Rome & Constantinople

FROM ROME: of the following famous ancient Roman structures that you find most fascinating: Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Pantheon, insulae, or bath complexes. After reviewing the EXPLORE resources listed below on Rome’s Major Urban Structures, describe the structure that you selected and identify two specific aspects of the structure in question.

FROM CONSTANTINOPLE: After reviewing the EXPLORE resources listed under Constantinople’s Major Structures and Byzantine Icons, explain either (selecting one):a) some specific aspect of the Hagia Sophia‘s architecture, or b)some specific aspect of Constantinople’s Basilica Cistern and what it says about the water supply. 

• ONE ISSUE DISCUSSED:Choose one of the three following topics and discuss it in a just a few sentences.a)Using a specific example, discuss ways ancient engineering provided for large-scale urban life, and compare that to similar features in modern society.b) Discuss Augustine’s views of light as per our class text, and suggest ways that the Hagia Sophia seems to fit his views on this topic.c)Discuss one of the Byzantine icons or mosaics from chapter 8 or from the Explore websites listed, suggesting what it communicated to the ancient and medieval Christian worshipper; and describe a modern work of art that you feel communicates in some similar way.

Rome’s Major Urban Structures

• Chapter 6 (pp. 174-5, 191-207), Roman architecture; Week 4 “Instructor Insights”
• Colosseum images at http://www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/amphitheatrum-en.htm
• Circus Maximus images at http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html and http://romancolosseum.org/circus-maximus-in-rome/
• Circus Maximus article at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/circusmaximus.html
• Roman bath complexes at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/day.html Click on the numbers for a stroll through the Baths of Caracalla

Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia

• Chapter 9 (pp. 263-277); Week 4 “Instructor Insights”; Byzantine mosaics (pp. 268-276)
• Images at http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html (Hagia Sophia)
• Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng–WLT0Xjc (Hagia Sophia)
• Basilica Cistern at http://www.electrummagazine.com/2012/07/constantinoples-6th-century-basilica-cistern/and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kYrW8U7DHE
• Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, Italy at http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/byzantine-justinian.html
• Augustine (pp. 262-4)

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