CLASS NOTES: Caligula, Lighter Concrete, and the Underground Basilica (Roman Architecture)

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Notes on video lecture:

Caligula, Lighter Concrete, and the Underground Basilica

Roman Architecture

Diana Kleiner, Yale University

Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on March 6, 2014 (go to class or lectures)

Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:

pumice, preserved, small, private, Nero, despot, rubble, Pythagorean, Capri, Golden, tufa, faux, mystery, concrete, army

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Caligula

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emperor 12-41 AD

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was young, reigned for only three years

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he was unbalanced, became a

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mostly occupied with odd projects (e.g. fighting wars) instead of architecture, but he made some contributions

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like Tiberius, more interested in villas

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also finished buildings begun by Tiberius

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two new aqueducts and circus near Vatican city area

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main interest was villas outside Rome

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enjoyed finished villas e.g. on the island of

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Rome was ringed with the villas of Caligula and

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two main architectural contributions of Caligula

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1. altered the recipe for Roman construction by lightening it up

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instead of mixing it with stone , mixed it with a porous yellow tufa and

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led to lighter domes which were able to span greater spaces

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very significant

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the House of Nero would not have been possible without this change in the make up of concrete

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2. impace of mystery cults on Roman religion

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Rome had a state religion

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over time, especially because of their Eastern provinces, other religions came to Rome

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through the

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through commerce

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initially not accepted by Roman government

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Caligula became to show some interest these religions

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although they didn't become accepted during his reign

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they continued to meet in secret

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underground basilica

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used to celebrate the Neo- sect

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dates to the reign of Claudius, after Caligula, around AD 50

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it is miraculously , simply because it is underground

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very difficult to get permission to go down and see it

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construction

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cut trenches in the rock

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poured concrete into those trenches to create the walls

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once it had dried, they cut it out of the rock

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a structure but light and airy

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figures on vault indicate that it was made for the Neo-Pythagorean cult

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religious figures floating

Vocabulary:

cavort, v. to have lively or boisterous fun; romp ⇒ "Caligula became a despot and spent most of his time cavorting with this three sisters, Agrippina, Julia, and Drusilla."

tufa, n. the calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs ⇒ "Instead of mixing the concrete with stone rubble, they began to mix it with a porous yellow tufa and pumice."

pumice, n. [PUH-mis, not POO-mis] a light, porous, glassy lava, resembling cork, used in solid form as an abrasive and in powdered form as a polish and an abrasive ⇒ "Instead of mixing the concrete with stone rubble, they began to mix it with a porous yellow tufa and pumice."

calcareous, adj. [kal-KAIR-ee-us] resembling or containing calcium carbonate or limestone, chalky ⇒ "a calcareous deposit near a hot spring"

apse, n. in Romanesque and Byzantine cathedral and church architecture, a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end, where the altar is ⇒ "At the end, to give some emphasis to one short side of the space, an apse."