Apollodorus of Damascus was a Syrian Roman architect born in the city of Damascus during the early 2nd century AD. His name suggests deep roots in local culture as a Hellenized version of the Nabatean name Abodat.
Trajan summoned Apollodorus to Rome around 91 AD after the architect had passed his twentieth birthday. This meeting marked the beginning of a partnership that would reshape Roman architecture for decades.
Apollodorus designed the grand Forum dedicated to the emperor alongside adjacent Markets filled with shops and offices. He also created a towering Column featuring spiral reliefs depicting scenes from Dacian wars and completed the Temple of Trajan with a massive colonnade surrounding a central shrine.
He designed a bridge spanning the Danube River using five piers made of concrete and stone to allow Roman legions to cross into Dacia during the Second Dacian War in 105 AD. Another bridge appeared over the Tagus River in Spain at Alconétar proving his reach extended westward.
Cassius Dio recorded that Apollodorus offended Emperor Hadrian by ridiculing the ruler's attempts at architecture. This criticism allegedly led to banishment and eventual death according to ancient historical accounts though modern historians cast doubt on whether these events actually occurred as described.