Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates 50 years of performing 'Revelations'

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; dir. Judith Jamison (City Center. 2001)
Originally uploaded by Performing Arts / Artes Escénicas

Writes the NY Times, "Members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform “Revelations” nearly as often as ordinary people brush their teeth. This magnificent work, created by Alvin Ailey in 1960, is a dance on land and in water, a journey through African-American spiritual music and, for dancers, an act of reverence for the generations that came before.

“It doesn’t matter how tired I am,” said Briana Reed, a company member since 1998. “As soon as the music starts, I feel myself transported to another place.”

Ailey’s burning exploration of grief and joy celebrates its 50th anniversary on Wednesday at City Center. As part of the season-long commemoration, the troupe’s artistic director, Judith Jamison, will conduct performances on Friday and Saturday nights. “It’s like a port de bras for me,” she said. “It’s just so easy to breathe with that music.”

Dictators and monarchs and the fine arts

Rigaud, Hyacinthe (1659-1743) - 1701 Louis XIV of France (Louvre, Paris)
Originally uploaded by RasMarley

Dictators and Monarchs in the Arts / Fine Arts review / Trudeau
Please write the Word of the answer.

1. European city, location of the notably naughty Kit Kat Club. ____
2. Approximate era of the story of Cabaret: a) 1890's b) 1930's c)
1940's d) 1960's.
3. Cabaret takes place in the realm of "big-city poverty, drug and
alcohol escapism, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in the streets,
venereal disease, the prostitution of both sexes" and so on. The
French phrase for this non-bourgeois territory translates literally as
"half the world." It is the __ __.
4. "Bourgeois" refers to the values and social place of the a) upper
working class b) upper middle class c) wealthy class.
5. A cabaret is, more or less, a ____.
6. When a person is declining into a state of degeneracy or into the
state of losing their morals we say they are d___ .
7. In 1930's Germany a party called the Nationalist Socialist German
Worker's Party developed in the region around Munich. It was
popularly known as the __ party.
8. Art approved by the government during the Third Reich:
a) modern, abstract, stimulating b) traditional, realistic,
inspirational c) both the above.
9. Attitude toward art by the Third Reich: a) very important b) to be avoided
c) neutral.
10. The residence of Louis XIV and the preceding French kings in
Paris: the Palais du __.
11. The violent rebellion of the impoverished class in la France, the
French Revolution: a) 1689 b) 1718 c) 1776 d) 1789.
12. Southern European nation from which England, Germany and France
derive much of their influence in cuisine, entertainment, government
and art: __ .
13. Vaux le Vicomte: a splendid example of a 17 thcentury French __ .
14. Noblemen won favor with the king in court life at Versailles by
increasing their skill at __ .
15. As a teen, Louis XIV performed as a gilded Apollo in a famous
opera. He thereby acquired the nickname _ __ __, or,in English, _ _ __
.
16. The Greek words khorea,"to dance" and graphein, "to write," are
synthesized in the modern word __ .
17. The river that connects Paris with the North Sea - and the
Atlantic: a) Seine
b) Rhine c) Danube.
18.France is bordered by Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and a) Belgium
b) Netherlands c) Denmark.
19. Name the ancient Chinese-HIndu symbol for Good fortune that was
used by a short-lived European military regime in the late 20th
century: the __ .
20.The German word for Germany: __land.
21. This dancer was born in rural Texas and schooled in Los Angeles.
His creativity, however, flowered in NYC. He was __ __ .

Congrats to Lev Hudson, top scorer on this quiz.

Terminology in ballet is primarily from French

Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Dance terms in ballet and modern are mostly derived from French, owing to the influence of Louis XIV.

Arabesque [a-ra-BESK] One of the basic poses in ballet, arabesque takes its name from a form of Moorish ornament. In ballet it is a position of the body, in profile, supported on one leg, which can be straight or demi-plié, with the other leg extended behind and at right angles to it, and the arms held in various harmonious positions creating the longest possible line from the fingertips to the toes.

Derrière [deh-RYEHR] Behind, back. This term may refer to a movement, step or placing of a limb in back of the body. In reference to a particular step, the addition of derrière implies that the working foot is closed at the back.

Jeté, grand [grahn zhuh-TAV] Large jeté. In this step the legs are thrown to 90 degrees with a corresponding high jump. It is done forward to attitude croisée or effacée, and to all the arabesques. It may also be done backward with the leg raised either croisé or effacé devant. Grand jeté is always preceded by a preliminary movement such as a glissade.

Pirouette [peer-WET] Whirl or spin. A complete turn of the body on one foot, on point or demi-pointe.

Plié [plee-AY] Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees.

Sauté, sautée [soh-TAY] Jumped, jumping.

Alvin Ailey, Choreographer and Extraordinary American

Alvin Ailey, Choreographer
Originally uploaded by Ben Heine

Alvin Ailey, American modern dancer and choreographer, was born in Rogers, Texas in 1931 and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of twelve. There, on a junior high school class trip to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, he fell in love with concert dance.

Inspired by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and classes with Lester Horton, Mr Ailey began his formal dance training. It was with Mr. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated dance company in this country, that Mr. Ailey embarked on his professional dance career.

After Horton's death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became the director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In 1954, he and his friend Carmen de Lavallade were invited to New York to dance in the Broadway show, House of Flowers, by Truman Capote.

In New York, Mr. Ailey studied with many outstanding dance artists, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman and took acting classes with Stella Adler. The versatile Ailey won a number of acting roles, continued to choreograph and performed as a dancer.

In 1958, Mr. Ailey founded his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Mr. Ailey had a vision of creating a company dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage and the uniqueness of black cultural expression. In 1960 he choreographed Revelations, the classic masterpiece of American modern dance based on the religious heritage of his youth.

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Ailey created some 79 ballets, many of which have appeared in the repertoire of major dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Paris Opera Ballet and La Scala Ballet.

Mr. Ailey died of complications due to AIDS on December 1, 1989. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote, "You didn't need to have known Ailey personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm and exuberance and his courageous stand for multiracial brotherhood."

Patron of the Arts in the 1600's: Louis XIV

Patron of the Arts in the 1600's: Louis XIV
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The Sun King generously financed the royal court, notes Wikipedia, and supported those who worked under him.

He brought the Académie Française under his patronage, and became its "Protector". He allowed Classical French literature to flourish by protecting such writers as Molière, Racine and La Fontaine, whose works remain greatly influential to this day.

Louis also patronised the visual arts by funding and commissioning various artists, such as Charles Le Brun, Pierre Mignard, Antoine Coysevox and Hyacinthe Rigaud whose works became famous throughout Europe. In music, composers and musicians, Lully, Chambonnières and François Couperin thrived and influenced many others.

Through four main building campaigns, Louis converted a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII into the spectacular Palace of Versailles. Louis officially moved the royal court to Versailles on 6 May 1682.

Versailles became a dazzling, awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and the reception of foreign dignitaries. At Versailles, the King alone assumed the attention, which was not shared with the Capital or People.

Several reasons have been suggested for the creation of the extravagant and stately palace, as well as the relocation of the monarchy's seat. For example, Saint-Simon speculated that Louis viewed Versailles as an isolated power center where treasonous cabals could be more readily discovered and foiled.[10] Alternatively, the civil war, le Fronde, caused Louis to allegedly hate Paris, which he abandoned for a country retreat.

However, his many improvements, embellishments and developments of Paris, such as the establishment of a police and street-lighting[11], lend little credence to this theory. As further examples of his continued care for the Capital, Louis constructed the "Hôtel des Invalides"—a military complex and home to this day for officers and soldiers rendered infirm either by injury or age. While pharmacology was still quite rudimentary, les Invalides pioneered new treatments and set new standards for hospice treatment. The conclusion of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668 also induced Louis to demolish the northern walls of Paris in 1670 and replace them with wide tree-lined boulevards.[12]

Moreover, Louis also renovated and improved the Louvre and many other royal residences.

Louis XIV, the Château de Vaux le Vicomte, Versailles and the ballet

Château de Vaux le Vicomte - 01-09-2006 - 14h00
Originally uploaded by Panoramas

When Louis XIV was crowned his interest in dancing was strongly supported and encouraged by Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, (formerly Mazarini), who assiste Louis XIV. The young king made his ballet debut as a boy, but it was in 1653 as a teenager that he accomplished his most memorable feat as a dancer. He performed a series of dances in Le Ballet de la Nuit and for his final piece he appeared as Apollo, god of the sun. Wearing a fancy golden Roman-cut corselet and a kilt of golden rays he came to be known as the Sun King, says the-ballet.com.

Cardinal Mazarin promoted Italian influences in the French spectacle. The ballet master he imported from Italy was Giovanni Baptista Lulli, who was rechristened Jean Baptiste Lully for work in France. Lully became one of the king's favorite dancers and rivaled the king as the best dancer in France.

In 1661 Louis established the Académie Royale de Danse in a room of the Louvre, the world's first ballet school.

Also in 1661 he attended a party put on by the finance minister to show off his new home in the country. The entertainment was Molière's ballet Les Fâcheaux which pleased the king to no end, although he thought that the finance minister was a treasonous servant. As it turned out, the finance minister was arrested, and the ballet master, the home's architect, and the gardener were hired by the king.

A note on the unlucky minister from Wikipedia -

Once a small château located between the royal residences of Vincennes and Fontainebleau, the estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte was purchased by Nicolas Fouquet in 1641. At that time he was an ambitious twenty-six year-old member of the Parlement of Paris. Fouquet was an avid patron of the arts and attracted many artists with the gifts and encouragements he poured on them.

When Fouquet became King Louis XIV's superintendent of finances (Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (France)) in 1657, he commissioned Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre to renovate his estate and garden to match his grand ambition. Fouquet’s artistic and cultivated personality subsequently brought out the best in the three.[2]

To secure the necessary grounds for the elaborate plans for Vaux-le-Vicomte’s garden and castle, Fouquet purchased and demolished three villages. The displaced villagers were then employed in the upkeep and maintenance of the gardens. It was said to have employed eighteen thousand workers and cost as much as sixteen million livres.[3]

The château and its patron became for a short time a focus for fine feasts, literature and arts. The poet La Fontaine and the playwright Molière were among the artists close to Fouquet. At the inauguration of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a Molière play was performed, along with a dinner event organized by François Vatel, and an impressive firework show.[4]
[edit] Fête and arrest

The château was lavish, refined, and dazzling to behold, but these characteristics proved tragic for its owner: the king had Fouquet arrested shortly after a famous fête that took place on 17 August 1661 where Molière's play 'Les Fâcheux' debuted.[5] The celebration had been too impressive and the superintendent's home too luxurious. Fouquet's intentions were to flatter the King: part of Vaux-le-Vicomte was actually constructed specifically for the king, but Fouquet's plan backfired. - And with the same designers, Louis would create the extraordinary palace of Versailles.


At court, Molière and Lully collaborated, with Molière choreographing and Lully composing the music for ballets. Pierre Beauchamps, another ballet master, also worked with them choreographing interludes in the dramatic parts. Beauchamps eventually was named "superintendent of the king's ballets" in the dance school that Louis established in 1661 and is now one of the most famous of the "fathers" of ballet. It is Beauchamps who has been given credit for standardizing the five foot positions of ballet, (first through fifth positions).

In 1669 Louis, (still Louis XIV), established the Académie Royale de Musique for Lully to run. Then, in 1670 the king, past his physical prime, retired from dancing, allowing other, better dancers to take lead roles.

In 1672 Lully established a dance academy within the Académie Royale de Musique. This dance company survives today as the ballet of the Paris Opera - the world's oldest continuously running ballet company.

Lully's seriousness towards the study of dance led to the development of professional dancers as opposed to courtiers who could dance. Up until 1681 ballet was performed almost exclusively by men. Then, in 1681 Lully staged Le Triomphe de l'Amour, featuring Mademoiselle de Lafontaine, (1665-1738).

In 1687 Lully died from an injury he received by accidentally stabbing his foot with his time marking stick. At this time, ballet was normally performed in the same productions as opera, a theatrical form known as opéra-ballet.

In 1700 Choréographie, ou l'art de décrire la danse was published by Raoul Auger Feuillet. This book wrote down both conventions of stage and ballroom dancing and attempted to create a dance notation similar to music. Although this notation was never finalized and standardized, it is the system that is still in use today as no other system has been developed. The word choréographie gives us the English word choreography and is derived from the greek khorea, (to dance), and graphein, (to write). By 1700 many of the words and movements common in today's ballet were already in use, including jeté, sissone, chassé, entrechat, pirouette, and cabriole.

Jazz dance: Tamara Mayer

Cabaret, the famous movie about decadent life in Berlin, in the Kit Kat Klub

Kit Kat Klub
Originally uploaded by Altarena Playhouse

Cabaret is a 1972 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, says Wiipedia, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party.

A female club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them, says IMDB.com.
Sally Bowles, an American singer in 1930s Berlin, fall in love with Brian. They are both seduced by Max, a rich playboy. Sally becomes pregnant, and Brian offers to marry her... All the characters are linked by the Kit-Kat club, a nightspot where Sally sings.

A reviewer wrote, "On a historical level, a personal-story level, and as pure entertainment "Cabaret" works perfectly. The scene is Berlin, Germany, only two years before Hitler would come to total power. It is the Berlin that Christopher Isherwood lived in and wrote about: poverty, drug and alcohol escapism, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in the streets, venereal disease, the prostitution of both sexes, the desperation to escape through the film industry, the temporary escape from the harshness of life in "naughty" nightclubs like The Kit Kat Club, which encapsulates it all. It's a bad scene, and a good example of, perhaps, why so many Germans felt in need of a Hitler. There's not a single verbal reference to Hitler, and yet the presence of the growing Nazi movement all around these decadent misfits is ever present in this film. But you can't blame any of these apolitical people for that. Liza Minelli and Michael York's characters are so needy, so desperate just to find some personal happiness in life. They can't be bothered with what's going on in the bigger picture. Except for the Master Of Ceremonies at the Club: Joel Grey's character is a semi-supernatural all-seeing character, mocking, seeming to somehow know EXACTLY the further destruction Germany's headed for. His scary all-knowing grinning face pops in regularly to remind us."

The movie won 8 Oscars and numerous additional awards in 1973.

The colorful interior of Pantheon

The interior of the Pantheon in the 18th century, painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini.
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Many types and colors of marble, granite and other fine stones render the interior of the Pantheon a colorful environment. Students are coloring their paper Pantheons to reflect, the golds, greens, pinks and greys in the marble.

See more below.

Paper Pantheon project due Th, Nov 18

Claudia Dale
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Pantheon is from the Greek, meaning "to every god."
- commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome.
- rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.[2]
- portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind)
- pediment opening into the rotunda, notes Wikipedia,
- under a coffered, concrete dome
- central opening (oculus) to the sky.
- dome is still the world's largest non-reinforced concrete dome
- height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).
- It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history.
- map of Roma

20 pts:
- 5 colored, shaded, cut out and pasted down pantheon w explanatory notes and map of ancient Roma.
- 5 each for the 6 mult-choice questions and profile and signature of 3 respondents.
- due Th, Nov 18.

Brief descriptive summary of Macaulay's "Roman City," 12 pts

Roma: the Tiber, the Pantheon, etc
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Open with a scene from the video in writing a brief descriptive summary of Macaulay's "Roman City."

Characters include Lycinus, the Procurator of Gaul (a former slave), Marcus Fabricius, the engineer, and Gaius Valerius, the former general - now the master of the town of Verbona.

3rd person, as always in this class.

Describe the most important scenes and build your summary around those visual passages.

Titling!

Magnet Fine Arts: the heart of the Roman Empire

Magnet Fine Arts
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The Roman Empire ingested and dispersed the art of the Mediterranean peoples.

Commit this map to thy study!

Venezia
Adriatic Sea
Florence (region of Tuscany), aka Firenze
Roma
- Pantheon
- Forum
- Baths of Trajan
- Basilica
- Temple(s)
- Thermae
Napoli / Bay of Naples
- Isle of Capri
- Vesuvius
- Pompeii
- Herculaneum
Sicily
Tunisia / continent of Africa
Mediterranean
Greece
Peloponnesus peninsula
Crete
Aegean Sea
Asia Minor / Turkey
Istanbul / Constantinople / Byzantium
Black Sea


Diaspora - dispersal / emigration of large group, such as
- Jewish diaspora from Palestine to Europe was partly propelled by Roman occupation.
- Atlantic slave trade
- Native American "Trail of tears" forced diaspora
- Movement of Black Americans from Deep South to Midwest and NE states in early 20th century

Insulae, Ostia Antica

Insulae, Ostia Antica
Originally uploaded by Roamer61

In Roman architecture, an insula (Latin for "island," plural insulae) was a kind of apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient Rome, says Wikipedia, including ordinary people of lower- or middle-class status (the plebs) and all but the wealthiest from the upper-middle class (the equites).

The traditional elite and the very wealthy lived in domus, large single-family residences, but the two kinds of housing were intermingled in the city and not segregated into separate neighborhoods.[1]

The ground-level floor of the insulae was used for tabernae, shops and businesses, with the living space upstairs. Like modern apartment buildings, an insula might have a name, usually referring to the owner of the building.[2]

Plaza atrium - Naples

Plaza atrium - Naples
Originally uploaded by future15pic

The Latin word atrium referred to the open central court, from which the enclosed rooms led off, in the type of large ancient Roman house known as a domus, says Wikipedia.

The impluvium was the shallow pool sunken into the floor to catch the rainwater. Some surviving examples are beautifully decorated. The opening in the ceiling above the pool called for some means of support for the roof. And it is here where one differentiates between five different styles of atrium.

As the centrepiece of the house the atrium was the most lavishly furnished room. Also, it contained the little chapel to the ancestral spirits (lararium), the household safe (arca) and sometimes a bust of the master of the house.

The term was also used for a variety of spaces in public and religious buildings, mostly forms of arcaded courtyards, larger versions of the domestic spaces. Byzantine churches were often entered through such a space (as are many mosques, though the term is not usually used for Islamic architecture.

Magnet fine arts / Roma: "In vino, veritas."

Magnet fine arts / Roma
Originally uploaded by trudeau

In vino veritas is a Latin phrase that translates, “in wine [there is the] truth", says Wikipedia.

It is also known as a Greek phrase which has the same meaning. The author of the Latin phrase is Pliny the Elder;[1] the Greek phrase is attributed to the Greek poet Alcaeus.

The Greek poet Alcaeus is the oldest known source for the phrase. The Roman historian Tacitus described how the Germanic peoples always drank wine while holding councils, as they believed nobody could lie effectively when drunk.

The phrase is often continued as, "In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas", i.e., "In wine there is truth, in water there is health."

Similar phrases exist across cultures and languages. In Chinese, there is the saying, "酒後吐真言" ("After wine blurts truthful speech"). The Babylonian Talmud (תלמוד בבלי) contains the passage: "נכנס יין יצא סוד", i.e., "In came wine, out went a secret".[2]

It continues, "בשלשה דברים אדם ניכר בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו", i.e., "In three things is a man revealed: in his wine goblet, in his purse, and in his wrath." [3] (In the original Aramaic, the words for "his goblet", "his purse", and "his wrath" rhyme and are a play on words all using the root "כס".)

Magnet fine arts / Roma

Magnet fine arts / Roma
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Notes from Macaulay's movie, Roman City.

Quiz at end of viewing David Macaulay's "Roman City"

David Macaulay at Tacoma Art Museum
Originally uploaded by Tacoma Art Museum

Fine Arts students may use their won notes on Roman City in the quiz next week on the video.

Ex: Pompeii and the neighboring city of __ .

Roman Empire: ingesting and dispersing the arts of the Mediterranean

map_Roman_Empire_under_Augustus_Caesar_25_AD
Originally uploaded by trudeau

From which nations did the Romans absorb artistic material?

Upon which nations did the Romans bestow their artistic models?

Consider their artistic products -
- Temples / to Jupiter, to Bacchus, etc
- Basilicas - center of courts, law
- Forum - center for discussion of issues of the day
- Roads and bridges - carrying goods and artistic design
- Amphitheaters (from the Greek model) / the Colosseum
- Public baths
- City planning - grid
- Stadiums (from the Greek)
- Aqueducts
- Mosaics
- Murals / frescoes
- Roman arch
- Roman tiles
- Toga
- Fountains
- Sculpture

Taverna: tastes from the Mediterranean

Taverna: fine arts dishes from the Mediterranean: John's family tabouleh
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Greek food was abundant in Fine Arts Survey classes on Nov 4, as many students served simple dishes connected with the Mediterranean world.

The small feast was called a Taverna.

Taverna refers to a small restaurant serving Greek cuisine, notes Wikipedia, not to be confused with "tavern". The Greek word is ταβέρνα and is originally derived from the Latin word taberna ('shed' or 'hut', from tabula 'board', possibly by dissimilation from traberna, from trabs: beam, timber). As Greeks have migrated elsewhere, tavernes (plural) have spread throughout the world, especially countries such as the USA and Australia. The taverna is an integral part of Greek cuisine and of Greek culture.


Bearers of food were awarded 15 pts. Students who did not have dishes may make up to 12 of the points by -
- research and a comparison essay on Aristotle and modern composer-poet John Cage.
- Follow the class essay guidelines.

Jazz dance class on Nov 16, choreography by Escaped Images dancer Tamara Mayer

Dirtfoot / Escaped Images, Shreveport
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Choreography by Tamara Mayer, 3rd year dance student at Centenary College, will bring Fine Arts classes to the dance floor on Tues, Nov 16.

Mayer will choose music and create steps for a Charleston-style dance as well as for a flowing modern jazz dance.

Students will rehearse and videotape the fruits of the session.

The evolution of Rome from the Republic to the Empire

map_Roman_Empire_under_Augustus_Caesar_25_AD
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government.

It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, says Wikipedia, c. 509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period.

The Roman Republic was governed by a complex constitution, which centered on the principles of a separation of powers and checks and balances. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the aristocracy (the patricians), and other Romans who were not from famous families, the plebeians.

Early in its history, the republic was controlled by an aristocracy of individuals who could trace their ancestry back to the early history of the kingdom. Over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a new aristocracy which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance.

During the first two centuries, the Republic saw its territory expand from central Italy to the entire Mediterranean world. In the next century, Rome grew to dominate North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Greece, and what is now southern France. During the last two centuries of the Roman Republic, it grew to dominate the rest of modern France, as well as much of the east. At this point, the republican political machinery was replaced with imperialism.

The precise event which signalled the end of the Roman Republic and the transition into the Roman Empire is a matter of interpretation. Towards the end of the period a selection of Roman leaders came to so dominate the political arena that they exceeded the limitations of the Republic as a matter of course. Historians have variously proposed the appointment of Julius Caesar as perpetual dictator in 44 BC, the defeat of Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the Roman Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian (Augustus) under the first settlement in 27 BC, as candidates for the defining pivotal event ending the Republic.

The bridge from Greece to Rome: the Pantheon in Roma

Panteon - Roma
Originally uploaded by naomikean

The Pantheon (from Greek, meaning "to every god") is a building in Rome, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.[2]

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, notes Wikipedia, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky.

Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest non-reinforced concrete dome.[4] The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).[5] A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."[6]