Roman temple
The Temple of Portunus in Rome stands today as a quiet testament to the architectural lineage that shaped ancient civilization. This structure, dating from the 2nd century BC, reveals how Roman builders first adopted Etruscan models before embracing Greek styles around 200 BC during the late Republic. The Etruscans themselves had been influenced by early Greek architecture, creating a distinctive hybrid form that became the foundation for all subsequent Roman temple design. Surviving examples like this one show wide steps leading to a portico with columns and a triangular pediment filled with statuary. These features were often painted in bright colors like scarlet or vermilion, though most of that color has vanished over millennia. Unlike Greek temples which treated all sides equally, Roman versions emphasized only the front facade while leaving the rear walls largely undecorated. The platform on which these temples sat was typically raised higher than their Greek counterparts, sometimes featuring ten or twelve steps instead of three. The Temple of Claudius even rose twenty steps above ground level, creating an imposing presence that separated sacred space from the mundane world below.
A rectangular plan dominated Roman temple construction, yet circular variations emerged throughout the empire's history. The Pantheon in Rome represents the most famous example of a circular design, featuring a magnificent concrete roof behind a conventional portico front. This building remains unique among surviving Roman temples due to its massive scale and engineering complexity. Circular plans generally featured columns encircling the entire structure, as seen in the Temple of Hercules Victor in Rome. That small temple may have been designed by a Greek architect and displays an unbroken colonnade around its base. In contrast, the Pantheon's exterior meeting of portico and circular cella appears thoroughly uncomfortable to modern critics. At Baalbek, a wide portico with broken pediment matches four other columns round the building, each architrave section ending in a projection supported by a column. These architectural choices reflected local traditions and available resources rather than strict adherence to classical ideals. Vitruvius, the only significant Roman writer on architecture to survive, described idealized proportions that did not always match actual practice. His writings covered Tuscan orders but failed to recognize the Composite order later formalized by Renaissance observers. Corinthian and Composite orders became most common in surviving examples, though simple Tuscan orders appeared in smaller temples like that at Alcántara.
Public religious ceremonies took place outdoors where sacrifices occurred at open-air altars within the templum sacred precinct. The ordinary worshiper rarely entered the cella, the main room housing the cult image of the deity. Instead, crowds gathered on the portico steps while priests performed rituals near the sacrificial altar located on narrow extensions of the podium. Behind the cella lay rooms used by temple attendants for storage of equipment and offerings. Processions might start at or end with a temple, carrying ritual objects out for use or depositing offerings inside. Some foreign cults preferred underground places of worship while others, like Early Christians, gathered in houses instead of formal structures. The English word temple derives from Latin templum, which originally meant the sacred space surveyed ritually rather than the building itself. Roman architects used terms like sacellum, aedes, delubrum, and fanum to describe shrines of varying sizes. These distinctions mattered because the physical structure served different functions depending on whether it housed public ceremonies or private devotion. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill exemplified this dual nature, serving as both a grand civic monument and a focal point for state religion.
Caesarea temples devoted to the Imperial cult replaced traditional deities in provincial towns across the empire. These structures often became the main or only large temple in newly established Roman colonies like Évora, Vienne, and Nîmes. Government funding typically paid for these imperial temples using conventional Roman styles regardless of local architectural traditions. In Rome, a caesareum existed within the religious precinct of the Arval Brothers until 1570 when documents recorded nine statues of emperors in architectural niches. Most earlier emperors had their own very large temples, but faltering economies caused construction to cease after Marcus Aurelius died in 180 AD. One of the earliest prominent examples was the Caesareum of Alexandria located on the harbor, begun by Cleopatra VII to honor Julius Caesar before Augustus converted it to his own cult. During the fourth century, after Christian rule took hold, that building transformed into a church. The Temple of Romulus on the Roman Forum stood as another example, built and dedicated by Emperor Maxentius to his son Valerius Romulus who died in childhood in 309 AD. This structure later became Santi Cosma e Damiano, not dedicated as a church until 527 AD despite Christianity's initial triumph under Constantine.
Most surviving Roman temples underwent conversion into Christian churches or sometimes mosques centuries after their original construction. The decline of Roman religion proceeded slowly, with temple appropriation delayed until Emperor Honorius issued a decree in 415 AD. In Rome, Pula, and elsewhere some walls incorporated in later buildings remained evident throughout history. Rural areas in the Islamic world preserved good remains largely undisturbed while Spain saw remarkable discoveries during the nineteenth century when old buildings being reconstructed contained major encased remains. Squared-off blocks of temple walls attracted later builders for reuse while massive columns proved difficult to remove and utilize. Loose stone pieces often disappeared from sites though capitals might survive in local museums alongside terracotta votive statuettes. Very little sculpture originally decorating temples survived intact, with only foundations remaining at many locations like the Capitoline Museums basement where Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus once stood. The Pantheon stands out as easily the most impressive complete interior to survive among all Roman structures. Its large circular domed cella combined with a conventional portico front made it unique yet widely imitated by modern architects. The Temple of Hercules Victor remains another early circular example that is largely complete despite missing its entablature and roof.
Neoclassical architecture adopted the Etruscan-Roman adaptation emphasizing the front facade while allowing other sides to harmonize with circumstances and budget constraints. Grand buildings worldwide now feature colonnades and pediments flanked by large wings or set within courtyards. Examples include the White House, Buckingham Palace, and St Peters in Rome, with recent fashion trends bringing this style to China. Renaissance architects developed ways to add high raised domes, towers, and spires above colonnaded temple fronts, something Romans would have found odd. San Andrea in Mantua took a four-columned triumphal arch and added a pediment above while San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice features two superimposed temple fronts. Baroque churches often employed two temple fronts of different orders superimposed one above the other, sometimes supported by huge volutes on each side. St Martin-in-the-Fields in London established an archetypical pattern for Georgian churches by boldly adding a large steeple atop a tower set back from the main frontage. This formula became accepted and widely copied across colonies including St Andrew's Church in Chennai and St Paul's Chapel in New York City built in 1766. Modern examples sticking more faithfully to ancient rectangular forms appear only from the eighteenth century onwards like La Madeleine in Paris originally built by Napoleon as Temple de la Gloire de la Grande Armée.
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Common questions
When was the Temple of Portunus in Rome built?
The Temple of Portunus in Rome dates from the 2nd century BC. This structure reveals how Roman builders first adopted Etruscan models before embracing Greek styles around 200 BC during the late Republic.
What is the difference between Roman and Greek temple design regarding steps and facades?
Roman temples typically sat on platforms raised higher than their Greek counterparts, sometimes featuring ten or twelve steps instead of three. Unlike Greek temples which treated all sides equally, Roman versions emphasized only the front facade while leaving the rear walls largely undecorated.
Which Roman temple features a circular plan with a concrete roof?
The Pantheon in Rome represents the most famous example of a circular design, featuring a magnificent concrete roof behind a conventional portico front. This building remains unique among surviving Roman temples due to its massive scale and engineering complexity.
Who wrote about idealized architectural proportions that did not always match actual practice?
Vitruvius, the only significant Roman writer on architecture to survive, described idealized proportions that did not always match actual practice. His writings covered Tuscan orders but failed to recognize the Composite order later formalized by Renaissance observers.
When did Emperor Honorius issue a decree regarding the conversion of Roman temples into Christian churches?
Emperor Honorius issued a decree in 415 AD that delayed the appropriation of Roman temples for Christian use. Most surviving Roman temples underwent conversion into Christian churches or sometimes mosques centuries after their original construction following this event.