Descriptions of Architectural Objects in Antiquity considers how buildings were seen, imagined, described, and interpreted in Ancient Greek and Roman literature and rhetoric. The two basic discourses used in the Ancient world to present architectural objects in any detail were ekphrasis and periegesis, with descriptions of both real and fictional edifices coming in both verse and prose. In these descriptions Greek and Roman authors also made use of topoi, to which the book also pays particular attention. Ancient works that contained ekphraseis and periegeseis of buildings are used as sources for understanding the contemporary status of the architect and architecture. Finally, the focus of the book is on the idea that rather than mere being about architectural monuments, these written works can themselves be considered monuments.