Vitruvius
Ancient architecture treatise-writer
Vitruvius was a Roman architect and engineer of the first century BCE, author of *De architectura*, the only surviving ancient treatise on architecture.
His work codified principles of design—firmness, commodity, and delight—that influenced Renaissance and later Western architecture.
The Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing of human proportions inscribed in a circle and square, takes its name from Vitruvius's theories about the ideal human body as a model for architectural proportion.
Rome's inaugural emperor
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- PompeiiVolcano-buried Roman city
- aqueductChannel conveying water distances
- ForumNamed public gathering place
Senate · Republic · Latin · Pliny · Augustan · antiquity · treatise · patron
Vertical structural element
- pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
- friezeOrnamental architectural band
- corniceOrnamental upper trim
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
architrave · atrium · portico · facade · vault · pilaster · capital · keystone
Invariance under transformation
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- anthropometryScience of body measurements
- moduleIndependent functional component
- geometryScience of spatial relationships
balance · Leonardo · navel · outstretched · circle · square · canon · measurement
Channel conveying water distances
- hydraulicsStudy of pressurized liquids
- surveyingMeasuring and charting terrain
- mechanicsScience of motion
- machinesDevices that perform tasks
sundials · construction · materials · concrete · foundations · specifications · acoustics
Austere classical column style
- IonicScroll-capitaled column order
- CorinthianOrnate Greek architectural style
- TuscanOf a central Italian region
- flutingShallow parallel grooves
volute · acanthus · capital · base · shaft · module · diameter · colonnade
Resistance to wear
- utilityFunctional worth or purpose
- beautyAesthetic excellence
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
Augustus
Rome's inaugural emperor
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- PompeiiVolcano-buried Roman city
- aqueductChannel conveying water distances
Forum · Senate · Republic · Latin · Pliny · Augustan · antiquity · treatise · patron · temple
column
Vertical structural element
- pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
- friezeOrnamental architectural band
- corniceOrnamental upper trim
entablature · architrave · atrium · portico · facade · vault · pilaster · capital · keystone · peristyle
symmetry
Invariance under transformation
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- anthropometryScience of body measurements
- moduleIndependent functional component
geometry · balance · Leonardo · navel · outstretched · circle · square · canon · measurement
aqueduct
Channel conveying water distances
- hydraulicsStudy of pressurized liquids
- surveyingMeasuring and charting terrain
- mechanicsScience of motion
machines · sundials · construction · materials · concrete · foundations · specifications · acoustics
Doric
Austere classical column style
- IonicScroll-capitaled column order
- CorinthianOrnate Greek architectural style
- TuscanOf a central Italian region
fluting · volute · acanthus · capital · base · shaft · module · diameter · colonnade
durability
Resistance to wear
- utilityFunctional worth or purpose
- beautyAesthetic excellence
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
Renaissance · rediscovery · encyclopedic · illustrated · translation
Vitruviusmaster builder
Expert overseeing construction projects
craftsman · construction foreman · stonemason · Gustave Eiffel · construction worker
Vitruviusdeconstructivism
Philosophy challenging textual certainty