Final answer:
Romans adapted Greek column styles but made significant changes to temple construction by emphasizing grand interior spaces and using columns for both structural support and decoration. Unlike the Greek focus on exterior grandeur and post-and-lintel limitations, Roman temples featured deep porches, a high entrance podium, and innovative use of concrete and arches.
Step-by-step explanation:
Roman temple architecture, while influenced by Greek and Etruscan styles, introduced a unique way of using columns. Unlike Greek temples, which adhered to a post-and-lintel construction and emphasized exterior grandeur, Romans used columns both for decorative purposes and structural support in their temples.
They adopted Greek orders—Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—but customized them with a Roman twist. For instance, Roman temples often featured a deep portico, influenced by Etruscan architecture, and a high podium with a pronounced frontal entrance. Moreover, Roman temples were designed for interior spaces to be as grand as exteriors, a shift from Greek design which did not emphasize interior space.
The Romans emphasized a seamless blend of architectural form and function, facilitated by their innovations in concrete and their extensive use of the arch to create large interior spaces, like the Pantheon's coffered dome and oculus. This was a significant departure from Greek temple architecture, which was characterized by an external focus and post-and-lintel limitations.
The Romans were also adept at innovation, repurposing existing materials and methods. Columns in Romanesque architecture varied in material and style, with some European examples showing massive, decorated ashlar masonry structures. Republican Roman temples, like the Temple of Jupiter, highlighted deep porches and single-access frontality—a contrast to the surrounding column forests of Greek temples.