Marco Manuel
1/9/09
Art History
Monument Project

The Roman Forum


This project topic is one that is more of a site and not so much of an individual monument. Considering the antiquity and age of this particular site it is important to note, that of everything covered under this project heading there is a relatively small portion of the monuments on the site remaining. It is also a fairly large area to cover. I will first give a basic description of the area and individual buildings and then explain the political importance of the change from Republic to Empire.

The Roman Forum is the heart of ancient Rome. All other Roman expansions came from this site, it is where Rome was born, which briefly sums up its importance. From about 600BC to Rome’s demise the forum was the center of civic life and progressively became occupied by buildings connected with political, religious and mercantile activities as well as seemingly countless honorific statues, commemorative monuments and symbols of important military and political exploits. Though this point is arguable, Rome seemed to operate best while it was a republic as opposed to an empire. This was because there was a balance of power and no one man had too much power or control, making the assassination of Julius Caesar ironic. He was killed because he was amassing too much power while maintaining popularity among the people. After his assassination the model of the empire seemed to function but many of the rulers were irresponsible with power and proved that the imperial structure was too unstable. Under the republic there was a senate, citizens could even vote on certain matters, and there was the Pontifex Maximus, or high priest, who headed any religious matters. While Rome was under imperial rule it is important to note that the city was also faced with many disasters which, some may argue, contributed to the breakdown and slow decline of Rome.

The official founding of Rome is dated to be 753BC. The first major buildings of the forum did not show up until about 150 years later. Until about 600BC the city of Rome consisted of the small settlements atop 7 hills of Rome mainly the Palatine and Capitoline. The forum is set between the two hills but before 600BC and the construction of the Cloaca Maxima the tributary to the Tiber river, the Velabrum River, ran through the valley. The Cloaca maxima was the world’s first sewer system and eventually was a large tunnel that diverted the waters underground beneath the existing forum and straight to the Tiber. The Cloaca maxima was an engineering marvel of the time and historians to this day are still not in complete agreement on how such a structure was built and it is admitted that what exists today may not be the original structure and that the Cloaca Maxima underwent various changes and upgrades and slowly diverted the River.

Cloaca Maxima, the dim red line between the hills, mind the cardinal directions as the map is not standardly orientated.

Velabrum River runs between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills

The first above image shows the Velabrum tributary. The second image shows the general path of the Cloaca Maxima which carries the water beneath the ground.

After the land was cleared the earliest structures that appeared were the Regia; the house of the King, the Temple of Vesta; the temple dedicated to the Goddess Vesta of the hearth and home, and the Comitium and Curia; the meeting place of the early senate and political matters. The other major structures in the original Forum constructed during the republic were the Temple of Saturn, Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Concord, the Basilica Aemilia and the Basilica Julia. One of the most interesting things to note about the construction of the forum is that there was no master plan or lay out for the buildings, there were slowly erected at different times over the course of 600 years under the orders of different leaders, politicians, and people.

The Regia was the house of the King until 509BC when Kings were banished and it became the residence of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the religious order. At this point Rome was officially a Republic and would remain such for the next 500 years, during which time Rome experienced all of its major expansions. The remains of the Regia are sparse and leave the structure seeming rather modest and small but at one point it was a much larger structure having undergone various reconstructions and additions while under ownership of different Pontifex Maximus.

The Temple of Vesta was a structure of great importance as it housed the Eternal Flame of Vesta, and was attended to by the Vestal Virgins who were the priestesses of Vesta. The Temple of Vesta was another that underwent various remodels and reconstructions. The earliest structures were mostly likely a simple hut of straw and wood similar to what the people of the time would have lived in as a common house. This was not very practical as it was a building that housed a giant fire, and often experienced burn damage and was a difficult structure to maintain. The structured that stands today is a model of the temple that was built in 191 AD long after the original. The temple of Vesta was a very important structure and played a major roll in Roman society. The Eternal Flame and the Vestal Virgins were believed to be directly connected to the health and prosperity of Rome. As long as the flame burned strong and the Vestal’s remained healthy Rome would continue to prosper.

The Vestal Virgins, also called Vestals, were the most beautiful girls in Rome. They served a term of 30 years during which they swore a vow of chastity and were granted many privileges not afforded by many women and even some male citizens. There were always transported in a covered cart and accompanied by a lictor (bodyguard) and always given the right of way in streets. At games and special events there were always a section of reserved prime seating for the Vestals. Only women in the republic (later empire) to be able to own their own property, enter legal agreements, and vote. They carried the authority to unquestionably free condemned prisoners. If a prisoner was being taken to be executed and met a Vestal Virgin she could, if she desired, free the prisoner and reprieve them of all crimes. Vestals were often entrusted with handling certain official government documents and artifacts. Harming a Vestal was punishable by death. However the great privileges come at the price of their vow of chastity because breaking their vow of chastity resulted in their live burial. This was significant because it was believed that this method was the only way to kill a Vestal without spilling her blood. The accomplice would be publically flogged or whipped to death. In 1200 years there are only 10 recoded cases of Vestals being found guilty of breaking their vows. After their 30 year term the Vestals were free to join society and marry if they so desired. Being a Vestal Virgin was the highest honor that a woman in Rome could have. The Vestals were hand chosen by the Pontifex Maximus and during times of selection families would parade their daughters out in a crowd because it was a great honor to have a Vestal Virgin in your family.

The third earliest building was the Curia and the Comitium. This was the meeting place of the senate. Like the Regia and the Temple of Vesta it also went through various changes. The current structure one of the more preserved buildings in the forum because it was later adopted and converted by the Catholic Church. The original structure was round; the Curia that exists is rectangular and was builtunder imperial reign.

The next major structures were the Temples of the Gods; Saturn, Castore and Pollux, and Concodia. The Temple of Saturn was erected in 498BC. Saturn was first and there is still a considerable amount (comparatively) of this temple that remains. Saturn was a god of the harvest, agriculture, justice and strength. In addition to being a place of sacrifice and worship it was also a seemingly well fortified structure of the time with great blocks at the base put together without mortar indicating this would have been an early storage facility for large amounts of treasury.

The Temple of Castor and Pollux was built shortly after in 484BC. There are only a couple columns remaining of the structure and not much else. Castor and Pollux are the twins that were transformed into the Gemini Constellation. Castor and Pollux are usually associated with being patrons of horses and of sailors.

The temple of Concord is dedicated to the goddess Concordia who is the goddess of harmony and agreement. There is practically nothing that still stands from this temple and it is reduced to a few pieces of stone.

The other large buildings that enclose the forum on the north and south side, the basilicas of Aemilia and Julia, did not make their appearance until the second century BC. Before the construction of the large Basilicas temples were the main focal points of Ancient Roman Architecture. During the first 300 years of the republic Rome had not felt a great need to give visible form to its claim to power as long concerns of the city remained chiefly local. By the second century BC Romans had realized their mastery of the world and felt architectural magnificence or their new political prestige indispensable and thus inspired later constructions, the Basilica of Aemilia for example, to be more majestic and propagate progress and hierarchy in the world.

The Basilica Aemilia was completed in 179BC next to the Curia on the north side. It was the setting of large judicial courts as well as a center for banking and trade. This structure was a magnificent building and after undergoing a couple remodels was completely faced with fine marble and later, Plinty the Elder in 1st century AD, declared it as one of the most beautiful building in the world.

The south side is occupied by the Basilica Julia which was a project started by Julius Caesar but was not completed until after his death. It was finally completed by Augustus Caesar in 27BC. This structure was the largest building constructed by the Romans thus far. It was the site of multiple courts and tribunal councils. The basilica Julia was divided into multiple rooms by large curtains and the courts would take place simultaneously. Outside on the steps people would wait for their trials to be held and heard. There is one spot on the steps where carved into it is a game board which looks like mancala (an ancient game bead game reminiscent of collection or harvest) where people likely waited and played games before their trials. This is one of the monuments in the forum where little is actually known about its appearance because few records of the physical structure were found and by the time of excavation most the building had already been removed, reused, or recycled. It was discovered however that the Basilica Julia was built over the Basilica Sempronia which was a smaller structure that had been completed in 169 BC, 10 years after Aemilia and it was a complex of additional shops.

The next building to be erected was the Temple of Divus Julius after Augustus deified Julius effectively making himself the son of a God during Rome’s first imperial reign as Augustus Caesar was declared the first emperor of Rome. This concludes the basic descriptions of the original building built in the forum during the republic era. There were of course many other temple and monuments built elsewhere such as the Temple of Jupiter atop the Capitoline hill but many other buildings outside the central original forum were built and dedicated to deified individuals or were other grand political structures such as the Basilica of Maxentius.
During the reign of the republic structures dedicated to individuals were usually for purposes of military honor to show strength and progress. The Emperors used this tactic to promote themselves or other certain individuals to in crease their popularity. In the original forum the temples were places of worship for their perspective gods and the Basilica’s were places of business and had a productive purpose in the daily lives of Romans, the center square was versatile in housing the public markets or as the setting for games such as chariot races or gladiatorial games before the construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre. At the turn of the millennium it is interesting to note the transition from republic to empire because the monarchical emperors’ desire for power and reputation is visible in the buildings of the new face of Rome. The temple of Divus Julius was the start of dedicated buildings with personal agenda in mind.

There was no grand plan for the original Roman Forum. Over the course of 500 years buildings were erected sporadically out of the necessity or from the will of the Senate or Pontifex Maximus. There was not great building plan, there was no deadline that organized these buildings to be constructed in some timely manner and a specific arrangement. This is most interesting (what I actually found most interesting) because this concept of a forum is not unique to this spot it became an idea and the model for countless other forums in Rome, many next to this original such as the Forum of Augustus or Trajan, and many outside of the city. It is the first model of the modern day piazza or square.

The ruins of the Roman Forum as well as any of Roman antiquity are important sites because they are all that remains of some of the world’s oldest western civilizations. In studying the ancient past we can see how technology, life, and culture evolved. Rome is particularly interesting because it transformed from a more democratic republic into a monarchical empire. The physical structure of the Roman Forum as it has been described is a model for all civic centers in any major Roman city. All having a forum where everything converged and major daily business and social interaction took place.

Ciao!!!