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VORTVMNVS TEMPORIBVS DIOCLETIANI

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 596 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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VORTVMNVS TEMPORIBVS DIOCLETIANI . ET . MAXIMIANI . (C.I.L. vi. 8o4; 10 see also Pseudo-Ascon, Ad Cic. Verr. ii. 1, 59). The Vicus Tuscus was also called Thurarius, from shops of perfume-sellers (see Schol. ad See also:

Hor. Sat. ii. 3, 228, and Ep. ii. 1, 269). It is the See also:street along which processions passed, mentioned by See also:Cicero (Verr. ii.

I, 59) as extending a signo Vertumni in Circum Maximum. The See also:

temple of See also:Castor"—or, more properly, of " the Castores," i.e. Castor and See also:Pollux—on the See also:south-See also:east See also:side of the Vicus Tuscus was founded to commemorate the apparition in the See also:Forum Temple of the Dioscuri, announcing the victory of Aulus Postumius of castor. at See also:Lake See also:Regillus, 496 B.C., and was dedicated in 484 B.C. by the son of A. Postumius (Liv. ii. 20, 42; Dionys. vi. 13; Qv. Fast. i. 706). In 119 B.C. it was restored by the See also:consul L. See also:Caecilius See also:Metellus Dalmaticus (Ascon. In. Cic.

See also:

Pro Scaur. 46), and, finally rebuilt in the reign of See also:Augustus by Tiberius and See also:Drusus, A.D. 6 (See also:Suet. Tib. 20; Ov. Fast. i. 705; Dio See also:Cass. lv. 8, 27) ; the three existing Corinthian columns and piece of See also:entablature, all very delicate and graceful in detail, and of the finest workmanship, in Pentelic See also:marble, belong to a still later restoration under See also:Trajan or See also:Hadrian. One point shows See also:Roman timidity in the use of a See also:lintel: the See also:frieze is jointed so as to See also:form a See also:flat See also:arch, quite needlessly, with the See also:object of relieving the See also:weight on the See also:architrave. Its See also:plan, See also:hexastyle, with only eleven columns on the sides, is shown in fig. 8. It had a lofty See also:podium, faced with marble and decorated with a heavy See also:cornice and pilasters, one under each See also:column.

The podium is an interesting example of the enormous solidity of Roman buildings of the best See also:

period. Solid tufa walls, 8 ft. thick, are built under the whole of the See also:cella and the front See also:row of columns, while the columns of the sides See also:rest on spurs of similar walling, projecting at right angles from that under the cella; the See also:part immediately under the columns is of travertine, and the spurs are See also:united and strengthened laterally by massive flat See also:arches, also of travertine. Between the See also:foundations of the columns were See also:chambers used as offices, &c. With the exception of a small chamber under the steps, entered from the Vicus Tuscus, the entire podium is filled up by a solid See also:mass of See also:concrete, made of broken tufa, pozzolana and See also:lime, the whole forming a lofty See also:platform, about 22 ft. high, solid as a See also:rock, on which the columns and upper structure are erected. The podium contains 6 " Forum . Ivlivm . et . basilicam . qvae . fvit . inter . aedem . Castoris et . aedem . Satvrni . coepta . profligataqve . See also:opera . a . patre. meo. perfeci. et. eandem. basilicam. consvmptam. incendio . ampliato . eivs . See also:solo . svb . titvlo . nominis . filiorvm . inchoavi . et . si. vivvs . non . perfecissem . perfici . ab . haeredibvs . [meis . ivssil]." The filii here referred to are Augustus's grandsons, Gains and See also:Lucius, adopted by him in 17 B.C. (see Dio Cass. lvi. 27). ' Three See also:medieval lime-kilns were found by See also:Canina within this See also:basilica, which accounts for the scantiness of the existing remains.

8 A few have See also:

inscriptions, e.g. " Vinces . gaudes: perdes . plangis." 9 The whole See also:building has unhappily been much falsified by need-less restoration. 10 A See also:drawing' of this See also:pedestal, which is now lost,_ with MS. See also:note by Ligorio, exists in See also:Cod. Vat. 3439, fol. 46. n The temple of Castor is shown on two fragments of the marble plan, and its position is also indicated by the passage in the Mon. Anc. quoted above (note 6). a few remains' of the earliest temple, built of blocks of See also:grey-See also:green tufa. Two fragments of See also:mosaic, with See also:simple See also:lozenge See also:pattern in See also:white marble and See also:basalt, still exist in the cella of this temple. The level of the mosaic, which probably belongs to the rebuilding of Tiberius, lies considerably below that of the later See also:floor, which seems to date from Hadrian's reign. It has all the characteristics of See also:early mosaic—very small tesserae fitted with See also:great accuracy, like the early mosaic in the Regia.

The temple of Castor was often used as a See also:

meeting-See also:place for the See also:senate, and its lofty podium formed a tribunal for orations.' The Fons or Lacus Juturnae (see Ov. Fast. i. 705, and Dionys. vi. 13), at which the Dioscuri were fabled to have watered their horses, was beside their temple; the See also:precinct was discovered in 1900-1. The Lacus itself, a See also:basin 164 ft. square and 61 ft. deep, is immediately opposite the three See also:standing columns of the temple; in the centre is a See also:base of ,See also:opus reticulatum, which supported statues of the Dioscuri; an See also:altar with reliefs, together with other sculptures, has been found See also:close by, and a few yards off is a small See also:chapel or See also:aedicula, intended for a statue of See also:Juturna, and in front of it a well-curb (puteal) of white marble, set up by the See also:aedile M. Barbatius See also:Pollio in the reign of Augustus. Close to the temple of Castor, at the See also:angle of the Forum, stood the arch of Augustus, set up in 20 B.C. to commemorate the recovery Arch of of the See also:standards taken from See also:Crassus by the Parthians. Augustus. Its foundations were discovered in 1888; it had three bays, and rested on the See also:pavement of a street which before the See also:time of Augustus formed the E. boundary of the Forum. On the other side of the Sacra Via stand the remains of the temple of Divus See also:Julius, erected by Augustus. Though little beyond its Temple concrete core is See also:left, its plan can be fairly well made out T Dlvua from the voids in the concrete, which show the position Juttus. of the tufa foundations under the walls and columns (as in the temple of Castor). The temple itself, a hexastyle See also:prostyle building, with close See also:intercolumniation (Vitr. iii.

2), stood on a lofty podium with a curved See also:

recess in the front between two flights of stairs (see See also:Plate VIII.). The See also:wall which now fills up the recess is a See also:late addition. In 1898 the base of a large altar was discovered in the See also:niche, doubtless that mentioned by See also:Appian (See also:Bell. Civ. ii. 148). The podium, which projects in front of the temple itself, was adorned with beaks from the See also:ships taken at See also:Actium (Dio Cass. li. 19), and hence it was called the Rostra Julia, to distinguish it from the other rostra described above. Both were used for the funeral orations in See also:honour of Augustus (Suet. Aug. too; see also Dio Cass. liv. 35). Besides the concrete core and the curved tufa wall of the recess, little now exists except a small See also:bit of the mosaic of the cella floor and some fragments of the cornice and See also:pediment, of See also:fine See also:Greek marble. This temple is represented on coins of Augustus and Hadrian.

The temple of See also:

Vesta, founded according to tradition by Numa,3 stands at the See also:southern angle of the Forum on the See also:ancient See also:line of Temple the Sacra Via (Ov. Trist. iii. 1, 28). No See also:shrine in See also:Rome of Vesta. was equal in sanctity to this little circular building, which contained the sacred See also:fire and the See also:relics on which the welfare and even the existence of Rome depended. The See also:original building was destroyed in 390 B.C. by the Gauls; it was burnt again in 241 B.C., again in the great fire of See also:Nero's reign, and then in the reign of See also:Commodus; after this it was rebuilt by See also:Severus, to whose See also:age belong the fragments of columns, cornice and other architectural features now lying around the ruined podium. With the aid of coins' and a See also:relief preserved in the Uffizi at See also:Florence' it is possible to make a sufficiently accurate restoration of the temple.° It consisted of a circular cella, surrounded by eighteen columns, with screens between them; the circular podium, about to ft. high, still exists, mainly of concrete with some foundations of tufa blocks, which may belong to the original structure. See also:Recent excavations have disclosed a See also:pit (favissa) in the See also:middle of the podium, where the ashes of the sacred fire were temporarily stored. In the time of See also:Pliny (H.N. xxxiv. 7) the tholus or See also:dome over the cella—symbolizing the See also:canopy of See also:heaven (Ov. Fast. vi. 276)—was covered with Syracusan See also:bronze. Its position near the temple of Castor is mentioned by See also:Martial (i.

71-73).7 The Regia, or See also:

office of the See also:pontifex See also:maximus, was on the Sacra Via, close by the temple of Vesta. It also was traditionally Regis. founded by Numa, and used as his dwelling-See also:house; It was destroyed in 390 B.C. by the Gauls, and was again burnt in 210 B.C. (Liv. See also:xxvi. 27), when the temple of Vesta narrowly ' On these see Delbriick, Das Capitolium von See also:Signia (1903), p. 22 ; Der Apollotempel auf dem Marsfelde (1903), p. 14; See also:van Buren in Class. Rev. xx. pp. 77 if. 2 The front of the podium was decorated with ships' beaks. One of the mad acts of Caligula was to make the temple of Castor into the See also:vestibule of his See also:palace by breaking a See also:door through the back of the cella (Suet. Cal. 22).

3 Another See also:

legend attributes its See also:founding to See also:Romulus. On the coins see Dressel, Zeitschr. See also:fur Numismatik (1899), 20 if. ° Lanciani, L'Atrio di Vesta (1884), pl. xix. ° See Huelsen, The Roman Forum, p. 190, fig. Io8. ' See See also:Jordan, Vesta and See also:die Laren (See also:Berlin, 1865); and Auer in the Denkschriften der Wiener Akademie (1888), ii. 209 if.escaped. See also:Ovid (Trist. iii. I, 28) describes this end of the Forum thus: " Haec est a sacris .quae via nomen habet, Hic See also:locus est Vestae, qui Pallada servat et ignem, Hic fuit See also:antique Regia parva Numae." It was again damaged by fire in 148 B.C. and 36 B.C., after which it was rebuilt in marble by Cn. Domitius Calvinus, and its See also:outer walls inscribed with the lists of consuls and triumphs (fasli consulares et, triumphales) of which many fragments have been recovered. Recent excavations have brought to See also:light the tufa foundations of the republican building, including a See also:round substructure, which may have supported the See also:sacrarium Martis, in which were preserved the ancilia or sacred See also:shields and spears (See also:Gell. iv.

6), and an under-ground cistern, which has been brought into connexion with the shrine of Ops Consiva (See also:

Varro, L.L. vi. 21). The See also:official See also:residence of the pontifex maximus was not the Regia, but the domus publica; when Augustus succeeded to the office, he conveyed a part of his residence on the See also:Palatine to the See also:state in See also:order to satisfy the claims of tradition, and presented the domus publica to the vestals. The excavations of 1883–84 laid See also:bare remains of this very interesting building, and showed that it was a large house extending close up to the See also:Atrium Vestae; its See also:orientation corresponded with that of the Regia. The existing remains are of several See also:dates—first, walls of soft tufa, part possibly of the earliest building; second, walls of hard tufa, of rather later date; and lastly, concrete walls faced with See also:brick, decorated with painted See also:stucco, and columns of travertine, also stuccoed and painted' with a large quantity of fine mosaic of that early sort which has very small tesserae put together with great accuracy. These valuable remains were preserved in spite of the erection of later buildings over them, because the levels of the later floors were higher than those of the Regia, and thus covered and protected the mosaics and See also:lower parts of the walls and columns. The Atrium Vestae, or house of the vestals, like the temple, was many times burnt and rebuilt; the existing building, which was excavated in 1883–84 and more completely in 1901, seems Atrium to have been built after the great fire of A.D. 64, and to Vestae. have been restored or enlarged several times—by the See also:Flavian emperors, who added the See also:colonnade; Hadrian, who built the See also:tablinum and other rooms at the end ;the Antonines, and Septimius Severus, who restored the whole after the fire of A.D. 192? It consists of a large atrium or quadrangle with columns of cipollino. At one end is the tablinum, with three small rooms on each side of it—probably for the six vestals. A bathroom, bakehouse, servants' offices, and some rooms lined with See also:rich See also:marbles extend along the south-See also:west side.

This extensive building is set against the side of the Palatine, which is cut away to admit the lower See also:

storey. Thus the level of the first upper floor is nearly the same as that of the Nova Via, on which it faces, about 23 ft. above the ground floor. The upper floor is in part well preserved; it contains a large See also:suite of See also:bath and other rooms, which were probably the sleeping apartments of the vestals. All the better rooms and the See also:baths are lined with polished marbles, many of great beauty and rarity; the floors are mostly mosaic of See also:tessellated See also:work. The paving of the tablinum was a beautiful specimen of inlay in See also:porphyry and marble. In many places alterations and clumsy patchings of the 4th and 5th centuries are apparent. A number of statues of the See also:chief vestal, or See also:virgo vestalis See also:maxima, with inscribed pedestals, were found in the atrium, mostly of the 3rd See also:century, though a few are earlier; these are of especial See also:interest as illustrating the sacerdotal See also:dress of the vestals.° Nothing but the Nova Via separates the Atrium Vestae from the imperial palace (see Plin. Ep. vii. 19; Aul. Gell.. i. 12), which extends over the site of the Lucus Vestae—" qui a Palatii radice in Novam Viam devexus est " (Cie. De Div. e.

45). A curious octagonal structure in the middle of the atrium looks very much like a border for See also:

flower-beds; and it is possible that this See also:miniature See also:garden was made by the vestals when the Lucus Vestae ceased to exist. By the See also:main entrance from the Forum stood a small aedicula —a large pedestal, at the angles of which were columns supporting an entablature.' It no doubt contained a statue of Vesta, there being none within the temple. It is of the time of Hadrian. See also:Gratian confiscated the house and endowments of the vestals in A.D. 382, but the atrium continued to be partly inhabited for many centuries later by imperial or papal officials.° In See also:September 1884 a road was ° The columns were See also:crimson, the travertine See also:rain-See also:water See also:gutter See also:bright See also:blue, and the inner walls had_simple designs in panels of See also:leaf See also:ornament and wreaths. 9A full See also:account of the Atrium Vestae and its successive restorations is given in See also:Miss E. B. Van Deman's Atrium Vestae (1909). e° The most important of these have been removed to the Museo delle Terme. 1' The front is inscribed SENATVS . POPVLVSQVE .

ROMANVS . PECVNIA . PVBLICA . FACIENDAM . CVRAVIT. 12 In the excavations of See also:

December 1883 a pot was found in the See also:north corner containing 83o See also:silver pennies of See also:English See also:kings of the 9th and loth centuries—See also:Alfred the Great, See also:Edward I., Aethelstan, Eadmund I., and others. A See also:list of these is given by De See also:Rossi in Lanciani's work, L'Atrio di Vesta (Rome, 1884).

End of Article: VORTVMNVS TEMPORIBVS DIOCLETIANI

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