Architectural and Artistic Innovations of Rome and Byzantium

Roman Architecture

Religious Structures

Roman temples were often prostyle, featuring columns only on the front side. Many were pseudo-peripteral, with columns attached to the temple's perimeter. They typically had a single tier providing access to the pronaos, rising on a podium (base).

Civil Structures

• Basilicas: These were of great importance for the administration of justice and commerce. They typically featured three rectangular, lintel-covered naves.
• Baths (Thermae): Public baths were highly significant. They included meeting rooms, libraries, sports areas, and were often free. These complexes comprised various rooms.
• Theaters and Amphitheaters: Roman theaters gave less importance to the orchestra and chorus areas. They were semicircular, with the seating area called the cavea, divided into ima cavea (premium), media cavea (middle), and summa cavea (upper). An amphitheater consisted of two theaters joined together, primarily used for gladiatorial combat.
• Circuses: These were very long, rectangular buildings with bleachers on both sides, used for horse and chariot racing.
• Triumphal Arches: Often serving as city gateways, these structures were frequently built outside city walls. They could be rectangular or square.
• Aqueducts and Bridges: Essential for supplying water to cities.
• Houses (Domus): Typically single-story, they featured an atrium where busts of ancestors were often kept.
• Tombs (Graves): Structures or places where bodies were buried underground.

Byzantine Mosaics

Byzantine mosaics were extensively used to cover walls, vaults, and domes, enriching and embellishing church interiors. The techniques employed were inherited from the Romans, with a special preference for Opus Tesselatum, utilizing a rich color palette. The imagery depicted in these mosaics was primarily religious, emphasizing hieratic, symmetrical, and frontal representations of figures against shimmering gold backgrounds.

Byzantine Architecture: Evolution and Features

Byzantine architecture adapted the model of the late Roman and early Christian basilica. It retained some building elements such as the atrium, narthex, and wooden gable roofs. New elements were introduced, such as the galleries or matroneum, where women were typically located. Subsequently, Byzantine architecture increasingly differentiated itself from earlier eras. Its influence is evident in the use of large domes, which transcended traditional static forms to be conceived as dynamic organisms. This dynamism was achieved through the use of pendentives or squinches, as seen in the octagonal San Vitale in Ravenna or Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Elements like the arch, the barrel vault in longitudinal spaces, the groin vault in square spaces, and the column were derived from the Roman architectural tradition. The exteriors of Byzantine churches were characterized by great austerity, built of undecorated stone and brick. In contrast, the interiors were richly decorated, often covered with large, ornate tiles or mosaics.

Byzantine Sculpture

Byzantine sculpture departed from classical art models, notably in its neglect of the nude form. The primary examples of Byzantine sculpture are found in rich gold and enamel liturgical pieces, and especially in ivory reliefs, a material widely used in Byzantium. Significant ivory pieces include the 'imperial reliefs,' which combine the image of the emperor with Christ. These relief sculptures are characterized by figures arranged in a frontal attitude, lacking perspective or depth, and appearing rigid and hierarchical.