DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25500#0108
64
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
actors. The great wall at the back of the stage, 340 feet
long by 116 feet high, remains. The Odeion of Herodes
Atticus at Athens is also a fine example.
The amphitheatres are truly Roman buildings, re-
mains being found in every important settlement. They
are good exponents of the character and life of the Romans,
who had greater love for mortal combats between men and
beasts, between men and men, or between beasts alone, than
for the tame mimicry of the stage. Such combats were
considered to be a good training for a nation of warriors.
These buildings were also used for naval exhibitions, as
the drains for introducing the water for flooding the arena
still exist.
Note.—The Spanish bull ring to some degree gives us an
idea of the arrangement and uses of a Roman amphitheatre.
The most important example is the Flavian Amphi-
theatre at Rome, also called the Colosseum (No. 36).
The date of erection by Vespasian was a.d. 70.
By an examination of the model at the Crystal Palace,
a better idea can be obtained of the general distribution of
its parts than from any written description.
In plan it is a type of all the examples, consisting of a
vast ellipse 622 feet x 513 feet. The height of the original
fapade (the three lower storeys of arcades) is 120 feet;
including the later addition of the blank upper storey, it is
162 feet. The arena proper is 287 feet x 180 feet. The
seats, in solid stone, rise up on all sides from the oval arena ;
underneath them are corridors and staircases. The dens
for the wild beasts are immediately under the lowest tiers
of seats, and consequently opened on to the arena as at
Verona (No. 37).
The construction is strong and solid, and of an en-
gineering character. The supports have been calculated
at one-sixth of the whole area of the building. The system
is one of concrete vaults resting on concrete walls, two feet
three inches thick, faced with travertine stone four feet thick,
and having an internal lining of nine inches of brickwork,
making seven feet in total thickness. The details of the
exterior orders are roughly executed ; many of the plinth
moulds, etc., are only roughly worked to a 450 splay.
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
actors. The great wall at the back of the stage, 340 feet
long by 116 feet high, remains. The Odeion of Herodes
Atticus at Athens is also a fine example.
The amphitheatres are truly Roman buildings, re-
mains being found in every important settlement. They
are good exponents of the character and life of the Romans,
who had greater love for mortal combats between men and
beasts, between men and men, or between beasts alone, than
for the tame mimicry of the stage. Such combats were
considered to be a good training for a nation of warriors.
These buildings were also used for naval exhibitions, as
the drains for introducing the water for flooding the arena
still exist.
Note.—The Spanish bull ring to some degree gives us an
idea of the arrangement and uses of a Roman amphitheatre.
The most important example is the Flavian Amphi-
theatre at Rome, also called the Colosseum (No. 36).
The date of erection by Vespasian was a.d. 70.
By an examination of the model at the Crystal Palace,
a better idea can be obtained of the general distribution of
its parts than from any written description.
In plan it is a type of all the examples, consisting of a
vast ellipse 622 feet x 513 feet. The height of the original
fapade (the three lower storeys of arcades) is 120 feet;
including the later addition of the blank upper storey, it is
162 feet. The arena proper is 287 feet x 180 feet. The
seats, in solid stone, rise up on all sides from the oval arena ;
underneath them are corridors and staircases. The dens
for the wild beasts are immediately under the lowest tiers
of seats, and consequently opened on to the arena as at
Verona (No. 37).
The construction is strong and solid, and of an en-
gineering character. The supports have been calculated
at one-sixth of the whole area of the building. The system
is one of concrete vaults resting on concrete walls, two feet
three inches thick, faced with travertine stone four feet thick,
and having an internal lining of nine inches of brickwork,
making seven feet in total thickness. The details of the
exterior orders are roughly executed ; many of the plinth
moulds, etc., are only roughly worked to a 450 splay.