Apollodorus of Damascus | |
|---|---|
 Apollodorus of Damascus, bust from 130/140 AD in theGlyptothek | |
| 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 fromRoman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD.[2][3][4] As an architect 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 thedome a standard. He is also known asApollodorus Mechanicus.
Apollodorus was born inDamascus,Roman Syria. Modern sources refer to him asNabatean,[3][6][7][8][9]Arab &HellenizedNabatean,[10] or asGreek.[11][12][13] The name Appolodorus is a Hellenized form of the Nabatean nameAbodat. It is noted that Trajan may have first met the architect in Syria, where Apollodorus began his career and maintained his artistic ties. Furthermore he mentions that the stylistic and grammatical weakness of his inscriptions suggest Greek was not his native language and that his second language was Greek.[14][10]
NeitherCassius Dio norProcopius, scholars and historians of antiquity, mention his origins when writing of him.[15][16] Little is known of his early life, but he started his career as a military engineer[17][page needed] before meeting future emperorTrajan in Damascus, then being summoned toRome by him when he was aconsul in 91 AD, after his twentieth birthday,[18]: 35 and later accompanying him during theSecond Dacian War in 105 AD.[19]
Apollodorus was Trajan's favoured architect and engineer.
In Rome he designed and oversaw the construction of:
Outside the capital, Apollodorus designed the:
He is the author ofSiege Engines (Πολιορκητικά,Poliorcetica), dedicated to an unnamed emperor, likely Trajan.[20]
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The director of theItalian Institute of Culture [it] in Damascus, Fiorella Festa Farina, described the technical prowess of Apollodorus as stemming from his cultural roots and the architectural tradition of Syria; and that he owed his particular mastery to Nabataean culture filtered through Greek modes of thought.[21][22] He was known for his practical and robust designs. It was likely due to his influence that domes became a standard element inRoman architecture.[23]
Cassius Dio reports that Apollodorus offendedHadrian by dismissing and ridiculing the emperor's forays into architecture, which led to his banishment and death.[24]While some, considering this episode as consistent with Hadrian's documented acts of anger and violence, do believe the execution occurred,[citation needed] many modern historians cast doubt on this event. According to the historianJona Lendering, modern scholarship views the anecdote as unlikely to have occurred, due to Hadrian's preoccupation with far greater threats to his power early in his reign, and that the criticism Apollodorus proffered was acted upon.[16]: para. 2
... the brilliant architect Apollodorus of Damascus. This famous Syrian personage ...ISBN 88-8265-233-5
He had Syrian origins coming from Damascus
[Apollodorus of Damascus] was a Hellenized Nabataean, [...] introduction of baroque architectural elements into Rome.
Il nome originario, di cui per assonanza quello greco potesse essere considerato un parallelo, può essere facilmente riconosciuto nell'arabo Abodat (in greco Obodes, ben diffuso tra i Nabatei)... Apollodoro Damasceno, architetto arabo alla corte degli imperatori di Roma.
The name itself is a hellenized form of the Nabatean Abdal... It is possible that Trajan met the architect in Syria, where the latter is said to have begun to practice and have maintained his artistic loyalties. His work and on-site engravings, which is both stylistically and grammatically very weak, indicate that Greek will not have been his native language.
Most scholars believe that it is not true that Hadrian ordered the assassination of the architect. [...] There is ... serious reason to doubt the anecdote about Hadrian murdering Apollodorus, and its origin may have been that the architect died - of natural causes - at the beginning of Hadrian's reign, when several senators were executed.Citing the primary sources:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Apollodorus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 186.
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