Temple of Diana (Rome)
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (December 2010) |
O: Diana with bow and quiver over the shoulder and bucranium above. Bucranium, skull of sacrificed bull, was displayed in the temple of Diana. | R: Sacrificing scene on the stone platform. Togate figure holding sprinkler is about to sacrifice bull, altar between them.
A·POST·A·F S·N·(AL)BIN |
Silver serrate denarius struck by A. Postumius A.f. S.n. Albinus in Rome 81 BC.
ref.: SRCV I 296, Crawford 372/1, Sydenham 745, RSC I Postumia 7 |
The Temple of Diana was an edifice in ancient Rome which, according to the early semi-legendary history of Rome, was built in the 6th century BC during the reign of the king Servius Tullius.
History
According to
Soon after the construction of the temple, a cow of remarkable beauty and size was born to the head of a
Later temple dedications often took as their model the ritual formulas and cult regulations devised for the Temple of Diana on the Aventine.[2]
If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Legacy
A short street named the Via del Tempio di Diana commemorates the site of the temple today and part of its wall is located within one of the halls of the Apuleius Restaurant.
See also
References
- ^ Ab urbe condita, 1.45
- ^ John Scheid (2003) [1998]. An Introduction to Roman Religion [La Religion des Romains]. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 66.