M. Vitruvius Pollio
c. 80 BC – after c. 15 BC
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architect and military engineer who served under Julius Caesar and Augustus. De Architectura (On Architecture) in ten books is the only complete architectural treatise to survive from antiquity.
It covers building materials, temple design, civic buildings, domestic architecture, water supply, astronomy, and military machines. His definitions of good building — firmitas, utilitas, venustas (solidity, utility, beauty) — became canonical. The work was rediscovered in 1414 and profoundly influenced Renaissance architecture. Leonardo da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man' is directly based on Vitruvius' description of ideal human proportions.
Ten books on architecture covering temples, theatres, baths, harbours, water supply, clocks, and siege engines. The only surviving ancient treatise on...