[47] Soon, the city of Rome was ornamented with the Roman specialty: supersized monuments built on a colossal scale.

[48, Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater), AD 80, Rome] Of all the grand monuments of the empire at its peak, the most colossal must have been the Colosseum, a huge sports stadium, where trained gladiators fought to the death. The Colosseum — solid, useful and beautiful — is a great example of ancient Roman architecture and aesthetics. While this megastructure is a no-nonsense Roman design, again, the façade is Greek, decorated with the three Greek orders of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

[49] Stepping inside, you can almost hear the roar of ancient Rome. Romans filled and emptied the Colosseum's 50,000 seats as quickly and efficiently as we do our super-stadiums today.

[50] It's built with two theaters facing each other — that's what an amphitheater is — so twice as many people could enjoy the entertainment.

[51] The Colosseum was a huge stone metaphor for the empire itself: well-designed, really big, filled with violence, and practical for the people — in this case keeping the restless masses entertained.

[52, Trajan's Column, AD 113, Rome] Emperor Trajan's Column — essentially a propaganda billboard — marked the empire at its peak, around the year 100. It trumpets the glories of the army and the emperor who ruled Rome in its heyday. Like a 200-yard-long scroll carved in stone, this "continuous narration" winds all the way to the top. The purpose (like so much art from ancient Rome): telling the story of yet another great military victory…the way the empire wanted it remembered.

[65, Farnese Bull, second-third century BC, National Archaeological Museum, Naples] Not only did the Romans copy the Greek style, they supersized it. These huge statues once decorated a bath house. The centerpiece — the largest intact statue from antiquity — tells a story that comes with a moral. Roman mythology was part of their religion, and it was often used to teach preferred societal values.

[66] This art tells a story with a message: once upon a time, an evil queen was tied to a raging bull. The action is masterfully captured. You can almost hear the bull snorting. While the myth is a long story, anyone visiting this bath house and passing this statue would be reminded quite graphically of its moral — that in Rome, justice prevails.