists of Corinthian columns and a large dome with an oculus in the middle (Smarthistory, 2013). Romans were religious and had a variety of gods and goddesses. In fact, most of these gods were associated with their counterparts in Greek religion. Romans simply had different names for them, so Zeus became Jupiter and Aphrodite Venus for them. The Pantheon was a temple dedicated to all of these gods and godesses.

The differences between the Parthenon and Pantheon are seen in the basic structure of the buildings: the Parthenon is mostly columns, while the Pantheon has a circular structure attached to it.
But I believe these buildings show more similarities than differences between the Greeks and Romans. It is obvious how religion seemed to have mattered to both cultures, and this is evident in the extravagant temples they built in honor of their gods. Both civilizations share a similar architectural style that's characterized by columns, although when inspected closely, those columns are slightly different in each civilization. Finally, both of these buildings are influential these days and many modern buildings aspire to the precision and elegance of the Parthenon and Pantheon. In conclusion, we can clearly see how closely related these two civilizations are. They share a lot in common, especially in art and architecture. Perhaps more importantly, both civilizations have shared a zealous following and admiration from artists and architects that extended up until modern
times.

References

Martin, T. R. (2013). Ancient Greece: from prehistoric to hellenistic times. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

pantheon. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved June 28, 2017 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pantheon

[Smarthistory]. (2014, January 25). Parthenon (Acropolis) [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDflkBZC6U

[Smarthistory]. (2013, July 14). The Pantheon [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaY8zqYfQI0