Comparison of Greek and Roman Art - Essay Example

I have chosen the Greek Temple Parthenon and Roman Arch of Constantine. The Greek Temple Parthenon was completed in 432 BC while the Roman piece of intellect and art was made in 312 CE. Both of these are three-dimensional, pieces of constructions. The decorations of both these buildings are done very beautifully. The earlier represents the best of Greek building art and the former represents the aesthetic sense of the Romans (Boardman, 1996).
Looking at the Greek masterpiece, we can notice the use of Metopes, Frieze, and Pediments. The walls of this building are light-colored. This building was constructed to replace the temple of the goddess Athena (Boardman, 1996). The look and feel of the building represent the religious and mythical feeling typical of Greek Art. The
The Roman Arch of Constantine is in fact a symbol of victory for the Romans. Constantine won the battle of Milvian bridge in 312 CE and this building was constructed as a triumphal arch of Romans. It is one of the latest existing arches which fall in this category (Henderson and Beard, 2001).
Both of these pieces of art are objective and represent a great achievement or cultural attitude of the time of construction. The Arch is a typical rectangular building that has sharp edges. The Greek Temple building is also rectangular but it is more aesthetically pleasing. The first building represents a very important religious aspect of the Greeks. The Greeks believed in the goddess of Athena and to make her happy, they replaced the earlier temple with this newer and grander one. It represents the closeness of the Greeks with their gods and mythology. The artists who have worked on this piece of art have tried to convey the religious aspects of Greek life and have done that successfully. Read More