Roman Forum, Flavian Amphitheatre, Imperial Forums

Oh my, we have a lot of ground to cover, here we go.  In 8th century BC, a village of huts was established on the Palatine Hill, this was the beginning of Rome.  Archaeologists have excavated the huts, you can look at the excavated huts today.

In 509 BC, an Etruscan king built the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus (Jupiter OMC), dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the Capitaline Triad.  This was the most important temple of ancient Rome and was re-built several times.  All that remains today is about 13 feet of the platform.  It had a triple cella, one for each god/goddess.

The architecture of the Republic was Etruscan until nearly 100 BC.  The Etruscans were skilled in construction but their architecture lacked refinement, the barrel vault in stone was of Etruscan origin.  The Romans used the vault and when they started to use and improve concrete, Roman architecture really came into its own.

The Roman forum was situated where the two main roads met.  It was a meeting and marketplace, an open space surrounded by a colonnade.  Several buildings would be situated near or in the forum, such as a temple, a basilica and a portico with shops.  The importance of the Roman forum declined after the end of the Republic, as the emperors built their own forums, known as the Imperial forums.

We were very prepared for our visit of the forum.  I had printed out maps of all the buildings, forums, temples etc. and had notes on my kindle reader.  If you are not prepared, it looks like one giant field of rubble with columns here and there.  We were quite methodical during our visit and spent a lot of time there.

Senate House (Curia)

Re-constructed after a fire in 283 AD, it could hold 300 senators who sat on steps along the edge.  It used to have bronze doors but a Pope took the doors in 1660 for a church.

Temple of Saturn - 497 BC, destroyed by fire and restored in 360-80 AD

This was an old cult, it was dedicated near the beginning of the Republic.  On Saturn’s feast day, slaves could do as they pleased for the day.  This was one of the last great temples funded by private citizens before the Imperial era, when the emperors decided what to build.  Most of the material used to build the temple was used previously.

Temple of Castor - 484 BC

This temple has been recognized for centuries by three standing columns, only the concrete core of the podium remains.  Castor and his twin bother Pollux were sons of Jupiter, they were semi-mythical cavalry heroes, Pollux immortal and Castor mortal.  The myth tells us that two young men on white horses were seen in the Roman ranks during the Battle of Lake Regillus in 499 or 496 BC.  They were later seen watering their horses and telling of a Roman victory over the Latins.  The temple was dedicated in 484 BC by the victorious general, Aulus Postumius.

Arch of Titus - 81 AD

The arch was built by his brother Domitian, it stands on the spur hill (Velia) between the Palatine and Esquiline Hills.  The arch sits next to the Sacred Way, which was the route of the triumph which Titus celebrated with his father Vespasian in 7 AD, after winning the Jewish War.  The side facing the forum is restored.  On the side facing the Colosseum, the spandrels, central section, columns, keystone, frieze and inscription are all ancient.

The frieze on the outside of the arch shows the whole procession in miniature, spandrels (triangular shape) below, on either side of the keystone are flying Victories carrying Roman banners, trophies, laurel wreaths and palm branches.

Originally, the arch was pentelic marble to the attic and then carrara marble, which is Roman.  The arch was restored in travertine when the arch was dismantled and reassembled in the 19th century.

The inscription reads: The Senate and People of Rome, the SPQR, who put this up to the Divine Titus, (Divo Tito) who was the son of the Divine Vespasian.

On the north side, Titus is riding in his chariot drawn by four horses with a winged female figure, who is a personification of victory, she is holding a laurel wreath over Titus’ head.  Behind the chariot, the figure with the nude torso represents the People of Rome, the figure wearing a toga represents the Senate.  In front of the chariot, the Goddess Roma is holding the bridle and welcoming Titus back to Rome.

The scene on the south side shows the procession as it approached the Triumphal gate at the beginning of the route.  There would have been two chariot groups in bronze on the roof symbolizing Titus and Vespasian.  The booty from the Great Temple of Jerusalem which was sacked in the Jewish War, is displayed on wooden stretchers, first is the golden table and silver trumpets, second is the menorah.

Note the capital is a combination of Ionic with the volute and Corinthian with the acanthus leaves.

The Triumphal Route

When a Roman general or emperor was victorious in war they came back to Rome and held a triumph.  In a triumph they paraded the Roman army, the prisoners and the booty they took from the people they conquered.  It would have been a huge spectacle, imagine the procession of Roman legions, generals, emperors in chariots, prisoners and all the loot they brought back to Rome.  The booty paid for arches, temples and forums.

Temple of Divus Antonius Pius and Diva Faustina - 140 AD

This temple was built by Antoninus Pius for his wife Faustina.  The podium and cella are of peperino tufa stone, the columns are of green marble.  The podium was faced with white marble and marble mouldings at the top and bottom, but the marble was pilfered.  The front steps are partially reconstructed in brick but would have been in marble.  The temple was converted into a church and had the Baroque pediment added in 1602.  Notice the ancient temple door is below, while the 17th century door is a lot higher.

Arch of Septimius Severus - 203 AD

The arch is located on the triumphal route just before it turned left in front of Temple of Concordia to climb the hill to the Temple of Jupiter.  The arch was awarded to Severus and his sons Caracalla and Geta in 203, for their military conquest of Parthia (Iran).  The figures on the tiers tell the story of the Pathian war; however, large chunks of figured reliefs have fallen away.

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre, 70 - 80 AD

We need to discuss a few emperors before we look at the architecture of the Colosseum.  The Julio-Claudian dynasty was founded by Augustus, Caesar’s great nephew and adopted son.  Julio from the Julian side - Julius Caesar and the Claudian side - Augustus’s wife Livia.  The dynasty consisted of Tiberius (ruled AD 14 - 37), Caligula (ruled AD 37 - 41), Claudius (ruled AD 41 - 54), and Nero (ruled AD 64 - 68).

Tiberius was the eldest son of Augustus’s wife Livia, from a former marriage.  Tiberius was primarily interested in private architecture for himself, building villas on Capri and a palace on the Palatine Hill.

Caligula was very young when he became emperor, he became a despot and suffered from mental illness; he believed he was a god and it is said that he tried to get his horse a position in the senate, Canadians take note...  During his reign, the mixture for concrete was altered, they dispensed with the rubble and replaced it with yellow tufa rock and pumice which resulted in a much lighter mixture.  The lighter mixture would later result in lighter dome architecture which could span greater distances.  Caligula only reigned for 3 years as he and his family were murdered, leaving no heir.

After Caligula was assassinated, the Senate hesitated in choosing a successor so the praetorian guard did it for them.  Caligula’s uncle Claudius was the first emperor to be appointed by the army.  The praetorian guard thought that Claudius would be no trouble and would bend to their will.  Claudius had a stammer, so his family thought him an imbecile; however, he was a highly intelligent person.  He was an intellectual, historian, antiquarian and a linguist who could read and write Etruscan.  He became emperor at the age of 50, Claudius followed the example of Augustus and returned to architecture for the people of Rome.  He looked to the past for architectural detail, contrasting finished columns with rough stone construction, a rather unique style.

Nero was the adopted son of Claudius by the last of his four wives, Agrippina the Younger.  Nero was brutal, completely unbalanced, despised by the patricians but adored by the people.  After the great fire in Rome in 64 AD, Nero expropriated 300 - 350 acres of land in Rome to build his palace, the Domus Aurea or Golden House, because of its gilded facade.  The palace was extraordinary, it also had an artificial lake on the grounds.

Nero’s golden house marked a major shift in Roman architecture, they began to construct octagonal domes with concrete, which broke away from the usual rectangular shape.  Also, the emphasis moved from solids to voids, from walls and roofs to the space beneath.  Natural light began to play a major role by illuminating and adding drama to the space.

Nero’s palace included a colossal statue of himself in bronze, reaching 125 feet in height.  The statue was referred to as ‘The Colossus,’ you know where this is leading, Colossus - Colosseum.

Nero had his mother murdered in 59 AD, his first wife executed in 62 AD and his second wife murdered as well.  Nero’s relations with the Senate deteriorated, there were plots against him, he was eventually discredited and condemned by the Senate.  Nero chose to commit suicide in 68 AD rather than be flogged to death.  The Roman Senate enacted a damnation of his memory, where Nero’s portraits and buildings were to be destroyed.

After Nero’s death with no heir, civil war broke out, four emperors ruled in 68 - 69 AD.  Vespasian emerged as the only ruler capable of holding onto power, thus began the Flavian dynasty.  Vespasian was politically motivated to return to public architecture, so he begins building the Flavian Amphitheatre or Colosseum.

Vespasian destroyed Nero’s Domus Aurea and filled in the artificial lake.  He built the Colosseum on the site of the former lake to gain favour with the Roman people.  The colossal statue of Nero was  re-made to depict the sun god Sol.

The Colosseum is an imposing structure, it could seat 50,000.  Constructed of concrete, the first tier annular vaults sit on stone piers made of travertine.  The second tier is where things get interesting; the angle created where the vaults intersect, is known as the groin vault or ribbed vault.  This was innovative architecture at this time, the Romans were demonstrating their expertise in the use of concrete.  The concrete would have been faced with stucco and painted.

It has a rather monotonous exterior due to the repetition of columns and arches on four tiers.  The columns that are in between the arches on the first three tiers are not structural, the building is supported by the barrel and annular concrete vaults.

The Colosseum is an oval, the interior is not so well preserved as the exterior.  The seating was made of stone, some was replaced with marble in late antiquity, the marble we see today is a reconstruction from the 1930's.  As was typical of Roman society, the seating was based on one’s social status, the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins sat in special boxed seating, on the same level sat the senatorial class.  Above them sat the patricians and further up, sat the plebs.  At the very top, the poor, the slaves and any women who dared attend the events stood or sat on wooden benches.

Underneath the floor were gladiator barracks and cages for the animals, which were released into the arena through trap doors.  There is evidence of ramps and some type of pulley system to raise the animals.  The animals and gladiators gained access to the lower level via tunnels under the main entrances.

The shows at the Colosseum were in three parts: wild animal hunts, public executions and gladiatorial contests.  The fights took place in elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings.  The animals subjected to the slaughter were usually from Africa.  I did not research why the Romans went for such a gruesome form of entertainment.

The Colosseum is a very popular place to visit, there was a huge line of people waiting to purchase tickets, we were a bit shocked at this.  The ticket is combined with the Forum and the Palatine Hill, where there is no line up, so I don’t know why people wait at the Colosseum.  Because we already had our ticket, we walked past the long line with nobody in front of us.  There are people there who try to get visitors to go on a paid tour.  The guy told us we would not understand anything about the Colosseum if we didn’t go on a tour, we laughed.

Look at those innovative groin vaults.

Annular Vault.

The Flavian Dynasty

Vespasian had two sons, Titus and Domitian.  After Vespasian died, Titus succeeded him.  Titus was a kind emperor but had a rough go of it, he had to deal with a fire in Rome and the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.  He died at a young age and was succeeded by his brother, Domitian.  Domitian had been jealous of his popular brother and was a bitter man.  He was another megalomaniac and returned to building palatial architecture for himself.

Palace of Domitian on Palatine Hill - AD 92

Domitian built a huge and extravagant palace.  We are only including a photo of the sunken stadium (hippodrome) which is well preserved.  It is enormous, the walls are concrete faced with brick.

Imperial Forums

There were many Imperial forums, the Forum of Caesar, the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Nerva and the Forum of Trajan.

The Temple of Mars Ultor, 28 - 2 BC

Augustus built a temple to avenge the death of Julius Caesar.  The Temple to Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger) was started in 28 BC and was dedicated in 2 BC.

The Forum of Augustus was built right next to the Forum of Caesar, as Augustus wanted to associate himself with Caesar.  A street now splits the Imperial Forums from the Roman and Caesarian Forums.  Rome had a lot of fires, so they built a wall to protect the forum from subra, the wooden tenement houses that often went on fire.  The wall was built of ashlar blocks of peperino stone, a type of tufa.

The temple had cararra marble columns, steps sheathed in cararra marble, the podium was made of tufa, and there were two hemicycles with niches for statuary.  The second story of the colonnade were figures of women, copies of the Caryatids (Maidens) in the Porch of Caryatids on the Acropolis in Athens.  Plaster casts were made of the Caryatids and duplicated for the Forum of Augustus.

Markets of Trajan, 107 - 110 AD

The markets were built into what is left of the Quirinal Hill, they were built out of concrete faced with brick.  The Romans are now experts in building with concrete - accommodating very large windows on the outside wall.  They break the triangular pediment to allow an arcuated pediment to show through, this is the beginning of experimentation that leads to the Baroque element in Roman architecture.  Groin vaults were used in the covered bazaar as they can now lift the vault on piers rather than having to use solid walls.  This opens up the space and allows light to flood in.