Forum Boarium
scale model of imperial Rome, Museum of Roman Civilization | |
Coordinates | 41°53′20″N 12°28′52″E / 41.88889°N 12.48111°E |
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The Forum Boarium (
History
The site was a religious centre housing the Temple of Hercules Victor, the Temple of Portunus (Temple of Fortuna Virilis), and the massive 6th or 5th century BC Ara Maxima. According to legend, when Hercules arrived in this area with Geryon’s oxen, he was robbed of these by the giant Cacus, who lived in a cave at the foot of the Aventine hill. After slaying the giant, Hercules was honoured as a god by the ancient dwellers of the Palatine hill, who are said to have dedicated an altar to him.[1] The tufa stone core of this altar is housed inside the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin.
The Forum Boarium was the site of the first gladiatorial contest at Rome which took place in 264 BC as part of aristocratic funerary ritual—a munus or funeral gift for the dead. Marcus and Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva put on a gladiatorial combat in honor of their deceased father with three pairs of gladiators.
In 215BC, four victims were
A Gaulish man and a Gaulish woman and a Greek man and a Greek woman were buried alive under the Forum Boarium. They were lowered into a stone vault, which had on a previous occasion also been polluted by human victims, a practice most repulsive to Roman feelings. When the gods were believed to be duly propitiated, M. Claudius Marcellus sent from Ostia 1500 men who had been enrolled for service with the fleet to garrison Rome.[2]
Architecture
The
The
Sources claim the Forum was the site for placement of a statue by the sculptor Myron, which had been looted from Aegina. While the source mentions a cow, it may have been a statuary group of Theusus defeating the Minotaur, which was apt for a cattle market.[5]
On the late period of the Western Roman Empire, the area became overtaken with shops. Both temples were deconsecrated and converted to Christian churches. Across the street is the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, housing the Bocca della Verità.
Restoration
Beginning in the late 1990s, a partnership between the Soprintendenza speciale per i beni archeologici di Roma and World Monuments Fund resulted in the conservation of both temples in the Forum Boarium. The project also included new landscaping for the site.[6] However, the Arch of Janus is still unrestored.
References
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, (William Smith, ed.) Boston, Little Brown & Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Event #5620: A Gaulish man and a Gaulish woman and a Greek man and a Greek woman were buried alive under the Forum Boarium". cof.quantumfuturegroup.org. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ Barton Sholod, "Charlemagne in Spain. The Cultural Legacy of Roncesvalles", p. 144
- ISBN 978-0-8018-4300-6.
- ^ New Guide of Rome, Naples and Their Environs, by Mariano Vasi, Antonio Nibby, page 115.
- ^ "Forum Boarium Guide". World Monuments Fund. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
External links
- Lacus Curtius: Forum Boarium
- Virtual Tour and Pictures of Boarium Forum
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.Sequence
Media related to Forum Boarium at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Trajan's Forum |
Landmarks of Rome Forum Boarium |
Succeeded by Forum Holitorium |