Aqueducts were perhaps the greatest achievement of Roman engineers, since they supplied water to the masses, and increased hygiene for all Roman citizens. Aqueducts were constructed as public works throughout the Roman Empire, but the greatest and most plentiful brought their water into Rome. Some people wonder why many European civilizations in the Middle Ages, after the Roman Empire, but this project highlights the level of planning and engineering that had to go into the aqueducts.
We chose to base our blueprints (seen above) on the Aqua Claudia, one of Rome’s most ambitious projects. Our blueprints show the basic dimensions of the Aqua Claudia, as well as the facts and uses for these parts. Some interesting things were the use of siphons. Romans would typically use taller bridges over valleys whenever possible, however it was not always possible with the mountainous regions of Italy. Siphons are still used today; they work by using pressure and gravity, as well as sealed pipes to keep the pressure, to push the water up the other side of the valley. A simple description of the siphon and how it works, but if you are still confused there’s more information here.
In conclusion, Roman aqueducts, and the Aqua Claudia in particular, were breathtaking public works and incredible feats of engineering for the time of Rome. They greatly improved Roman health, quality of life and the beauty and riches of Rome.
When you think of Ancient Roman and Greek Fashion you may think of the classics like the tunic, the stola, or the toga, but you maybe not have heard of other pieces such as, the chiton or the peplos. I will be explaining what those are but first I will start by explaining the basic clothing.
Tunic
The tunic is a classic example of Roman and Greek clothing. It was made of two rectangles that were sewn together on the sides but there was just enough room left to put your arms through. It was then fastened at the top with a safety pin like thing called a Fibula. The tunic was not fancy as it was worn everyday, casually.
Stola
Empress Livia is wearing a Stola in this picture
After a woman got married she would wear a stola show she was married. It was a long, sleveless dress that was worn over the tunic. The stole was usually made out if wool.
Toga
As seen in this picture a Roman Senator is wearing a Toga
The toga was like the male version of stola. It was a semi-circular piece of white wool fabric that was wrapped around. Like the stola, it was also worn over the tunic.
Peplos
This girl is wearing a peplos.
You may have heard of the word peplum. The word peplum comes from the word peplos. The peplos is a type of Greek dress that as shown in the picture is a rectangular piece of fabric that is folded to create a little flap as seen in the picture above.
Chiton
This picture shows the difference between the doric and ionic chiton.
You are probably wondering how to pronounce this word. It is pronounced kite-on. If you click on kite-on it will take you to YouTube where you can listen how to pronounce chiton. The chiton is a a Greek dress. There are two different types, the Doric and the ionic. The Doric chiton is sleeveless while the ionic has sleeves.
My Product
For my product I decided to make an Ancient Roman and Greek Fashion magazine.
Here is a picture of the cover. The name of this magazine is Roman Fashion Now.
This is an advertisement for Cassidy and Katey’s project.
This is DIY instructions for making your own chiton with sleeves dress.
People normally think the only colors the Romans used were white and red, but they used more than just those colors. They used white, blue, purple, red, brown, green, and black.
This is an advertisement for Josiphine’s project.
This is an advertisement for Andy’s project.
Works Cited
“Dressing to Impress in Greece and Rome.” Arts and Humanities Through the Eras, edited by Edward I. Bleiberg, et al., vol. 2: Ancient Greece and Rome 1200 B.C.E.-476 C.E. Gale, 2005, pp. 102-106. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3427400231/GVRL?u=sant89825&sid=GVRL&xid=0893aa51. Accessed 21 May 2018.
McManus, Barbara F. “Roman Clothing, Part II.” Roman Social Class and Public Display, Aug. 2003, www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing2.html.
McManus, Barbara F. “Roman Clothing, Part I.” Roman Social Class and Public Display, Aug. 2003, www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing.html.
Severy, Merle, and Emily Vermeule. Greece and Rome: Builders of Our World. Washington, National Geographic Society, 1977.
Tierney, Tom. Greek and Roman Fashions. Dover Publications, 2001
