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Roman Art and Architecture GLOSSARY
aedicula(architecture): a blind opening in a wall framed by
columns supporting an entablature and pediment. It was often
used to house statues.
cryptoporticus: partially subterranean vaulted corridor lit by
windows placed in the ceiling; structurally it was used to
buttress a raised area such as a portico.
adyton: a shrine or tabernacle constructed within a larger
temple. It was usually the most sacred place in the temple and
the home of the cult statue.
cunei: wedge-shaped sections of seating, in a theatre or
amphitheatre, which are created by a system of radial
passageways.
agora: place of assembly, market-place (Greek)
dado: the lowest section of a wall.
apodyterium (pl.apodyteria): changing area in a Roman
bath.
domus: Latin for ‘house’ as in Nero’s Domus Aurea or Golden
House
apotheosis: the elevation of a human being to divine status.
engaged column: a column that projects from but which is
still part of the wall. It has a capital and rests on a plinth.
apse: a semi-circular area located at the end of a hall.
Common in basilicae.
architrave: the horizontal architectural element that spans
two columns. It forms the lowest section of the entablature.
arcuate: curved; shaped like a bow.
ashlar masonry: blocks of cut stone used in construction.
attic (architecture): the upper storey. It was commonly used
on triumphal arches as a rectangular section of masonry
decorated with relief sculpture and statuary.
emblema: a mosaic picture created from opus vermiculatum
and then inserted into a prepared space in a floor or wall.
Entablature: The upper part of a classical building; the
collective name for the three horizontal sections (architrave,
frieze and cornice) of masonry supported by the columns.
fluting: concave vertical grooves carved in the surface of a
column.
forum: open area in the centre of a Roman city, the hub of
political and administrative life.
bisellia: marble thrones used by dignitaries when they
attended the theatre.
frieze: central section of an entablature often decorated with
relief sculpture.
caldarium: the hot room of a Roman bath.
frigidarium: the cold room of a Roman bath.
calyx (pl. calyces): in art, the image of the curled bud.
Genius Populi Romani: the spirit or essence of the Roman
people embodied as a deity; the Guardian Spirit.
candelabrum (pl. candelabra): lamp-stand, candlestick.
capital: the decorative section placed on top of a column or
pilaster. There were four main orders used by the Romans:
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite.
caryatid: a stone column carved in the form of a draped
female figure.
cavea: the semi-circular seating area in a Roman theatre and
amphitheatre.
cella: the central chamber of a temple, home of the cult
statue.
centring: the system of scaffolding and moulds used to create
concrete architecture e.g. domes, vaults, etc.
clerestory: section of wall raised higher than the surrounding
roofline, often pierced by windows. Common feature of
basilicae and thermae.
cornice: the top, projecting, section of the entablature.
Genius Senatus: the spirit or essence of the Roman Senate
embodied as a deity.
geornate di lavoro: Italian term for the sections of the wall
marked out to be painted by a fresco painter.
hexastyle: with six columns
imagines: the wax masks of ancestors carried by noble
Romans in funerary parades.
in antis: two freestanding columns stationed between the end
walls of the cella.
keystone: the central wedge-shaped section of an arch. It
was a vital component as it made the arch self-supporting.
Laconica: Super-hearted room in a Roman bath.
Lares: Italian household deities, associated with the penates
as household gods who guarded the home and the welfare of
the family.
liaculum: ‘float’ used to smooth the surface of a plaster wall
before paint was applied.
lictor: The officer who held the fasces and meted out
punishment. Lictors accompanied emperors and top officials.
lintel: the horizontal supporting section (wood or stone)
placed over a window or door.
meander: the key pattern, a geometric motif
peristyle: a row of columns surround a temple or courtyard; a
space
pier: a vertical supporting structure. In Roman architecture
the most common form was brick-faced concrete.
pilaster: a rectangular, engaged column of any of the orders
plinth: support for a column or statue; projecting section of a
wall.
postscaenia: changing rooms and prop storage area located
behind the stage backdrop in a Roman theatre.
natatio: outdoor swimming pool in a Roman bathing complex.
praecinctiones : horizontal passageways set between the
tiers of seats in a theatre or amphitheatre.
nave: rectangular space in the centre of a basilica.
proscaenium: the stage of a Roman theatre.
nymphaeum: literally ‘Place of the Nymphs’. A building or
artificial grotto filled with fountains.
pseudo-peripteral: a temple with columns
engaged to the wall of the cella; essentially half-columns.
octastyle: with eight columns.
radial: in the case of access routes: passageways that run
from a central area to an exterior point (like rays).
oculus: the round opening in the centre of a vault.
odeum : a small, roofed theatre.
opus caementicium Roman concrete; a mixture of lime
mortar and small chunks of rock
opus sectile: decorative paving created from geometric
sections of stone, assembled to create a repeating pattern.
opus tessellatum: a mosaic floor laid with tesserae
opus signinum: ‘worm work’, the most intricate form of
mosaic paving; tiny pieces of tesserae laid in thin, curving lines
to create a mosaic picture (emblema).
orchestra: area located at the base of the seating area, in
front of the stage. It is circular in Greek theatres, semi-circular
in Roman.
rotunda: a building with a circular ground-plan; a circular hall
or room.
scaenae frons: the elaborate backdrop to the stage.
spandrels: the triangular section created when an arch meets
the horizontal and vertical section of the surrounding wall.
specus: the channel section in the top of the aqueduct that
held the water.
stoa: a portico or roofed colonnade.
tepidarium: warm room in a Roman bath; placed so that it
formed a transitional space between the hot and cold bathing
facilities.
tessellarii: artisans who laid mosaic floors.
palaestra: exercise yard surrounded by covered porticoes,
often attached to a bathing facility.
tesserae: small cubes of stone, tile etc. used to create opus
tessellatum mosaic flooring.
patera : a saucer or bowl used in Roman religious rites.
tetrastyle: with four columns.
pediment: the triangular section at the end of the roof of a
Classical building, composed of the typanum and raking
cornice. It rests on the entablature and is often decorated with
sculpture.
tribunal: the raised platform used as a seating area by
magistrates.
penates: a group of Italian deities which protected the Roman
household.
Triumphator: the victorious general; a common motif in
imperial sculpture.
peripteral: a single row of freestanding columns surrounding
the cella.
trulla: trowel used to apply plaster.
triclinium: the dining room of a Roman villa.
voussoirs (s. voussoir): the wedge-shaped sections of stone
used in an arch