Who was the Roman author who wrote ten books on architecture and codified Greek proportional systems, adding two more orders?

• A. Vitruvius
• B. Aristotle
• C. Pliny
• D. Herodotus

Answer: (A)

Vitruvius, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, was the Roman architect and engineer who wrote De architectura in ten books. He systematized the Greek proportional ideas used in architecture and expanded the traditional three orders by adding two more—Tuscan and Composite—so the set of recognized orders grew from three to six. His work links mathematical proportions to visual harmony and practical building rules, providing detailed descriptions of how the orders should look and be proportioned. Because of this, his treatise became the foundational reference for Roman practice and later Renaissance designers. The other figures mentioned are known for philosophy or natural history, not for authoring a comprehensive architectural treatise or codifying architectural orders.