InfoCoBuild

HSAR 252: Roman Architecture

Lecture 10 - Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves. Professor Kleiner explores sepulchral architecture in Rome commissioned by the emperor, aristocrats, successful professionals, and former slaves during the age of Augustus. Unlike most civic and residential buildings, tombs serve no practical purpose other than to commemorate the deceased and consequently assume a wide variety of personalized and remarkable forms. The lecture begins with the round Mausoleum of Augustus, based on Etruscan precedents and intended to house the remains of Augustus and the new Julio-Claudian dynasty. Professor Kleiner also highlights two of Rome's most unusual funerary structures: the pyramidal Tomb of Gaius Cestius, an aristocrat related to Marcus Agrippa, and the trapezoidal Tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, probably a former slave who made his fortune overseeing the baking and public distribution of bread for the Roman army. Professor Kleiner concludes the lecture with a brief discussion of tombs for those with more modest means, including extensive subterranean columbaria. She also turns briefly to the domed thermal baths at Baia, part of an ancient spa and a sign of where concrete construction would take the future of Roman architecture. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 10 - Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. Augustus' Family Mausoleum
[00:11:03] 2. Etruscan Antecedents of the Mausoleum of Augustus
[00:19:13] 3. The Tomb of Caecilia Metella on the Via Appia
[00:28:56] 4. The Pyramidal Tomb of Gaius Cestius
[00:41:34] 5. The Tomb of the Baker Eurysaces and His Wife Atistia
[00:50:30] 6. Atistia's Breadbasket and Eurysaces' Achievements
[01:00:17] 7. Tombs for Those of Modest Means and the Future of Concrete Architecture

References
Lecture 10 - Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves
Instructor: Professor Diana E. E. Kleiner. Resources: Lecture 10 - List of Monuments and Credits [PDF]. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction to Roman Architecture
Lecture 02 - It Takes a City: The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy
Lecture 03 - Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture
Lecture 04 - Civic Life Interrupted: Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79
Lecture 05 - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii
Lecture 06 - Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration
Lecture 07 - Gilding the Lily: Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.
Lecture 08 - Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls
Lecture 09 - From Brick to Marble: Augustus Assembles Rome
Lecture 10 - Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves
Lecture 11 - Notorious Nero and His Amazing Architectural Legacy
Lecture 12 - The Creation of an Icon: The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome
Lecture 13 - The Prince and the Palace: Human Made Divine on the Palatine Hill
Lecture 14 - The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
Lecture 15 - Rome and a Villa: Hadrian's Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat
Lecture 16 - The Roman Way of Life and Death at Ostia, the Port of Rome
Lecture 17 - Bigger Is Better: The Baths of Caracalla and Other Second- and Third-Century Buildings in Rome
Lecture 18 - Hometown Boy: Honoring an Emperor's Roots in Roman North Africa
Lecture 19 - Baroque Extravaganzas: Rock Tombs, Fountains, and Sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya
Lecture 20 - Roman Wine in Greek Bottles: The Rebirth of Athens
Lecture 21 - Making Mini Romes on the Western Frontier
Lecture 22 - Rome Redux: The Tetrarchic Renaissance
Lecture 23 - Rome of Constantine and a New Rome
Paper Topics: Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City