What does baseball have to do with anything??

Yankee Stadium is one of the most popular baseball stadiums in New York and home of one of the most successful sports teams in the world. Yankee Stadium is located in the concourse section of the Bronx and was rebuilt in 2009. Although most may not first think about Roman architecture when they look at Yankee Stadium, there actually is some Roman influence. Throughout the exterior of the Stadium,  there are multiple arched windows that replicate a Roman Colosseum. Along with the windows, you can see that the building itself is built with a mix of stone. The Stadium consists of a mix of limestone, granite and cast stone. It also has many vertical lines which actually emphasizes the Stadium’s monumental atmosphere.

Brittany, Team Hephaestus

Arch

This is The Washington Square Arch that located in Washington Square Park. Washington Square arch is a Triumphal Arch built with marble. Its structure is very similar to Arch of Constantine. The Arch of Constantine were built to celebrate especially important military victories. Also the Washington Square Arch were built to celebrate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as President of the United States in 1789. Both of this arch has the same commemorative meaning. There have some sculptures along the sides of the Washington Square Arch, and engraved with Washington quotations. It stands for wisdom, justice, fame, and bravery. Both of the sculptures were used to represent and record some important meanings.

-ShuLinTan, Team Venus

Sarcophagus in the MET

This marble sarcophagus (Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Lives of Saint Peter and Christ) located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art dates back to the early 4th century of the Roman Culture. When I saw it at the museum, it reminded me of Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, also dating back to the Roman culture and the mid 4th century.

The description of this sarcophagus illustrated that it was carved about the time when Christianity was first recognized as a legal faith within the Roman Empire, similar to the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. And similarly, the sarcophagus depicts the scenes from the life of Christ. On this sarcophagus, there are two legendary scenes of Saint Peter’s arrest in Rome and the miracle of drawing water from a rock performed in his jail cell, and more scenes of Christ on the lower side. On the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, there are multiple scenes from the Bible. Christ is in the center and looks very youthful like a young philosopher-teacher, with a scroll in his hand. He’s represented by a movement and naturalism.

Both sarcophagi are very similar in that they were carved around the time when Christianity was first recognized as a legal faith in the Roman Empire, and both are exquisite examples of Roman funerary art. However, the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is different as it brings together Classical and Early Christian Art. With the columns and capitals, and Christ being situated above the river gods, the sarcophagus shows  Christianity surmounting old polytheistic traditions of the Ancient Romans, and thus, serves the purpose of synchronizing the new religion into its empire.

This also relates to Classics class where we learned about syncretism, the merging of two different cultures, which is happening here with the sarcophagus merging Christianity and the old Roman polytheistic traditions.

–  Isra Nazlin, Team Minerva

#1010unit2 #artandclassics