Famous buildings and buildings of antiquity. Ancient world

It is generally accepted that the Ancient World is a collection of civilizations that existed on earth from prehistoric times to the beginning of the Middle Ages. The framework is very conditional - for the countries of the East they are different , for America - their own (the beginning of colonization of the continent by Europeans).

A wonderful heritage

In this time interval there were several civilizations with their own culture. Until now, the famous buildings and buildings of antiquity have been preserved. They are not so few, but the brightest objects of the heritage of the past are such as "City in Heaven" or Machu Picchu in Peru, the temple of Jupiter Baalbek in Lebanon, the famous Egyptian pyramids of Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The list of antiquities includes the aqueducts of the Roman Empire, appeared in the first century AD glazed windows of Alexandria, the remains of Greek churches, the Dzhervan aqueduct in Iraq, concrete domes of Roman churches.

Civilizations close to us

On each continent, there are necessarily ancient objects. But for the inhabitants of Europe (in the geographical sense of the word), the Ancient World is associated primarily with Greece and Rome, with the Egyptian Cleopatra, since she was loved by both Julius Caesar and Antony. In addition, they and other ancient Roman emperors dreamed of enslaving Egypt. Russian literature and art up to the beginning of the 20th century are connected with the myths of Greece and Rome. And the Mediterranean civilizations are considered the cradle of humanity. Therefore, to consider more famous buildings and buildings of antiquity need to start with Greece and Rome.

Acropolis - the pearl of world architecture

In Greece, a lot of monuments still prehistoric times, and the ruins of ancient Greek palaces and places of worship dotted the whole country. It is rather difficult to read them, but there are objects that are considered symbols of the Ancient World. The most important of these is the Acropolis, located in the continental part of the country in the city of Athens. It is a kind of fortress standing on a hill, whose height reaches 156 meters in height, it is 300 m wide and 170 in length. It is a well-fortified upper city towering over an unprotected lower one. The Acropolis was the place where the houses of gods, patrons of this city were located, in which the inhabitants could hide during the war. The majestic Athenian Acropolis is a World Heritage site. His story is well studied.

Parthenon - the dominant of the Acropolis

It should be noted that sculptures and statues from this Acropolis are in many museums around the world. There are 21 objects in it, the most significant of them is the Parthenon - a visiting card not only of Greece, but of the whole ancient world.

Included in the list of "The Greatest Temples of the World", it was built on the foundation of an older temple in the 5th century BC by architect Kallikrat and Iktin. He dominates the whole terrain. This is an ideal, harmonious structure with richly unique features. But about every smallest detail of it, dozens of books have been written. The only thing that can be noted is that it is surrounded by columns around the perimeter (this form is called the peripter). This is what makes the temple irresistibly beautiful.

Athens - the treasury of ancient architecture

Other structures of Ancient Greece on the territory of the sacred center of ancient Athens, the Acropolis are represented by such temples as the Erechtheion, dedicated to the legendary Athenian king Erechtei, Areopagus (authority), the temple of Athena-Niki. On the territory of the entire capital there are ruins and many other temples, since the whole of Greece is a museum of ancient culture under the open sky. These are the temples of Zeus the Olympian, Nicky Aptera, Hephaestus, the temple of Apollo in Delphi, Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Hera on the Peloponnese Peninsula, Demeter in Eleusis. These are the most famous buildings and buildings of antiquity, created in Greece.

Priority of religious buildings

In a later period, one of the first meteorological structures was built in Athens - the Tower of the Winds 12 meters high, with a base diameter of 8 meters. The parameters of these ancient museums are perfect, they lie at the base of all architecture and are studied by all the architects of the world.

Of all the above objects of antiquity, only the Areopag is an administrative building, all the rest are religious buildings. The largest sanctuary is Olympia, which is located on the peninsula of the Peloponnese. In her reigned the cult of Zeus.

The main business card of Rome

The Great Roman Empire is the oldest civilization of the Mediterranean, originating from Ancient Greece. According to legend, the direct descendants of Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War, the brothers Rem and Romulus, fed by a wolf, founded Rome and the greatest empire that gave the world a great culture.

The buildings of ancient Rome in this article are represented by the 10 greatest architectural examples that many inhabitants of the Earth are familiar with, even those far from learning. Who does not know the Colosseum - the main symbol of Rome? The half-ruined outer three-tiered wall surrounds the oval arena. In ancient times, the total number of arches on the wall is 240, 80 of them are in the lower tier. In the arches of the first and second floors there were sculptures - works of the best masters of Rome.

The most striking and characteristic

Appieva road is also familiar to many, because of the sad death of Spartacus' associates, chained alive to the pillars located along it, they know from the school bench. And the final footage of the cult American film was touched by film-lovers of many countries of the world.

Famous buildings and buildings of antiquity, located in the ancient capital, worthily represent the Roman Forum, which already during the reign of Tarquikia the Proud became the center of political, cultural and religious life of the Roman Empire. Here are the temples of Vesta, Vespasian and Saturn. Each of them is associated with tragic or happy pages of ancient history. By the beginning of the 2nd century of our era, the beautifully preserved Trajan's column belongs. 185 steps located inside, go to the observation deck, located at the 38th height. Sculptor Apollodorus Damascus erected it in 114 year. It symbolizes victory over the Dacians.

Next on the list

The Roman Pantheon is a unique temple of all gods. Built in 126 AD, it rises above the Piazza della Rotonda.

As the famous buildings and buildings of antiquity looked, you can find out by looking at the marble Triumphal Arch of Titus. This is the oldest building in 81 in honor of the capture of Jerusalem. The arch rises above Via Sacra. One-span, it has a height of 15.4 meters, the width reaches 13.5 meters, the depth of the flight is about 5 meters, its width is 5.33 meters. Any chariot could enter such a gate, including a quadriga. There are preserved bas-reliefs, which captured Titus with trophies. The Jewish temple was destroyed to the ground, and the winners received his main shrine - a minor. All this can be seen on the bas-relief.

Famous Roman baths and unique temples

The terms of Caracalla continue the list of masterpieces of ancient Roman architecture. Where did this name come from? Caracalla - the nickname of Marcus Aurelius, who lived in the III century AD. Ancient Roman baths are a special world where the elite of the society amused themselves, played sports, conducted intellectual disputes, concluded treaties. Entourage corresponded: the walls and the fonts themselves were made from the best varieties of marble, everywhere there were sculptures, including the statue of Apollo Belvedere.

The seventh line in the list of "Architectural buildings of Ancient Rome" is a composition of two temples of different configurations - rectangular and round. These temples are erected in honor of Portuna (the patron of ports) and Hercules. They are located on the left bank of the Tiber, in the very place where ships previously docked.

Mausoleum and catacombs

Under the eighth number is the Field of Mars - the left-bank part of Rome. Behind him is the Mausoleum of Adrian - an architectural monument-tomb for the imperial family. On a square with a side equal to 84 meters, the pedestal is equipped with a cylinder with a diameter of 64 meters, crowned with a statue of the emperor in the image of the sun god governing the quadriga (a team of 4 horses). By appointment, this huge structure was not used, it became a strategic object.

The last in the list of the most important architectural masterpieces of the Roman Empire are the famous Catacombs. This network of buildings (total of 60), connected to each other and provided for burial (about 750 000 burials), a total length of 170 km. Most of them stretch along the Appian road.

Masterpieces of the East

Great architectural structures of the world adequately replenish another grand monument. This is the Great Wall of China, the length of which from edge to edge is 21,196 kilometers. Erected one fifth (exactly one million) of the country's population in the III century BC, it clearly recorded the borders of the state and made China impregnable. It is a unique monument of antiquity. And the pagodas and Buddhist monasteries of India? These are also monuments of the ancient past.

The first Russian pearls of architecture

All of the above, like the buildings of Ancient Rus, belongs to the great world heritage. Only our civilization in comparison with others is young. The most ancient in our country is the architecture of Novgorod, Pskov and Kiev, in which from 989 to 996 they built the Tithe Church, destroyed by Batu.

The next most ancient architectural monument of Kievan Rus is the Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov, well preserved and now, then the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. At the heart of the first cross-domed structures always lay a cross, and the temple was crowned with a dome. Such churches are the main type of ancient religious buildings of Russia.

Byzantine masters and their offspring

The first stone temples were built by the craftsmen invited from Byzantium. Russian religious buildings did not repeat blind Byzantine architecture. Our churches have a bright personality. Yaroslav the Wise actively and with great scope began to build. He, concerned that a huge country had just adopted a new religion, wanted to approve it with a grand construction of temples. The largest, having no analogues at that time anywhere, even in Byzantium, was the five-nave 13-cup St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, founded in 1017.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy

It was followed by the Sophia cathedrals of Novgorod (1045-1050) and Polotsk (1060). They were also considered 5-naves, although most Russian churches are 3-nave. The dome was supported by internal pillars - hence the names: 4-, 6-, and even 8-pillars.

Specially invited Greeks was in 1073-1079 built the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This temple, called the "Great Church", became a model for the construction of Orthodox buildings throughout the country. Such iconic buildings as Vydubetsky Monastery in Kiev (1070-1081), Spas-on-Bereste (1113-1125), refer to a new type of cathedrals, since they all had an extension (nartesk) with a staircase. At the most ancient temples the vestibule was not at all.

Since the building boom, deployed by Yaroslav the Wise, all the Grand Dukes were engaged in active urban development. In addition to architectural monuments, descendants left masterpieces of applied art and literature. "The Tale of Bygone Years" was first mentioned in 852.