Roman Basilicas
When the Romans had any activity they wanted to do in groups, but inside, out of the weather, they generally met in a basilica (ba-SILL-uh-ka).
This is the ruins of a Republican basilica, the Basilica Aemilia, in the Roman Forum, with the Roman Senate House and the Arch of Septimius Severus in the background.
The inside of a basilica was basically a lot like a modern Christian church or a medieval cathedral: a big hall with columns down the sides to make aisles, as you can see in this picture of the Basilica Aemilia. Sometimes they had a raised platform at one end for the important people to sit on. The floor of the Basilica Aemilia was built of many different kinds of marble, that came from Numidia and Egypt in Africa, from Greece, and so forth, to show all the different places that the Roman Empire ruled.
This is the ruins of another basilica, the Basilica Julia, on the other side of the Roman Forum. (The temple of Castor and Pollux is in the foreground, and the Column of Phocas is on the left). It was built in the time of the Emperor Augustus, at the beginning of the Roman Empire. Can you see the front steps, the side aisles, and the middle wide nave?
One difference from medieval or modern churches is that people usually went into a basilica through a door in the middle of the long side, instead of on the short side.
Inside the basilica, judges heard court cases, or politicians made speeches, or sometimes teachers held classes. Outside, on the steps of the basilica, people sold food or changed money in little booths. When the Basilica Aemilia burned down, some of the bronze coins that the money-changers had in their booths got dropped and the fire melted them into the marble floor.
More about Roman basilicas (page 2)
To find out more about Roman basilicas, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
City : A Story of Roman Planning and Construction, by David Macaulay (1983). For kids - brilliant! The basilica is an early one.
Roman Architecture, by Frank Sear (1983). The standard college textbook.
The Architecture of the Roman Empire: An Introductory Study, by William MacDonald (1982). Actually not so introductory, but it's got great illustrations that really make the building techniques clear.
Early Christian Churches
Main Roman Architecture page
Main architecture page
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