The Architecture of Roman Temples: The Republic to the Middle Empire

This book examines the development of Roman temple architecture from its earliest history in the sixth century BC to the reigns of Hadrian and the Antonines in the second century AD. Although archaeologists, architects, and historians have studied the temples of this period since the Renaissance, this book is unique for its specific analysis of Roman temples as a building type. John Stamper analyzes their formal qualities, the public spaces in which they were located and, most importantly, the authority of precedent in their designs. The basis of that authority was the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the city's first and most important temple. Stamper challenges the accepted reconstruction of this temple, proposing a new reconstruction, and assessing its role in the transformation of Rome. He also traces Rome's temple architecture as it evolved over time and how it accommodated changing political and religious contexts, as well as the effects of new stylistic influences.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: the authority of precedent; 1. Building the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus; 2. A new reconstruction of the temple; 3. Etrusco-Roman temples of the Early Republic; 4. Assimilation of Hellenistic architecture after the Punic Wars; 5. The Corinthian Order in the First Century B.C.; 6. Architecture and ceremony in the time of Pompey and Julius Caesar; 7. Rebuilding Rome in the time of Augustus; 8. Augustus and the Temple of Mars Ultor; 9. Temples and fora of the Flavian Emperors; 10. Trajan's Forum; 11. Hadrian's Pantheon; 12. Hadrian and the Antonines.

About the Author :
John Stamper is Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. Both an architect and architectural historian, he is the author of Chicago's North Michigan Avenue: Planning and Development, 1900-1930.

Review :
"Stamper aims at providing architects, planners, historians, and students with a more comprehensive discussion of the ancient temples of Rome than exists to date by interpreting the work of archaeologists through the eyes of an architectural historian (xiv). Stamper is successful in his aim and this is the real contribution of his book." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review "...as the first study of its kind, Stamper's account of ancient Rome's temples is an important and highly original chapter in the history of Roman architecture. All those interested in the field owe him a considerable vote of thanks." CAA Review James E. Packer "The drawings and plans, most of them executed by the author, are elegant and invaluable and will, I am certain, be reproduced for generations...it is a well-designed and well-executed volume, parts of which students at every level as well as interested scholars may be referred to with confidence." - James C. Anderson Jr., University of Georgia "this study should be applauded for drawing our attention back to the Capitoline temple's significance for ancient architectural history, as well as providing an admirable presentation of temples in Rome from Tarquinius Priscus through the Antonines." - John Robert Senseney, Northern Illinois University, American Journal of Archaeology