Apollodorus of Damascus

Apollodorus of Damascus
Apollodorus of Damascus, bust from 130/140 AD in the Glyptothek
Born
Damascus, Roman Syria, Roman Empire
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsBasilica Ulpia, Trajan's Forum, Temple of Trajan, The Pantheon

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.

  1. ^ Procopius of Caesarea, Προκόπιου Καισαρέως Περὶ Κτισμάτων [Procopius Caesareus About buildings] (in Ancient Greek) – via ΛακουσΚούρτιος [LakousKourtios]
  2. ^ George Sarton (1936), "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", Osiris. 2: 406-463 [430]
  3. ^ Fakouch, Tammam (2003). "Foreword (2)". In Giuliana Calcani (ed.). Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column: From Tradition to Project. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-8-8826-5233-3. OCLC 57075431. p. 11: ... the brilliant architect Apollodorus of Damascus. This famous Syrian personage ... ISBN 88-8265-233-5
  4. ^ Hong-Sen Yan, Marco Ceccarelli (2009), International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings of HMM 2008, Springer, p. 86, ISBN 978-1-4020-9484-2, He had Syrian origins coming from Damascus
  5. ^ "Apollodorus of Damascus". Oxford Reference.