Apollodorus of Damascus
Apollodorus of Damascus | |
|---|---|
 Apollodorus of Damascus, bust from 130/140 AD in the Glyptothek | |
| Born | |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Basilica Ulpia, Trajan's Forum, Temple of Trajan, The Pantheon |
Apollodorus of Damascus (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ὁ Δαμασκηνός)[1] was an architect and engineer from Roman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD.[2][3][4] As an engineer he authored several technical treatises, and his massive architectural output gained him immense popularity during his time.[5] He is one of the few architects whose name survives from antiquity, and is credited with introducing several Eastern innovations to the Roman Imperial style, such as making the dome a standard. He is also known as Apollodorus Mechanicus.
Early life
[edit]Apollodorus was born in Damascus, Roman Syria. Modern sources refer to him as either Nabatean[6][7][8] or Greek[9][10][11], although ancient sources do not mention his ethnicity.[12][13] Little is known of his early life, but he started his career as a military engineer[14] before meeting future emperor Trajan in Damascus, then being summoned to Rome by him when he was a consul in 91 AD, after his twentieth birthday,[15] and later accompanying him during the Second Dacian War in 105 AD.[16]
Work
[edit]Apollodorus was Trajan's favoured architect and engineer.
In Rome he designed and oversaw the construction of:
- Trajan's Forum and Markets
- Temple of Trajan
- Trajan's Column (the first monument of its kind)
Outside the capital, Apollodorus designed the:
- Trajan's Bridge across the Danube
- Alconétar Bridge over the Tagus in Spain
- triumphal arch of Trajan at Benevento
- Arch of Trajan at Ancona.[17]
- Trajan's Trophy near Adamclisi, Romania
He is the author of Siege Engines (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an unnamed emperor, likely Trajan.[17]
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Death
[edit]Cassius Dio reports that Apollodorus offended Hadrian by dismissing and ridiculing the emperor's forays into architecture, which led to his banishment and death.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "ΛακουσΚούρτιος • Προκόπιου Καισαρέως Περὶ Κτισμάτων". penelope.uchicago.edu.
- ^ George Sarton (1936), "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", Osiris. 2: 406-463 [430]
- ^ Giuliana Calcani, Maamoun Abdulkarim (2003), Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column: From Tradition to Project, L'Erma di Bretschneider, p. 11, ISBN 88-8265-233-5,
...focusing on the brilliant architect Apollodorus of Damascus. This famous Syrian personage represents...
- ^ Hong-Sen Yan, Marco Ceccarelli (2009), International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings of HMM 2008, Springer, p. 86, ISBN 978-1-4020-9484-2,
He had Syrian origins coming from Damascus
- ^ "Apollodorus of Damascus". Oxford Reference.
- ^ Masi, F.; Stefanou, I.; Vannucci, P. (2018-10-01). "On the origin of the cracks in the dome of the Pantheon in Rome" (PDF). Engineering Failure Analysis. 92: 587–596. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2018.06.013. ISSN 1350-6307. S2CID 55614581.
- ^ Forty, Simon; Forty, Jonathan (2022-01-14). Limits of Empire: Rome's Borders. Casemate. ISBN 978-1-63624-077-0.
- ^ Landart, Paula (2023-03-06). Finding Ancient Rome: Walks in the city. Paula Landart.
- ^ Palmer, Allison Lee (2016-05-26). Historical Dictionary of Architecture. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-6309-3.
- ^ Dunstan, William E. (2010-11-16). Ancient Rome. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7425-6834-1.
- ^ Roman Architecture. Oxford University Press. 9 May 2024. ISBN 978-0-19-269999-2.
- ^ "Pagina:Opere di Procopio di Cesarea, Tomo I.djvu/470 - Wikisource". it.wikisource.org (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ "Cassius Dio — Epitome of Book 69". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ Greek and Roman Military Writers, Routledge, 2004
- ^ Abdulkarim 2003, p. 35.
- ^ Engineers: From the Great Pyramids to Spacecraft, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2017
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Giuliana Calcani, Maamoun Abdulkarim (2003), Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column: From Tradition to Project, L'Erma di Bretschneider, p. 55, ISBN 88-8265-233-5
References
[edit]- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Apollodorus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 186.
- Abdulkarim, Maamoun (2003). Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column. L'Erma di Bretschneider. ISBN 978-8-8826-5233-3.
- James Grout: 'Apollodorus of Damascus,' part of the Encyclopædia Romana
- Cassius Dio 'Roman History' 69.3,4
External links
[edit]
Media related to Apollodorus of Damascus at Wikimedia Commons- * Apolodoro de Damasco (1867). "Πολιορκητικα". In Carle Wescher; Anselme Petetin (eds.). Poliorkētika kai poliorkiai diaphorōn poleōn. Poliorcétique des Grecs. Traités thēoriques.Récits historiques. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
