Comitium
Location | Regione VIII Forum Romanum |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°53′34″N 12°29′6″E / 41.89278°N 12.48500°E |
Type | Forum (Roman) |
History | |
Builder | Tullus Hostilius/Julius Caesar |
Founded | 7-4th century BC |
The Comitium (
The Comitium was the location for much of the political and
Most Roman cities had a similar Comitium for public meetings (L. contiones) or assemblies for election, councils and
Archaic history
The earliest use of the Comitium as a political assembly area, along with the beginnings of Rome itself, is blurred between legend and
The Comitium contains the earliest surviving document of the Roman State, a cippus or inscribed pedestal found on the second floor of the Comitium, and dated to 450 BC. This inscription informs citizens of their civic duties.[11] Roman tribunals were held in the Comitium before other alternative locations became acceptable. Eventually such trials would be moved to the basilicas or the forum, except for more elaborate affairs.[12] The Comitium had a number or temporary wooden structures that could be taken down during the flood season. Court would generally consist of a magistrate, the condemned (generally kept in a cage below the elevated platform), representation for the condemned, and the prosecutor. The Rostra Vetera was a permanent tribunal eventually made into a war monument but still within the Comitium templum. The Rostra itself may have been considered a templum. A sundial that stood on the Rostra for a period of time was eventually replaced with newer devices.[1] The site has been used for capital punishment, as well as to display the bodies and limbs of defeated political opponents and funerals. Both the forum and Comitium had been used for public exhibitions.[12]
In his 1912 study, Francis Macdonald Cornford explains that the Roman Comitium was inaugurated as a temple, shaped like a square and oriented to the four corners of the sky. But Plutarch describes a circular site traced by Romulus at the founding of Rome using divination, after he had sent for men of Etruria who taught him the necessary sacred rites. A circular trench was cut into the ground and votive offerings and samples of earth from each man's native lands were placed within. "The ditch is called mundus- the same name given firmament (Ολυμπος)." From the center of this circle, the circuit of the city wall was designated and plowed. Everything within this area was sacred. It was the traditional center of the city as a similar area was in the original Palatine settlement.[13] The Umbilicus urbis Romae marks the center of Rome.[14] The senate council probably began meeting within an old Etruscan temple on the north side of the Comitium identified as belonging to the Curia Hostilia from the seventh century BC. Tradition holds that Tullus Hostilius built or refurbished this structure.[15] A royal complex may have existed near the House of the Vestal Virgins on one end of the Forum Romanum.[16]
Under the Roman Republic
When Rome became a republic, the original altar and Shrine of Vulcan may have served as a podium for senators or political opponents. Next to this spot is where the Rostra has its early beginnings. It is believed that the tradition of speaking to crowds from an elevated platform for political purposes may have begun as early as the first king of Rome.[17] In this area was another raised platform for speakers, with ascending and descending stairs on either side. The first structure to be called "Rostra" was on the south east section of the forecourt of the Curia Hostilia at the edge of the Comitium. As the population grew, not all Romans could fit in the Comitium, and speakers in the later Republic would turn their backs on the Curia and crowds within the Comitium and direct their speech to the crowd in the forum.[18] All of the city's most important decisions and laws were made in the senate. A law required that any bill not approved within an inaugurated and consecrated space was not valid. For this reason all meeting spaces of the senate were temples. Over time as the senate's size and power increased, so did the size of the senate house. In 80 BC the curia was enlarged by Sulla, who also added heating to the building for the first time.[19]
In 55 BC a political war broke out within the city between two factions, one led by
Structures within the Comitium
The Comitium was open towards the forum. At the boundary were the monuments and statues recording political events and recognizing famous Romans.
A more probable explanation is that the Tabula Valeria was an inscription in bronze or marble, containing the provisions of the famous Valerio-Horatian laws concerning the office of tribune. Such a tablet might very naturally be set up near their subsellia."[29]
The Comitium changed after the time of Caesar. The original spot of many of the monuments and statues was altered drastically. One of the biggest changes was to the Rostra Vetera.[30][31] This structure changed considerably even before 44 BC. It began with the first curia for the senate in 600 BC and a shrine that was added 20 years later[32] where, it is said, miraculous events occurred of milk and blood raining down from the heavens.[33]
Under Julius Caesar
Caesar's rise to power as a military general along with his successful campaigns led to sharing of power within the Republic, known as the
An episode that may have contributed to the
The Rostra was the most prestigious spot in Rome to speak from. Cicero remarked[where?] on the honor in his first speech during his term as praetor. It was the first time Cicero spoke from the Rostra.[37] The Philippics became one of the most popular writings of the orator. The works marked a return to active politics in 43 BC after a long retirement. In them,[citation needed] he attacked Mark Antony as the greatest threat to republican government after Caesar's death.[38] He wrote of the libertas or freedoms that the citizens of Rome had forfeited under Julius Caesar and violently denounced Mark Antony.[39] He made at least one of these epic speeches from the Rostra. When the conspirators had all been defeated, Augustus had tried but failed to keep Cicero's name off the death list. Eventually Antony wins and has the orator's head and hands displayed on the Rostra.[40]
Archaeology
The Comitium in Rome
During the Middle Ages artifacts from the ancient Roman civilization sparked curiosity with collectors.[vague] Early digging throughout Europe amounted to little more than destructive treasure hunting and grave robbing. Formal archaeology in Rome only began in the 19th century with the foundation of the Instituto di Corrispondenza and the work of Edward Gerhard. Starting with museums rather than excavation, archaeological work began by studying and cataloguing existing collections as background knowledge for the philological study of antiquity.[41]
A number of German archaeologists joined Gerhard to map out the city of Rome, the forum and the Comitium being of great importance as the topographical center.[42] He was joined by Chevalier Bunsen, Earnst Platner, Wilhelm Röstell, B. G. Niebuhr and Friedrich Hoffmann in writing the book Beschreibung der Stadt Rom in 1817, which was published in 1832.[43] The theories presented did not have full support from their peers. In his book, A dictionary of Greek and Roman geography published in 1854, Sir William Smith remarked:
The German views respecting the Capitol, the Comitium, and several other important points, have found many followers; but to the writer of the present article they appear for the most part not to be proved; and he has endeavoured in the preceding pages to give his reasons for that opinion.
No major excavation of the Comitium was undertaken until the turn of the century. Previous digs had only uncovered levels dated to the late empire. Such was the case in 1870, when later pavements or structures were located and digging was stopped by request for viewing and study and never resumed. In 1898, a committee was established to examine and study the earlier architectural fragments to establish an order for restoration of ancient buildings. The conclusion of this study was that new and more detailed excavations were required. That same year, G. Boni requested that the tramway in front of the church of Sant'Adriano al Foro be removed. His request was met in October and substantial new funds were made available for an extended excavation.[44] In December 1898, excavations began. Between 1899 and 1903 Boni and his collaborators discovered the Lapis Niger (the "Black Rock") as well as other artifacts while excavating the Comitium.[45] During the medieval period the Comitium had been converted into a Christian cemetery and part of the Curia made into a catacomb. Consequently, over 400 bodies were unearthed and moved during excavations.[46]
In the American Journal of Archaeology, second series, volume 4 1900, a letter from Samuel Ball Platner was published dated July 1, 1899. In the letter he stated:
In front of the Arch of Severus begins the line along which the main work of the past months has been done. The whole front wall of San Adriano, the Curia of Diocletian, and the Comitium are now in sight. The Comitium is paved with blocks of travertine and extends to and around the lapis niger, which, although on the same level, is protected on at least two sides by a sort of curb. This pavement of the Comitium extends out to a point directly opposite the middle of the Arch of Severus, and ends just beyond the lapis niger with a curved front wall, which is itself built over an older tufa pavement. Further back it also rests upon older structures. Part of the Comitium had evidently been built over at a late period in something the same way as the Basilica Aemilia.
The Comitia of other urban centers
In 1953 an American excavation at the Roman Latin colony of Cosa, 138 kilometres (86 mi) northwest of Rome, along the coast of Italy, in modern Tuscany, identified the remains of the city's Comitium and found rounded amphitheatre steps directly in front of the local senate house. The discovery prompted further excavations in Rome at the site of the Comitium in 1957.[47] Cosa was founded in 237 BC as a military outpost in the newly conquered territory of the Etruscans. The city's port and town features were laid out in the third century BC using regular town plans, with intersecting streets at right angles and forum and cult center on the arx.[48]
Commentary on the Comitium
Vitruvius' De architectura (ca. 30 BC) contains the following statement:
In Sparta, paintings have been taken out of certain walls by cutting through the bricks, then have been placed in wooden frames, and so brought to the Comitium to adorn the aedileship of [C. Visellius] Varro and [C. Licinius] Murena.[49]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-20178-1.
- ^ Definition of comitium
- ISBN 978-1-4021-3683-2.
- ^ Burn, Robert (January 1, 1871). Rome and the Campagna. Deighton, Bell, and Co.; First Edition. pp. 82.
- ISBN 978-0-472-08125-7.
- ^ E. Burton-Brown (1905). Recent excavations in the Roman Forum, 1898–1905. Scribner's. pp. 81.
- ISBN 978-0-8014-8247-2.
- ^ Pais, Cosenzahor, Ettorie, Emilio (1906). Ancient legends of Roman history. London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co., LTD. pp. 33.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISBN 978-1-4365-7150-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo (1897). The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 262.
- ISBN 978-0-472-10915-9.
- ^ a b Nichols, Francis Morgan (1877). The Roman Forum: a topographical study. London. Longmans and Co. Rome. Spithover. pp. 146–149.
- ISBN 978-0-691-02076-1.
- ISBN 978-88-435-8366-9.
- ISBN 978-0-415-01596-7.
- ISBN 978-0-674-03341-2.
- ISBN 978-0-415-30504-4.
- ISBN 0-14-056144-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4051-0217-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ASIN B00085VS26.
- ISBN 978-0-300-05290-9.
- ISBN 978-1-139-44582-5. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ^ William Ramsay (1859). An Elementary Manual of Roman Antiquities. Griffin. pp. 8–. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-472-10282-2.
- Ab urbe condita, 2.10
- ]
- ISBN 978-0-19-929051-2.
- ^ O'Connor, Charles James (September 1909). "The Graecostasis and its vicinity". Bulletin: Philology and Literature Series. 3: 188. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ^ Platner, Samuel Ball (1911). The topography and monuments of ancient Rome. Allyn and Bacon. pp. 232.
- ^ William Smith (1873). A dictionary of Greek and Roman geography. J. Murray. pp. 792–. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-472-11517-4. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-8122-0657-9. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ^ Robert Burn (1876). Rome and the Campagna: An Historical and Topographical Description of the Site, Buildings, and Neighbourhood of Ancient Rome. Deighton, Bell. pp. 82–. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ^ Nicole Maser (2004-05-23). "Authority In Public Spaces" (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISBN 978-0-472-11517-4.
- ISBN 978-0-14-044158-1.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-521-82327-2.
- ISBN 978-0-520-23430-7.
- ISBN 978-0-521-58925-3.
- ISBN 978-0-313-32178-8.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-306-45556-8.
- ^ Smith, Sir William (1854). A dictionary of Greek and Roman geography. Boston: Little Brown 1854. Complete two volume set. pp. 853.
- ISBN 978-0-543-99903-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-85989-375-6.
- ^ Ashby, Thomas (January 1904). "THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS IN THE FORUM ROMANUM, 1898-1903". The Builder. LXXXVI: [2]. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert (1905). Walks in Rome: (including Tivoli, Frascati, and Albano). LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO. LTD. pp. 135.
- ISBN 978-0-393-30119-9.
- ISBN 978-90-04-05232-1.
- ^ Vitruvius Pollio, The Ten Books on Architecture or De Architectura, Harvard University Press (1914) Bk.2, Ch.8, Sec.9, p.53
Bibliography
Andrén, Anders (1998). Between Artifacts and Texts. New York: Plenum Press.
Ballif, Michelle (2005). Classical Rhetorics and Rhetoricians. New York: Praeger.
Boëthius, Axel (1978). Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture. New York: Penguin Books.
Botsford, George (2005). The Roman Assemblies from Their Origin to the End of the Republic. City: Adamant Media Corporation.
Collins-Clinton, Jacquelyn (1997). A Late Antique Shrine of Liber Pater at Cosa. City: Brill Academic Pub.
Cornell, Tim (1995). The Beginnings of Rome. New York: Routledge.
Cornford, Francis (1991). From Religion to Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Evans, Jane (1992). The Art of Persuasion. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Frier, Bruce (1999). Libri Annales Pontificum Maximorum. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Hubbard, Thomas (2003). Homosexuality in Greece and Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press.
MacKendrick, Paul (1983). The Mute Stones Speak. New York: Norton.
Morstein-Marx, Robert (2004). Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richardson, Lawrence Jr. (1992). A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rosenstein, Nathan (2006). A Companion to the Roman Republic. City: Wiley-Blackwell.
Scott-Kilvert, Ian (1981). Makers of Rome. Harmondsworth Eng.: Penguin.
Scullard, H. (2003). A History of the Roman World, 753-146 B.C. New York: Routledge.
Skinner, Quentin (2002). Visions of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sumi, Geoffrey (2005). Ceremony and Power. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Taylor, Lily (1991). Roman Voting Assemblies: from the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Vasaly, Ann (1996). Representations. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Other authors referenced
These books are out of print and have no ISBN. Their age means some information in the books or journals may have changed or newer theories advanced since the original publication. They are used in this article where information is either the earliest, the original, or the very first works printed on the subject, or where information is still pertinent today.
Brown, E. Burton- (1905). Recent excavations in the Roman Forum. Scribner's.
Burn, Robert (1871). Rome and the Campagna. Deighton, Bell, and Co.
Hülsen, Christian (1906). The Roman forvm. G.E. Stechert & Co.
Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo (1897). The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome. Houghton Mifflin.
O'Connor, Charles James (1909). The Graecostasis and its vicinity. University of Wisconsin.
Pais, Cosenzahor, Ettorie, Emilio (1906). Ancient legends of Roman history. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., LTD.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Platner, Bunsen, Gerhard, Röstell, Urlichs, Niebuhr, Hoffmann, Ernest Zacharias, Christian Karl Josias, Eduard, Wilhelm, Ludwig von, Barthold Georg, Friedrich (January 1, 1832). Beschreibung der Stadt Rom. . G. Cotta; Elibron Classics edition.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Platner, Samuel Ball (1911). The topography and monuments of ancient Rome. Allyn and Bacon.
Smith, Sir William (1854). dictionary of Greek and Roman geography. Boston: Little Brown.
External links
- Digital Roman Forum: Resource: Comitium UCLA
- Prof. Giacomo Boni: The Roman Forum & the Antiquarium Forense - Rediscovery and the Restoration (2009-10), the Comitium Excavations (2009-10).
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Comitium at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Basilica Ulpia |
Landmarks of Rome Comitium |
Succeeded by Curia Julia |