Ancient Roman architecture could penetrate through the clerestory windows. The oldest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, was built in Rome in 184 BC by Cato the Elder during the time he was Censor. Other early examples include the basilica at Pompeii (late 2nd century BC). After Christianity became the official religion, the basilica shape was found appropriate for the first large public churches, with the attraction of avoiding reminiscences of the Greco-Roman temple form. The Roman circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. The circuses were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although circuses served
Ancient Roman architecture military engineering. By late antiquity, separate stair towers were constructed adjacent to the main buildings, as in the Basilica of San Vitale. The construction of spiral stairs passed on both to Christian and Islamic architecture. Ancient Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans , but differed from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Roman architecture flourished in the Roman Republic and even more so under the Empire, when the great majority of surviving buildings were