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monious symmetry. For a typical example, see the House of the Vettii at
Pompeii (1st century BCE - 79 CE).
Even more innovative, though, were the large apartment blocks (in-
sula) for the less well-off city-dwellers. These were constructed in brick,

concrete, and wood, sometimes had balconies, and there were often shops
on the ground floor street front. Appearing as early as the 3rd century
BCE, by the 1st century BCE examples could have 12 stories, but state-

imposed height restrictions resulted in buildings averaging four to five sto-
ries (at least at the front side as there were no such restrictions for the rear
of the building). Some of the very few surviving examples may be seen at
Ostia.

Temples - The Roman temple was a combination of the Etruscan and
Greek models with an inner cella at the rear of the building surrounded by
columns and placed on a raised platform (up to 3.5 metres high) with a

stepped entrance and columned porch, the focal point of the building (in
contrast to Greek temples where all four sides could be equally important
in the urban landscape). Surviving practically complete and a typical ex-

ample is the Maison Carrée at Nimes (16 BCE). Temples were usually rec-
tangular but could take other forms such as circular or polygonal, for ex-
ample, the temple of Venus at Baalbeck (2nd-3rd century CE).

Theatres & Amphitheatres - The Roman theatre was of course in-
spired by the Greek version, but the orchestra was made semicircular and
the whole made using stone. The Romans also added a highly decorative
stage building (scaenae frons) which incorporated different levels of col-

umns, projections, pediments, and statues such as is found in the theatre at
Orange (27 BCE - 14 CE). A similar approach was taken with façades of
libraries - see, for example, the Celsus Library in Ephesus (2nd century

CE). Theatres also display the Roman passion for enclosing spaces, espe-
cially as they were often (partially or completely) roofed in wood or em-
ployed canvas awnings.
The fully enclosed amphitheatre was a particular favorite of the Ro-

mans. The Colosseum is the largest and most famous, and it is a typical
example copied throughout the empire: a highly decorative exterior, seats
set over a network of barrel vaults, and underground rooms below the

arena floor to hide people, animals and props until they were needed in the
spectacles.
Triumphal Arches - The triumphal arch, with a single, double, or tri-

ple entrance, had no practical function other than to commemorate in
sculpture and inscription significant events such as military victories. Early

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