Forum of Augustus
Mars Ultor.[1] | |
Coordinates | 41°53′39″N 12°29′12″E / 41.89417°N 12.48667°E |
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The Forum of Augustus (
History
The
The majority of the land that the Forum was to be built on was already owned by Augustus himself. However, the initial plans called for more space than he had and would have required him to purchase or expropriate further land. Instead, the plans were altered slightly, so some asymmetry is apparent, especially in the Eastern corner of the precinct. Suetonius states that Augustus did not want to take the houses of the nearby owners by force.
With the dedication of the
Usage
The Forum of Augustus was built to both house a temple honouring Mars, and to provide another space for legal proceedings, as the Roman Forum was very crowded.[1][6] Before battle, generals set off from the Temple of Mars, after attending an inaugural ceremony. Other ceremonies took place in the temple including the assumption of the toga virilis by young men. The Senate met at the Temple when discussing war and the victorious generals dedicated their spoils from their triumphs to Mars at the altar. Arms or treasure recovered from battle were often stored in the Forum as well.[7] Another use that Augustus made of the Temple was to store the standards taken by the Parthians from Crassus during his failed campaign, after their retrieval through Augustus' diplomacy in 20 BC, as depicted by the Augustus of Prima Porta. Three Aquilae were lost in 9 AD in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of the Legions Legio XVII, Legio XVIII and Legio XIX; all three were recovered-one in 14 AD from the Marsi and one in 15 AD from the Bructeri; the 3rd was recovered in 41 AD from the Chauci-and all three placed within the Temple of Mars the Avenger.
Statuary
The Forum was filled with a rich variety of different statues. Most notable were the statues of Augustus in full military outfit in the center of the Forum, and of Mars and Venus in the Temple. In total, there were 108 portrait statues with inscriptions of each individual's achievements, providing an important idea of how Augustus viewed his role within Roman history.
The statues in the forum provided excellent reasoning for Augustus to claim his restoration of the Republic. Not only were the great men of Rome's past being honored through their busts, but Augustus was also establishing his ancestry to these men, either by blood or by spirit. This provided Augustus with another connection between himself and the old Republic, an era of Roman history he continuously tried to invoke during his reign.
The statues of the famous men of the Republic for which an inscription has survived are:[11]
- Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, consul in 496 BC, won the Battle of Lake Regillus.
- Manius Valerius Maximus, dictator in 494 BC, allegedly the first princeps Senatus.
- Aulus Cornelius Cossus, consul in 428 BC, was awarded the spolia opima for killing the Etruscan king Lars Tolumnius during the Battle of Fidenae in 437 BC.
- Sackby the Gauls in 390 BC.
- Marcus Valerius Corvus, six times consul between 346 and 299 BC, triumphed three times.
- Lucius Papirius Cursor, five times consul between 326 and 313 BC, hero of the Second Samnite War. He was compared to Alexander the Great by Livy.
- Appius Claudius Caecus, censor in 312 BC, built the first Roman aqueduct (Aqua Appia) and first Roman road (Via Appia).
- Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, consul in 282 and 278 BC, famous for his incorruptibility during the Pyrrhic War.
- Gaius Duilius, consul in 260 BC, won the first naval victory over Carthage at Mylae.
- Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, five times consul between 233 and 209 BC, famous for his delaying strategy against Hannibal during the Second Punic War.
- Marcus Claudius Marcellus, five times consul between 222 and 208, was awarded the spolia opima in 222 BC, and captured Syracuse in 212 BC.
- Scipio Africanus, consul in 205 and 194 BC, defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC.
- Gaius Cornelius Cethegus, consul in 197, triumphed over the Cenomani.
- Marcus Porcius Cato, consul in 195 BC, famous for his conservative morals, author of the first Roman History in Latin.
- Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, consul in 190 BC, defeated Antiochos III at Magnesia.
- Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, consul in 187 and 175, princeps senatus six times, and pontifex maximus.
- Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, consul in 182 and 168 BC, defeated Perseus at Pydna.
- Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, consul in 177 and 163 BC, triumphed over the Celtiberians and Sardinians.
- Gaius Claudius Pulcher, consul in 177, triumphed over the Histri and Ligures.
- Scipio Aemilianus, consul in 147 and 134 BC, captured Carthage and Numantia.
- Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, consul in 143, defeated Andriscus.
- Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, consul in 109, defeated Jugurtha.
- Gaius Marius, seven times consul between 107 and 86, defeated the Cimbri and Teutons.
- Sulla, consul in 88 and 80 BC, captured Jugurtha and defeated Mithridates.
- Mithridates and Tigranes.
Other statues included an ivory Athena Alea, sculpted by Endoeus, which Augustus took from its temple in Tegea, in Greece. A large statue called the Genius of Augustus was placed in the northern portico, currently referred to as the Hall of the Colossus- the possible base is still intact and visible. Fragments of this statue are now located in the nearby Museum of the Imperial Fora.
The forum is made of ashlar blocks of peperino tufa with Carrara marble. Its construction also includes colonnades made of giallo antico, from Numidia, with the second storey of colonnades made from africano and pavonazzetto. These materials are from all over the Empire, but the enclosing walls were made of local Roman stone; although the different coloured stone would create a visual spectacle they also symbolize that the empire might be built from many different nations, but they are all defended and kept by Rome.[1]
See also
- Forum of Caesar – Ancient Roman imperial forum, a landmark of Rome, Italy
- Imperial fora
- Roman architecture
- List of ancient monuments in Rome
References
- ^ a b c d e f Diana E. E. Kleiner. Augustus Assembles His Marble City (Multimedia presentation). Yale University.
- ^ Suetonius, Augustus, 56.2
- ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
- ^ "Temple of Mars Ultor: Ruins". Penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ Gregorovius, Ferdinand, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages, Volume 3 (1895), pg 546
- ^ Earl, Donald C. (1968). The Age of Augustus. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 116.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History (New ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 193.
- ^ Magie, David (1967–1968). Scriptores Historiae Augustae, with an English Translation by David Magie. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 235.
- ^ "Latin Inscriptions: Elogia". Attalus.org. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ The Cambridge Ancient History (New ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 833.
- ^ Geiger, First Hall of Fame, pp. 137–156.
Further reading
- Raaflaub. Between the Republic and Empire.
- Luce, T.J. Livy Augustus and the Forum Augustum. pp. 123–138.
- Galinsky, Karl. Augustan Culture. pp. 197–213.
- Platner, Samuel Ball. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.
- Magie, David (1967–1968). Scriptores Historiae Augustae, with an English Translation by David Magie. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 235.
- Joseph Geiger, The First Hall of Fame, A Study of the Statues in the Forum Augustum, Leiden/Boston, Brill, 2008.
External links
- Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
- Earl, Donald C. (1968). The Age of Augustus. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 116.
- The Cambridge Ancient History (New ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. 1970. p. 193.
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Forum of Augustus at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Imperial fora |
Landmarks of Rome Forum of Augustus |
Succeeded by Forum of Caesar |