Temple of Apollo Palatinus

Temple of Apollo Palatinus

The Temple of Apollo Palatinus (Palatine Apollo) on the Palatine Hill was first dedicated by Augustus to his patron god Apollo. It was only the second temple in Rome dedicated to the god, after the Temple of Apollo Sosianus. It was sited next to the main temple in Rome dedicated to Cybele.

Construction

It was vowed by Octavian in return for the victory over Sextus Pompeius at the Battle of Naulochus in 36 BC and over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium 5 years later, and was built on a site where a lightning bolt had struck the interior of Augustus' property on the Palatine. It was dedicated on October 9 28 BC. The ludi saeculares, reinstituted by Augustus in 17 BC and also largely developed and funded by him, involved the new temple.

Augustus' private house was directly connected to the terrace of the sanctuary via frescoed halls and corridors. This tight connection between the sanctuary and the house of the princeps, both dominating the Circus Maximus, repeated a trope already present in royal palaces of Hellenistic dynasties.

Description

The remains of the building were excavated in the 1960s by Gianfilippo Carettoni, in an area sloping steeply down towards the Circus Maximus. The temple's precinct (the area Apollinis) was an artificial terrace (70 x 30 m), supported on opus quadratum sub-structures. It contained an altar faced with the sculptural group "Myron's Herd", sited together on an elaborate base. In the northern part of this terrace the temple was raised on a high podium, built in blocks of tufa and travertine in the load-bearing parts and elsewhere in cement. The temple itself was in blocks of Carrara marble, with a pronaos as well as a facade of full columns on the front and the same order continued on half columns against the outside walls of the cella.

In the excavations different polychromatic terracotta slabs were recovered with reliefs of mythological subjects (of the "lastre Campana" type).

The adjoining library (bibliotheca Apollinis), according to the Forma Urbis Romae, was constituted from two apsidal halls, with the walls decorated by a row of columns.

culptures

The ancient sources state the temple had ivory doors and held numerous works of sculpture. The pediment included two bas-reliefs of hunting the Galatians, from Delphi, and 6th century BC Chian art, with sculptures of the Niobids by Bupalus and Athenis. The cult group in the cella included a statue of Apollo Citharoedus, possibly by Scopas and perhaps from the sanctuary of Apollo at Ramnunte, in Attica; a sculpture of Diana, by Timoteus; and one of Latona, sculpted by Cephisodotus. Into the bases of these 3 statues were transferred the Sibylline Books, transferred here from the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol.

The temple was surrounded by a portico (the portico of the Danaiadi) with columns in yellow 'giallo antico' marble, and with black marble statues of the fifty Danaids in between the column-shafts, a sculpture of Danaos with his sword unsheathed, and equestrian statues of the sons of Egypt.

Bibliography

*Olivier Hekster and John Rich,
**'Octavian and the thunderbolt: the Temple of Apollo Palatinus and Roman traditions of temple building', "The Classical Quarterly" (2006), 56: 149-168
** [http://dare.ubn.kun.nl:8080/handle/2066/17170 'Apollo Palatinus and the manipulation of ritual']
* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9114(198910)93%3A4%3C571%3AAPTAAO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 Linda Jones Roccos, 'Apollo Palatinus: The Augustan Apollo on the Sorrento Base', "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 93, No. 4 (Oct., 1989), pp. 571-588]
* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-837X(196707)62%3A3%3C189%3AHC13AT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z Charles L. Babcock, 'Horace Carm. 1. 32 and the Dedication of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus', "Classical Philology", Vol. 62, No. 3 (Jul., 1967), pp. 189-194]
* [http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V5N2/schmitzer.html Ulrich Schmitzer, Guiding Strangers through Rome - Plautus, Propertius, Vergil, Ovid, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Petrarch]
* [http://www.camws.org/southernsection/meeting2006/abstracts/miller.html Miller, 'Apollo Medicus in the Augustan Age']

External links

* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Aedes_Apollinis_Palatini.html Platner and Ashby]
* [http://www.unicaen.fr/rome/visite3.php?langue=anglais&action=maquette&idMonu=32 Images and bibliography]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Temple of Apollo — can refer to: *Temple of Apollo (Delphi), in Greece *Temple of Apollo at Bassae, in Greece *Temple of Apollo Patroos, in Greece *Temple of Apollo Palatinus, in Rome *Temple of Apollo Sosianus, in Rome *Temple of Apollo (Pompeii), in Italy *Temple …   Wikipedia

  • Apollo Citharoedus — An Apollo Citharoedus designates a statue or other image of Apollo with cithara (lyre), including: *the Apollo of Mantua * Apollo Citharoedus , example at the Vatican Museums * Pothos , restored as Apollo Citharoedus , from a Greek original by… …   Wikipedia

  • Apollo Barberini — The Apollo Barberini is a 1st–2nd century Roman sculpture of Apollo Citharoedus. It is a probable copy of the sculpture of Apollo Citharoedus (possibly by Scopas and perhaps from the sanctuary of Apollo at Ramnunte, in Attica) that was the cult… …   Wikipedia

  • Roman temple — The Temple of Hercules Victor, in the Forum Boarium in Rome (a Greek style Roman temple) Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their… …   Wikipedia

  • Templo de Apolo Palatino — Capitel procedente del templo de Apolo Palatino. El templo de Apolo Palatino (Apollo Palatinus) estaba situado en una de las siete colinas de Roma, en la colina Palatina, siendo el primero edificado por el Emperador César Augusto en honor al dios …   Wikipedia Español

  • Palatine Hill — This article covers a subject of Ancient Rome The Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome …   Wikipedia

  • List of ancient monuments in Rome — This is a list of ancient monuments in the city of Rome, Italy. =Culture= Amphitheatres* Amphitheatre of Caligula * Amphitheatrum Castrense * Colosseum * Amphitheatre of Nero * Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus =Baths= * Baths of Agrippa * Baths… …   Wikipedia

  • Niobids — Roman sarcophagus: Apollo and Artemis killing the 14 children of Niobe (front side). Artemis; 5 daughters with a nurse; younger son with a pedagogue; 3 other sons; Apollo. Top: dead Niobids. 160–170 CE. In Greek mythology, the Niobids were the… …   Wikipedia

  • Ceremonial use of lights — Religious services often make use of a combination of light and darkness. The ceremonial use of lights is found in the practice of many religions. Candles are extremely common and other forms of light, whether fire or other, are also used.… …   Wikipedia

  • Library — Reading room redirects here. For other uses, see Reading room (disambiguation). For other uses, see Library (disambiguation). Reading room of the library at the University of Graz, in Austria …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”