CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS: GREECE AND ROME
WHAT I LEARNED:
Before studying this period, I mostly connected Greece and Rome with famous ruins and statues. After going through these presentations, I learned that their influence goes much further than that. Their architecture, interiors, furniture, artwork, and engineering created ideas that designers still use today.
Greek civilizations helped develop many important Western ideas, including democracy, philosophy, science, medicine, and the value of the individual. Greece's geography also influenced its development. Mountains separated communities, while the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Ionian Seas encouraged travel and trade. This helped different communities develop independently and compete with one another. The Greeks also had access to marble, which became an important material in their architecture.
What stood out to me the most about Greek architecture was its focus on balance and visual perfection. The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders created organized systems for designing columns and entablatures. However, Greek buildings were not as perfectly straight as they might appear. Architects made small adjustments to improve how buildings looked from a distance. Columns could lean slightly inward, shafts were tapered, corner columns were made heavier, and the spacing between columns could change. These details show how carefully the Greeks thought about proportion and the relationship between each part and the whole of the building.
Greek design also included detailed interiors and furniture. Wealthier interiors could have plastered and painted walls, mosaics, coffered ceilings, and frescoes. Wall paintings sometimes used trompe l'oeil techniques to create the illusion of depth. Greek furniture included stools, thrones, couches, small tables, and the klismos chair, especially interesting because its curved back and legs still look surprisingly modern.
Rome borrowed many ideas from Greece but developed them in new ways. The Romans used Greek columns and post-and-lintel construction, but they also expanded the use of concrete, arches, and barrel more complex public structures. Roman buildings served religion, government, commerce, entertainment, and the celebration of military victories.
The Colosseum and Pantheon show two different sides of Roman architecture. The Colosseum used repeated arches and vaults to support a large arena that could hold thousands of people. Its overall form influenced later sports stadiums. The Pantheon created a completely different experience through its large concrete dome and central oculus. The opening brings natural light into the interior and makes it feel like part of the architecture.
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES:
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| The Pantheon’s dome and oculus created a monumental interior where structure, geometry, and natural light work together. CURRENT APPLICATIONS: Classical design still appears throughout modern architecture and interior design. Columns and pediments are commonly used on homes, government buildings, universities, and other institutions because they communicate order and importance. Domes continue to create large central spaces, although designers can now construct them with materials such as steel and glass. Classical influence also appears at a smaller scale. Designers still use the Greek Key motif in wallpaper, rugs, furniture, and decorative objects. Modern versions of the Klismos chair maintain the recognizable curved back and legs of ancient design. Stadiums also continue the Roman idea of arranging large numbers of spectators around a central arena. Although modern buildings use different materials and technology, many of their organizing ideas can be traced back to Greece and Rome.  The Greek key continues to appear in contemporary interiors, textiles, furniture, and decorative objects.  Classical columns and pediments remain common in residential and institutional architecture.  Present-day Cycladic design continues the use of simple forms, white surfaces, blue accents, and a strong connection to the Mediterranean setting.   ONE STEP FURTHER: VITRUVIUS The person I chose to research further was Vitruvius because I am studying architecture, and his ideas still connect to the way architects think today. Vitruvius was a Roman architect, civil engineer, military engineer, and author who lived during the first century BCE. He wrote De Architectura, also known as the Ten Books on Architecture. His writing discussed architecture, construction materials, temples, houses, water systems, machines, and other forms of engineering. His best-known belief was that a successful building should have firmness, utility, and beauty. Firmness refers to structural strength and durability. Utility means that the spaces should function properly for the people using them. Beauty concerns proportion, appearance, and the experience created by the design. The University of Chicago Library explains these three qualities as physical strength, functional organization, and visual beauty. I like this principle because it remains useful even though Vitruvius wrote it thousands of years ago. A building can look interesting, but that does not automatically make it successful. It must also stand safely and support its purpose. This connects to what I am learning in architecture because design requires architects to consider structure, function, and appearance together. Vitruvius also wrote about health and building systems. For example, he warned against carrying drinking water through lead pipes and recommended clay pipes or masonry channels. This surprised me because it shows that he considered how design and construction could affect people's health, not only how the structure looked. The Maison Carrée in Nimes is a useful example of the Roman temple principles described by Vitruvius. Its elevated podium, deep entrance porch, Corinthian columns, entablature, and pediment create a clear architectural sequence. It is important to understand that the Maison Carrée is not a confirmed building designed by Vitruvius. Instead, it demonstrates the type of Roman architecture discussed in his writing. UNESCO identifies it as a first-century Roman Corinthian-style temple. Vitruvius's greatest surviving work is his writing. Illustrated editions of De Architectura helped preserve and communicate his architectural ideas to later generations. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an illustrated 1521 edition containing woodcut diagrams. His work shows that architectural knowledge can influence the future through writing and documentation as well as through completed buildings.  Vitruvius was an architect, engineer, and author whose ideas connected structure, function, beauty, and human health.  Illustrated editions of De Architectura helped later designers understand Vitruvius’s architectural and engineering ideas.   The deep portico uses Corinthian columns, an entablature, and a pediment to emphasize the entrance.  The Maison Carrée also shows how Classical proportion and architectural details continue into the interior. CLOSING REFLECTION: After studying classical Greece and Rome, I understand why these civilizations remain important to architecture and interior design. The Greeks focused on visual balance, proportion, and the relationship between individual details and the whole design. The Romans learned from those ideas and expanded them through concrete, arches, vaults, domes, and large public buildings. What surprised me most was how many classical ideas still appear around us. Columns, stadiums, domes, furniture forms, decorative patterns, and even the use of natural light continue to influence design. As an architecture student, I found this period interesting because it showed me that many decisions architects make today are connected to ideas developed thousands years ago. SOURCES: Judson University INT 231. (2026). Classical Civilizations: Greece Judson University INT 231. (2026). Classical Civilizations: Rome The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Di Lucio Vitruvio Pollione De architectura Libri Dece. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/367690 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (n.d.). The Maison Carrée of Nîmes. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1569/ University of Chicago Library. (n.d.). Firmness, commodity, and delight. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/firmness-commodity-and-delight/ |
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