West side of the Maison Carrée, Nimes

The Maison Carrée at Nimes, France, is one of the best preserved temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire. Side view of the Maison Carrée, Nimes Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Side view of the Maison Carrée, Nimes Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Nîmes is a city and commune of southern France, préfecture (capital) of the Gard département. ... Roman Empire between AD 60 and 400 with major cities. ...

It was built around 19 BC by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who was also the original patron of the Pantheon in Rome. It was dedicated to his two sons, Gaius and Lucius, adopted heirs of Augustus who both died young. The original inscription dedicating the temple to Gaius and Lucius was removed in medieval times. However, a local scholar named Jean-François Séguier was able to reconstruct the inscription in 1758 from the order and number of the holes in the portico's facade, to which the bronze letters had been affixed. The text of the dedication read (in translation): "To Gaius Caesar, son of Augustus, Consul; to Lucius Caesar, son of Augustus, Consul designate; to the princes of youth." Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC - 10s BC - 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s Years: 24 BC 23 BC 22 BC 21 BC 20 BC 19 BC 18 BC 17 BC 16 BC 15 BC 14 BC... Marcus Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 BC-12 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. ... Pantheon (Greek: παν, pan, all + θεόν, theon, of the gods), in one sense, is the set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Greek mythology, Norse mythology. ... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... Gaius Caesar (20 BC - 4 AD) See also Gaius Caesar , for others of the same name. ... Lucius Caesar (17 BC-2, born Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa and adopted as Lucius Julius Caesar Vipsanianus) was the second son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia Caesaris. ... Augustus (plural Augusti) is Latin for majestic or venerable. Although the use of the cognomen Augustus as part of ones name is generally understood to identify the Emperor Augustus, this is somewhat misleading; Augustus was the most significant name associated with the Emperor, but it did not actually represent... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The temple owes its preservation to the fact that it was rededicated as a Christian church in the 4th century, saving it from the widespread destruction of temples that followed the adoption of Christianity as Rome's official state religion. It subsequently became a meeting hall for the city's consuls, a canon's house, a stable during the French Revolution and a storehouse for the city archives. It became a museum after 1823. Its French name derives from the archaic term carré long, literally meaning a "long square", or rectangle - a reference to the building's shape. The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Front view of the Maison Carrée, Nimes

The Maison Carrée is an excellent example of a classic Augustan temple. Raised on a 2.85 m high podium, it dominated the forum of the Roman city, forming a rectangle almost twice as long as it is wide (with dimensions of 26.42 m by 13.54 m). Its front is dominated by a deep portico or pronaos almost a third of the building's full length. It is hexastyle in form, with ten columns topped with Corinthian capitals under the pediment, and another 20 attached half-columns around the remainder of the building's exterior. The architrave over the columns has fine relief carvings of rosettes and acanthus leaves. A large door (6.87 m high by 3.27 m wide) leads to the surprisingly small and windowless interior, where the shrine or cella was originally housed. This is now used to house occasional art exhibitions. There are no remains of ancient decoration inside the cella. Front view of the Maison Carrée, Nimes Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Front view of the Maison Carrée, Nimes Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum, although the Romans referred to it more often as the Forum Magnum or just the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, business, trading and the administration of justice took place. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... A pronaos is the inner area of the portico of a Ancient Greek or Roman temple, situated between the colonnade or walls of the portico and the entrance to the cella or shrine. ... Corinthian can refer to: Corinth Corinthian order Corinthian league First Epistle to the Corinthians or Second Epistle to the Corinthians (books of the Bible) Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, a football club in Brazil Corinthians F.C., a former English football club, now part of Corinthian-Casuals F.C. The Corinthian... The architrave is the lintel or beam that rest on the capitals of the columns. ... A cella, in Ancient Greek and Roman temples was the central room that housed cult statues. ...

The building has undergone extensive restoration over the centuries; until the 19th century it formed part of a larger complex of adjoining buildings. These were demolished when the Maison Carrée was turned into a museum, restoring it to the splendid isolation that it would have enjoyed in Roman times. The pronaos was restored in the early part of the century when a new ceiling was provided, designed in the Roman style. The present door was made in 1824. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

It underwent a further restoration between 1988-1992 during which it was re-roofed and the square around it was cleared, revealing the outlines of the forum. Sir Norman Foster was commissioned to build a modern art gallery, known as the Carrée d'Art, on the far side of the square. This provides a startling contrast to the Maison Carrée but borrows many of its features, such as the portico and columns (but rendered in steel and glass). The contrast of its modernity is thus muted by the physical resemblance between the two buildings, representing architectural styles 2000 years apart. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reichstag, German parliament The Armadillo, Sir Norman Fosters Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM (born 1 June 1935) is a British architect. ...

The Maison Carrée inspired the Neo-classical Church of the Madeleine in Paris. Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... Église de la Madeleine, Paris Léglise de la Madeleine, or Léglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (or simply La Madeleine), is a church in the 8th arrondissement of Paris that was designed as a temple to the glory of Napoleons army. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

External links

• Photos and brief text (http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/roma/carree.html)
• Detailed photographs (http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/France/Nimes/thumbnails_contents.html)