Roman Culture

At it's peak the Roman Empire spanned from Lowland Scotland to Morocco to the Euphrates.

Life in ancient Rome revolved around the seven hills of the city of Rome and it's monumental structures, including Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum), Forum of Trajan, and the Pantheon. The city also had several theaters, gymnasiums, taverns, baths, and brothels. Throughout the territory under ancient Rome's control, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to country villas, and in the capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on theelegant Palatine Hill. The vast majority of the population lived in the city center, packed into insulae (apartment blocks).

Clothing:In ancient Rome the way you dressed distinguished your class from other classes. The tunic worn by plebeians like shepherds and slaves was made from coarse and dark material, whereas the tunic worn by patricians was of linen or white wool. A magistrate would wear the tunica angusticlavi; senators wore tunics with purple stripes, called tunica laticlavi. Military tunics were shorter than the ones worn by civilians. The different types of togas had names. Boys, up until the festival of Liberalia, wore the toga praetexta, which was a toga with a crimson or purple border, also worn by magistrates in office. The toga virilis, (or toga pura) or man's toga was worn by men over the age of 16 to signify their citizenship in Rome. The toga picta was worn by triumphant generals and had embroidery of their skill on the battlefield. The toga pulla was worn when in mourning. Even footwear indicated a person’s social status. Patricians wore red and orange sandals, senators had brown footwear, consuls had white shoes, and soldiers wore heavy boots. Women wore closed shoes of colors such as white, yellow, or green. The bulla was a locket-like amulet worn by children. When about to marry, the woman would donate her bulla to the household gods, along with her toys, to signify maturity and womanhood. Men typically wore a toga, and women a stola. The woman's stola was a dress worn over a tunic, and was usually brightly colored. A fibula (or brooch) would be used as ornamentation or to hold the stola in place. A palla, or shawl, was often worn with the stola.

Dining:

Breakfast was called ientaculum, lunch was prandium, and dinner was called cena. A

ppetizers were called gustatio, and dessert was called second mensa usually a nap or rest followed this. The family ate together, usually sitting on stools around a table. Fingers were used to eat and spoons were used for soup. Wine was a must, it was consumed with every meal and by every class, it was cheap and usually watered down. Many kinds of drinks involving grapes and honey were included. Drinking non watered down wine on an empty stomach was a sure sign of alcoholism. Women and children ate separately from dinner parties were lavish foo

ds, dancers, and wines were the main part.

Education:

Education started at the age of 6 and children were expected to learn reading, writing, and counting within the next 6 - 7 years. By the age of 12 they would be learning Latin, Greek, grammar, and literature followed by truing for public speaking. Oratory was an art to be practiced and learnt, good orators commanded resect. To

become a good orator was the object of education. The poor could not afford education. Gifted slaves were utilized for imparting knowledge.

In the initial stages, the ancient Roman architecture reflected elements of architectural styles of the Etruscans and the Greeks. Over a period of time, the style was modified in tune with their urban requirements, and the civil engineering and building construction technology became developed and refined. The Roman concrete has remained a riddle, and even after more

than two thousand years some of ancient Roman structures still stand magnificently, like the Pantheon located in the business district of today’s Rome. The architect

ural style of the capital city of ancient Rome was emulated by other urban centers under Roman control

and influence. Roman cities were well planned, efficiently managed and neatly maintained. Palaces, private dwellings and villas, were elaborately designed and town planning was

comprehensive with provisions for different activities by the urban resident population, and for countless migratory population of travelers, traders and visitors passing through their cities. In the initial stages, the ancient Roman architecture reflected elements of architectural styles of the Etruscans and the Greeks.

Death Mask

A death mask is a wax, plaster, or clay mask made out of a dead person face. They are mementos of the dead. They are made before the deceased is buried. Death mask are displayed at their funeral. Death mask were used to record features of an unknown corse for later identification. Death masks became obsolete when photographs entered the world. In some countries death masks are a tradition.

This is a Roman Death mask, you can tell it is a death mask when the face looks obscured.

Greek Art

Archaic; 800 - 500 b.c.

During this time sculptures were put on pedestals marking graves, or lining the way to main temple. The typical statue is of a an or woman in a stiff pose, male statues are called kouroi meaning young men andd usually representing an athlete, gods, or warriors. Female statues are called korai and depict clothed priestess, goddesses, or nymphs. They always have a thin lipped smile, echoing the prosperity and peacefulness of the time.

This pottery image of a man wresteling a lion is my favorite from this time period because it's such an akward pose and so unrealistic. It's clearly a warrior and his face doesn't really portray any emotion while the lions face is kind of like the lion knows he's beat. I also like how the pot only has two colors.

Classical; 500 - 323 b.c.

At this time greece reaches the height of economic success and cultural and artistic splendor. Its expansionist foreign policy triggers revolts throughout the Hellenic world and rivalry with Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Syracuse leads to tons of fighting and blood. The dreamy Archaic smile is gone, replaced with a solemn expression. The art of this time is characterized by a joyous freedom of movement and expression. They replace the stiffness of the past sculptures with a free flowing form more life like. The most significant change is the counterbalance. One foot comes forward so that one leg is relaxed and the other bears the weight of the body. In sculptures depicting violent scenes their is no expression however their enemies have dramatic expressions. Ancient Greeks believed that suppression of emotions is a noble thing, public display of emotion is barbarism. This is the period that so greatly influenced the ascendents of the Renaissance, it is considered the golden age for art, literature, philosophy, and politics.

This is my favorite Greek art from this time period because it is exactly how all this time periods art is, one leg forward, no expression on her face, and she's looking for someone or scanning the horizon, maybe even searching for an enemy. I like how you can create a story for this sculpture just by looking at it.

Hellenistic; 3rd - 1st century

This is a time of prosperity that encourages the production of art of a more seculare nature. A new kind of art emerges. Instead of depicting logic, surpressed emotion, and perfect beauty the artist create reality. Artist work with dramatic poses, emotions, sweeping lines, and high contrasts of light and shadow. Arist explore their subjects from a different point of view.

This is my favorite Greek sculpture from this time because it's realistic, he has bandages on his knuckles signifying he just got into a fight. After a fight you'd most likely sit down to chill out and probably think about it, which is what he looks like he's doing. I like how this could be a real person.

My favorite Greek God would have to be Athena because she is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, strength, arts, justice, strategy, skill, and civilization. Athena has a twin brother named Ares the god of violence, opposite of Athena. The city of Athens was named after Athena.
For my pot I plan on doing a scene where Herakles kills the son of Ares. The battle is witnessed by Athena, Ares, and Zues, besides Ares is the mother of his son, a man is holding up his hand to prevent Ares from interfering.

Graffiti & Cave Paintings

Graffiti and cave paintings are similar because they both have a message the artist was trying to get across. Graffiti can be words or distorted images. Cave paintings are usually images meaning something or telling a story. This cave painting tells of a Native American tribe fighting men with guns, who are most likely the European imagrants trying to take over the land and enslave the Native Americans. Cave paintings have a deep meaning and when a person looks at them they can almost always assume what the painting means. Were as when you look at graffiti images you are often left wondering what does that mean? Graffiti images are made up of local gangs tagging buildings, teens writing their names, or that of a mate. On the outskirts of Watertown there's a rock formation called Rattle Snake Mountain where teenagers scurry the mountain and spray paint 'Sean & Susan 4ever' for example. Graffiti like that is especially rememerable because it's there until Susan grows old and she can always drive by the mountain remembering when Sean was alive and all the fun they had.