Roman Vocab

Question 1

Aisles

Answer 1

passage or open corridor

Question 2

Amphitheater

Answer 2

Oval building with tiers of seats around central open area

Question 3

Aqueduct

Answer 3

Channel for conducting water from a distance

Question 4

Arcade

Answer 4

Series of arches carried by columns / piers and supporting common wall or lintel

Question 5

Atmospheric perspective

Answer 5

Rendering effect of spatial distance by subtle variations in color and clarity of representation.

Question 6

Atrium

Answer 6

Unroofed interior courtyard or room, sometimes having pool, garden, or surrounded by columns

Question 7

Barrel vault

Answer 7

Elongated or continuous semicircular vault (half-cylinder)

Question 8

Basilica

Answer 8

Large rectangular building. Often built with clerestory, side aisles separated from center by colonnade and apses. Center for administration (adapted later by Christian Church)

Question 9

Buttressing

Answer 9

Prior support, usually of masonry, projecting from the face of a wall and serving either to strengthen it or to resist the side thrust created by the load on an arch or a roof

Question 10

Christogram

Answer 10

a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ

Question 11

Clerestory

Answer 11

Topmost zone of wall with windows in basilica. Provides direct light into actual interior space.

Question 12

Coffers

Answer 12

Recessed decorative panel used to reduce weight and decorate ceilings or vaults

Question 13

Colonnade

Answer 13

Row of columns supporting lintel

Question 14

Composite order

Answer 14

Combination of Ionic and Corinthian

Question 15

Concrete

Answer 15

material used for building structures

Question 16

Constantinope

Answer 16

dedicated by emperor Constantine in 330 ce; used to be port city of Byzantium.

Question 17

Constantine

Answer 17

Roman emperor who ruled beginning in 312 ce; first christian emperor and first to be religiously tolerant

Question 18

Continuous Narrative

Answer 18

illustrates multiple scenes of a narrative within a single frame

Question 19

Dado

Answer 19

Lower part of wall

Question 20

Diptych

Answer 20

Two panels of equal size (usually decorated w/ paintings or relief) that are hinged together

Question 21

Dome

Answer 21

Round vault over circular space

Question 22

Drum

Answer 22

Wall that supports dome

Question 23

Edict of Milan

Answer 23

313CE

Granted freedom to all religious groups.

Question 24

Emblemata

Answer 24

In mosaic, elaborate central motif on floor with small tessarae, done in more detail

Question 25

Encaustic

Answer 25

Pigments and hot wax as medium

Question 26

Engaged column

Answer 26

Column attached to wall

Question 27

Equestrian Statue

Answer 27

bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius that works as propaganda to emphasize his power as emperor

Question 28

Exedrae

Answer 28

Semicircular niche, small decoration, large interior space (apse)

Question 29

Forum

Answer 29

Center of civic life, equivalent of agora

Question 30

Fresco

Answer 30

Technique where waterbased pigments applied to surface of wet plaster

Question 31

Groin vault

Answer 31

Created by intersetion of 2 barrel vaults

Question 32

Hemispheric dome

Answer 32

rim of dome is supported on a drum (circular wall)

Question 33

Insulae

Answer 33

residential apartments (for lower class)

Question 34

Intuitive Perspective

Answer 34

method of giving the impression of recession by visual instinct, not an overall system or program

Question 35

Linear perspective

Answer 35

illusion of a measured and continuously receding space

Question 36

Mount Vesuvius

Answer 36

a damn volcano that buried Pompeii

Question 37

Nave

Answer 37

central space of a basilica, two or three stories high and usually flanked by aisles

Question 38

Oculus

Answer 38

Circular opening, apex of dome

Question 39

Patrician

Answer 39

Upper class (republic)

Question 40

Pax Romana

Answer 40

Roman Peace, period of stability, prosperity, and peace

Question 41

Pedestal

Answer 41

Platform or base supporting sculpture

Question 42

Pilaster

Answer 42

Engaged columnar element that is rectangular and used for decoration

Question 43

Plebian

Answer 43

Lower class (republic)

Question 44

Pompeii

Answer 44

Affluent southern Italian city

Question 45

Roman Empire

Answer 45

post-Republican period with autocratic government

Question 46

Roman Republic

Answer 46

Roman period with republic form of government, meaning that government was a public matter

Question 47

Roman temple

Answer 47

followed pattern of Etruscan and Greek buildings

Question 48

Roundels

Answer 48

any element with circular format, often exterior decoration.

Question 49

Still Life

Answer 49

painting where subject is inanimate

Question 50

Stucco

Answer 50

mixture of lime, sand, etc. into easily molded/modeled material. Very durable surface when dry

Question 51

Tempera paint

Answer 51

painting medium made by blending egg yolk with water

Question 52

Tesserae

Answer 52

Small pieces of stone, glass, etc. used to make mosaic

Question 53

Tetrarchy

Answer 53

4 man rule over empire

Question 54

Third century crisis

Answer 54

Period where Roman Empire almost collapsed from invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression

Question 55

Triumphal arch

Answer 55

archway with one or more arched passageways. Has two massive piers connected by arch and entablature. Decorated with carvings and reliefs.

Question 56

Tuscan order

Answer 56

variation of Doric order. Smooth shaft, plain architrave, and undecorated frieze

Question 57

Veneer

Answer 57

exterior facing of building, often in decorative patterns of fine stone or brick

Question 58

Veristic

Answer 58

style where artists capture exterior likeness of object or person

Question 59

Voussoir

Answer 59

oblong, wedge-shaped stone blocks used to build an arch. Topmost block is called keystone

Question 60

atrium

Answer 60

formal entrance hall

Question 61

Ala

Answer 61

"wings" opening from atrium

Question 62

Cubiculum

Answer 62

small room; bedroom

Question 63

Culina

Answer 63

kitchen

Question 64

Exedra

Answer 64

garden room

Question 65

Peristylium

Answer 65

colonnaded garden

Question 66

Taberna

Answer 66

shop

Question 67

Tablinum

Answer 67

office; study

Question 68

Triclinium

Answer 68

dining room

Question 69

Vestibulum

Answer 69

entrance hall