It is generally accepted that the Ancient World is a collection of civilizations that existed on earth from prehistoric times to the beginning of the Middle Ages. The framework is very arbitrary - for the countries of the East they have their own, for America - their own (the beginning of the colonization of the continent by Europeans).
Amazing legacy
During this time period, there were several civilizations with their own culture. Famous structures and buildings of antiquity have survived to this day. There are not so few of them, but the most striking objects of heritage of the past include such as the “City in Heaven” or Machu Picchu in Peru, the Temple of Jupiter Baalbek in Lebanon, the famous Egyptian pyramids of Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The list of antiquities includes aqueducts of the Roman Empire, the glazed windows of Alexandria that arose in the first century AD, the remains of Greek temples, the Jervan aqueduct in Iraq, and the concrete domes of Roman temples.
Civilizations close to us
There are always ancient objects on every continent. But for the inhabitants of Europe (in the geographical sense of the word), the Ancient World is primarily associated with Greece and Rome, with the Egyptian Cleopatra, since both Julius Caesar and Anthony loved her.
In addition, they and other ancient Roman emperors dreamed of enslaving Egypt. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Russian literature and art were associated with the myths of Greece and Rome. And Mediterranean civilizations are considered the cradle of mankind. Therefore, to consider in more detail the famous structures and buildings of antiquity, you need to start with Greece and Rome.
Acropolis - the pearl of world architecture
In Greece, there are a lot of monuments from prehistoric times, and the whole country is dotted with the ruins of ancient Greek palaces and places of worship. It is rather difficult to read them, but there are objects that are considered symbols of the Ancient World. The most important of them is the Acropolis, located in the continental part of the country in the city of Athens. This is a kind of fortress standing on a hill, whose height reaches 156 meters in height, it is 300 meters wide and 170 meters long. It is a well-fortified upper city that rises above the unprotected lower one. The Acropolis was the place where the temples of the gods, patrons of this city were located, in which the inhabitants could hide during the war. The majestic Acropolis of Athens is a World Heritage Site. His story is well studied.
Parthenon - the dominant Acropolis
It should be noted that sculptures and statues from this Acropolis are in many museums around the world. 21 objects are located in it, the most significant of them is the Parthenon - a visiting card not only of Greece, but of the whole Ancient World.
Included in the list of “The Greatest Temples of the World”, it was built on the foundation of a more ancient temple in the 5th century BC by architects Kallikrath and Iktin. He dominates the whole area. This perfect, harmonious structure is rich in unique features. But dozens of books are written about every smallest detail of it. The only thing that can be noted is that it is all around the perimeter surrounded by columns (this form is called the periper). This is what makes the temple irresistibly beautiful.
Athens - the treasury of ancient architecture
Other constructions of Ancient Greece on the territory of the sacred center of ancient Athens, the Acropolis are represented by temples such as the Erechtheion, dedicated to the legendary Athenian king Erechtheus, the Areopagus (authority), the temple of Athens-Nika. Throughout the capital there are ruins of many other temples, as the whole of Greece is an open-air museum of ancient culture. These are the temples of Olympian Zeus, Nika Aptera, Hephaestus, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Hera on the Peloponnese Peninsula, Demeter in Eleusis. These are the most famous structures and buildings of antiquity created in Greece.
The priority of places of worship
In a later period, one of the first meteorological structures was built in Athens - the Tower of the Winds 12 meters high, with a base diameter of 8 meters. The parameters of these ancient museums are perfect, they are the basis of all architecture and are studied by all the architects of the world.
Of all the above objects of antiquity, only the Areopagus is an administrative building, all the rest are religious buildings. The largest sanctuary is Olympia, which is located on the Peloponnese Peninsula. The cult of Zeus reigned in it.
Rome's main business card
The Great Roman Empire is the oldest civilization of the Mediterranean, emerging from Ancient Greece. According to legend, the direct descendants of Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War, the brothers Rem and Romulus, fed by a she-wolf, founded Rome and the greatest empire, which gave the world a great culture.
The constructions of ancient Rome in this article are presented by 10 greatest architectural examples with which many inhabitants of the Earth are familiar, even those far from learning. Who does not know the Colosseum - the main symbol of Rome? A half-destroyed outer three-tiered wall surrounds an oval arena. In antiquity, the total number of arches on the wall is 240, 80 of them are in the lower tier. In the arches of the first and second floors were sculptures - the work of the best masters of Rome.
The brightest and most characteristic
The Appian Way is also familiar to many, because they know about the sad death of Spartak’s associates, chained alive to the posts along it, from school. And the final shots of the cult American film touched filmgoers from many countries of the world.
The famous buildings and buildings of antiquity, located in the ancient capital, are worthily represented by the Roman Forum, which already during the reign of Tarquikius the Proud became the center of the political, cultural and religious life of the Roman Empire. Here are the temples of Vesta, Vespasian and Saturn. Each of them is associated with the tragic or happy pages of ancient history. By the beginning of the II century AD, the perfectly preserved Trajan column belongs. 185 steps located inside overlook the observation deck, located at the 38th height. The sculptor Apollodorus of Damascus erected it in 114. It symbolizes the victory over the Dacians.
Next on the list
The Roman Pantheon is unique - the temple of all gods. Built in 126 AD, it rises above the Piazza della Rotonda.
You can find out what the famous structures and buildings of antiquity looked like by looking at the marble Triumphal Arch of Titus. This oldest building was erected in 81 in honor of the capture of Jerusalem. The arch rises above Via Sacra. Single-span, it has a height of 15.4 meters, a width of 13.5 m, a span of about 5 meters, its width is 5.33 meters. Any chariot, including a quadriga, could call into such a gate. The bas-reliefs depicting Titus with trophies have survived. The Jewish temple was completely destroyed by them, and the victors got its main shrine - the minor. All this can be seen on the bas-relief.
Famous Roman baths and unique temples
The Baths of Caracalla continue the list of masterpieces of ancient Roman architecture. Where did this name come from? Caracalla is the nickname of Marcus Aurelius, who lived in the 3rd century AD. Ancient Roman baths are a special world where the elite of the society had fun, went in for sports, waged intellectual disputes, concluded contracts. The surroundings corresponded: the walls and the actual fonts were made of the best grades of marble, sculptures everywhere, including the statue of Apollo Belvedere, stood.
The seventh line in the list “Architectural Buildings of Ancient Rome” is occupied by a composition of two temples of different configurations - rectangular and round. These temples were erected in honor of Portun (the patron saint of ports) and Hercules. They are located on the left bank of the Tiber, in the very place where ships moored earlier.
Mausoleum and catacombs
Under the eighth number is the Field of Mars - the left-bank part of Rome. Behind him is the Adrian Mausoleum - an architectural monument-tomb for the imperial family. On a square pedestal with a side equal to 84 meters, there is a cylinder with a diameter of 64 meters, crowned with a statue of the emperor in the image of the god of the Sun, controlling the quadriga (team of 4 horses). For its intended purpose this huge building was not used, it became a strategic object.
The last in the list of the most important architectural masterpieces of the Roman Empire are the famous Catacombs. This is a network of buildings (60 in total), interconnected and intended for burials (about 750,000 burials), with a total length of 170 km. Most of them stretch along the Appian Way.
Masterpieces of the East
The great architectural structures of the world worthily replenishes another grandiose monument. This is the Great Wall of China, the length of which from edge to edge is 21 196 kilometers. Erected by one fifth (exactly one million) of the country's population in the III century BC, it clearly fixed the borders of the state and made China impregnable. This is a unique monument of antiquity. And the pagodas and Buddhist monasteries of India? After all, these are also monuments of the ancient past.
The first Russian pearls of architecture
All of the above, as well as the constructions of Ancient Russia, belong to the great world heritage. Only our civilization in comparison with others is young. The oldest architecture in our country is considered to be the architecture of Novgorod, Pskov and Kiev, in which the Church of the Tithes, destroyed by Batu, was erected from 989 to 996.
The next oldest architectural monument of Kievan Rus by our standards is the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov, which is well preserved now, then the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. The first cross-domed structures were always based on a cross, and the temple was crowned with a dome. Such churches are the main type of ancient religious buildings in Russia.
Byzantine masters and their offspring
The first stone temples were built by masters invited from Byzantium. Russian religious buildings did not blindly repeat Byzantine architecture. Our churches have a vibrant personality. Yaroslav the Wise actively and on a large scale took up construction. He, preoccupied with the fact that a huge country had just adopted a new religion, wanted to approve it with the grandiose construction of temples. The largest, unparalleled anywhere at that time, even in Byzantium, was the 5-nave 13-domed St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, founded in 1017.
The triumph of Orthodoxy
The Sofia cathedrals of Novgorod (1045-1050) and Polotsk (1060) followed. They were also considered 5-nave, although most Russian churches are 3-nave. The dome was supported by internal pillars - hence the names: 4-, 6-, and even 8-pillars.
By the specially invited Greeks, the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra was built in 1073-1079. This temple, called the "Great Church", has become a model for Orthodox structures under construction throughout the country . Such religious buildings as the Vydubetsky Monastery in Kiev (1070-1081), Spas-na-Bereste (1113-1125), belong to the new type of cathedrals, since they all had an extension (sledge) with a staircase. The most ancient temples had no vestibules at all.
Since the construction boom launched by Yaroslav the Wise, all the Grand Dukes have been active in urban planning. In addition to architectural monuments, the descendants have remained masterpieces of applied art and literature. The Tale of Bygone Years was first mentioned in 852.