1902 Encyclopedia > Rome > Ancient Rome - Palatine Hill or Palatium

Rome
(Part 25)




UNIT II: ROMAN TOPOGRAPHY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

SECTION II: ANCIENT ROME

Palatine Hill or Palatium


In addition to the walls of Roma Quadrata (see above), a few remains only now exist earlier in date than the later years of the republic; these are mostly grouped near the Scalae Caci (see No. 11 in fig. 17) and consist of small eellse and other structures of unknown use. They are partly built of the soft tufa used in the wall of Romulus and partly of the hard tufa which resembles peperino. Various names, such as the "hut of Faustulus" and the " Auguratorium," have been given to these very ancient remains, but with little reason. One thing is certain, that the buildings were respected and preserved even under the empire and were probably regarded as sacred relics of the earliest times. Remains of more than one temple, probably of the early republican period, exist near this west angle of the Palatine ; these had peristyles with Tuscan columns of tufa stuccoed and painted.

Temple of Jupiter Victor

The larger of these (see 14 in rig. 17) has been called conjecturally the temple of Jupiter Victor (Liv., x. 29 ; Ov., Fast., iv. 621). It stands on a levelled platform of tufa rock, the lower part of which is excavated into quarry chambers, used in later times as water reservoirs. Two ancient well-shafts lined with tufa communicate with these subterranean hollows. Another extensive building of hard tufa of the republican period exists in the valley afterwards covered by the Flavian palace ; part of this can be seen under the so-called Accademia (21 in fig. 17). Not far from the top of the Scalse Caei are the massive remains of some large cella, nothing of which now exists except the concrete core made of alternate layers of tufa and peperino. It was probably once lined with marble.

Statue of Cybele

By it a noble colossal seated figure of a goddess was found, in Greek marble, well modelled, a work of the 1st century A.D. The head and arms are missing, but the figure is probably rightly called a statue of Cybele ; and from it her name has been conjecturally given to this temple. Augustus in the Monumentum Ancyranum records AEDEM. MATRIS . MASJf* . IN . PALATIO . FECI; but it is more probable that his temple to Cybele formed part of the magnificent group of buildings in the area of Apollo (see below). Some interesting early architectural fragments are lying near this temple ; they consist of drums and capitals of Corinthian columns, and part of the cornice of the pediment, cut in peperino, and thickly coated with hard white stucco to imitate marble. Between this and the temple (so called) of Jupiter Victor are extensive remains of a large sort of porticus, with tufa walls and travertine piers, also republican in date. The use and name of this building are unknown.

Temple of Jupiter Stator

The temple of Jupiter Stator, traditionally vowed by Romulus during his repulse by the Sabines (Liv., i. 12), stood near the Porta Mugionis, and therefore near the road leading up to the Palatine Sacra Via. This has been identified with the ruined concrete podium (40 in fig. 17), the position of which suits the above indications ; but the admixture of travertine, brick, and even marble with the tufa of the concrete shows that no trace here remains of any early building. On the tufa blocks of a shaft leading down to a large drain by the side of these remains are incised in large letters—

== IMAGE ==

—possibly the names of Greek stone-masons (Diodes, Philocrates) ; the form of the letters shows that this inscription is as early as the 2d or even 3d century B.C.

Remains of extensive lines of buildings in early opus reticulatum exist on the upper slopes of the Palatine, all along the Velabrum side, and on the south-west side as far as the so-called Domus Gelotiana. These buildings are constructed on the ruins of the wall of Romulus, a great part of which has been cut away to make room for them ; their base is at the foot of the ancient wall, on the shelf cut midway in the side of the hill; their top reached originally above the upper level of the summit. They are of various dates and cannot be identified with any known buildings.

Domus Tiberiana

Part is apparently of the time of the emperor Tiberius, and no doubt belongs to the Domus Tiberiana mentioned by Suetonius (Tib., 5 ; comp. Tac., Hist., i. 27, and iii. 71) ; this palace covered a great part of the west corner of the hill.

House of Livia

Of about the same date is a very interesting and well-preserved private house built wholly of opus reticulatum ; it is usually called the house of Livia. It has a small atrium, out of which open the triclinium and the tablinum with a room (ala) on each side, all handsomely decorated with good paintings of mythological and domestic scenes, probably the work of Greek artists, as inscriptions in Greek occur,—e.g., EPMHC, under the figure of Hermes, in a picture representing his deliverance of Io from Argus. The back part of this house was three stories high, and is divided into a great number of very small rooms, mostly bedrooms. The house is built in a sort of hole against the side of an elevation, so that the upper floor behind is level with an ancient paved road. The dampness caused by this is counteracted and kept off the paintings by a lining of flange-tiles over the external walls, under the stucco, thus forming an air-cavity all over the surface. From the back of the house, at the upper level, a long subterranean passage leads towards the Flavian palace, and then, turning at right angles and passing by the foundations of the so-called temple of Jupiter Victor, issues in the ancient tufa building mentioned above (20 in fig. 17). Another crypto-porticus starts near this house and communicates with the long semi-subterranean passage by which the palaces of Caligula and Domitian are connected (19 in fig. 17). It is ornamented with very beautiful stucco reliefs of cupids, beasts, and foliage, once painted and gilt. This private house is probably that of Germanicus, into which the soldiers who killed Caligula in the long crypto-porticus escaped, as described by Josephus (Ant. Jud., xix. 1 ; sec also Suet., Cal., 58). Some inscribed lead pipes were found in this house ; some pieces hear the inscription IVLIAE . AVG., probably the daughter of Titus.

Palace of Augustus and Area Apollinis

The palace of Augustus and the Area Apollinis occupied a great portion of the central part of the Palatine (see 47 and 48 in fig. 17) ; the splendour of its architecture and the countless works of art in gold, silver, ivory, bronze, and marble, mostly the production of the best Greek artists, which adorned this magnificent group of buildings must have made it the chief glory of this splendid city. It was approached from a road leading out of the Summa Sacra Via along the line of the present Via di S. Bonaventura ; the entrance, probably the Arcus of Pliny (H.N., xxxvi. 4, 10), led through lofty propylaea into a very extensive peristyle or porticus, with (at least) fifty-two fluted columns of Numidian giallo ; the rest was of white Luna and Athenian marble. In the centre of this enclosure stood the great octostyle peripteral temple of Apollo Palatinus, so called to distinguish it from another temple of Apollo outside the Porta Carmentalis, remains of which exist under the Albergo di Catena near the Piazza Montanara. This temple was begun by Augustus in 36 B.C., after his Sicilian victory over Sextus Pompeius, and finished in 28 B.C. A glowing account of the splendours of these buildings is given by Propertius (El., ii. 3). Inside the cella were statues of Apollo between Latona and Diana by Scopas, Praxiteles, and Timotheus respectively (Plin., H.N., xxxvi. 4); round the walls were statues of the nine Muses (Juv., vii. 37). The pediment had sculpture by Bupalus and Archermus of Chios (Plin., H.N., xxxvi. 4), and on the apex was Apollo in a quadriga of gilt bronze. The double door was covered with ivory reliefs of the death of the Niobids and the

FIG. 17.—Plan of the Palatine Hill.—1. Present entrance. 2, 2. Remains of wall of Roma Quadrata. 3. Aqueduct. 4. Early buildings of opus reticulatum. 5. Scalae Caci. 6. Buildings of mixed brick and opus reticulatum. 7. Altar to the unknown god. Sei Deo, Sei Deivae, &c. 8. Reservoir cut in tufa rock. 9. Passage cut in the rock. 10. So-called temple of Cybele. 11. Very early structures of tufa. 12. Tufa arcade and paved road. 18. Building with travertine piers of later republican period. 14. So-called temple of Jupiter Victor. 15. Well communicating with subterranean rock-cut reservoirs. 16, 16. Small chambers and paved road, part of Tiberius's building. 17. Piscina. 18. House of Germanicus. 19, 19. Crypto-porticus. 20, 20. Early building of tufa buried and covered by Domitian's palace. 21. So-called academy and library—part of Domitian's palace. 22. Triclinium of Domitiau's palace. 23. Nymplueum and piscina. 24. Peristyle. 25. Small rooms at side of peristyle. 26. Stairs down to crypto-porticus. 27. Throne-room. 2S. Lararium. 29. Basilica. 30. Branch of crypto-porticus leading to Domitian's palace. 31. Crypto-porticus of Caligula. 32, 32. Stairs from crypto-porticus to higher level. 33, 33. Early buildings of opus reticulatum. 34, 34. Stairs from Forum to Porta Romanula. 35 and 3S. Stairs to upper rooms of Caligula's palace. 36,36. Substructures of Caligula's palace. 37. Caligula's bridge. 39. Porta Mugionis. 40. Temple of Jupiter Stator (so called). 41. Remains of wall of Roma Quadrata. 42,42. Remains of Nero's palace. 43. Great concrete platform. 44. Remains of mediaeval Turris Cartularia. 45,45. Series of small bath-rooms. 46. So-called basilica of 5th century. 47. Site of temple and libraries of Apollo. 48. Palace of Augustus (now destroyed). 49. Domus Gelotiana. 50. Stadium, with oval hall of Theodoric (?). 51. Exedra of Hadrian. 52. Stairs from stadium to higher level of hill. 53, 53. Remains of Hadrian's palace, partly covered by later palace of Severus. 54. Baths of Severus's palace. 55, 55. Lofty substructures of Severus's palace. 56. Aqua Claudia brought on Nero's aqueduct. 57. Shops of opus incerttun. 58. Substructures of Circus Maximus. 59. Remains of early tufa building, and brick-faced structures of imperial times. 60, 60. Paved road skirting outside of Circus Maximus.





Augustus sold eighty silver statues of himself and with the money "offered golden gifts" to this temple, dedicating them both in his own name and in the names of the original donors of the statues. The Sibylline books were preserved under the statue of Apollo (Suet., Aug., 31): and within the cella were vases, tripods, and statues of gold and silver, with a collection of engraved gems dedicated by Marcellus (see Plin., H.N., xxxvii. 5). On each side of the porticus was a large library, one Latin and the other Greek ;i and a third side of the great enclosure was occupied by a large hall where the Senate occasionally met (Tac, Ann., ii. 37), in the centre of which stood a bronze colossus of Augustus,1 50 feet high (Plin., H.N., xxxiv. 18). Round, the porticus, between the Numidian marble columns, were statues of the fifty Danaids, and opposite them their fifty bridegrooms on horseback (see schol. on Pers., ii. 56), many fragments of which have been found. In the centre before the steps of the temple stood an altar surrounded by four oxen, the work of Myron (Proper., El., ii. 3, 7). Within the same area was a small temple of Vesta (C.I.L., i. p. 392), dedicated on 28th April 12 B.C., when Augustus was elected pontiles maximus ; the sacred block or altar symbolically called Roma Quadrata, surrounded by a circular trench called the Mundus, was also in some part of this great group of buildings. On the side towards the Circus Maximus was the palace of Augustus, which was excavated in 1775, and drawings of which were published by Guattani. A great part shown by him has since then been destroyed, and all is now concealed ; the plan (48 in fig. 17) is taken from Guattani. The whole group is described by Ovid (Trist., iii. 1).

Temple of Victory

Augustus also rebuilt the temple of Victory, which gave its name to the Clivus Victoriae; this temple stood on the site of a prehistoric altar (Dionys., i. 32), and was more than once rebuilt,—e.g., by L. Postumius, 294 B.C. (Liv., x. 33). In 193 B.C. an aadicula to Victory was built near it by Porcius Cato (Liv., xxxv. 9). Remains of the temple and a dedicatory inscription were found in 1725-28 not far from the church of S. Maria Liberatrice ; the temple was of Parian marble, with Corinthian columns of Numidian giallo antico. The Area Apollinis and its group of buildings suffered in the fire of Nero, and were restored by Domitian. The whole was finally destroyed in the great fire of 363 (Amniian, xxiii. 3), but the Sibylline books were saved.

Palace of Caligula

The palace of Caligula occupies the northern angle of the Palatine, and extends over the Clivus Victoriae a long way towards the Clivus Palatinus (see fig. 17). This part of the Palatine was once occupied by the Lucus Vesta, with the Sacellum Volupice and many fine private houses. Among these were the dwellings of Q. Lutatius Catulus, Q. Hortensius, Catiline, Scaurus, Crassus (Plin., H.N., xxxvi. 3, 24), whose house was afterwards bought by Cicero, and the house of Clodius, the view of which Cicero threatened to block out. Many other wealthy Romans had houses on this part of the Palatine, so that the cost of the site for Caligula's enormous palace must have been very great. The part now existing is little more than the gigantic substructures built to raise the principal rooms to the level of the top of the hill. The lowest parts of these face the Nova Via, opposite the Atrium Vestas, and many stories of small vaulted rooms built in mixed brick and opus reticulatum rise one above the other to the higher levels. The palace extends over the Clivus Victoria, supported on lofty arches so as to leave the road unblocked ; many travertine or marble stairs lead to the upper rooms, some starting from the Nova Via, others from the Clivus Victoria;. Its enormous extent is referred to by Pliny (H.N., xxxvi. 24). A large proportion of these substructures consist of dark rooms, some with no means of lighting, others with scanty borrowed light. Many small rooms and stairs scarcely 2 feet wide can only have been used by slaves. The ground floors on the Nova Via and the Clivus Victoria; appear to have been shops, judg-ing from their wide openings, with travertine sills, grooved for the wooden fronts with narrow doors, which Roman shops seem always to have had,—very like those now used in the East. The upper and principal rooms were once richly decorated with marble linings, columns, and mosaics; but little of these now remains. By the side of the Clivus Victoria; still exists the start of the bridge by which Caligula joined the Capitolium to the Palatium (Suet., Cal., 22) ; it is partly supported on corbelled arches, richly decorated with delicate stucco reliefs ; the floor is of mosaic, and a piece of the open marble screen or balustrade is still in situ. The intermediate parts of Caligula's bridge were removed after his death, and the exit from the palace is blocked by a brick-faced wall, very little later in date than the palace itself. Near the bridge are some rooms very handsomely ornamented with a combination of coloured stucco reliefs and painting on the flat. The upper part of the palace, that above the Clivus Victoria, is faced wholly with brickwork, no opus reticulatum being used, as in the lower portions by the Nova Via. This possibly marks a difference of date, and the occurrence of brick stamps of the latter part of the 1st century A. D. in various parts of the palace shows that a large portion of it is later than the time of Caligula.

Flavian Palace

The next great addition to the buildings of the Palatine was the magnificent suite of state apartments built by Domitian, over a deep natural valley running across the hill (see fig. 17). The valley was filled up and the level of the new palace raised to a considerable height above the natural soil. Remains of a house, decorated with painting and rich marbles, exist under Domitian's peristyle, partly destroyed by the foundations of cast concrete which cut right through it. The floor of this house shows the original level, far below that of the Flavian palace. The south angle of this great building adjoins the palace of Augustus, and it is connected with the palace of Caligula by a branch subterranean passage leading into the earlier crypto-porticus. These two buildings continued to be used as the private apartments of the emperor, the Flavian block consisting only of state rooms; the words AEDES PVBLICA were inscribed upon it by Nerva to show its public character. It consists of a large open peristyle, with columns of Oriental marble, at one end of which is tlie grand triclinium with magnificent paving of opus seetile in red and green basalt and coloured marbles, a piece of which is well preserved ; next to the triclinium, on to which it opens with large windows, is a nymphteum or room with marble-lined fountain and recesses for plants and statues. On the opposite side of the peristyle is a large throne-room, the walls of which were adorned with rows of pavonazetto and giallo columns and large marble niches, in which were colossal statues of porphyry and basalt; at one side of this is the basilica, with central nave and apse and narrow aisles, over which were galleries. The apse, in which was the emperor's throne, is screened off by open marble cancelli, a part of which still exists. It is of great interest as showing the origin of the Christian basilica ; S. Agnese fuori le Mura is exactly similar in arrangement (see BASILICA, vol. iii. p. 417). On the other side of the throne-room is the lararium, with altar and pedestal for a statue ; next to this is the grand staircase, which led to the upper rooms, now destroyed. The whole building, both floor and walls, was covered with the richest Oriental marbles, including all the varieties mentioned on p. 808. Outside were colonnades or porticus,—on one side of cipollino, on the other of travertine, the latter stuccoed and painted. The magnificence of the whole, crowded with fine Greek sculpture and covered with polished marbles of the most brilliant colours, is difficult now to realize ; a glowing description is given by Statius (Silv., iv. 11, 18 ; see also Plut., Poplic., 15, and Mart., viii. 36). Doors were arranged in the throne-room and basilica so that the emperor could slip out unobserved and reach by a staircase (30 in fig. 17) the crypto-porticus which communicates with Caligula's palace. The vault of this passage was covered with mosaic of mixed marble and glass, a few fragments of which still remain ; its walls were lined with rich marbles ; it was lighted by a series of windows in the springing of the vault. This, as well as the Flavian palace,, appears to have suffered more than once from fire, and in many places important restorations of the time of Severus, and some as late as the 4th century, are evident. In 1720-26 extensive excavations were made here for the Farnese duke of Parma, and an immense quantity of statues and marble architectural fragments were discovered, many of which are now at Naples and elsewhere. Among them were sixteen beautiful fluted columns of pavonazetto and giallo, fragments of the porphyry statues, and an immense door-sill of Peutelic marble, now used for the high altar of the Pantheon ; these all came from the throne-room. The excavations were carried on by Bianchini, wdio published a book on the subject.

Domus Gelotiana

In the middle of the slopes of the Palatine, towards the Circus Maximus, are considerable remains of buildings set against the wall of Romulus and covering one of its projecting spurs. This series of rooms with a long Corinthian colonnade has been supposed to be part of the Domus Gelotiana, from which Caligula used to watch the races in the circus below (Suet., Cal., 18). Little, however, of the existing remains is as early as the reign of Caligula, and the marble porticus apparently dates from the time of Severus. The rooms were partly marble-lined and partly decorated with painted stucco, on which are incised a number of interesting inscriptions and rude drawings. Here, in 1857, was found the celebrated (so-called) caricature of the Crucified Christ, now in the Museo Kircheriano, but which, more probably, has a Gnostic meaning. The inscription CORINTHVS . EXIT . DE . PEDAGOGIO suggests that this building was at one time used as a school, perhaps for the imperial slaves. A number of soldiers' names also occur, e.g., HILARVS . MI . V . D . N. (Hilarus miles veteranus domini nostri); some are in mixed Latin and Greek characters, with many varieties of misspelling. After one pair of names is inscribed PEREG, showing that they belonged to the foreign corps called Peregrini, probably stationed here as guards to the imperial residences on the hill above. Most of these inscriptions appear to be as early as the 1st century A.D.1 These interesting graliiti have in, great part perished during the last few years, and soon none will remain.

Stadium

The great stadium of the Palatine (see 50 in fig. 17) was begun by Domitian, mainly built by Hadrian, and much altered or restored by Severus. The greater part of the outer walls and the large exedra or apse at the side, with upper floor for the emperor's seat, are of the time of Hadrian, as is shown by the brick stamps, and the character of the brick facing, which much resembles that of the Flavian time (bricks 1 1/2 inches and joints 1/2 inch thick). The stadium is surrounded with a colonnade of engaged shafts, forming a sort of aisle with gallery over it. Except those at the curved end, which are of Hadrian's time, these piers are of the time of Severus, as are also all the flat piers along the outer wall,—one opposite each of those in the inner line. This shows either that the stadium must have been left by Hadrian in an unfinished state, or else that it suffered seriously from a fire or earthquake before the reign of Severus.





Hadrian's Palace

In addition to the stadium, Hadrian built a number of very handsome rooms, forming a palace on the south-east side and at the south-west end of the stadium. These rooms were partly destroyed and partly hidden by the later palace of Severus, the foundations of which in many places cut through and render useless the highly decorated rooms of Hadrian (53 in fig. 17). The finest of these which is now visible is a room with a large window opening into the stadium near the south angle ; it has intersecting barrel vaults, with deep coffers, richly ornamented in stucco. The oval structure shown in the plan (50 in fig. 17), with other still later additions, belongs to the 4th or 5th century, when the stadium was no longer used for races ; some of the walls, of opus mixtum, which cut up and disfigure this noble building appear to be the work of Theodorie, c. 500.

Palace of Severus

The palace of Septimius Severus was very extensive and of enormous height; it extends not only all over the south angle of the Palatine but also a long wTay into the valley of the Circus Maximus and towards the Ccelian. This part (like Caligula's palace) is carried on very lofty arched substructures, so as to form a level, uniform with the top of the hill, on which the grand apartments stood. The whole height from the base of the Palatine to several stories above its summit must have been enormous. Little now remains of the highest stories, except part of a grand staircase which led to them. Extensive baths, all richly decorated with marble linings and mosaics in glass and marble, cover a great part of the top of the hill. These and other parts of the Palatine were supplied with water by an aqueduct built by Nero in continuation of the Claudian aqueduct, some arches of which still exist on the slope of the Palatine (56 in fig. 17 ; see Spart., Sept. Sev., 24). The palace of Severus was restored and enlarged by Heliogabalus and Severus Alexander. One of the main roads up to the Palatine passes under the arched substructures of Severus, and near this, at the foot of the hill, at the south angle, Septimius Severus built an outlying part of his palace, a building of great splendour dedicated to the Sun and Moon, called the Septizonium, probably from its seven stories or zonae (see Jordan, Bull. Inst., 1872, p. 145). It has been doubted whether it can really have been as much as seven stories high ; but this is not improbable when we consider the enormous height of the rest of Severus's palace, reaching from the foot of the Palatine to far above its summit. Part of the Septizonium existed as late as the reign of Sixtus V. (1585-90), who destroyed it in order to use its marble decorations and columns in the new basilica of St Peter; drawings of it are given by Du Perac, Vestigj di Roma, 1575, and in other works of that century.

Velia and Germalus

The Velia and Germalus were two outlying spurs of the Palatine. Owing to the great alterations that have been made in the contour of the hill it is now very difficult to identify those ancient districts (see Ann. Inst., 1865, p. 347). The Germalus or Cermalus was probably on the side towards the Velabrum, while the Velia may be identified with that elevated ground between the Palatine and the Esquiline on which the temple of Venus and Rome and the arch of Titus now stand. It is evident that this was once much loftier and more abrupt than it is now ; a great part of it was cut away when the level platform for the temple of Venus and Rome was formed. The foundations of part of Nero's palace along the road between this temple and the Esquiline are exposed for about 20 to 30 feet in height, showing a corresponding lowering of the level here, and the bare tufa rock, cut to a flat surface, is visible on the site of Hadrian's great temple ; that the Velia was once much loftier is also indicated by the story of the removal of Valerius Publicola's dwelling.

Sacra Via

On the Velia and the adjoining Summa Sacra Via were two temples which Augustus rebuilt. The "Aedes Larum " is probably the "Sacellum Larum" mentioned by Tacitus (Ann., xii. 24) a's one of the points in the line of the pomcerium of Roma Quadrata. The Sacra Via started at the Sacellum Streniae, an unknown point on the Esquiline, probably near the baths of Titus (Varro, L.L., v. 47), in the quarter called Cerolia. Thence it probably (in later times) passed round part of the Colosseum to the slope leading up to the arch of Titus on the Velia ; this piece of its course is lined on one side by extensive baths, attributed to Heliogabalus (45 in fig. 17), and farther back, against the cliff of the Palatine, are remains of Nero's enormous palace (see 42 in fig. 17). From the arch of Titus or Summa Sacra Via the original line of the road has been altered (see Plate VIII.); the angle at which the scanty remains of the Regia are set probably shows the early direction of the Sacra Via in passing on to the temple of Vesta. Its later course was more to the north-east, passing at a sharp angle from the arch of Titus to the front of Constantine's basilica, and on past the temple of Faustina. It is uncertain whether the continuation of this road to the arch of Severus was in later times called the Sacra Via or whether it rejoined its old line along the Basilica Julia by the cross-road in front of the Aedes Julii. Its original line past the temple of Vesta was completely built over in the 3d and 4th centuries, and clumsily-fitted pavements of marble and travertine occupy the place of the old basalt blocks. The course of the Nova Via 9 (see figs. 16 and 17) along the palace of Caligula 10 was exposed in 1882-84.

Nova Via

According to Varro (L.L., vi. 59) it was a very old road. It led up from the Velabrum, probably winding along the slope of the Palatine, round the north angle under the church of S. Maria Liberatrice. The rest of its course, gently ascending towards the arch of Titus, is now exposed, as are also the stairs, possibly the Scalae Anulariae, which connected it with the Clivus Victoriae at the Porta Romanula ; a continuation of these stairs, still unexcavated, led down to the Forum.

Velabrum

The extent of the once marshy Velabrum (Gk., velos [Gk.]) is not known, though part of its site is indicated by the church of S. Giorgio in Velabro ; Varro (L.L., vi. 24) says, "extra urbem antiquam fuit, non longe a porta Romanula." It was a district full of shops (Plant., Capt., iii. 1, 29; Hor., Sat., ii. 3, 229). The Vicus Tuscus on its course from the Forum to the Circus skirted the Velabrum (Dionys., v. 26), from which the goldsmiths' arch was an entrance into the Forum Boarium (comp. Dionys., i. 40).


Foototes

3 Authorities on the Forum.—Nichols, Roman Forum, London, 1S77 (very use-ful from its collection of passages in ancient authors) ; Jordan, Capitol, Forum, etc., Berlin, 1S81, and Topographic Roms, vol. i., 187S ; Nibby, It Foro Romano, 1S19 ; Angelini and Fea, 11 Foro Romano, 1837 ; Tocco, Ripristinazione del Foro, 1SS8 ; Ravioli and Montiroli, Foro Romano, 1859; Michelet, Das ForumRomanum, Berlin, 1877; Marucchi, It Foro Romano, 18S1; Dutert, l£ Forum Romain, Paris, 1876 (very handsomely illustrated, but more fanciful than trustworthy); Canina, it Foro Romano, 1S45 (open to the same criticism as the work of Dutert, and wholly stultified by later discoveries). For inscriptions found in the Forum, see Jordan, " Sylloge Inscrip. Fori Rom.," in the Ephem. Epigraph., iii. p. 24S sq. Some of the more recent excavations are described by Lanciani, "Scavi del Foro," in Notizie degli Scavi for 1S82.
4 Many masons' marks exist on the tufa blocks of the most primitive build-
ings near the Scala; Caci (see fig. 10).
5 Dionys., ii. 50; see also Plut., Cic., 16; Ov., Fast., vi. 793, and Trist., iii. 127. Near this temple, and also near the Porta Mugonia, was the house of Tarquinius Priscus (Liv., i. 41; Sol., Polyhist., i. 24). Owing to the strength of its position this temple was more than once selected during troubled times as a safe meeting-place for the Senate ; it was here, as being a "locus muni-tissimus," that Cicero delivered his First Catiline Oration (see Cic, In Cot., i. 1).
6 See Mon. Inst., xi., pis. xxii., xxiii. ; Renier, Les Peintures du Palatin, Paris, 1870.
7 See Lanciani's paper in Bull. Comm. Arch. Roma, iv., 1S83.

1 TEMPLVM . APOLLINIS . IN . SOLO . MAGNAM . PARTEM . EMPTO . FECI (Man. Aneyr.).
2 See Dion Cass., xlix. 15, liii. 1, and C.I.L., i. p. 403.
3 - See also Suet., Aug., 52, whose account is rather different.
4 Schol., to Juv., i. 128, and Suet., Aug., 29.

1 The bronze head, now in the court of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, may possibly have belonged to this colossus ; it is much too small for that of Nero, to which it has generaily been attributed ; it seems, however, of inferior work-manship to that of the Augustan age

Ovid (Fast., iv. 949) mentions this group as being divided among three gods, namely, Phcebus, Vesta, and Augustus (comp. Metam., xv. S64). The plan of a circular temple drawn by Ligorio (Cod. XIrtiin. Vat., 3439, fob 25) probably represents this temple of Vesta as discovered in the 16th century ; it is repro-duced in Bull. Comm. Arch. Roma, 1S83, pi. XTiL
Mon. Ant. ined. di Roma, 17S5, p. 56.
This temple is shown on a rare bronze medallion of Gordianus III.; it is domed, and on the pediment is inscribed NBIKH OIIAO'hOPOS. See Grueber, Roman Medallions, pi xlii., London, 1874.
See Bianchini, Pal. dei Cesarl, 173S, p. 236.
Cic, Pro Domo, 43; Val. Max., vi. 3, 1; and see Becker, llandb., i. p. 423.
Cic, Be Hams., 15, 33.
At this point the Palatine is cut away into four stages like gigantic steps ;
the lowest is the floor of the Atrium Vesta;, the second the Nova Via, the third
tfie Clivus Victoria, and the top of the hill forms the fourth.
9 The brick stamps on the tiles laid under the marble paving of the basilica have CN . DOMITI . AMANDI . VALEAT . QVI . FECIT., -- the last three words a common augury of good luck stamped on bricks or amphorae; these date from a restoration after a fire in the theatre of Severus.
10 Pal. de Cesari, Verona, 1738; see Guattani, Not. di Antich., 1798.
11 See Kraus, Bas Spottcrucifix vom Palatin, Freiburg, 1S72, and Becker, Bat Spottcrucijix, &c, Breslau, 1866.

. 1 See Henzen, in the Bull. Inst., 1868, p. 72, and 1867, p. 113
In parts of the outer wall brick stamps of the Flavian period appear, e.g., FLAVT. AVG . L . CLONI—" [A brick] of Clonius, freedman of the Flavian Augustus."
See Dion Cass., lxxii. 24 ; Lamprid., Hist. Aug.: Sept. Sev., 19, 24; Id., Sev. Alex., 24, 25 ; and Id., Heliog., 3, 8, 24.
See Jordan, Die Kaiserpal. in Rom, Berlin, 1871 ; Thou, Pal. dei Cesari, 1828; Lanciani, Quida del Pal., 1873; Ann. Inst., 1852, p. 324, and Mon. Inst., v. pi. xxxvi.; Guattani, Roma desc., 1805.
"Huic (Palatio) Germalum et Velias conjunxerunt . . . 'Germalum' a
pasturing flocks, is obviously wrong.
L.L., v. 54). Varro's derivation of Velia from "vellera," the fleeces of the
pasturing flocks, is obviously wrong.

6 Liv.. ii. 7; Cic, Rep., ii. 81; see also Aseon., Ad Cic. In Pis., 22.
7 AEDEM . LARVM . IN . SVMMA . SACRA . VIA . AEDEM . DEVM . PENATIVM . IN . VELIA . . . FECI (Mon. Ancyr.).
8 See Goettling, De Sacra Via, Jena, 1834, and Jordan, Topographie der Stadl Rom, Berlin, 1871 (in progress).
9 See Not. d. Scavi. 1882, p. 234.
10 See Solinus (i. 24) and Varro (Ap. Gell., xvi. 17), who mention its two ends, "summa" and "infima" (comp. Liv., v. 32).

11 See marble plan on Plate VII. and comp. Ov., Fast., vi. 395.

823-1 The bronze head, now in the court of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, may possibly have belonged to this colossus ; it is much too small for that of Nero, to which it has generaily been attributed ; it seems, however, of inferior work-manship to that of the Augustan age.

824-1 See Henzen, in the Bull. Inst., 1868, p. 72, and 1867, p. 113.


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