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The Roman Forum: Searching for Caesar’s Grave


Ron Current

Ron Current

The assassination of Julius Caesar was only the beginnings of this historic story of ancient Roman intrigue, what came next was his funeral and cremation. For this story we’ll return to the Roman Forum, and my surprising find.
As I stated in my last post (The Roman Forum: Searching for the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination) I expected to find where he was murdered in the Forum, and although I didn’t find the site of his assassination there I did find something even more amazing- his grave!
But before I describe what I found I’d like to again go back in time to 44 BC, and the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination.

The Funeral of Julius Caesar
There are no firsthand accounts as what took place at Caesar’s funeral and cremation. What we know comes from two sources: the Greek historian Appian of Alexandria (c. 95-c.165), in his Roman history writings History of the Civil Wars, and the Roman scholar Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c.71-c.135), in his Lives of the Twelve Caesars, both written decades after Caesar’s funeral. From these two accounts we get a picture as to what may have taken place in 44 BC.


The reconstructed Rostra in the Roman Forum today

A few days after Caesar’s assassination his body, still in the cloths he wore when murdered, was taken on a bier of ivory and placed on the Rostra in the Roman Forum. In the Forum today is the reconstructed rostra that sits on that site near the Temple of Saturn and the Arch of Serverus. The condition of Caesar’s body couldn’t have been very good after days in the heat of Rome, embalming hadn’t been invented in 44 BC. This would have added to the horror of the event. Also on the Rostra, next to the body, was a torso of Caesar made of wax, which revolved mechanically, showing the 23 stab wounds.
The large crowd that had gathered for the funeral was becoming more and more agitated as time went on, and there was great wailing and moaning coming from them. Armed men were placed in front of the Rostra to hold back the crowd as Caesar’s friend and Consul Marc Antony took to the platform to give the funeral oration.
Friends, Romans and countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
Act III, Scene II of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.




Marc Antony giving his address at Caesar’s funeral

These opening lines by Marc Antony in Julius Caesar at Caesars funeral are perhaps the most recognized and well known lines in all of Shakespeare’s works, however Appian presents another version of Antony’s opening words, “It is not right, my fellow-citizens, for the funeral oration in praise of so great a man be delivered by me, a single individual, instead of by his whole country…” Although a word-for-word record of what Antony actually said hasn’t been found both Appian and Tranquillius state that what he said denounced the conspirators for their ghastly act and turned the crowd of mourners into an enraged mob.



After Antony’s speech the mob rushed the Rostra, pushing passed the guards, seizing the bier with Caesar’s body, and carried it down the Via Sacra to the Forum’s square, between the Basilica Julia and the Temple of Caster and Polllux. There they sat it down, covering it with wood, clothes, furniture, anything that would burn, and set it ablaze. It was said that fire was so large and out of control that several of the building in the Forum were damaged.
After the funeral pyre had burned out the crowed, still enraged, went through the city burning the houses of the conspirators. This caused many of the them to flee the city. Both Antony and Octavian used this anger to their own political ends, getting rid of the senate conspirators and to form their own seat of power in Rome.
One year later, in 42 BC they, along with Marcus Lepidus, formed yet another three person ruling partnership called the Second Triumvirate. Also they got the new puppet senate to formally deify Caesar, making him the first Roman to be named a god. In addition Octavian pushed the senate to name him “Divi filius,” or Son of god, giving him more power than Antony and Lepidus.
Finally after years of another civil war and his political gamesmanship Octavian had killed all of Caesar’s murders and Marc Antony, and exiled Lepidus, leaving him in absolute power of Rome. This culminated with the senate titling him with the name “Augustus,” in Latin meaning “the illustrious one.” This title was more of a religious title of authority than a political one that would allow Augustus Caesar to maneuver his way into becoming Rome’s first emperor, and ending the Roman Republic era.
The Temple of Divus Caesar
Caesar’s ashes had been collected and later placed in the base of the Alter the Rome Senate had erected on the site of his cremation. In 31 BC Octavian began the construction of a temple to honor his adopted father also at that site. In 29 BC, two years later, the temple was dedicated to “Divus Julius,” the Deified Caesar.


This is what the Temple of Caesar may have looked like. Note the recess with the Alter at the center front

One of the most unique aspects of the Temple of Caesar was the recess built into its front to accommodate the senate’s Alter holding Caesar’s ashes. Around this recess was constructed a raised orators platform designed to be the new rostra for public speeches. This platform was adorned with the bronze rams taken from the ships of Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium. The temple was flanked by two arches, one for the Battle of Actium and the other to celebrate Augustus’ returning the Legionary Standards after the battle of Carrhae. Inside the temple was a large statue of Julius Caesar, which included a star on his head and bearing the augural staff in its right hand. This statue could be seen from the Forum outside when the temple’s doors were open.
It’s recorded that the Temple of Caesar remained mostly intact until the late 15th century, after which it was stripped of its marble and stone.
The Temple of the Deified Caesar today
To find the Temple of Caesar in the Roman Forum when going through the Arch of Constantine entrance you walk down the still unexcavated hill toward the center of the Forum. As you pass the Temple of Antonius and Faustina on the Via Sacra, and behind the columns of the Temple of Vesta and those of the Temple of Castor and Pollus, you’ll see what looks like a small roof covering something; this is what remains of the Temple of Caesar.



The Temple of Caesar

The remains of the Temple of Caesar in the Forum today

As you walk around to its front all you’ll see are just parts of the temple’s cement core. These were the base which supported the orators’ platform and temple building, and is all that remains of the temple itself. There are segments of the temple’s decorations around the site and also in the Forum Museum but that all. What really amazed and thrilled me is what I found the roof protecting.
As you walk under the roof and around the cement wall of the old temple you’ll see what looks like a pile of gray dirt. This is what’s left of the Alter that the Roman Senate erected over 2,000 years ago, the Alter holding the ashes of Julius Caesar. It’s then that it hits you, you are looking at the grave and final resting place of the most famous Roman in history, Julius Caesar.

The Altar in the Temple of Caesar, which is said to have held Julius Caesars ashes

The remains of the senate’s Alter with Caesar’s ashes

Still today people of Rome, and visitors, pay homage to this great man by offering coins and flowers on his grave, and for me it was a fabulous, and unexpected discovery.





This ends my seven part series on the Roman Forums. I hope you’ll read, or re-read them all:
The Roman Forum: Part I, the center of an empire
The Roman Forum: Part II, a walking exploration
The Imperial Fora of Rome: Julius and Augustus Caesar
The Imperial Fora of Rome: Emperors Vespasian and Nerva
The Imperial Fora of Rome: Forum of Trajan
The Roman Forum: Searching for the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination




The Roman Forum: Searching for the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination.


Ron Current

Ron Current

Perhaps there isn’t a more famous and well known ancient Roman than Julius Caesar. This is due in part to William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar and the many movies and television programs done on him. However, many of us only know  this man from just these plays and movies, which aren’t necessarily historically factual.
On my list of sites to see while at the Roman Forum was where Julius Caesar was murdered. From what little I knew, again from the fore mentioned sources, he was murdered on the steps of the Roman Senate by his enemies on March 15th 44 BC, the Ides of March. I figured since the Roman Senate met in the Roman Forum that’s where I’d find where it happened, but I was wrong. Caesar, I found, wasn’t assassinated in the Forum but at another location. Although he wasn’t murdered in the Forum I did find something there on Caesar that was totally unexpected and much more amazing, but that’s for another post.
Hail Caesar!
Before I take you on my journey of discovery I feel I should give a little background on the man we’re searching for.
Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 13 in 100 BC to a well to do Roman political family. Caesar believed that his political ambitions would be realized through a successful military career. Caesar advanced thru the ranks quickly becoming General of the legendary 13th Legion.

Julius Caesar, the Tusculum bust, the only known sculpture during his life

The Tusclum bust of Julius Caesar, the only one known to have been done while he was alive.

His fame grew when he expanded the Roman Empire into Europe and Britain. This gave Caesar immense military and popular power that he used to his advantage.
In 60 BC Caesar formed a political alliance with two of his rivals, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey “the Great,” against the wishes of the Roman Senate. This alliance ended in 53 BC with the death of Crassus. Pompey feeling threated by Caesar’s popularity, switched this alliance to the Senate.
The Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his command, which he refused to do. Instead on January 10 in 49 BC Caesar broke Roman law by leading his army across the Rubicon River, the northern border of ancient Roman Italy, starting a civil war.
The Great Roman Civil War lasted four years, ending with Pompey’s murder and those that opposed Caesar being overthrown in 46 BC. Caesar now had full say over the Senate, who named him dictator for life; however there were still those in the Senate that opposed Caesar.
With his complete control of the government he began instituting programs of social and governmental reform. He also began major building projects in the Forum.
As I had presented in my previous posts (the Roman Forum, Part II- A walking exploration and the Imperial Fora of Rome: Julius and Augustus Caesar) Julius Caesar began major reconstruction projects including building his Curia Julia. On March 15, 44 BC Caesar’s Curia wasn’t finished and the old Curia had been torn down forcing the Senate to meet in another location. That’s what threw me off as to where the assassination took place.

“Beware the Ides of March”
While the new Curia was being finished the Senate had moved their meetings to the Curia Pompey, part of the magnificent Theater of Pompey located in the Campus Martius, the new section of Rome north of the Forum.



The assassination of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini

At first Caesar refused to meet with the Senate, after being warned by his wife and a soothsayer that told him, “Beware the Ides of March.” But after the conspirators convinced him of the importance of the meeting Caesar changed his mind. Legend has it that as Caesar was on his way to the meeting he again met the seer and joked, “The Ides of March has come,” to which the seer replied solemnly, “Aye, Caesar, but not gone.”
It was a little more than a mile from his house on Forum to Campus Martius where he would meet with the Senate in the Curia of Pompey. I would imagine that even after having seen Pompey’s Theater many times it still amazed him.

The Theater of Pompey
Pompey had been inspired by the Greek theater at Mytilene and chose to build one even more magnificent and larger in Rome. Pompey used his own money for its construction, but had to build it outside of the old city because of a law prohibiting the construction of permanent theaters within the city.

The Theater of Pompey

The Theater of Pompey, the Curia of Pompey is at the center above the garden area.

Construction of his theater began in around 61 BC, taking seven years to complete. It was dedicated in 52 BC. When finished the theater’s back curved wall stood 115 feet above the street and stretched 500 feet across. At the center of its back wall was the temple to Venus Victrix which rose high above the theater’s roof.  The stage is thought to have been 95 feet wide. Writings at the time said the theater held 17,500 patrons.
Behind the stage was a long landscaped garden with flowers and fountains in which patrons could walk during intermissions. This garden was surrounded by a columned portico that held statues and paintings by popular Roman artists.

At the opposite end of the garden stood the Curia of Pompey, with its almost temple like design. Pompey had built his theater behind four earlier temples; the entrance to the Curia was opposite the circular columned temple to Aedes Lutatius Catulus, “Luck of the Current Day.”

The Curia of Pompey


1280px-Curia_Pompey[1] cropped

The Curia of Pompey as it would have looked from the garden of the Theater of Pompey in 44 BC. By A derivative work of a 3D model by Lasha Tskhondia 

The Curia of Pompey held meeting rooms and featured a large statue of Pompey himself at its entrance. It was here that the Roman Senate was meeting on that fateful day. Some stories of Julius Caesar’s murder has it happening on the steps as he walked into the building, while others say he was inside sitting in front of the Senators. What is known is that Caser was attacked by sixty conspirators who stabbed him twenty-three times.
The conspirators believed that Caesar’s death would be welcomed among the people, but they vastly underestimated his popularity.


Following the assassination Caesar’s adopted son Gaius Octavius quickly took power and killed all the conspirators. Octavius would change his name to Augustus and become what many consider the first Roman Emperor.
It is also believed that Augustus marked the site of his father’s murder with a concert memorial, 10 feet wide by 6 feet high. As for the Curia itself it is said that after the murder it was closed and walled up. After a fire destroyed the structure a latrine was put in its place.

What’s left of the Theater of Pompey and its Curia today?
Except for the Curia the rest of the Theater and its complex remained in use long after Julius Caesar’s murder. The emperors that followed continued to maintain and to restore the complex throughout the decades that followed. Records show that the theater was still in use after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, and did so until around 554 AD when the population of Rome declined to the point that it wasn’t used anymore. As with the other buildings of ancient Rome the Theater of Pompey’s structural materials were striped and used for other building.

699px-MapTheatreofPompey two

The Theater of Pompey overlaying the streets today. Notice the round diagram center right (the Temple of Aedes Lutatius Catulus), just to the left of it was the Curia of Pompey.

Today there isn’t much visible of this amazing structure, and its historic Curia, to be seen. Some of its walls have been enveloped into newer buildings; its foundations now support many of the buildings in the Campo de’ Fiori and Largo di Torre Argentina sections of the city, or used as wine cellars for hotels and restaurants in that part of the city.
You can however still see the curved outline of the theater in the street as you walk east from the Campo de’ Fiori through the Palazzo Orsini Pio Righetti, and the Via di Grotta Pinta roughly follows the line of its stage. But for the most part this grand structure, Theater of Pompey and the site of were Caesar met his fate, has been buried and lost, their remains covered over and lying under the city square of Largo di Torre Argentina.
In 1927 during demolition work in the square a large marble head and arms were uncovered; this began an archaeological dig which unearthed four Republican era temples. These temples were the ones located at the back of the theaters garden and opposite its Curia.
Using the locations of these temples in 2012 a group of Spanish archaeologists believe they have discovered the location of Augustus’ concert memorial over the site of Caesars murders. However there is still much debate on this finding. What we do know is that the Curia of Pompey stills rests beneath the street, bus and streetcar stop on the Largo di Torre Argentina.

Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome Italy where Ceaser was murdered

Largo di Torre Argentina as seen today. The Curia of Pompey is thought to be under the street behind the tree next to the circle temple.

When you go to Rome make sure you visit Largo di Torre Argentina, and look past the ruins of the circular temple to the area that goes under the street, and you’ll be looking at were Julius Caesar fell at the hands of his enemies.

So now that we’ve found were Caesar was murdered what happened to his body? For that we’ll go back to the Roman Forum and I’ll show you what I found there in my next post.



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The Imperial Fora of Rome: The Forum of Trajan


The Imperal Forums.docx

The Roman Imperial Forums at the height of the Empire. Art from Wikipedia.



Ron Current

Ron Current

As I walked along the Via dei Fori Imperiali past what remains of the Forums of Augustus and Nerva toward the Piazza Venezia I see more ruins: a space littered with broken and fallen columns, a curved high wall, and a tall Imperial column. This is all that’s left of the last and most immense complex of all the Imperial Forums to be built by any of the ancient Roman emperors, the Forum of Trajan.
The history of this forum begins not with the Emperor Trajan but with one of his predecessors, Domitian. At that time in Rome a new city center was growing north of the Forum at the Campus Marius. Domitian saw that his forum could be the connector to this new center and the old. The most logical site to build his forum to complete his purpose was the vacant land between the Capitoline and Quirinal Hills. The problem was that there was a small saddle hill between these two hills that needed to be leveled. To accomplish this project it would require moving more earth than what Julius Caesar had to move when building his forum.
So extensive was this leveling that it hadn’t been finished at the time Domitian was murdered in 96 AD. This undertaking was so difficult that Domitian’s successor Nerva abandoned the site, selecting the already level street between the forums of Augustus and Vespasian for his forum (see my post on the Forum of Neva). It would be the more ambitious Emperor Trajan who would finish the leveling and to build his forum on this site.

The Imperial Forum of Trajan

The ruins of what remains of Trajan’s Forum today. Photo from Wikipedia

Trajan began construction on his forum in around 112 AD, using the spoils he had acquired from his conquest of Dacia (todays Romania). Trajan commissioned his favored architect, Apollodorus of Damascus, to do the design and building. Apollodorus had also built two triumphal arches for Trajan and is credited as being the finishing architect on the Pantheon, the one we see today.


Trajan's Market

The supporting wall today known as Trajan’s Market. Photo from Wikipedia.

When removing the saddle hill Apollodorus found that the eastern side of the forum ran right up to the high rock face created when they cut into the Quirinal Hill. This unstable face was three stores high and needed to be reinforced. Apollodours solved this issue by including the cliff side into his design. He built an enormous hemicycle brick-faced complex up against the cliff side that completely covered and supported the hills from collapsing. This structure held offices, halls and other commercial usages. There were two wide hallways that ran between the complex against the cliff and the main forum buildings. Today this wall complex is referred to as Trajan’s Markets, however archaeological evidence does not support that this was ever used as a traditional marketplace.
As with all Roman forum designs the main area of Trajan’s Forum consisted of an enormous open interior square that at its center stood a large equestrian statue of the Emperor. This square was surrounded by columned porticoes, with the western and eastern sides being curved. The porticos on the long side featured statues and reliefs of Trajan’s conquests as well as portraits of previous emperors and Trajan’s family.
On the north side of the square stood the Basilica Ulpia. Ancient Roman basilicas were not used for religious purposes, as later Christian basilicas. Roman basilicas were places that housed the offices for the administration of justice, commerce, and also where the Emperors conducted their business.

The ruins of the Forum of

What remains of the columns of the Basilica Ulpia. The base of Trajan’s Column is in the right foreground. Photo by the author.



Trajan’s basilica was the largest ever built in ancient Roman, measuring 385 feet by 182 feet. Its columns and walls where made of marble and measured 164 feet high, and its roof was made of gilded bronze tiles. As you entered the basilica from the forum’s great square you’d come into its center great nave surround by four columned aisles. On each of the basilica’s sides were libraries, one in Greek and the other in Latin. Those entering or leaving the forum by its main entrance on the north side would have been greeted by the magnificent Column of Trajan.

Trajan's Column

Trajan’s Column today. Photo by the author

Trajan’s Column is the best preserved of the ancient Roman victory columns. It was inaugurated at the same time as Trajan’s Forum in 113 AD. Including its base the column stands 115 feet high. The column is constructed by a series of twenty Carrara marble drums 12.1 feet in diameter and weighing 32 tons. The columns famous frieze, depicting the Roman’s battle with the Dacian’s, wraps up and around the total height of the column, it would measure 620 feet long if stretched out. The columns capital block weights 53.3 tons and had to be lifted the 112 feet to its top, no simple feat for the ancient Roman builders. When it was inaugurated the column was crowned with a statue of Trajan, but this statue vanished sometime in the middle ages. Today a statue of St. Peter sits atop the column, placed there by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
Here are a couple of facts you may not know about Trajan’s Column: the column is hallow and features a 182 step spiral staircase going up to a viewing platform at the top. Ancient Romans could get a tremendous view of the city and its forums from there. Access to the stairs was through a door in its base. The climb was illuminated by forty window slits along its height that provided sunlight for those climbing up. Also Trajan’s Column was the first ever recorded usage of a spiral staircase. This was a fact that I didn’t know when I visited. I have a passion for these staircases, so without knowing I was looking at the very first spiral staircase in the world.



The base of Trajan's column

The base of Trajan’s Column which it is said to have held the emperors ashes. The door leading to the spiral stairs are on the opposite side. Photo by the author.

Also after Trajan died, and was deified by the Roman Senate, his ashes were place in a gold urn and entombed in the columns base.
The magnificence of Trajan’s Forum lasted long after the empire had divided. In 352 Ad, on his first visit to Rome, Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius II remarked of the beauty of equestrian statue of Trajan in the center of the forum. he said that he would like one like that made of him. With him on this visit was the Persian prince Hormisdas, who quipped, “But first, my lord, you have to build a stable to match this, if you can.”
Again, Mussolini’s Via dei Fori Imperiali has paved over most of Trajan’s, and Apollodorus of Damascmus, magnificent accomplishments.



The Forum of Trajan with todays streets

Where Trajan’s Forum stood with todays streets. Art from Wikipedia


I’ve included a drawing from Wikipedia showing the streets of Rome with what was Trajan’s Forum overlaid on it. Today you can still see Trajan’s Column, Basilica columns and the wall of Trajan’s Market, but not the sight that Constantius and Hormisdas witnessed.



The author standing on the closed Via dei For a Imperiali near the Colosseum.

Besides having covered much of the Imperial Fora with the busy four-lane Via dei Fori Imperiali the heavy trucks, their vibrations, and exhaust fumes continue to threaten what is left of the glory of Rome. However there are groups of citizens, archeologist and scientists who are trying to convince Rome’s city government to undo what Mussolini did and remove the road. And although nothing major has happened to correct these problems Mayor Ignazio Marino of Roma did close the southern section of this road by the Colosseum to motor vehicles in 2013.

This ends by posts of the Imperial Forums, but not the Roman Forum itself. My next post will be, Where was Julius Caesar murdered?





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The Imperial Fora of Rome: Emperors Vespasian and Nerva


Ron Current

Ron Current

In my previous post I stated that when Mussolini built the wide Via dei Fori Imperial he paved over almost 84% of the five Imperial Forums. The two that were most affected by this were those of the Emperors Vespasian and Nerva. When looking for where those two forums stood you need to go to the corners where the Via Cavour and the Largo Corrado Ricci joins into the Via dei Fori Imperial. It is there, on each of the Via dei Fori Imperial, that you’ll find what remains of these two Imperial Forums.
We will begin our search for these two Imperial Fora with…


The Forum of Vespasian, or the Temple of Peace

Temple of Peace

The façade of the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano.   with the holes from which the Forma Urbis Romae hung.

Vespasian had already begun construction on his other grand building projects, such the Flavian Amphitheater, todays Colosseum, when he decided in 75 AD to build a grand showcase to show off all his booty taken from the Jewish Temple of Herod in Jerusalem. It is believed that one of those items was the temple’s magnificent Menorah.
Unlike Caesar and Augustus, Vespasian didn’t start off to build a traditional forum; he never designed it to have a civic function as a true forum would. For him it would only be a place for him to exhibit the spoils from his Jewish War. Because he had no desire to construct a forum he called it, the Temple of Peace. It wasn’t until much later when the Imperial Fora’s were being classified that it become known as the Forum of Vespasian.
The site chosen by Vespasian was just to the south of the forums of Caesar and Augustus next to the main entranceway that connected the Roman Forum with the Subura district. His Temple of Peace was designed completely different than any of the others with a large apsidal hall at the bottom of the portico, with a row of columns separating the portico from the temple building itself. Also its plaza was not paved, rather filled with gardens, pools and statues.
The temple building faced Rome’s Velian Hill and the Colosseum. Another lost feature of the Temple of Peace was the Forma Urbis Romae, a map of ancient Rome on a giant marble slab hung from one of its walls. This wall is now the façade of the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano. You can still see the mounting holes from which that map hung.
The Forum of Nerva, the Transitorium

The Temple of Minerva in the Forum of Nerva

What remains of the Temple of Minerva from the Forum of Nerva

Taking the area of the main entryway to the Rome Forum from the Subura, the street between the Vespasian, Augustus and Caesar forums, Emperor Domitian used this location to build his forum. Domitian began construction at around 85 AD; but like Caesar’s it would be left to his successor to be finished, the Emperor Nerva in 97 AD.
However unlike Caesar’s Forum, which retained his name, Domitian’s forum was officially named the Forum of Nerva after the emperor who completed it.
The long and narrow passageway that the forum occupied was the ancient Roman street, the Via Argiletum. Along it housed the shops of booksellers and cobblers. The Forum of Nerva would become the new monumental entrance to the Roman Forum. Also with its location between the other forums Romans citizens now had easy access to all of them though the Forum of Nerva, and because this unifying design it was popularly called the Transitorium.
The Forum of Nerva was almost 430 feet long by 148 feet wide, making it the smallest Imperial Forum. It featured protruding columns along its walls instead of an arcade. On the eastern end of the forum, behind its monumental entrance, was the Temple of Minerva. This temple remained intact until 1606 AD, when Pope Paul V demolished it for building materials for the Acqua Paola fountain and the Borghese chapel.
Today there’s not much left of these great temples and gathering places to be seen. They’ve become lost and almost invisible from all the commercial buildings and traffic that engulfs them. But if you take the time to seek them out you’ll be rewarded.



The Imperial Fora of Rome: Julius and Augustus Caesar


Ron Current

Ron Current

When I visited the Roman Forum I had no idea that there were other forums separate from the main forum, each with their own unique histories. I couldn’t imagine that there were other magnificent forums buried right under my feet as I walked along the Via dei Fori Imperial from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. In fact there are five separate forums built between 46 BC and 113 AD, by ancient Rome’s most famous emperors, that are today almost hidden that make up what is referred to as the Imperial Foras.
Sadly, when the fascist dictator Mussolini built the wide Via dei Fori Imperial he paved over almost 84% of the forums of the emperors Nerva and Trajan and severely dividing the other others to make this road, all so that he’d have a clear view of the Colosseum from his office window.
So what is the history of these forums, what did they look like, why were they built, and what can been seen of them today?
To answer these questions we need to go back to the end of the Republican era of Rome, and the reign of Julius Caesar. So join with me now to rediscover the Imperial Fora, beginning with…


The Forum of Caesar


The ruins of the Forum of Caesar

The Forum of Caesar as seen today. The forum’s open plaza is in the foreground, the colonnade can be seen in the background, and in the back center is what remains of the Temple of Venus.

As you walk along the west side of the Via dei Fora Imperial just south of the Via di San Pietro in Carcera you’ll notice behind the Curia Julia rows of smaller columns and a section of three taller columns connected with a capital. At first you’d think that these are just more of the main Roman Forum, but there not. They are actually what remain of a later and completely separate forum, the Forum of Julius Caesar. This was the first of the Imperial Fora.


The ruins of the Temple of Venus of Genetrix

These three columns are what remain of the Temple of Venus in the Form of Caesar. 


As Rome grew its original forum became over crowed with new and larger government buildings and temples. Soon the forums purpose as a marketplace and gathering plaza for its citizens became lost. Seeing this Julius Caesar decided to construct a large forum bearing his name next to the exciting forum.
Caesar meant for his forum to be an extension to the original Roman Forum so he chose its site to be at the base of the Capitol Hill and behind his Curia Julia, the Senate House. Caesar began construction at around 46 BC, purchasing a large number of houses that were located on the proposed site. Also vast amounts of earth had to be moved to level the area for its open plaza and temple. To pay for this Caesar used the spoils from his Galli Wars for its construction.
The design of the Forum of Caesar was a large rectangle with a paired colonnade (these are the smaller columns seen) running along the east, south and west sides of the open plaza. At the north end sat the crown jewel of his forum, the Temple of Venus Genetrix (its remains are the taller columns with the capital) who he believed he was descended from. Within the temple were statues of the goddess Venus, Caesar and also one of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. The temple and forum were inaugurated in September of 46 BC, but was most likely it was not finished when he was assassinated in 44 BC. Completion fell to his adopted son, and the first emperor of Rome, Augustus Caesar.

If you look across the Via dei Fora Imperial from the Forum of Caesar on the north corner where the Via Cavour comes in you’ll see what is left of the Forum of Augustus, the second of the Imperial Fora to be built.

The Forum of Augustus



The Forum of Augustus and its Temple of Mars as it was in ancient Rome.

After completing the building projects started by Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum and also finishing the Form of Caesar August turned to the building of his own forum. After Augustus had defeated Brutus and Cassius, two of the murderers of Caesar, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, he vowed to build a temple to honor the Roman war god Mars. This temple he would make the centerpiece of his own forum.
It would take over forty years for the Forum of Augustus to be completed due to postponements because of Roman politics. The still uncompleted forum and temple was finally inaugurated in 2 BC.



Forum of Augustus

What is left today of the Temple of Mars in the Forum of Augustus. 

Augustus also built his forum in the traditional rectangle design, and had it run adjacent and at a right angle to the Forum of Caesar. It consisted of an open plaza surrounded by a colonnade that included a most unique feature, two large covered hemicycles on each side with a double columned portico and niches on the back wall. These niches held statues of famous Roman leaders and of Augustus’ ancestors. Some of the inscriptions that were below those statues can still be seen and read.
At the back of the forum was a tall wall that still exists. This wall separated the Forum of Augustus from Rome’s Suburra district, a neighborhood that you wouldn’t want to venture at night. This wall also acted as a firebreak to protect the forum from the all too frequent fires that broke out in the Suburra.


In front of the wall was the location of the temple to Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger). This temple was built entirely of Carrara marble, with eight columns along the front and both sides. It is said that one its rooms held Caesar’s sword and his legions standards that had been recovered by Augustus from the Parthians. Standing in front of the temple was a forty-five foot tall statue the Emperor Augustus.

With the additions of the forums of Caesar and Augustus Rome’s city center had expanded nicely to fit its needs then. But soon Rome would need to grow again and there were emperors also ready then to make their marks with their own forums.

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The Roman Forum, Part II – A walking exploration



The Forum Romanum looking north from the Arch of Titus



Ron Current

Ron Current

I really had no idea how much there was to see at the Roman Forum. And how much of our western traditions and government had begun in that valley. I was really unprepared for what was laid out before me as I walked its ancient streets. Luckily I had taken a lot of photos so that when I got home I was able to read up on the history of what I had seen so that I can now share that with you. However in a few cases I didn’t have a good photo of what I considered an important building or temple, in those cases I’ll identify where the photo I posted came from.So walk with me now as we explore the Forum Romanum.


The Temple of Venus and Rome



The remaining columns of the Temple of Venus and Rome. The largest temple in Rome in its time.


At the southern end of the Forum you’ll see a set of columns sitting above street level across from the Colosseum. These are what remain of the Temple of Venus and Rome.

The Temple of Venus and Rome is believed to have been the largest temple in ancient Rome. It was dedicated to the divine Julian family (which traced its legendary beginnings to the goddess Venus) and to the Imperial City of Rome. Construction begun in 135 AD by the emperor Hadrian and completed by his successor, Emperor Antonius Pius in 141 AD.

This temple was constructed on top of the largest man-made podium of its time. On the temple’s two longer sides were two columned porticos running along it. Its southern end faced the Colosseum and the northern the Forum. Both the north and the south ends featured long stairways going down to the streets across from the Colosseum and to the Forum. Inside the temple were a statue of Venus, which faced out toward the Colosseum, and a statue representing Rome facing the Forum.

To build this temple Hadrian had to remove what remained of the vestibule of Nero’s Golden House. Even the gigantic statue “The Colossus of Nero” had to be relocated to make room for it. It was written that it took twenty-four elephants to move the Colossus. Coupled with the impressive Colosseum, the Colossus of Nero, and the Temple of Venus and Rome the Colossus Square must have been spectacular to see.

As with many of the building in the Forum the Temple of Venus and Rome suffered by being stripped of its marble and stone for use in other buildings. Earthquakes and fire also helped with its destruction. It was an earthquake in the ninth century that finally destroyed what was left of the temple. The first Christian church to be built on the temple’s ruins was in 850 AD, it was then rebuilt in 1612 as the Church Santa Francesca Romana.

Today the terrace of the temple has been restored, and is open to the public.

To get into the Roman Forum proper from the south you enter off the Great Square of the Colosseum and walk up the Via Sacra. The Via Sacra was the main road through the ancient Forum. In the distance as you walk you’ll see our first stop, the Arch of Titus.

The Arch of Titus


The Arch of Titus 

The Arch of Titus is the oldest of the tree surviving triumphal arches in Rome. It stands on the highest spot of the Via Sacra, and being over 50 feet in height it gives a commanding presence to the Roman Forum below. Dedicated in 85 AD by Emperor Domitian, in honor to his brother Emperor Titus who died in 81 AD. The arch commemorates Titus’ victory in the Jewish Revolt. In that war the city of Jerusalem was captured and the revolt finally crushed with the fall of the Masada fortress in 72 AD.

The reliefs on the arch depict the emperor’s triumphal procession into Rome with the spoils taken in that war. These reliefs were originally in color and the arch was topped with a bronze quadriga when it was first dedicated.

What helped preserve the Arch of Titus is that it was made part of the fortress of the Frangipani family in the eleventh century. You’ll notice that some of stone of the arch has different shades to it. This is because when Giuseppe Valadier worked on restoring this arch, between 1821 and 1823, he used travertine to replace the missing sections instead of marble to distinguish what was replaced from that of the original marble.

Palatine Hill


The ruins on Palatine Hill as  seen from the Forum

As you pass by the Arch you’ll see ruins on the left going up the side of a hill, and what looks like restored building on its top. This is the Palatine Hill, the legendary birthplace of Rome. Remains of bronze-age huts have been found on the hill, which gives proof that the hill had been inhabited from a very early time. But what’s really historical about these ruins you see are that they are what remain of the palaces of the first Roman emperors.

The first emperor to have his residence on Palatine Hill was Augustus Caesar in 44 AD. But it was his successor, the Emperor Tiberius, who would build a true imperial palace. The following emperors, Caligula, Claudius and Nero would continue to expand the complex.

Palatine Hills was another area that if I had done a little more researching for our visit I would have made time to explore it. As it was there was a lot more in the Forum itself to see.

The Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina 


The columns from the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

After you have walked down the dirt incline to the excavated Imperial level of Forum the first impressive structure you see on your right is the remains of the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina. What grabs your attention is that it seems to be two building in one, and you would be a correct in that assumption. This is another example of the medieval usage of a foundation from a ruined Roman temple for a Christian Church.



Notice how high the bottom of the church’s green door is, that was ground level before being excavated.


The church building behind the columns is the twelfth century church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. The building you see today is from when the church was rebuilt in 1601. If you look closely at the temple’s remaining columns you can see grooves where they tried and tear them down to build the church.

In the close-up photo notice how high the church’s door is from the temple’s base. That was the level of the ground before the Forum was excavated.

The Temple of Caster and Pollux


“The Three Sisters”

Not too far from the Temple of Antonius and Faustina, on the opposite side of the Forum, are the three remaining columns of the Temple of Caster and Pollux. This temple was one of the first to be built in the Forum. The first temple is believed to have been constructed in 484 BC by the pre-republic dictator Postumius, to honor the mythological twin brothers that legend says helped Roman to defect the Tarquin Kings. The ruins seen today are of the temple rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius in the first century AD. These three columns are popularly known as “The Three Sisters.”

The Basilica Julia basilica-julie

If you turn around and face north from the Temple of Caster and Pollux you’ll see a large open area with the stumps of column bases in rows, and ruined brick walls at its north end. This is what remains of the large Basilica Julia. Constructed by Julius Caesar in 54 AD, it was the main government building that housed the seat of the Centumviri. This was the people’s court in the time of Imperial Roman. The original building was destroyed by fire in 9 BC, and then rebuilt in 2 AD. In its day it measured over 331 feet long and almost 161 feet wide. Today it is but a field of rubble.


The Temple of Saturn the-temple-of-saturn

When you see travel brochures and photos of the Roman Forum they most likely will feature the columns of the Temple of Saturn. The Temple of Saturn was the first temple built on the Forum. Although there is some question as to the exact date that it was constructed it is thought to be at around 497 BC. This temple was also used as the treasury for the Roman Republic, and where the standards of its legions were kept.

As with most of the temples and building of the Forum this one was also rebuilt. The ruins today are those of the temple of 42 BC. It was in front of this temple that you’ll find the base of Augustus’ column Miliarium Aureum or Golden Milestone, which marked the center of Rome, and from were all roads lead from.   

The Arch of Septimius Severus the-arch-of-septimius-severus-built-in-203-adIn front of the Temple of Saturn stands the magnificent Arch of Septimius Severus. This triumphal arch is the best preserved of the three arches in the Forum. Constructed by the Roman Senate in 203 AD to honor the Emperor Septimius Severus,and his sons Caracalla and Geta, on their victories over the Parthians, what is now Romania.

This arch stands 75 feet high and 82 feet wide, and is unique in that it has three arched passages. The larger center passage is a little over 39 feet in height, with the two side passages at around 23 feet high. When it was first constructed there was a flight of stairs going through the central passage. Made of marble it features four deep reliefs representing scenes of the Parthian war. At the top in the center of the arch is a large relief of Mars, the god of war. There were two statues of winged Victory on each side that are now lost to history. You can still read the inscription on the arch that says, “Dedicated to Septimius Severus and his sons.” As with the Arch of Titus this was also topped with a bronze quadriga, this one with statues of the Septimius and his two sons. However after Emperor Severus death Caracalla, who didn’t want to share the power with his brother, had Geta killed and removed his name and image from the arch.

The arch is in very good condition because it was incorporated into a Christian Church in the middle ages. Even after the church moved it continued to protect the arch from being stripped of its stone and marble.

The Via Sacra was the main route of the triumphant parades of the victorious generals and emperors. They would start at the southern end of the Forum with the procession ending at the foot of Capitoline Hill, near where the Arch of Septimius Severus stands.

The Rostra


The Rostra as seen from the side

It’s not hard to miss what remains of one of the most important structures for Roman citizens. This was the one place where they could stand and speak their mind, the Rostra.

The Rostra was the name given to the platform from which orators would stand when addressing the crowds in the public assembly area, the Comitium. This platform was originally called the tribunal until after Roman’s first major sea victory at Antium in 338 BC. Some of the spoils taken from that battle were six bronze ramming prows from the enemy’s ships. These prows were attached to the front of the tribunal as trophies. The Latin word for prow is rostra; from then on the platform became known as the Rostra.



The front of the Rostra


In 52 BC Julies Caesar rebuilt the government area after it was destroyed by fire. He detached the Rostra from the Comitium and moved it to its present location on the west side of the Via Sacra. The project wasn’t completed by the time of Caesar assassination so it was completed by his successor Emperor Augustus in 42 AD. The back of the Rostra had curved steps for the speakers to walk up. Besides the ships rostra’s the Rostra was also covered with reliefs and topped with a marble railing.

Many of the famous speeches from Roman history were made from this Rostra. In 44 AD Marc Antony made his famous speech to the Roman Citizens at Julius Caesar’s funeral.

Today we call a speaker’s podium a “Rostrum” which comes directly from the Roman Rostra.

You can see the ruins of the Rostra near the Arch of Septimius Severus and across the Via Sacra from the Curia Julia. Since I missed knowing about the Rostra when we were there I needed to go through in my photos and find an image I could use. The photo of the side of the Rostra is mine that is blown up from the photo of the arch and temple of Saturn. The front view photo comes from

The Curia Julia



The Curia Julia as seen today. Photo from Wikipedia


The Curia was where the Roman Senate met during the Republic and Imperial ages. It was the third important piece of Roman government, along with the Comitium and Rostra. The Comitium, with its Rostra, was originally located in front of the Curia. Before and during the time of Julius Caesar this senate meeting place was called the Curia Cornelia.

In 44 BC Julius Caesar began redesigning, relocating and rebuilding the Forum’s governmental area. He replaced the Curia Cornelia with his, the third Curia, Curia Julia. However, like the Rostra, work had not been completed when Caesar was assassinated. As he had done with the Rostra Augustus completed the Curia Julia’s construction. During the Imperial period the Curia Julia had a raised colonnaded porch across its front.

Emperor Domitian made restorations to the building between 81 AD and 96 AD. After fire heavily damaged it in 283 AD it was rebuilt by Emperor Diocletian between 284 and 305 AD; it’s this building that you see today. The building was saved from being destroyed when it to was converted to a Church in 630 AD, and because of this it’s one of the best preserved buildings of the Forum.

During my visit to the Forum I didn’t take any photos of the Curia Julia because I thought it was a contemporary building, because it looked so good. I didn’t find out its significance until I was doing research for this post. The photo posted here is from Wikipedia.

 The Mamertine Prison



The Mamertine Prison lies below the Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami (the orange building in the background) as seen from the Roman Forum

Our pastor knew that we had been to Roman, so after the service where his sermon was on Saint Paul’s imprisonment he asked if we had been to the Mamrtine Prison. My wife and I looked at each other having never heard about this place while in Rome.

It was in this ancient Roman prison were tradition has that both Saint Paul and Saint Peter were kept before being martyred by Emperor Nero. The history of Christianity is also an interest to me and I felt bad that I had missed an opportunity to visit this site.

So I wondered: where was the Mamertine prison, had we walked past it without knowing? So the search was on. My finding told told me that it was at the foot of Capitoline Hill, which we had walked around many time during our visit. I checked all the maps and brochures we had brought back and found nothing of its location. Finally in working on this post I found a map that showed its where it was.


The front of the Church of San Giuseppe, and the site of the Mamertine prison. Photo from Wikipedia

Mamertine prison is at the north end of the Forum; just a few yards pass the Arch of Septimius on the Via del Tullinano. Today the Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami sits over its ruins. I understand that you can reach the cells where the Saints were supposed to have been imprisoned by going through the church.

There’s a funny part to this story; when I was on the Via dei Fori Imperiali taking photos of the Forum of Caesar I was standing only twenty yard from it. This is another reason to make sure to do your research before going on a trip. The photos posted here is a blowup of the one I took of the Arch of Septimius, the Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami is in the background, and the one showing the front is from Wikipedia.

The Temple of Vesta the-temple-of-vesta-cropped


As we left the northern end of the Forum walking along the Via Sacra back toward the Arch of Titus, we stopped to view a temple ruin that was a semicircle with a wall behind its columns. In its time this was the most sacred of all the temples in the Rome Forum, it was the Temple of Vesta. It housed the eternal Sacred Fire of Rome. This fire was kept lit by the six Vestals, who were selected as children from the most prominent of the Roman families.

On the first day of the New Year all Romans would extinguish the fires in their homes and come to this temple to relight them from its sacred flame. There was a hole in the center of the temple’s roof, as with the Pantheon, to allow the smoke to escape.

The remains that you see today date from the time of Emperor Septimius Severus, between 193 and 211 AD. It is thought that this temple served well into the 13th century before also succumbing to the fate of having its marble and stone quarried. This reconstructed portion of the temple is from the 1930’s.

 The House of the Vestal Virgins


Next to the Temple of Vesta, toward the foot of Palatine Hill, we can walk around a well maintained garden surrounded by ruins and statues. This is what remains of where the Vestal Virgins lived.

The ruins you see are from the complex built by Emperor Septimius Severus. It featured a two floor columned portico which completely surrounded the courtyard garden, that is still well maintained today. The second floor contained the private rooms of the Vestals while the lower rooms held the kitchen, flour mill, ovens and the servant’s quarters. It is believed that this building became the proto-type for our modern convents.


The statues of the head vestals in the courtyard of the House of Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina in the background


Today only the foundations remain and the courtyard garden. Along each side of the courtyard stand the statures of what were the head vestals.  You can still read the inscriptions of what each’s virtues were.

This post only features a fraction of the many temples and buildings in the main Forum Romanum. Starting with Julius Caesar, and then with some of the emperors that followed, the Forum was expanded to other Imperial Forums.


Next posting- Beyond the Roman Forum: The Imperial Fora



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The Roman Forum, Part I- The center of an empire


Ron Current

Ron Current

Ancient history is my passion and the Roman Empire period for me is right up there with that of the ancient Greeks. So when my wife and I were planning our trip to Rome and Italy a visit to the Roman Forum was a must. Our hotel, the Grand Hotel Palatino was a perfect location for our stay, it being only a short four block walk down the Via Cavour to the Forum and the Colosseum.

As we walked along Rome’s Via Dei Fori Imperiali, which borders the Forum, and gazed down at the ruins of what was once the magnificent center of the mighty Roman Empire it was hard to visualize what it must have looked like in its glory days, because of its condition today. But it was at this place that the Roman Republic was born, where the Caesars walked and their legions marched. The Roman Forum was the unquestionable center of the Rome and the world.


The Forum Romanum at the Imperial Age level along it original street, The Via Sacra. This is looking north toward Capitoline Hill.

What I didn’t know was the fascinating history about the site where the Forum is located long before it became Rome. What I found was that the area is a low-lying valley between the Palatine, Capitoline and Esquiline hills. In prehistoric times this valley was a marshy wetland due to the runoff from its surrounding hills. For those living on those hills it was a place to bury their dead and graze their animals. That changed in the 7th century BC when the last two Etruscan Kings built a drainage canal from the valley to the Tiber River. This canal was named the “Cloaca Maxima.” At first it was an open air canal but the Romans later covered it. This great engineering feat is still in use today.

After the valley was drained it became the central gathering place for the people on the hills. Legend has it that Rome’s first King Romulus, Rome’s legendary namesake, had his fortress city on the Palatine Hill and his rival, King Tatius, had his city on the Capitoline Hill. Legend goes on to tell that the two sides were in constant war with each other. That was until the Sabine women prayed for the fighting to stop. Romulus and Tatius did stopped their fighting and formed an alliance. Whether or not the legend has some truth or not an alliance was indeed formed between the two peoples and that was the start of what would become Rome.


The marble Arch of Septimius Severus built in 203 AD to commemorate the Emperor’s victory over the Partians. It stands at the northern end of the Forum. In the background is the church Santi Luca e Martina.

Throughout the time of the Roman Republic the Forum continued to be expanded with government buildings and temples added around the Foro, or public square. One of the earliest temples was the Temple of Saturn in 497 BC.

The foot of Capitoline Hill was set aside for the government of Rome. It was there that the Curia (the meeting place for the Roman Senate) and the Comitium (the place of the people) were located. This was the governmental center of the Roman Republic. We get the name Capital for the center of our governments from Capitoline Hill.

Starting with Julius Caesar, and with the Emperors that followed, the Forum was expanded even more and rebuilt to fit the ego of the Caesar that was in power. For centuries the Forum Romanum was the undisputed the center of the Roman Empire. This is most evident when Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, placed a large column in the Forum that he named Miliarium Aureum, or the Golden Milestone. This was to mark the center of Rome, and then also the center of the Roman Empire. Augustus decreed that that was starting point for all roads leading out of the city out into its empire. It is also where the saying, “All roads lead to Rome,” came from.



Visitors stroll along the Forum’s Via Sacra, where the citizens of ancient Rome walked. In the background on the right are the three columns of what remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. On the left side of the Via  Sacra the row of columns is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. The large column on the right in the foreground is the Column of Phocas. Off in the distance you can see the Arch of Titus, which stands at the south end to the Forum.

The Forum was the scene of political upheavals, funerals, triumphant parades, and before the Colosseum was built, gladiatorial battles. As the Roman Empire split and declined so did the importance of Rome the city and the Forum Romanum. At around the 8th century BC the marble from its buildings and temples started to be  taken for other building projects. Some of the buildings of the Forum were partly saved when they were converted into Christian churches. As the site further deterated it became a dumping ground and slit from the hills once again covered what was left. The valley took on a new name, Campo Vaccino or cattle field. The once magnificent Roman Forum had gone back to its original use.


The remains of the north walls of the Basilica Julia at the foot of Capitoline Hil

In the early 1800’s, during the Napoleonic regime, some efforts were undertaken to unearth portions of the Forum. But even into the 20th century the Roman Forum was neglected. Part of the ancient Forum was destroyed by Benito Mussolini when he paved over a large section by Capitoline Hills for the Via Dei Fori Imperiali.

Today, things are looking better for the Forum Romanum. There is now ongoing excavations and preservation work being done. The area between the Arch of Tito, on the south end by the Colosseum, to the Arch of Septimius Severus, on the north end at the foot of Capitoline Hill, is now open to foot traffic.


My wife standing on the original paving stones of the Forum Street.

On our visit to the archaeological site my wife and I entered at the south end. We walked down through the centuries of dirt and debris to what was the street level during the Imperial age, the time of the Caesars. We now stood on the very stones that the citizens of ancient Rome had walked on.  You can’t but be in awe at what history took place around these stones over two millennia ago. For these ruins, even in their broken and fallen condition, were part of the very foundation of the western world that we now live in.



My next posting I will highlight some of the temples and building in the Forum Romanum that you must see when you visit there.