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The key to Rome's early importance and predominance is its geographic position on the Tiber, the largest river of central Italy. At a distance of ca. 20 km from its mouth, an island in the Tiber provides the easiest place to cross the river between Rome and the sea; and there is no other crossing place for many miles upstream. The left bank opposite the island became the natural halting place for the general overhand traffic from N to S of the Italian peninsula as well as for the salt trade route which came from the salt marshes N of the mouth of the Tiber. The river was crossed at the island by bridges or by ferry, and the salt route continued over the Vicus Iugarius, the Argiletum and the Via Salaria towards the mountainous regions of the Sabines, whereas the traffic from the N of Italy into Latium and Campania took its way through the valley of the Forum along the Sacra Via towards the Alban hills. The earliest traces of settlements within the boundaries of later Rome have been found in the immediate vicinity of the Tiber island S of the Vicus Iugarius. Excavations in the Area Sacra of S. Omobono, begun in 1937, point to pre-urban settlements from ca. 1500-1400 B.C. Early religious traditions like the festival of the Septimontium, which included the Palatium, Cermalus, Velia, Fagutal, Caelius (with Succusa), Oppius, and Cispius, show that the development of Rome as an organized township was based on the hills as natural strongholds. Owing to this geographic position there was uninterrupted habitation on the site of Rome from the second millennium B.C. on. In the Iron Age, an archaic city emerged on the left bank of the river enclosing the four regions: Suburana (Caelius), Esquilina, Collina (Quirinal and Viminal), and Palatina. The Capitoline, always regarded as the citadel of the united city, was not included in one of the regions. The archaeological evidence of Iron Age tombs and hut foundations is, however, not limited to the Palatine, Quirinal, Esquiline, and Velia; it also appears to a large extent in the valley of the later Forum Romanum although the legend describes this as a marsh made habitable only by the draining by the Cloaca Maxima, attributed to the engineering skill of the Etruscans. The fact that a hut settlement was found at the lowest point of the valley at the Equus Domitiani 5 m below the first Imperial pavement of the Forum is ample evidence that the open brook coming from the valley between Quirinal and Viminal, crossing the valleys of the Forum and the Velabrum and emptying into the Tiber, provided sufficient drainage to make the valley habitable and to keep the old road open for traffic. The spring-fed brooks that drained the valleys provided at the same time fresh water for the early dwellers. Through the Campus Martius flowed the Petronia Amnis, the only watercourse whose ancient name is known to us; it came from a spring, Fons Cati, on the slope of the Quirinal. The brook that drained the valley of the Circus Maximus (Vallis Murcia) between the Palatine and Aventine originated from two branches, one coming from the Oppius, crossing the site of the Colosseum and continuing between Palatine and Caelian; at the SE corner of the Palatine it joined another watercourse coming out of the valley S of the Caelian. After crossing the circus valley and the Forum Boarium it flowed into the Tiber ca. 100 m below the mouth of the Cloaca Maxima. It was not the marshy ground that made settling in the valleys difficult--there is no evidence that the settlements on the hillsides were populated more densely or earlier than those in the valleys--but the violent inundations of the Tiber which plagued the city until the beginning of the 20th c. The winter floods, many of them recorded by ancient writers, must often have destroyed the hut settlements in the valleys. Usually the flood exhausted itself in three to five days, and the inhabitants could easily repair the damage to their huts without giving up the place of habitation.
E. Nash, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 76 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
(Rhome). Rome. Rome lies on the river Tiber, about fourteen
miles, in a straight line, from the sea. Its latitude (41j 53' N.) is the same
as that of Chicago; its longitude (12j 29' E.) corresponds very nearly with
that of Venice and of Leipzig. Its site forms a part of the gently rolling volcanic
plain which lies between the sea and the Sabine and Alban Mountains, extending
from Cape Linaro, on the north, as far south as Astura and the Pontine Marshes.
The earlier city was confined to the left bank of the river, which here pursues
a very winding course and, dividing, surrounds a small, flat island; but before
the end of the Republic a considerable suburb had sprung up on the right bank,
which became the fourteenth Regio in the division of the city under Augustus.
The oft-mentioned hills of Rome are low, and now, with some
exceptions, of gentle slope. In ancient times they were more steep; for the
intervening depressions (and to a less extent the lower parts of the hills themselves)
have been covered, to the depth of nine, twelve, and in places even thirty feet,
by the accumulation of debris. They are partly spurs, or irregular projections,
from the line of bluffs which marks the descent from the general altitude of
the Campagna into the valley of the Tiber, partly isolated masses nearer the
river-bed. To the former class belong the Quirinal and Viminal hills, whose
highest elevation above the surface of the Tiber (this being reckoned at 21.98
feet above sea-level) is about 158 feet; the Esquiline, with its two spurs Cispius
(151 feet) and Oppius (161 feet); and the Caelian (141 feet), which is separated
from both the Esquiline and the Aventine by valleys. The hills standing by themselves
are the Capitoline (the two summits 141 feet, the depression between them 98
feet above the Tiber), which was originally connected with the Quirinal by a
ridge; the Palatine (141 feet); and the Aventine (128 feet). To the north of
the Quirinal, but not counted as one of the Seven Hills, was the Collis Hortorum,
now the Pincio (164 feet). The small elevation southwest of the Aventine (Mons
Testaceus, now Monte Testaccio, 115 feet) is entirely artificial, being composed
chiefly of fragments of pottery. Along the right bank stretched the high ridge
of the Ianiculum (253 feet), with its continuation, Mons Vaticanus.
Between the Quirinal and the Tiber was the level Campus Martius,
at first a training-field outside the walls, in later times built upon and included
within the city limits. The cattle-mart (Forum Boarium) lay between the Palatine
and the Tiber, the Circus Maximus between the Palatine and the Aventine. On
the low ground north of the Palatine, stretching towards the Capitoline, was
the Forum (often called Forum Romanum, or Forum Magnum, to distinguish it from
the imperial forums), the spot in which the life of Rome centred; as it became
too small for the congestion of business, relief was sought by building a series
of extensions (Fora Caesarum) on the north side. The Colosseum (Amphitheatrum
Flavium), the greatest monument of Roman architecture, stands in the depression
between the Palatine, Esquiline, and Caelian Hills.
In its development as a city Rome passed through several stages,
some of which are clearly defined. Numerous indications point to the Palatine
Hill as the seat of earliest settlement. At a remote period it was fortified
by a strong wall of well-squared tufa blocks, laid without mortar; fragments
of this wall have been discovered on the south and west sides. At least three
gates gave access to the hill-top thus enclosed: the Porta Mugonia (vetus porta
Palatii, cf. fig. 7) on the north side, the River-gate (Porta Romanula) on the
west side, and a third, of which the name is uncertain, on the south side. To
the latest times the Romans regarded the Palatine with especial reverence, and
there cherished certain memorials associated with their oldest legends, such
as the Hut of Romulus (Casa Romuli), which, though no doubt built of wood, and
straw-thatched, was kept in repair, and was still standing in the fourth century
A.D.
How long the Palatine city sufficed for the needs of the
population cannot even be conjectured. After a time the limits seem to have
been extended so as to include the Cispius, the Oppius, and the depression between
them (Fagutal), together with the valley lying between these and the Palatine
(Subura), as well as the small spur which the Palatine throws out towards the
northeast (Velia), and a portion of its slope on the northwest side (Cermalus).
To the city thus formed of seven parts (the original Palatine city being counted
as one) the name Septimontium appears to have been given; but evidence regarding
it is both meagre and unsatisfactory. More is known about the boundaries of
Rome in the next stage of development, when enlarged by the addition of the
Quirinal, Viminal, and Caelian Hills. It was now divided into four wards (regiones;
cf. Varro, L. L. v. 45), the first (Regio Suburana) comprising the Caelian Hill
and the Subura; the second (Esquilina), the Cispius, Oppius, and Fagutal; the
third (Collina), the Quirinal and Viminal Hills; the fourth (Palatina) included
the Palatine, Cermalus, and Velia. The Capitoline Hill was made a part of the
city, but not set off as a separate ward; it was retained as a common sanctuary
and fortress. Of the fortifications, by which this city of the four wards must
have been protected, no trace has yet been found.
The bounds of Rome in the period with which the name of Servius
Tullius is connected can be made out, for a large portion of the circuit, with
exactness; for they were unchanged during the whole time of the Republic, and
were marked by a line of imposing fortifications (agger Servii Tullii), remains
of which have been discovered at many points. The Aventine Hill was now included
within the limits, which were extended also further to the east on the Quirinal,
Viminal, and Esquiline Hills. The wall of Servius was pierced by a number of
gates, of which those most frequently mentioned are the Porta Carmentalis, at
the foot of the Capitoline; the Porta Collina and Porta Esquilina, on the east
side; and especially the Porta Capena, which opened into the Appian Way. The
area bounded by the wall was about two square miles.
By the time of Augustus, Rome had extended beyond the Servian
wall on every side. In B.C. 8 he divided the whole city, including the parts
beyond the Servian limits, into fourteen wards (indicated on the Plan by Roman
numerals). In each ward was afterwards placed a watch-house (excubitorium) for
the vigiles, of whom there were seven cohorts (=about 7000 men), so distributed
that each cohort looked after two wards; the duties of the vigiles were those
of our policemen and firemen combined. The wards were subdivided into precincts
(vici; the vicus as a subdivision is much older than the time of Augustus),
each comprising a group, or block, of buildings; over the precincts were the
precinct-masters (magistri vicorum), whose duties included not only the general
oversight of other matters, but especially provision for the worship of the
Lares Compitales, to which the worship of the Genius of Augustus was added.
This larger Rome was finally fortified by a massive wall,
commenced by Aurelian in A.D. 271, but not finished till the reign of Probus
(A.D. 276-282). The Aurelian wall, as it is generally called , was about 54
feet high on the outside, faced with brick, and strengthened (at any rate after
the first restoration) by 381 square towers. It was repaired by Arcadius and
Honorius in A.D. 403, afterwards by other rulers, and by several Popes; the
greater part is still standing. It was constructed in great haste, as is shown
by the large use of materials taken from other structures, and by the fact that
walls previously erected for different purposes, whose aggregate length amounted
to about one sixth of the entire circuit, were incorporated in it as they stood.
There were originally fourteen gates, vaulted, and flanked with round towers,
besides the posterns, or small passages used for purposes of traffic in time
of peace; the number was raised to fifteen by the enlargement of the Porta Pinciana
from a postern to a gate of full size, probably by Honorius. The whole length
of the wall was 11.7 miles (18837.50 m.); the area enclosed by it was 5.019
square miles, less than one-eighth the area of New York City.
The religious boundary of Rome, the Pomerium, was not moved
forward at the same time with the civil and military limits. The Pomerium of
the city in the period when it comprised four wards and the Capitoline remained
unchanged till the time of Sulla , who caused an extension to be made, but for
some reason did not include the Aventine; this was outside the Pomerium till
the reign of Claudius. Only he who had extended the territorial limits of Rome
was entitled to the distinction of enlarging the Pomerium. After Sulla, at least
Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus availed themselves of the privilege; and
the line of Aurelian's wall for considerable distances seems to have coincided
with a Pomerium previously fixed, perhaps also with an earlier limit of taxation
for provisions brought into the city.
The population of Rome in the different periods cannot be
estimated, even approximately; but, to judge from the area within the Aurelian
wall, it can hardly at any time have exceeded 1,800,000.
The Tiber within the Aurelian wall was spanned by several
bridges. The earliest was the Pons Sublicius, which was constructed of wood
so that it could be cut down easily on the approach of an enemy; it was kept
in repair, on religious grounds, even after bridges of stone stood above and
below it. Next came the bridges connecting the island with the two banks, Pons
Fabricius and Pons Cestius, both originally of wood, but renewed in stone in
the first century B.C. The first stone bridge was the Pons Aemilius, also called
Lapideus, dating from B.C. 142. The others were Pons Agrippae (reign of Augustus),
Pons Aurelius (probably dating from the reign of Caracalla), and Pons Probi
(reign of Probus). Frequently reckoned with these are two bridges outside the
walls--the famous Mulvian Bridge (Pons Mulvius or Milvius, B.C. 109), two miles
north on the Via Flaminia; and the Pons Aelius by the Campus Martius, built
by Hadrian. Nero's bridge (Pons Neronis) was broken down, perhaps as early as
the time of Hadrian.
Along the Tiber were wharfs. The river-bed was skilfully
adjusted--far more skilfully than under the system adopted some years ago and
put into effect at enormous expense by the Italian engineers--to the great variation
in the volume of water carried down, which at flood-height has been known to
measure fourteen times the amount flowing when the river is at its ordinary
level. The channel was graded at three elevations, so as to make three stages.
Thus at the Pons Aelius the bottom division, for low water, was 218.2 feet wide;
the middle division, for ordinary height, 319.9 feet wide; while to the upper
division, designed to carry off the water in time of flood, a width of 442.9
feet was given. A complicated system of drains led into the Tiber through several
large main sewers. Of the latter the Cloaca Maxima is justly celebrated as one
of the best examples of early hydraulic construction. According to tradition
it was built in the time of the Tarquins. Starting in the Subura, it followed
a very irregular course, which was perhaps determined by the channel of a primitive
brook. It passed beneath the Forum at the lowest point, under the east end of
the Basilica Iulia, and emptied into the Tiber by the Forum Boarium. The channel
of the Cloaca Maxima was paved with polygonal blocks of lava, and vaulted with
large voussoirs of a hard kind of tufa (lapis Gabinus) laid without mortar;
to give greater solidity at the mouth, the vaulting there for some distance
was composed of voussoirs of peperino (lapis Albanus) arranged in three rings.
The dimensions of the channel vary; where it is largest, at the opening into
the Tiber, it is 14.75 feet wide and 18.96 feet high, measured from the pavement
to the middle of the vault.
The architecture of Rome in the early days was unpretentious.
Even the temples, built after Etruscan patterns, were low and of common materials
covered with stucco. The streets were narrow and crooked; as a large amount
of wood was used in construction, it is not surprising that between the years
B.C. 215 and 50 seven terrible conflagrations swept over the parts of the city
along the Tiber and about the Forum; inundations of the river also at times
caused great destruction. Not till near the end of the Republic did ambitious
citizens direct their energies towards the erection of fine public buildings,
such as Pompey's theatre; some, in the same period, as Lucullus and Aemilius
Scaurus, lavished money upon palatial residences, which they ornamented with
costly marbles. Cicero, patriot that he was, found Rome inferior to Capua not
only in general appearance, but particularly in the matter of streets, and he
speaks contemptuously of the building materials--in latere aut in caemento,
ex quibus urbs effecta est. He himself had a house on the north slope of the
Palatine which cost him 3,500,000 sesterces (about $144,000); the house of Aemilius
Scaurus is said to have been sold to the infamous Clodius for the enormous sum
of nearly 15,000,000 sesterces (about $615,000).
Iulius Caesar formed large plans for the beautifying of Rome,
but in the midst of their accomplishment his life was cut short. Augustus completed
the edifices which his adoptive father had left unfinished, and inaugurated
a new epoch in the extent to which he carried not only the erection of buildings,
but also the restoration of earlier structures (the temples restored by him
numbered eighty-two) and the use of fine materials, especially marble and travertine
(lapis Tiburtinus); his saying that he "found the city of brick and left it
of marble" was no idle boast. His example was followed by other emperors, among
whom the greatest builders were Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, and Hadrian; of lower
rank than these as regards the architectural style, though not the size, of
their buildings (chiefly Thermae), were Caracalla, Diocletian, and Constantine.
Roman architecture was at its best in the period from Augustus to Hadrian.
The contributions of the Romans to the progress of the arts
were greater in the field of architecture than in any other. From the time of
Sulla they freely adopted the architectural forms of the Greeks; but with these
they combined the extensive use of the round arch, and gradually worked out
a system which enabled them to erect immense structures, such as lay within
the range of neither the Greek nor the Etruscan architecture. Lacking the Greek
sensitiveness to perfect proportion, 1 they relied, for effect, more upon massiveness
than upon symmetry, and indulged in greater richness of decoration than Greek
taste would have allowed. Under the Empire they ransacked the known world for
the choicest marbles, as well as for the hard stones, the granites, and porphyries;
these they turned to account in every conceivable way, larger masses being used
for columns and other architectural members, thin slabs for incrustation, and
small fragments for mosaics. Surfaces finished in stucco were decorated in brilliant
colours, frequently with complicated designs, sometimes with paintings of high
merit; bas-reliefs also were painted. In their adaptation of the Greek orders
of architecture the Romans made changes affecting alike the shaft, capital,
and architrave. Borrowing also from the Greeks the plan of the oblong temple
and that of the hill-side theatre, they altered both; at the same time, contrary
to Greek practice, they raised their temples upon high foundations, and gave
to their theatres a full elevation on the exterior. But apart from these, they
so developed several architectural types as to make them distinctively Roman;
such were the circus, the amphitheatre, the basilica, baths, the triumphal arch,
the commemorative column, the round tomb, and the aqueduct, so far as this was
constructed above ground on the principle of the arcade. The Roman roads also,
though in the modern view belonging rather to the domain of engineering than
to that of architecture, were equally characteristic; and certain of their bridges,
as that at Alcantara in Spain, command universal admiration. No other city has
been able to boast of so great a number and variety of beautiful or impressive
structures as Rome in the first half of the fourth century A.D. According to
a Catalogue dating from that period, the city contained 2 circuses, 2 amphitheatres,
3 theatres, 10 basilicas, 11 thermae, 36 arches of marble, 2 commemorative columns,
6 obelisks (imported from Egypt), 423 temples, 1790 domus--that is, extensive
private residences, or palaces, of the wealthy--besides which there were reckoned
46,602 tenements (insulae); the open places were adorned with 2 colossi (probably
those of Nero and Augustus), 22 "great horses" (presumably counting not merely
the large equestrian statues, as that of Marcus Aurelius, now in the square
of the Capitol, but also groups of which horses formed a part, as those of the
Dioscuri on the Capitoline and the Quirinal), to which are added 80 gilded and
77 ivory statues of the gods, no mention being made of the countless lesser
statues on every side.
The number of obelisks in Rome is known to have been about
twice that given in the Catalogue. Of the 19 aqueducts by which, according to
the Catalogue, the city was supplied with water, part were branches. The principal
aqueducts were: Aqua Appia, built in B.C. 312; Anio Vetus, for the Esquiline
Hill, B.C. 272; Aqua Marcia (B.C. 144) and Aqua Tepula (B.C. 125), extending
to the Capitoline; three constructed in the reign of Augustus: Aqua Iulia (B.C.
33), in the line of the Marcia and Tepula; Aqua Virgo (B.C. 19), for the Campus
Martius; and Aqua Alsietina (B.C. 2), for his naumachia on the right bank of
the Tiber; Anio Novus, built by Caligula; Aqua Claudia, by Claudius; Aqua Traiana,
by Trajan, the last on the right bank; Aqua Severiana and Aqua Alexandrina,
constructed to supply baths, the former by Septimius, the latter by Alexander,
Severus. According to Lanciani's calculations, the amount of water brought in
daily by the aqueducts in the time of Nerva (before the last three named in
the list were built) was about 23,839,793 cu. ft. (cu. m. 675,092; see his I
Comentarii di Frontino, p. 362). Three of the aqueducts have been repaired and
are in use--the Aqua Marcia, Aqua Virgo, and Aqua Traiana.
The names and dates of the more noteworthy buildings will
now be given in connection with a rapid survey of the City according to its
main divisions, commencing with the Capitoline Hill.
On the northern summit of the Capitoline was the Stronghold
(Arx) of the earlier city.
Within its walls were the Auguraculum, an open place where
auspices were taken; the Temple of Iuno Moneta, with which the Mint was connected;
and a Temple of Concord, built in B.C. 217; but their location is uncertain.
On the southern summit was the most magnificent of all Roman temples, that of
Iupiter Optimus Maximus, called the Capitolium. It stood in an area, on a high
platform, and was nearly square, being Etruscan in plan and style; the sum of
the four sides measured perhaps 760 feet. The front part was a triple colonnade;
behind this were the three large cellae, the middle one for Iupiter, the other
two for Minerva and Iuno. The original edifice is ascribed to the Tarquins,
but it was not dedicated till the first year of the Republic, B.C. 509. It became
a repository of the richest booty and votive offerings. In B.C. 83 it was burned
to the ground; it was rebuilt, with richer adornment, the second temple being
dedicated in B.C. 69. Again filled with treasures, it fell a prey to flames
in A.D. 69. It was rebuilt a third time on the same plan, but as a Corinthian
hexastyle, only to be burned again in A.D. 80. It was restored with great splendour,
the fourth temple being dedicated by Domitian in A.D. 82. It was not again destroyed
by fire, but remained to be dismantled by plunderers.
The Capitol was reached from the Forum by a graded road (Clivus
Capitolinus, paved in B.C. 174), from which a branch led to the Arx. Of the
open places, shrines, and private buildings on the Capitoline outside the Capitol
and the Arx very little is known. The Tarpeian Rock was on the southeast side.
On the slope of the Capitoline overlooking the Forum was the Tabularium, a depository
for archives, erected in B.C. 78.
The northeast and southwest sides of the Forum in early times
were lined with small shops (tabernae), which eventually were removed to make
room for public buildings. The very ancient shrine of Ianus stood somewhere
near the middle of the northwest side; the round Temple of Vesta at the southeast
corner. The Palace of the Vestals (Atrium Vestae), southeast of the temple,
was greatly changed by enlargements and restorations; near it was the official
residence of the Pontifex Maximus (Regia). In the vaults of the Temple of Saturn
(dedicated B.C. 497) the public treasure was kept; the eight Ionic columns remaining
belong to a later restoration. The three beautiful Corinthian columns still
standing on the foundation of the Temple of Castor (dedicated B.C. 484) date
from a restoration in B.C. 6. The Temple of Concord was likewise of early date
(dedicated B.C. 366); but the existing plan and fragments date from a remodelling
of the edifice in B.C. 7. Under the Empire temples were erected in honour of
Iulius Caesar (Templum Divi Iulii, marking the spot where his body was burned,
dedicated B.C. 29); of Vespasian (three Corinthian columns remain); of Faustina,
wife of Antoninus Pius, dedicated to him also after his death in A.D. 161 (now
the Church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda); and of Romulus, the small son of Maxentius,
who died in A.D. 309; this last building, of circular form (now incorporated
in the Church of SS. Cosmas and Damian), lies just beyond the Temple of Faustina,
northeast of the Forum. In A.D. 367 a series of twelve chapels, containing gilded
statues of the Olympian divinities, was erected in the southwest corner (Porticus
Deorum Consentium).
The oldest of the basilicas was the Basilica Porcia, built
by the elder Cato in B.C. 184; this and the Basilica Opimia (B.C. 121) were
removed, as the ground was needed for the extensions of the Forum. The Basilica
Fulvia et Aemilia, built in B.C. 179, north of the shops, was extended afterwards
to the edge of the Forum; as this side has not been excavated, its foundations
cannot be traced. The Basilica Sempronia (B.C. 170) was erected on the site
of the house of Scipio Africanus Maior, and was itself replaced by the magnificent
Basilica Iulia, which was begun by Iulius Caesar in B.C. 54 and completed by
Augustus.
The open space of the Forum was paved with large blocks of
stone. Along the south side passed the Holy Way (Via Sacra), the course of which
varied somewhat in different periods. Across this, at the point where it entered
the Forum (north of the Regia), was the Arch of the Fabii (Fornix Fabianus),
erected in B.C. 121; south of the Temple of Iulius Caesar was the Arch of Augustus
(B.C. 19), and at the upper end of the Basilica Iulia, the Arch of Tiberius
(A.D. 16)--all these commemorating famous victories. The Arch of Septimius Severus
(A.D. 203) is in a good state of preservation, though the six horses and the
chariot which stood upon it, with Victory placing a crown upon the head of Severus,
have long since disappeared. Several columns surmounted by statues stood in
the Forum; the latest of them, the tasteless Column of Phocas (A.D. 608), is
still in place, without the image.
Near the northwest corner of the Forum was the only prison
in Rome (carcer), comprising a large upper and smaller lower dungeon, the latter
of very ancient construction. East of the prison was the open space of the Comitium.
Here were the ancient Senate-house (Curia Hostilia) and the Speakers' Platform,
called Rostra, because ornamented with the beaks of the ships taken from the
Antiates in B.C. 338. Both were removed by Caesar, who commenced the erection
of a new Senate-house (Curia Iulia, finished by Augustus) and the rebuilding
of the Rostra at the upper end of the Forum; when the Rostra began to be used
in the new location is a matter of doubt. The Platform in its final form was
about 78 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 10 feet high; the top was adorned with
statues. A second Speakers' Platform (Rostra Iulia) was erected in front of
the Temple of Iulius Caesar, forming part of the facade, and was ornamented
with the beaks of ships taken at the battle of Actium. Near the southwest corner
of the Rostra was the Golden Milestone (Milliarium Aureum), erected by Augustus,
from which distances were calculated on the Roman roads; at the northwest corner
Constantine set up the Umbilicus Romae, in the form of a cone, as the ideal
centre of the city and the Roman world. There is much uncertainty in regard
to the plan and location of several other structures about the Forum, as the
Secretarium Senatus and Graecostasis. Somewhere near the middle of the open
space was the Lacus Curtius, which appears to have become a dry puteal by the
time of Augustus; near the Temple of Castor was the Lacus Iuturnae, which was
still known in the Middle Ages.
The first extension of the Forum, made by Iulius Caesar (Forum
Caesaris or Forum Iulium, see Map of Rome), was east of the Arx; in the centre
was a Temple of Venus Genetrix, in front of which stood a bronze statue of Caesar's
war-horse. On the east side of this Augustus built a second extension (Forum
Augusti), in which was the splendid Temple of Mars Ultor (dedicated B.C. 2),
adorned with costly works of art. Nearer the Forum Romanum Vespasian laid off
a similar area, and erected in it the magnificent Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis).
This was connected with the forums of Caesar and Augustus by the Forum of Nerva
, which was planned and almost finished by his predecessor Domitian; the boundary-wall
was richly ornamented with Corinthian columns and reliefs, and in it was a prostyle
hexastyle Temple of Minerva, also of the Corinthian order. The last and finest
of the imperial forums was that of Trajan, who cut away the ridge between the
Capitoline and Quirinal to make room for it. It was entered from the Forum of
Augustus, through a high triumphal arch. From this the visitor passed into an
area with colonnades on either side, which opened out into two semicircular
extensions; at the upper end of the latter was the great Basilica Ulpia. Beyond
the Basilica was a small area in which rose the immense column of Trajan (without
the base 97 feet,=100 Roman feet, high), adorned with reliefs celebrating his
campaigns against Decebalus. On either side of this were two buildings in which
a large library was stored (Bibliotheca Ulpia); just beyond them Hadrian erected
a temple in honour of Trajan and Plotina.
The greater part of the Palatine Hill in the Republican period
was given up to the residences of wealthy citizens. There were, however, several
Restoration of Hadrian's Mausoleum. temples the location of which, even now
that a considerable portion of the hill has been excavated, has not been determined
with exactness. Somewhere on the northern side was the very ancient Temple of
Victory; farther down towards the Via Sacra lay the Temple of Iupiter Stator.
Of later date were the Temple of the Magna Mater (dedicated B.C. 191), and the
Temple of Iupiter Victor, which seems to have been changed into a temple of
the Sun by Elagabalus. But these temples were eclipsed in splendour by the Temple
of Apollo, dedicated B.C. 28; the site of this, and of the library connected
with it, has not yet been cleared.
Augustus, who was born on the Palatine, made it a place of
imperial residence. His palace, enlarged by the additions of his successors
(Domus Augustana), became the nucleus of a complex of palatial edifices to the
magnificence of which the world has elsewhere afforded no parallel. (The arrangement
in general, so far as the excavations have gone, may be made out from the Plan.)
Tiberius seems to have had a separate palace before his father's death.Caligula
added to this; and, utilizing the roofs of intermediate buildings, he made a
bridge from the Palatine to the Capitoline. Nero, after the nine-days fire in
July, A.D. 64, extended his Golden House (Domus Aurea) over the Velia and even
to the Esquiline; together with the Palace on the Palatine it must have covered
about a square mile, but the parts beyond the Palatine were removed by the following
emperors. The Stadium was probably built by Hadrian. Septimius Severus extended
the palace beyond the Stadium; at the southeast corner, overlooking the Via
Appia, he erected the Septizonium, a beautiful marble balcony in at least three
stories. On the slope of the Palatine at the middle of the south side was the
Paedagogium, a school for the pages of the imperial household.
North of the Palatine ran the Via Sacra, connecting at the
east end with a street that skirted the southeast side and led into the Via
Appia near the Porta Capena. Across the Via Sacra at the highest point of the
Velia was the Arch of Titus, commemorating his victories over the Jews in A.D.
70 (dedicated in A.D. 81 by Domitian). Near this was the magnificent Temple
of Venus and Rome, built by Hadrian, with two great apsidal niches facing in
opposite directions (partly incorporated in the church of S. Francesca Romana).
Further towards the Forum was the Basilica of Constantine, the main part of
which was erected by Maxentius before B.C. 312; its remains are among the most
impressive in Rome. At the end of the Via Sacra the triumphal Arch of Constantine
is still standing, not far from the Colosseum.
The Colosseum (probably so named from the colossus of Nero,
more than 100 feet high, which stood near it) was commenced by Vespasian, and
dedicated by Titus in A.D. 80, but it seems not to have been entirely finished
till later. It is in the form of an ellipse, the circuit of which measures nearly
one-third of a mile (1728 feet), the major axis 615 feet, the minor axis 510
feet; the area is about 5.7 acres. The four stories furnished seats for 87,000
spectators. More ample still was the Circus Maximus, which was first provided
with a permanent structure by Caesar; his building was in three stories, the
first of stone, the other two of wood, and was about 2130 feet long, seating
150,000 spectators. This Circus was several times burned, rebuilt, and enlarged;
before A.D. 79 it accommodated 250,000 spectators, and at the beginning of the
fourth century its capacity is said to have reached the incredible number of
485,000.
The other great buildings in the eastern part of Rome were
the Thermae of Titus ( III.), erected in A.D. 80 on a part of the site of the
Golden House. The Thermae of Caracalla (Thermae Antoninianae, Reg. XII.) could
accommodate at one time 1600 bathers, and were of unparalleled magnificence.
The quadrangular enclosure measures more than a fifth of a mile (1081 feet)
on each side, and the ruins now have something of the appearance of a great
fortress. On the Quirinal (Reg. VI.) were the immense Thermae of Diocletian
(dedicated in A.D. 305), part of the remains of which have been turned to use
in modern edifices, and the Thermae of Constantine, which, though restored as
late as A.D. 443, have left few traces.
The public edifices in the Campus Martius were numerous and
important. Here was the Theatre of Pompey (erected B.C. 55); with this was connected
the Porticus Pompei, together with the Exedra, in which stood the statue of
Pompey mentioned in the narratives of the death of Caesar. Nearer the Capitoline
and the Tiber were the Theatre of Marcellus, of which an imposing section of
exterior wall is still to be seen, and the Theatre of Balbus, both dedicated
in B.C. 11; among other buildings erected during the reign of Augustus were
the Porticus of Octavia and Porticus of Philippus, both named after relatives
of the emperor, the Thermae of Agrippa, and the original Pantheon. The Pantheon
in its present form, dating from the reign of Hadrian (though the inscription
of Agrippa is still on the front of the Portico), is not only in a better state
of preservation than any other Roman edifice, but ranks high among remarkable
buildings. Its plan has the form of a circle 140 feet in diameter on the inside,
with a rectangular portico sustained by sixteen Corinthian columns of granite
39 feet high. Over the round structure, which is of brick, is a massive dome
140 feet at its highest point above the paved floor; the building is lighted
by an aperture, 30 feet in diameter, at the centre of the dome. Near the Tiber,
in the northern part of the Campus Martius, was the huge Mausoleum of Augustus,
the chambers of which were used as burial-places for members of the imperial
family down to Nerva. To his reign also belonged the completion of the new Saepta,
commenced by Iulius Caesar; this, originally an open space marked off to facilitate
voting by centuries, was now surrounded by marble porticos, and provided with
elaborate barriers of division. The Stadium, built by the emperor Domitian for
Greek games, had seats for 30,000 spectators; the Circus of Flaminius (B.C.
221) was probably still larger. In the Campus Martius were many temples, early
and late, as those of Hope (Templum Spei), of Neptune (eleven columns remain),
and of the Egyptian Isis. The Column of Marcus Aurelius, similar to that of
Trajan, is well preserved; the triumphal arches across the Via Lata have disappeared.
The famous Temple of Aesculapius, founded in B.C. 291, was
on the island in the Tiber. On the right bank of the river was a Circus, built
for the most part by Caligula, but named after Nero. East of this Hadrian erected
his massive Mausoleum (now Castello di S. Angelo), in the form of a drum of
masonry, 240 feet in diameter, resting on a square base measuring 341 feet on
the sides; the whole structure was about 165 feet high, and on the top was a
gilded statue of the emperor. Near by he built a Circus.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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