Apollodorus of Damascus (
Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ὁ Δαμασκηνός)[1] was an architect and engineer from
Roman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD.[2][3][4] As an engineer 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 the
dome a standard. He is also known as Apollodorus Mechanicus.
Early life
Apollodorus was born in
Damascus,
Roman Syria. Sources refer to him as ethnically
Nabatean,[6][7] although other sources refer to him as
Greek.[8][9] Little is known of his early life, but he started his career as a military engineer[10] before meeting future emperor
Trajan in Damascus, then being summoned to
Rome by him when he was a
consul in 91 AD, after his twentieth birthday,[11] and later accompanying him during the
Second Dacian War in 105 AD.[12]
Work
Apollodorus was Trajan's favoured architect and engineer.
In Rome he designed and oversaw the construction of:
He is the author of Siege Engines (Πολιορκητικά), dedicated to an unnamed emperor, likely Trajan.[13]
Style
Fiorella Festa Farina, Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Damascus, described the technical prowess of Apollodorus as stemming from his cultural roots and the architectural tradition of Syria, modes of thought."[sentence fragment][15] He was known for his practical and robust designs. It was likely due to his influence that domes became a standard element in
Roman architecture.[16]
Death
Cassius Dio reports that Apollodorus offended
Hadrian by dismissing and ridiculing the emperor's forays into architecture, which led to his banishment and death (although doubts have been raised concerning the veracity of Dio's claim).[17]
^George Sarton (1936), "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", Osiris. 2: 406-463 [430]
^Giuliana Calcani, Maamoun Abdulkarim (2003), Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column: From Tradition to Project, L'Erma di Bretschneider, p. 11,
ISBN88-8265-233-5, ...focusing on the brilliant architect Apollodorus of Damascus. This famous Syrian personage represents...
^Hong-Sen Yan, Marco Ceccarelli (2009), International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings of HMM 2008,
Springer, p. 86,
ISBN978-1-4020-9484-2, He had Syrian origins coming from Damascus
^Giuliana Calcani, Maamoun Abdulkarim (2003), Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column: From Tradition to Project, L'Erma di Bretschneider, p. 55,
ISBN88-8265-233-5
^Apollodorus of Damascus And Trajan's Column, Maamoun Abdulkarim, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2003, p. 9
^Adam, Jean-Pierre (1994). Roman Building: Materials and Techniques. Routledge. p. 189.
^R. T. Ridley (1989), "The Fate of an Architect, Apollodoros of Damascus", Athenaeum. 67: 551-65.