Forum of Augustus

The Forum of Augustus is one of the Imperial forums of Rome, built by Augustus. It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor.

History

Augustus vowed to build a temple honoring Mars, the Roman God of War, during the battle of Philippi in 42 BC. After winning the battle, with the help of Mark Antony, Augustus had avenged the assassination of his adoptive father Julius Caesar. Augustus became the first emperor of Rome in 27 BC, and plans for the temple to be built in a new forum began forming.

It appears as if construction did not begin on the Forum until around 20 BC, when Augustus avenged Rome once again, this time by negotiating the release of the standards lost by Marcus Licinius Crassus to the Parthians. The land the Forum was to be built on was already owned by Augustus himself. However, the initial plans called for a bit more space than he had. In order to keep those on the land he would need to purchase to build upon, the plans were altered slightly, so some asymmetry is apparent, especially in the Eastern corner of the precinct; for which Suetonius states that Augustus did not dare to take the houses of the nearby owners by force. [Suetonius, Augustus] . This self proclaimed good deed was more than likely just a ploy to save Augustus money and trouble. These land issues, as well as numerous architectural mishaps, prolonged construction. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated, 40 years after they were first vowed, in 2 BC. [cite book | first=Leland M. | last=Roth | year=1993 | title=Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning | edition=First | publisher=Westview Press | location=Boulder, CO | id=ISBN 0-06-430158-3 | pages=222] .

Forum Use

The Forum of Augustus was built to both house a temple honoring Mars, and to provide another space for legal proceedings, as the Forum Romanum was very crowded. [cite book | first=Donald C. | last=Earl | year=1968 | title=The Age of Augustus | pages = 116 | publisher=Crown Publishers | location=New York ] Before battle, military generals set off from the Temple of Mars, after attending a commencement ceremony. Other ceremonies took place in the temple including the assumption of the toga virilis by young men. The Senate met at the Temple when discussing war and the victorious generals dedicated their spoils from their triumphs to Mars at the altar. Arms and other stolen goods from the enemy, or booty, recovered from battle were often stored in the Forum as well. [cite book | year=1970 | title=The Cambridge Ancient History | edition: New Edition | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=London | pages=193 ]

Architecture

The Forum lies perpendicular to the Forum of Caesar, presently divided from it by the Via dei Fori Imperiali, which was built over an unexcavated portion of the Forum, leaving vital clues of the design buried underground. Looking from the road, The Forum of Augustus is flanked on its left side by Trajan's Forum and on its right side by the Forum of Nerva. Immediately behind the Forum was the Suburra, a notoriously poor district of ancient Rome which was quite prone to fires. Therefore, a tall solid stone wall, that still remains, was built to protect the marble architecture of the Forum from fire, and to serve the dual purpose of blocking the view of the poor neighborhood. [cite book | first=Donald C. | last=Earl | year=1968 | title=The Age of Augustus | pages = 104 | publisher=Crown Publishers | location=New York ]

The design of the Forum itself was relatively simple. It consisted of one very large (125 meter x 90 meter) open space framed by marble colonnades on both sides. Sitting at the back of the Forum was the Temple of Mars Ultor. The temple stood atop a flight of stairs and the entryway was surrounded by a colonnade all its own. Inside the temple, a long cella ended with an apse containing statues of Mars and Venus. To both the left and right of the Temple, there were two semicircular rooms, known as exedrae. The exedrae housed the majority of the statues within the Forum. [cite book|last=Platner | first=Samuel Ball |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome]

The Forum was one of the most beautiful buildings in its time. Pliny regarded it as one of the three most beautiful buildings he had ever seen. The other two were the Temple of Peace and Basilica Aemilia. [cite book|last=Platner | first=Samuel Ball |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome] The materials used in constructing it were both gorgeous and expensive. The wood used was cut from the Raetian Alps and recovered pieces could still be used today. The marble (cipollino) was some of the finest available.

tatuary

The Forum was filled with a rich tapestry of different statuary. Most notably were the statues of Augustus in full military outfit in the center of the Forum, and of Mars and Venus in the Temple. In total, there were 108 portrait statues with inscriptions of each individual’s achievements, providing an important idea of how Augustus viewed his role within Roman history. [cite book | first=David | last=Magie | title=Scriptores Historiae Augustae, with an English Translation by David Magie | series=Loeb Classical Library | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, Mass | year=1967-1968 | pages=235 ] In addition to statues of all the Roman triumphatores, which were either made of bronze or marble and were placed along the left side of the Forum and in the left exedrae, the entire right side and right exedrae were full of statues of men in the Julian-Claudian family. They trace Augustus’s lineage down through the fourteen Alban kings to the founding ancestors Aeneas and Romulus. These figures reinforced the importance of both Roman lineage but also of the prestigious lineage that Augustus himself held. [cite book | year=1970 | title=The Cambridge Ancient History | edition: New Edition | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=London | pages=833 ] By advertising this lineage he reinforced his power and authorities as a leader. Also, by placing himself amongst great figures and heroes, he further portrayed himself and his own importance. He paints himself as one of ‘the greats’ worthy of the power he held. Whilst all the elogia reads the deeds of these great men, Augustus’ Res Gestae Divi Augusti acts as a direct parallel.

The statues in the forum provided excellent reasoning for Augustus to claim his restoration of the Republic. Not only were the great men of Rome’s past being honored through their busts, but Augustus was also establishing his ancestry to these men, either by blood or spirit. This provided Augustus with another connection between himself and the old Republic, an era of Roman history he continuously tried to invoke during his reign.

Other statues included an ivory Athena Alea, sculpted by Endoeus, which Augustus brought back from its temple in Tegea.

References

Bibliography

*cite book|last=Raaflaub |title=Between the Republic and Empire
*cite book|first=T.J.|last= Luce|title= Livy Augustus and the Forum Augustum |page=pp. 123-138
*cite book|title=Augustan Culture |first=Karl |last=Galinski |page=pp. 197-213
*cite book | first=Leland M. | last=Roth | year=1993 | title=Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning | edition=First | publisher=Westview Press | location=Boulder, CO | id=ISBN 0-06-430158-3 | pages=222
*cite book | first=Donald C. | last=Earl | year=1968 | title=The Age of Augustus | pages = 116 | publisher=Crown Publishers | location=New York
*cite book | year=1970 | title=The Cambridge Ancient History | edition: New Edition | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=London | pages=193
*cite book|last=Platner | first=Samuel Ball |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
*cite book | first=David | last=Magie | title=Scriptores Historiae Augustae, with an English Translation by David Magie | series=Loeb Classical Library | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, Mass | year=1967-1968 | pages=235