An amphitheatre is a circular or ovular arena surrounded by tiers of seats designed for various shows. The seats were tiered either by utilising a natural slope, or constructed. The first known amphitheatres date from the first century BC, and become common throughout the Roman Empire especially in the Latin west. Research Amphitheatre
In sculpture, a colossus is a statue of enormous magnitude. The Asiatics, the Egyptians, and in particular the Greeks, have excelled in these works. The most celebrated Egyptian colossus was the vocal statue of Memnon in the plain of Thebes, supposed to be identical with the most northerly of two existing colossi (60 feet high) on the west bank of the Nile.
Among the colossi of Greece the most celebrated was the Colossus of Rhodes, a brass statue of Apollo 70 cubits high, esteemed one of the wonders of the world, erected at the port of Rhodes by Chares, 290 or 288 BC. It was knocked down by an earthquake about 224 BC. The statue was in ruins for nearly nine centuries, when the Saracens, taking Rhodes, sold the metal, weighing 720,900 lbs, to a Jew, about 653. There is no authority for the popularly-received statement that it bestrode the harbour mouth, and that the Rhodian vessels could pass under its legs.
Among the colossi of Phidias were the Olympian Zeus and the Athena of the Parthenon; the former 60 feet high and the latter 40 feet.
The most famous of the Roman colossi were the Jupiter of the Capitol, the Apollo of the Palatine Library, and the statue of Nero, 110 or 120 feet high, and from which the contiguous amphitheatre derived its name of Colosseum.
Among modern works of this nature is the colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, at Arona, in the Milanese territory, 60 feet in height; the 'Bavaria' at Munich, 65 feet high; the statue of Hermann or Arminius near Detmold, erected in 1875, 90 feet in height to the point of the upraised sword, which itself is 24 feet in length; the height of the figure to the point of the helmet being 55 feet;
the statue of Germania, erected in 1883 near Rudesheim, a figure 34 feet high, placed on an elaborately-sculptured pedestal over 81 feet high; and Bartholdi's statue of Liberty presented to the United States by the French nation, and which measures 104 feet or to the extremity of the torch in the hand of the figure 138 feet. It is erected at New York harbour on a pedestal 114 feet, is constructed for a lighthouse with what was at one time was one of the most powerful fixed lights in the world, and stands 317 feet above mean tide. Research Colossus
Herod (Herod the Great) was King of the Jews. He was born in about 74 BC at Ascalon, in Judea. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumean, who, being made procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar, appointed Herod to the government of Galilee. He at first embraced the party of Brutus and Cassius, but after their death reconciled himself to Antony, by whose interest he was first named Tetrarch, and afterwards king of Judea. After the battle of Actium he successfully paid court to Augustus, who confirmed him in his kingdom.
On all occasions his abilities as a politician and commander were conspicuous; but his passions were fierce and ungovernable, and his wife Mariamne, her brother, grandfather, and mother, and his own sons by her, were all put to death by him. He rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem with great magnificence, and erected a stately theatre and amphitheatre in that city. He also rebuilt Samaria, which he called Sebaste, and constructed many strong fortresses throughout Judea, the principal termed Caesarea, after the emperor.
The birth of Jesus Christ is said to have taken place in the last year of the reign of Herod, about 4 BC, the year was also signaled by the massacre of the children of Bethlehem. Herod's policy and influence gave a great temporary splendour to the Jewish nation, but he was also the first to shake the foundation of the Jewish government, by dissolving the national council, and appointing the high-priests and removing them at pleasure, without regard to the laws of succession. Research Herod
The Battle of Malvern Hill was a battle of the American Civil War, and the last of the 'Seven Days' battles. It occurred on July the 1st, 1862, and by which McClellan completed his change of base to the James River.
After the battle of Fraser's Farm, McClellan had retreated with his 85,000 Federal troops to Malvern Hill, a strong position on an elevated plateau shaped like an amphitheatre. His lines were securely posted behind fences, ditches and hedges, their batteries and infantry commanding the slope which the Confederates must ascend to attack them. Robert E Lee ordered an attack, which was meant to be made simultaneously by all parts of his line at a given signal, the 'Confederate yell'. But his lieutenants were so separated that the signal could not be heard, and the attacks were therefore feeble and disorganized. D H Hill and Magruder bore the brunt of the fight. Time after time they charged the impregnable Federal position, but in vain. They were always driven back with fearful slaughter. The battle lasted until nightfall. During the night McClellan retired under cover of a violent storm. Research Battle of Malvern Hill
Bull-fighting is a barbaric and cruel diversion, a favourite of the Spaniards. They are usually held in an amphitheatre having circular seats rising one above another, and are attended by vast crowds who eagerly pay for admission. The combatants, who make bullfighting their profession, march into the arena in procession. They are of various kinds - the picadores, combatants on horseback, in the old Spanish knightly garb; the chulos or banderilleros, combatants on foot, in gay dresses, with coloured cloaks or banners; and lastly, the matador (the killer).
As soon as the signal is given the unfortunate bull is let into the arena. The picadores, who have stationed themselves near him, commence the attack with their lances, and the bull is thus goaded to fury and fear. Sometimes a horse is wounded or killed, and the rider is obliged to run for his life. The chulos assist the horsemen by drawing the attention of the bull with their cloaks; and in case of danger they save themselves by leaping over the wooden fence which surrounds the arena. The banderilleros then come into play. They try to fasten on the bull their banderillas - barbed darts ornamented with coloured paper, and often having squibs or crackers attached. These barbed darts weaken the bull's neckmuscles making him less dangerous, and cause him to bleed, also weakening the now terrified beast. If they succeed, the squibs are discharged, and the bull races madly about the arena in terror. The matador or espada now comes in arrogantly with a naked sword, and a red flag to decoy the bull with, and aims a fatal blow at the animal, stabbing him behind the head and cutting the spine. The slaughtered bull is dragged away, and another unfortunate beast is let out from the stall. Several bulls are so cruelly disposed of in a single day for the pleasure of the cruel and senseless crowd. Research Bull-Fighting
Games is a name of certain sports or amusements carried on under regular rules and methods, as with cards or dice, billiards, tennis, etc. Among the ancients there were public games or sports, exhibited on solemn occasions, in which various kinds of contests were introduced. The Grecian games were national festivals attended by spectators and competitors from all parts of Greece, the chief being the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian. They consisted of chariot races, running, wrestling, and boxingmatches, etc, and to be victorious in one of these contests was esteemed one of the highest honours of a Greek citizen. The Roman games (ludi) were held chiefly at the festivals of the gods. They might, however, be exhibited by private persons to please the people, as the combats of gladiators, theatrical representations, combats of wild beasts in the amphitheatre, etc. Research Games
St Albans (recorded in the Domesday Book as Villa Sancti Albani) is a city in Hertfordshire, England. It's cathedral was built in 1077 and commemorates St Alban. St Albans was the first Roman city in England. It was in the Roman amphitheatre here that St Alban was martyred in the 3rd century, and the city was named after him.
An Amphitheatre was an ancient Roman edifice of an oval form without a roof, having a central area (called the arena) encompassed with rows of seats, rising higher as they receded from the centre, on which people used to sit to view the combats of gladiators and of wild beasts, and other sports. The Colosseum at Rome is the largest of all the ancient amphitheatres, being capable of containing from 50,000 to 80,000 persons. That at Verona is one of the best examples remaining. Its dimensions are 502 feet by 401, and 98 feet high. The name means 'both-ways theatre,' or 'theatre all round,' the theatre forming only a semicircular edifice. Research Amphitheatre
Architecture is the art or science of designing and building structures (houses, bridges etc) for human use. The term is particularly applied to the design and construction of large structures for human use which incorporate both practicality, and aesthetics.
The Egyptians are the most ancient nation known to us among whom architecture had attained the character of a fine art. Other ancient peoples among whom it had made great progress were the Babylonians, whose most celebrated buildings were temples, palaces, and hanging-gardens; the Assyrians, whose capital, Nineveh, was rich in splendid buildings; the Phoenicians, whose cities, Sidon, Tyre, etc, were adorned with equal magnificence; and the Israelites, whose temple was a wonder of architecture. But comparatively few architectural monuments of these latter nations have remained until our day.
This is not the case with the architecture of Egypt, however, of which we possess ample remains in the shape of pyramids, temples, sepulchres, obelisks, etc. Egyptian chronology is far from certain, but the greatest of the architectural monuments of the country, the pyramids of Ghizeh, are at least as old as 2800 or 2700 BC. The Egyptian temples had walls of great thickness and sloping on the outside from bottom to top; the roofs were flat, and composed of blocks of stone reaching from one wall or column to another. The columns were numerous, close, and very stout, generally without bases, and exhibiting great variety in the designs of their capitals. The principle of the arch though known was not employed for architectural purposes. Statues of enormous size, sphinxes carved in stone, and on the walls sculptures incut-line of deities and animals, with innumerable hieroglyphics, are the decorative objects which belong to this style.
The earliest architectural remains of Greece are of unknown antiquity, and consist of massive walls built of huge blocks of stone. In historic times the Greeks developed an architecture of noble simplicity and dignity. This style is of modern origin compared with that of Egypt, and the earliest remains give indications that it was in part derived from the Egyptian. It is considered to have attained its greatest perfection in the age of Pericles, or about 460-430 BC. The great masters of this period were Phidias, Ictinus, Gallicrates, etc. All the extant buildings are more or less in ruins. The style is characterized by beauty, harmony, and simplicity in the highest degree. Distinctive of it are what are called the orders of architecture, by which term are understood certain modes of proportioning and decorating the column and its superimposed entablature. The Greeks had three orders, called respectively the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
Greek buildings were abundantly adorned with sculptures, and painting was extensively used, the details of the structures being enriched by different colours or tints. Lowness of roofs and the absence of arches were distinctive features of Greek architecture, in which, as in that of Egypt, horizontality of line is another characteristic mark. The most remarkable public edifices of the Greeks were temples, of which the most famous is the Parthenon at Athens. Others exist in various parts of Greece as well as in Sicily, Southern Italy, Asia Minor, etc, where important Greek communities were early settled. Their theatres were semicircular on one side and square on the other, the semicircular part being usually excavated in the side of some convenient hill. This part, the auditorium, was filled with concentric seats, and might be capable of containing 20,000 spectators. A number exist in Greece, Sicily, and Asia Minor, and elsewhere. No remains of private houses exist in Greece, Sicily, and Asia Minor, and elsewhere. No remains of private houses are known to exist. By the end of the Peloponnesian War, about 400 BC. the best period of Greek architecture was over; a noble simplicity had given place to excess of ornament. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 the decline was still more marked.
Among the Romans there was no original development of architecture as among the Greeks, though they early took the foremost place in the construction of such works as aqueducts and sewers, the arch being in early and extensive use among this people. As a fine art, however, Roman architecture had its origin in copies of the Greek models, all the Grecian orders being introduced into Rome, and variously modified. Their number, moreover, was augmented by the addition of two new orders: the Tuscan and the Composite. The Romans became acquainted with the architecture of the Greeks soon after 200 BC, but it was not until about two centuries later that the architecture of Rome attained (under Augustus) its greatest perfection.
Among the great works now erected were temples, aqueducts, amphitheatres, magnificentvillas, triumphal arches, monumental pillars, etc. The amphitheatre differed from the theatre in being a completely circular or rather elliptical building, filled on all sides with ascending seats for spectators and leaving only the central space, called the arena, for the combatants and public shows. The Coliseum is a stupendous structure of this kind. The thermae, or baths, were vast structures in which multitudes of people could bathe at once. Magnificent tombs were often built by the wealthy. Remains of private residences are numerous, and the excavations at Pompeii in particular have thrown great light on the internal arrangements of the Roman dwelling-house. Almost all the successors of Augustus embellished Rome more or less, erected splendid palaces and temples, and adorned, like Hadrian, even the conquered countries with them. But after the period of Hadrian (117-138 AD) Roman architecture is considered to have been on the decline. The refined and noble style of the Greeks was neglected, and there was an attempt to embellish the beautiful more and more. This decline was all the more rapid latterly from the disturbed state of the empire and the incursions of the barbarians.
In Constantinople (Istanbul), after its virtual separation from the Western Empire, arose a style of art and architecture which was practised by the Greek Church during the whole of the middle ages. This is called the Byzantine style. The church of St Sophia at Istanbul, built by Justinian (reigned
527-565), offers the most typical specimen of the style, of which the fundamental principle was an application of the Roman arch, the dome being the most striking feature of the building. In the most typical examples the dome or cupola rests on four pendentives. After the dismemberment of the Roman Empire the beautiful works of ancient architecture were almost entirely destroyed by the Goths, Vandals, and other barbarians in Italy, Greece, Asia, Spain, and Africa; or what was spared by them was ruined by the fanaticism of the Christians. A new style of architecture now arose, two forms of which, the Lombard and the Norman Romanesque, form important phases of art. The Lombard prevailed in North Italy and South Germany from the eighth or ninth to the thirteenth century (though the Lombard rule came to an end in 774); the Norman Romanesque flourished, especially in Normandy and England, from the eleventh to the middle of the thirteenth century. The semicircular arch is the most characteristic feature of this style. With the Lombard Romanesque were combined Byzantine features, and buildings in the pure Byzantine style were also erected in Italy, as the Church of St Mark at Venice.
The conquests of the Moors introduced a fresh style of architecture into Europe after the eighth century - the Moorish or Saracenic. This style accompanied the spread of Islam after its rise in Arabia in the seventh century. The edifices erected by the Moors and Saracens in Spain, Egypt, and Turkey are distinguished, among other things, by a peculiar form of the arch, which forms a curve constituting more than half of a circle or ellipse. A peculiar flowery decoration, called arabesque, is a common ornament of this style, of which the building called the Alhambra is perhaps the chief glory.
The Germans were unacquainted with architecture until the time of Charlemagne (or Charles the Great, 742 to 814). He introduced into Germany the Byzantine and Romanesque styles. Afterwards the Moorish or Arabian style had some influence upon that of the western nations, and thus originated the mixed style which maintained itself till the middle of the thirteenth century. Then began the modern Gothic style, which grew up in France, England, and Germany. Its striking characteristics are its pointed arches, its pinnacles and spires, its large buttresses, clustered pillars, vaulted roofs, profusion of ornament, and, on the whole, its lofty, bold character. Its most distinctive feature, as compared with the Greek or the Egyptian style, is the predominance in it of perpendicular or rising lines, producing forms that convey the idea of soaring or mounting upwards. Its greatest capabilities have been best displayed in ecclesiastical edifices.
Buildings may be classified architecturally by period and by style. The chief British architectural periods are:
Among the most notable styles of architecture are Art Deco, a style popular in the 1920's and 1930's characterised by geometrical shapes and stylised natural forms and symmetry; Art Nouveau, a style popular between the 1880s and early 1900's with sinuous natural forms; Arts and Crafts, a reactionary style which rebelled against industrialisation and encouraged manual skills and simplicity; Baroque; Classical which is based upon Greco-Roman styles; Gothic which originated in Europe and was popular between the late 12th century and early 16th century, characterised by pointed arches; Queen Anne which was based on the Baroque style but included the intricate use of brick and Victorian which while partially associated with a revival of Gothic style also incorporated Classical elements and made great use of cast iron, typified in many of Britain's older railway stations before they were torn down and replaced with Modern style structures during the late 20th century. Research Architecture
In architecture a podium is a low wall, serving as a foundation, a substructure, or a terrace wall. The term usually describes the dwarf wall surrounding the arena of an amphitheatre, from the top of which the seats began; or the masonry under the stylobate of a temple, which is sometimes a mere foundation, and sometimes contains chambers. Research Podium
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Amphitheatre
