An architect and engineer of the early second century AD, probably first encountered by the future emperor Trajan in Syria around AD 91 and brought to Rome, then to the Dacian campaigns of AD 105. His documented works are Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, Trajan's Bridge over the Danube and several triumphal arches. Later tradition also credits him with the Pantheon, though the sources give no detailed account of his role there and the building's design is also argued to owe more to Hadrian's own initiative. A story recorded by Cassius Dio has Hadrian banish and execute him after he mocked the emperor's own architectural sketches; many modern historians doubt the story took place as told.
Facts
Disputed
NationalityBorn in Damascus, Roman Syria 1 Ancient and modern sources differ on his ethnicity: he has been described as Syrian, Arab, Nabataean Arab, or a Hellenized provincial. Birth in Damascus, in Roman Syria, is the one point of agreement. Defining ContributionChief architect and engineer to the emperor Trajan: designed Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column and Trajan's Bridge across the Danube, and is credited with bringing the dome into standard use in Roman imperial architecture. 1 Connections
In Style
Trajans court architect, working on the Pantheon, Trajans Forum, Trajans Column and Trajans Bridge, squarely within the Roman architectural tradition.
Source Apollodorus of Damascus (Wikipedia)
Works Designed
Why this is disputed. Later tradition credits Apollodorus with the Pantheon's design, but the ancient sources give no detailed evidence for his role, and modern scholarship also weighs a significant design role for Hadrian himself. Recorded as Status debated on that basis, not as settled attribution.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source The Pantheon (Wikipedia)Apollodorus of Damascus, works and Pantheon attribution
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationApollodorus of Damascus, career sectionQuote, Apollodorus of Damascus, career section
Trajan's favoured architect and engineer
Apollodorus of Damascus (Wikipedia)
- Apollodorus of Damascus, lead section
- Apollodorus of Damascus, lead and later life sections
In Style: Roman Architecture, Lead
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.
View the SourceThe Pantheon (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationWorks Designed: The Pantheon, Apollodorus of Damascus, works and Pantheon attributionView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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