Ancient Technologies for Today!

I just finished watching a wonderful lecture series about Greek and Roman technologies from the catapult to the Pantheon. It was fascinating, not only to hear about ancient buildings and machinery, but to see their employ in modern application. The course instructor is Dr. Stephen Reseller, a professor at West Point Academy. He makes the subject come alive. His enthusiasm is contagious.

The last lecture shows how very much alive all these ancient methods are in modern or near modern history. One building caught my eye, as it was produced in the 18th Century, that of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, which he designed and built. He was a bit of a Renaissance man, with interests in science, art, architecture, politics, history. After the fussiness and over-the-top decor of the Baroque era, it was time to scrape away the icing on the cake, and get to the heart of the matter. Hence there was a revival of the classical era design, now called Neo Classical, a getting back to basics, as it were. Monticello, placed side by side with Rome's famed Pantheon gives an interesting picture of classical themes brought to life once again. Note the colonnaded entry, the triangular tympanum over the pediment and the domed section of roof.

 

Jefferson designed and built his home in 1772, located in Albermarle County, near Charlottesville, Virginia. He studied the works of the ancients for inspiration. He used contemporary materials, including the bricks typical of the Federal style which had become so popular in Colonial America, but the walls and proportions reflect the order of the original ancient building.
That's why classics are classics; why they are timeless. Good taste lasts forever!