History of Architecture -II

(18ARC24)
Assignment 02
Critical Assessment of a Historical Movie

- Shashank Manohar
1RW20AT089
II Semester ‘C’ Section
RVCA
Objective:-
To analyze the chosen historical movie from a critical point of view keeping
in mind the architectural and the historical accuracy of the time
The historical movie chosen should contain the elements taught during the
lectures in order to acclaim/critic it and the architectural comparisons should
be highlighted more analyzing the background setting and the set design
present in the backdrop of scenes. The historical context accuracy is also to
be taken into consideration thoroughly bifurcating the distinction between
reality and fiction. Sources can be cited for the information on the events that
actually happened

Movie chosen for analysis - AGORA

Agora is a historical movie based in Alexandria, a province of then Egypt
during the 4th Century AD, during the fall of the Roman Empire. The entire
movie revolves around the idea of religion and faith which acts as the driving
force for the plot. Agora is one of those movies with a vastly accurate story
and architecture with minor inaccuracies which will be dealt with in the
following detailed analysis. Although some scenes were created for dramatic
effect alone with no historical record. Its depiction of Christianity is wildly
accurate

The poster of the movie ‘Agora’ (Courtesy: IMDb)

 Architectural accuracies/inaccuracies:-
Architectural elements are heavily inserted in the first part of the movie with
very accurate depictions. The plot is centered around the agora of Alexandria
hence the title
Orders:
All the three original Greek orders- (Doric, Ionian and Corinthian) are
present in the movie with the Corinthian order shown in a larger frequency
All the orders are depicted very accurately and give an idea on how they were
very important as supporting structures and for ornamentation purposes.
Screenshots of the orders in the scenes are presented below

Ionic order in the Serapeum which is distinguished because of the presence of volutes)

Corinthian order
 Doric order
City layout:-
The city layout of Alexandria follows that of the Greek style, with the agora
being the cultural centre of the city and the acropolis which has the Temple
of Serapis (Serapeum of Alexandria), there is a presence of theatres for
cultural events too and every building has unique importance

Screen grab of the Agora part of the City of Alexandria

Agora:-
The agora (the marketplace) was an important part of the city where most of
the events took place and plays a central role in the plot of the movie and it
was accurately depicted along with the theatre and the important buildings
where social gatherings took place

(L-the depiction of a theatre and an administrative building; R- A bird’s eye view of the city of
Alexandria; B- A scene depicting the Agora)
Arch:-
Although shown for a short period of time,
there is a depiction of the distinctive Roman
arch which was an important architectural
element started by the Romans

Art:
Different paintings were depicted on various buildings in the movie which
also stands true in reality. The pediment and the frieze on the administrative
buildings had various Greek mythological stories carved into it
Sculptures of the Greek gods were also placed in several places in the Agora
and in the Serapeum along with sculptures similar to the Egyptian era given
the location of Alexandria.
In one of the scenes “The Capitoline Wolf” which is a statue of a she wolf
suckling Romus and Romulus the founders of the Roman Age is shown
signifying the post Roman period

(Clockwise: The pediment depicting mythological scenes; the ceiling of the Serapeum consisting of
paintings of the Greek gods; Egyptian sculptures; The Capitoline wolf
Temple of Serapis (Serapeum of Alexandria):-
The accuracy of the Serapeum is debated because of very little record of how
it looked before its destruction and hence the building can just be predicted
based on its remains. The temple of Serapeum portrayed in the movie is said
to be similar to the actual one based on verbal and minor documentations

--The Serapeum was said to also have a library with numerous books and also
called the “The daughter library of the Great Library of Alexandria”
In the movie the library is shown to be a dome with an oculus in the centre
(an oculus is also shown above the statue of Serapis - the temple deity)
And is part of the citadel complex alongside different religious buildings and
the temple itself

--One historical inaccuracy found in the movie is that of the destruction of the
library and the temple. In the movie some scrolls are burnt and pillars, statues
destroyed but in reality the Serapeum was completely destroyed and razed to
the ground with no trace of the building left except the foundation and some
broken down walls

-- There is a portrayal of the Caryatid which is an architectural element

observed in most of Greek architecture where sculptures of women holding
up pillars of buildings can be seen

(A bird’s eye view of the Temple of Serapeum and the library)

 The oculus which leads to the atrium of the library

The outer part of the library which consists of the Caryatid

 Historical accuracies/inaccuracies:
Although the architecture shown in the movie was very accurate there are
certain historical inaccuracies

Religion-

During this time the people who worshipped the Greek/ Roman gods were
referred to as pagans. Since religion was the driving force of the movie some
scenes were added for dramatic effect. There is no record of the fact that the
Christians harmed the Jews in any way. But the portrayal of Christians is
vastly accurate given their ignorant nature towards wisdom, knowledge etc.
during that time. The destruction of the library in 391 AD is well documented
by Roman historians Rufinus and Sozomen and it was far more devastating
than what was shown in the movie

Plot points with no record of evidence:

- Near the end of the movie it is shown that Hypatia, the philosopher was
very close to proving the heliocentric model but there is no evidence
since none of Hypatia’s works survived but she has been referred to as
an incredible astronomer and philosopher with wisdom
- The existence of Davus, the slave

Relationships-

Orestes’s relationship was exaggerated in the first half given how he and
Hypatia had a formal relationship according to historians. Hypatia used to
guide him and help him with the decisions as shown in the second half of the
movie
It is true that Synesius, the Bishop of Ptolemais was a student under Hypatia
as there are evidences of his letters sent to Hypatia which are the very little
evidence which gives a peek into Hypatia’s life
Death of Hypatia-

The death of Hypatia is well known because of the gruesome way she was
murdered under the orders of Cyril, the Bishop. In the movie, she was taken
by the parabalani stripped and was suffocated to death by Davus after which
the parabalani stoned her but in reality the followers of Cyril skinned her out,
broke her limbs, gouged out her eyes and her remains was paraded in the city
till they reached the site where they burned her
Her death symbolized the end of a peaceful age and the dawn of dark times in
the real world as was shown in the movie

Conclusion
Although “Agora” has certain historical inaccuracies it has one of the most
accurate architecture setting for a historical movie
The movie uses little to no CGI and is completely based on drama and
tapping into emotions and hence is a wonderfully made movie with a talented
cast and good set designs

Bibliography
1) Multiple articles talking about the Destruction of Serapeum and Hypatia’s death were
cited for the information of the incidents that actually happened
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serapeum_of_Alexandria
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/hypatia.html
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/serapeum.html
2) All articles bear citations to the original work referred - Historia Ecclesiastica, Socrates’ work
which contains Rufinus’ and Sozomen’s documentation of the events