Roman Reaction Paper

If you look closely, the Romans in a way revolutionized Greek architecture to create a new style of their own. Compared to the Greek structures, their structures had very similar elements involved such as in the columns they built. Even though it is obvious that the Romans used the same columns as the Greek, the Romans went in a new direction and added the arches and domes. One thing we can definitely differentiate from the two eras is that Greek architecture mainly derived from the inspiration of religion and Gods while Roman architecture displayed newfound engineering skills and also, prestige. When I think about the Roman era, back in Junior school when we studied about the Romans in a basic level, I remember thinking about how the Romans had a large number of places to socialize in, such as in bathhouses, etcetera. I was right! You can spot the Roman architectural style mainly in the public dwellings they built, unlike the Greek, who made their structures which the main purpose was for the worship of their Gods, although even in the Roman period, religion still played its part.

I think the Roman era marked the start of a new direction for architecture. From the prehistoric up to the Greek period, we saw patterns of structures being built based on religion whereas in the Roman age, they started considering the public and the growing population even more and more. I guess you can say, the growing population became a problem and the solution to this problem created the new Roman architectural style. I also read somewhere that there was also a shift in materials used by the Romans. They started using a new building material- cast concrete, as it was cheaper and required less work to handle. I conclude by saying, although the origin of ideas did come from the Greek, the Romans created and improved these ideas to create structures that make an impact even on modern architecture today.