After receiving a thorough education in Greek philosophy and science, he possibly served as a Roman architect and engineer. As a young man he served in the army corps of engineers under Caesar, first in Gaul (known service includes Larignum 56 BC and Marseilles 48 BC), then in North Africa (at Zama in 46 BC).
Vitruvius was not only an influential architect, but was also an author, civil engineer, and military officer. He also employed his knowledge of architecture and military strategy as a Roman military engineer. After his general’s assassination, Vitruvius joined the troops of Octavian (the future Augustus), on active duty as an artillery engineer; by 33 BC he was an aqueduct official.
Vitruvius wrote one known work, a handbook (institutio) in 10 books on “architecture”—that is civil engineering— from selection of a city site through design and construction to maintenance and defense. De architectura is a treatise on architecture was written dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects.
He gives extensive theoretical justifications for each precept, devoting over two-thirds of book 9 to astronomy and astrology, as the basis for constructing sundials.
Vitruvius' De architectura was widely copied in the Middle Ages and survives in many dozens of manuscripts though in 1414 it was "rediscovered" by the Florentine humanist Poggio Bracciolini in the library of Saint Gall Abbey. In De Architectura, Vitruvius highlights six principles of Architecture: Order, Arrangement, Eurythmy, Symmetry, Propriety, and Economy. He wrote for many years around 25 BC, in his old age and during peacetime.
Vitruvius (c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC): Roman architect
