This was the famous temple to Jupiter on the Capitoline hill. It was unusual because it was dedicated to Temple of Jupiter three gods, together known as the Capitoline Triad, Optimus Maximus each of whom had his or her own cella (inner room) and cult statue. Jupiter was in the center; on one side was his wife, Juno, and on the other side, his daughter, Minerva. The original cult statue of Jupiter was a famous one made of terra-cotta depicting a standing Jupiter holding a thunderbolt, the symbol of his power as king of the gods. He wore a purple toga trimmed in gold, and on special occasions, the statue's face was painted red. This attire was imitated by the special costume worn by generals celebrating a triumph.
Construction of this temple seems to have originally begun under the kings, but it was not dedicated until 509 bc, the year of the founding of the republic. It was struck by lightning and burned down on a number of occasions but was rebuilt using increasingly more-costly materials. The roof was always decorated with elaborate statuary, including a quadriga, a four-horse chariot, being driven by Jupiter. One of the temple's most spectacular reconstructions was the one undertaken by Domitian after it burned down in ad 80. This version boasted fine, white, Pentelic marble columns and doors that were covered with gold plate. The roof was also
Figure 10.3 Reconstruction of tiie Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline. This temple was famous for its gold-plated roof and doors. (From C. Gatteschi, Restaiiri della Roma Impcriale, 1924, p. 3.)
Figure 10.4 Depiction of the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno, Each deity has his or her associated bird next to their throne (from left to right: an owl for Minerva, an eagle for Jupiter, and a peacock for Juno).
Gilded, which supposedly cost 12,000 talents. The pediment featured a depiction of the Capitoline Triad seated on thrones over an eagle with outstretched wings.
This temple, with its shining roof, must have been visible from all over the city, and it seems to have been regarded as one of the most impressive monuments of Rome. If always played a central role in Roman politics and religion. When the new consuls for each year were elected, they began their terms by sacrificing a pair of white bulls at the altar on the steps of this temple. This altar was also the final destination for generals celebrating triumphs; it was on this spot that the ritual of the triumph reached its climax, with the dedication to Jupiter of friumphal crowns and victory spoils by the generals.
When Rome's political power began to falter in the later empire, this temple became a target for loofers. In fhe fifth century ad, the gold plating of fhe doors was pried off and carried away, and half the gilded roof tiles were stolen.
Temple of Castor (Aedes Castor)
According to legend, during one of Rome's early battles, the Greek gods Castor and Pollux supposedly appeared, inspiring the Romans to victory. As a result, a temple was vowed near the site of their appearance. It was dedicated in 484 bc. Like most Roman temples, it was repeatedly rebuilt.
This temple is famous as a frequent meeting place of the senate and also as the place in which the official standards for weights and measures were kept. The imperial treasury was stored within a number of small rooms carved into the podium, and private individuals could apparently also place valuables in these repositories.
Temple of Concord (Aedes Concordia)
This temple was located at the foot of fhe Capifo-line hill facing the Roman Forum. It was vowed by Camillus in 367 bc but may not have been constructed until considerably later. This temple was most famous for being fhe sife where the senate frequently met during the Late Republic, particularly in times of internal unrest. This role was in keeping with the nature of the goddess Concordia, who was the personification of agreement and harmony among members of the state.
The dimensions of the temple were unusual as a result of its having to be squeezed into the available space backing up against the Capitoline hill. It was rebuilt a number of times, most famously by the emperor Tiberius. Tiberius's reconstruction was lavish and featured a thick forest of statues of deities on the roof, among them the Capitoline Triad, Ceres, Diana, and multiple personifications of victory. Tiberius also filled the interior of the temple with an assortment of famous artworks, including at least II famous stafues as well as a number of paintings by renowned artists. Finally, the interior also boasted four elephants carved out of obsidian.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar, who had been popular with the people of the city, Mark Antony read his will in the Roman Forum, and the people rioted and cremated his body at its eastern end. After Caesar's death, he was posthumously declared to be a god, and this deification was lent credence by the appearance of a comet in the night sky. If the manifestation of this omen was not convincing-enough evidence of Caesar's godhood, the Roman term for comet is "hairy star," and the name Caesar itself means "hairy." It was therefore decided to erect a temple to the deified Caesar on the spot where he had been cremated. The building was actually not finished for some time, so Augustus did not dedicate it until 29 bc.
Temple of the Deified Caesar (Aedes Divus lulius)
The temple itself had six columns across the front, and inside the cella was a large statue of Caesar. In reference to the comet that had confirmed his divine status, a star was placed either on the head of the statue or on the pediment of the temple. Two ramps ascended the sides of the temple and led to a large platform in front. This platform was used as a rostra, or speakers' platform, and was a favorite site from which the emperors addressed crowds in the Roman Forum. The platform itself was about 3.5 meters high and was decorated with the rams taken from Antony and Cleopatra's ships captured at the Battle of Actium.
This is an example of a sacred area rather than a true. Shrine to fully formed temple building and was dedicated to the Janus Geminus god Janus. Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, and doorways. He was depicted as a male figure with two heads facing opposite directions. In connection with his status as god of beginnings, any time a prayer was made to a list of gods, he was named first and received the first portion of the sacrifice. Also, the first month of the calendar was named after him—January.
The original shrine was located in the forum area and perhaps included a set of bridges that carried the Sacra Via (Sacred Way) over the ditch of the Cloaca Maxima. According to legend, the enclosure, said to have been founded during the reign of King Numa, also contained walls, double doorways, and a statue of the deity. Also according to legend, when the Sabines were attacking Rome, a flood of hot water spewed forth from the shrine of Janus and repelled the invaders.
It became traditional for the doors of the shrine to be closed during times when Rome was at peace and to be opened during times of war. It is a testament to the warlike nature of the Romans that the doors were nearly always open. The doors were shut during the reign of King Numa. Then, aside from one brief closing in 235 bc, they remained open for an astounding stretch of approximately six centuries until 30 bc, after the Battle of Actium. Under the reign of Augustus, they were shut two additional times and then were open and closed intermittently during the Roman Empire.
Most Roman temples were rectangular, but there were a few exceptions, the most famous being the round Temple of Vesta. This was located at the southeast corner of the Roman Forum near the Palatine hill. It was close to the House of the Vestals and was the central focus of their religious activities.
Temple of Vesta (Aedes Vesta)
Vesta was the goddess of the hearth, and hence of the home, and as such was worshiped by a group of six female priests, known as the Vestal Virgins. In keeping with the idea that women could not be priests, when a woman became a Vestal, she in essence gave up her gender. Part of this belief was the requirement that the Vestals be virgins and that they remain virgins the entire time they served the goddess.
Vestals had to serve for 30 years. In the first 10 years, they learned their duties; in the second, they performed them; in the third, they taught others. Ideally, the Vestals were staggered in age so that there were always two at each of the three stages. After 30 years, they had the option of resigning from the priesthood and getting married, but few did this. The most important duty of the Vestals was to tend the sacred fire located in the Temple of Vesta. If this fire was allowed to go out, it was considered an omen foretelling the destruction of the city. Each year on March 1, the fire was relit in a ritual by rubbing two sticks together.
Figure 30.5 Reconstruction of the interior of the House of the Vestals near the Roman Forum. The Vestals' house was adjacent to the round Temple of Vesta, where the sacred flame was kept. (From G. Gattcschi, Resfrtiiri della Roma Imperiale, 1924, p. 21.)
The ultimate crime for a Vestal was to lose her virginity. If one did this and was discovered, she was dressed in funeral clothes and carried in a funeral procession with her friends and relatives lamenting her. She was then placed in an underground room and buried alive. The Romans actually invoked this punishment, as, for example, under the emperor Domit-ian in ad 83, when three Vestals were executed for immorality and the chief Vestal was buried alive.
The round shape of the Temple of Vesta is thought to reflect its original form as a primitive hut, like the famous hut of Romulus. In addition to containing the sacred fire, it served as a repository for various items of great sanctity, including the palladium, an object that supposedly originally resided in Troy but was brought to Italy by Aeneas.
This temple was repeatedly destroyed or burned down, and a number of heroic stories are associated with efforts to rescue the sacred objects. It was demolished when Rome was sacked by the Gauls in 390 bc, although the sacred items were first removed. In 241 bc, it burned down, but the holy objects were rescued by Caecilius Metellus, who lost his sight achieving this deed. In 210 bc, it caught fire, and the loss of the objects was only prevented by the fire-fighting efforts of 13 slaves, who as a reward received their freedom. In 48 and 14 bc, it again caught fire, and yet again the objects were salvaged. During the empire, it burned down at least three additional times. Throughout all these tribulations, it was consistently rebuilt as a circular structure surrounded by columns, although details of the roof and decorations varied. Today, only three of the columns remain standing and can be seen by visitors to the Roman Forum.
The Pantheon is one of the most famous, best preserved.
The Pantheon and most influential Roman buildings. Its design is unique among Roman temples and was a revolutionary innovation. The term pantheon means "temple to all the gods." The structure that can be seen today is not the original version of the Pantheon, which was built in 27 bc by Agrippa in conjunction with a number of other buildings that he erected in the Campus Martius, including his baths. Agrippa's structure seems to have possessed a fairly conventional rectangular design, judging from the foundations of his Pantheon, which have been discovered several meters beneath the current one. The structure was damaged and restored several times but was entirely rebuilt to a new design and on a grander scale by the emperor Hadrian. Evidence from stamps on the bricks suggests that Hadrian's Pantheon was built between AD 118 and 128.
When viewed from the front, Hadrian's Pantheon has an entirely conventional appearance. There is a podium with steps that lead up to a porch with several rows of columns. Above this is a typical triangular pediment. Hadrian kept the original inscription, so even though this building has almost nothing to do with Agrippa's, the inscription still reads, "M. AGRIPPA L F COS TERTIUM FECIT” (Marcus Agrippa, the son of Lucius,
Figure 10.6 The Pantheon seen from the front. From this angle, with its unique dome concealed, the structure resembles an ordinary temple.
Consul three times, built it). The only odd feature, when it is viewed from the front, is that the pediment is unusually high in proportion to its width. After entering the building through a set of massive bronze doors, one would expect to find oneself inside the usual cramped and dark rectangular interior of a temple. Instead, visitors to the Pantheon step into an enormous circular space some 43 meters wide. Even more astonishing, the space overhead is topped by a colossal dome of equal height. The dome itself is a perfect half-circle so that a sphere of the same diameter would fit exactly in the structure. The only source of light is a circular opening in the top of the dome nine meters wide called an ocuhis (eye), which creates a dramatic circular shaft of light that moves about the interior over the course of the day.
The engineering of this marvel is particularly impressive. One secret to its success is that the architects employed a wide range of materials. The lower levels are constructed of thick, dense substances best able to bear the weight of the dome, and the materials grow increasingly lighter at progressively higher levels of the structure. The lowest sections are made of solid stone, travertine, and tufa, which gives way to tufa and brick, and then just brick at the middle levels, while the dome itself is of concrete made with the light volcanic stone, pumice, mixed in. The concrete of the dome steadily narrows in thickness from about 6 meters at the top of the drum that supports it to only 1.5 meters at the ocuhis. The whole thing was so well made that, despite having to support such a huge expanse of roof
Figure 10.7 Plan and section of the Pantheon. (Reprinted from Frank Sear: Roman Architecture. Copyright 1982 by Frank Sear. Used by permission of the publisher, Cornell University Press.)
Without any internal struts, it remains standing intact today, some 2,000 years later. The dome remained the largest such concrete span until 1958. One reason for the Pantheon's survival is its reconsecration as a Christian church in ad 608. For a while, it sported two rather unsightly bell towers (known by the derisive nickname, "the ass's ears"), which were not removed until the late 1800s.
The Pantheon is arguably one of the most influential buildings of all time. Its formula of a square facade with columns, surmounted by a triangular pediment fronting a huge dome and a circular internal space has become a stock design for irmumerable government buildings, including the U. S. Capitol building in Washington, D. C., as well as nearly every state capito! building across the United States.
MYSTERY RELIGIONS
As Rome's population grew, many foreign cults, particularly from the East, began to show up in the city. People who, for one reason or another, came to Rome from the East, whether as slaves captured in war or as merchants establishing trade links or bringing supplies to the city, brought their religions with them. Also, Rome's wars resulted in many Italians going off for decades to fight in the army in distant provinces, and when they returned home to Italy, they brought foreign customs and cults with them as well.
Such cults, which became known as mystery religions, tended to address spiritual or mystical concerns more heavily than did standard Roman paganism. These cults often centered around mysterious gods such as Isis, Mithras, and Serapis, all of whom were involved in processes of renewal. Initiates had to go through an elaborate and secret initiation ceremony. Such cults appealed to people looking for a more spiritually satisfying religion. Members were attracted by promises of immortality and the appeal of belonging to a group of holders of secret knowledge.
Archaeological evidence for a huge range of foreign religious cults has been found in every region of the city. Syrian cults had shrines in the Transtiberim, on top of the Janiculum hill, and near the Horrea Galbana (a major grain warehouse). Serapis was worshiped on the Quirinal hill. Three of the most popular mystery religions centered around the gods Isis, Mithras, and Magna Mater. There was a temple to Magna Mater on the Palatine hill. Shrines to Isis have been identified in the Transtiberim, near the Circus Maximus, and in the Campus Martius. At least 25 different sanctuaries to the god Mithras have been identified, scattered throughout the city.
Isis was originally an Egyptian goddess. A crucial myth in traditional Egyptian religion, which helped to explain their funerary customs and ideas about death, involved Isis, her brother and husband, Osiris, and their brother. Set. Osiris was initially ruler of Egypt, much beloved by his subjects for his goodness and wisdom. He taught human beings about agriculture, the arts, and other life-improving knowledge. As a result. Set became jealous and decided to murder his brother. He built a chest specifically tailored to Osiris's measurements and at a party offered it to whoever best fit inside it. When Osiris tried it out. Set slammed the chest shut and threw it into the Nile. Isis searched for the chest and eventually found it, but Set again interfered, dismembering Osiris's body and scattering the pieces throughout Egypt. The grieving widow Isis tirelessly searched for the pieces and then reassembled them (all except for the penis, which had been swallowed by a fish). Isis thus managed to make the first mummy and through magic resurrected her husband and conceived a son, Homs. Osiris then went to the land of the dead to reign as its king.
Isis in the meantime raised Homs in secret to keep him safe from Set. The son's goal was to avenge his father, and he engaged in a violent fight with his uncle in which both were grievously wounded; Set stole one of Homs's eyes, sometimes said to be the sun. The rest of the gods held court in order to settle this bitter feud and ultimately decided in favor of Homs and Osiris. Since Osiris had assumed the role of king of the underworld and judge of the dead, Horus took over his father's former role as king of the living. He gave his restored eye to his father and replaced it with the uraeus, a divine snake. Set, now called "the Evil One," was exiled.
Converts to the cult of Isis could find analogies between their own daily struggles and the arduous journey of Isis to find Osiris, and the implicit promise of an afterlife that this myth held was also appealing, particularly since most standard Roman beliefs did not have a well-developed notion of an afterlife. The cult of Isis at Rome took the Egyptian myth as its beginning but built upon it. Isis worship, which became particularly popular among women, involved complex initiation ceremonies. Initiates were taken to a room in a temple of Isis where they chanted and performed rituals. Dream interpretation also played an important role. Initiates were purified by baptism and ten days of fasting before being led to the most secret and sacred part of the temple. The rites that took place there have remained a secret, but some think that they symbolically passed through death and rebirth, like Isis's husband.
Priests of Isis shaved their heads. A famous symbol of Isis that was often carried by her worshipers was the sistrum, a sort of rattle. Isis was sometimes depicted in art holding her son Homs on her lap, which became a popular image of maternal love and may even have influenced later Christian iconography of Mary with the baby Jesus.
There were a number of sites at Rome that were either temples or shrines to Isis, and the archaeological remains show the strong Egyptian influence that this religion retained. For example, the Sanctuary to Isis in the Campus Martius featured an obelisk like those found in Egypt.
Isis was popular with women, as were most mystery religions, but one mystery religion was exclusively for men—the cult of Mithras. Mithras remained very popular for centuries into the Roman Empire. The religion emphasized order, hierarchy, and duty, which made it especially popular with soldiers. Many Roman soldiers became initiates into Mithraism. Mithraism seems to have originated in Persia but really took off in the second century ad in the Roman Empire. In Persian mythology, Mithras was sent by the god Ahura Mazda to kill a divine bull. He eventually slew the bull in a cave, and from the bull's blood all living things were created.
In Italy, Mithraism was most popular in Rome and Ostia, which was clearly a result of the great numbers of foreign immigrants to these places. It was also popular in several frontier zones, particularly in the northern region along the Rhine and Danube Rivers and in Britain, but it does not seem to have been nearly as prevalent in most other areas around the Mediterranean. Since large contingents of the Roman army were posted on the Rhine, the Danube, and the British frontiers, the geographic distribution suggests a link with the religion's popularity among soldiers.
Prospective members went through grades of initiation before becoming full-fledged followers. The first grade was the Raven, followed by the Male Bride (Nymph), the Soldier, the Lion, the Persian, and the Runner of the Sun; the ultimate grade one could aspire to was Father. Mithraism had
Figure 10.8 Roman sculpture of the dog-headed Egyptian god, Anubis. Many Egyptian gods such as Isis became popular at Rome.
Lots of links to the zodiac and the stars, and the sun also seems to have played an important role. The seven stages of initiation might also be linked to astronomical bodies. The matching bodies, from the lowest to the highest grade were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, the moon, the sun, and Saturn for the Father. Raven initiates may have had to wear a bird mask, while nymphs may have had to wear a veil like that worn by Roman brides. Soldiers had a mark either tattooed or branded on their foreheads. Lions were associated with fire, and their hands and tongues were purified with honey. They may have worn lion masks. The Phrygians may have worn a Phrygian cap, and their symbol was a sickle. The symbol of the Runner of the Sun was a crown with rays; the Father wore an ornately decorated cap and carried a staff of authority as well as a liba-
Figure 10.9 Roman mithraeum in Ostia with standard sculptural image of Mithras slaying the bull. Worshipers would have sat on the long benches to the right and left of the central aisle.
Tion cup. There were different colored cloaks for the different levels: Lions wore bright red, Persians silver, and Nymphs yellow.
Worshipers of Mithras gathered in a sanctuary called a mifhmetatt. These sites are readily identifiable because they were remarkably standardized both in form and decoration, Mithrncn were almost always underground and consisted of a long, cavelike room or tunnel. Both sides of this passage were lined with benches, and at the end was either a painting or a statue of Mithras killing the bull. Many of these statues have survived and contain a specific and consistent iconography. Mithras, wearing a Phrygian cap, kneels on top of a bull, which he is stabbing with his right hand. He averts his face to the right. Grain sprouts out of the bull's tail, a raven appears over Mithras's shoulder, a dog drinks the blood from the wound, a serpent and a cup rest below the bull, and a scorpion is attached to the bull's testicles. At each side of the scene is a torchbearer, and the sun and moon float overhead.
The cult of Mithras was indeed a true mystery religion; because it was very secretive, we know very little of its practices today. Clearly a focal point of Mithraic worship w'as a ceremonial feast held in the cavern, and the benches were dining benches. There also seem to have been elaborate rituals associated with the initiates' progress from one level to the next.
Few dependable details of these ceremonies survive, however, and some later Christian sources that describe them have to be regarded with skepticism. These include accounts of fasts lasting 50 days and ordeals of endurance, such as lying within snow for 20 days. Also mentioned was a ritual in which the initiate was blindfolded and had his hands tied together using chicken entrails; in this state, he had to leap over a series of pits filled with water.
Women seem to have been excluded from most Mithraic ceremonies and memberships, and one text goes so far as to classify fhem as "noxious hyenas." This attitude does not seem to have been completely uniform, however, since there is evidence of some dedications to Mithras by women, and individual Mithraic cult groups may have followed varying policies regarding women.
As previously mentioned, there is evidence for dozens of Mithraic sites at Rome and Ostia, including a number of complete mithraea. Several of the most famous and best preserved of these are, ironically enough, located beneath Christian churches, such as the churches of San Clemente and Santa Prisca in Rome. The largest mithraeum found af Rome, which is 23 meters long, was discovered lying beneath the Baths of Caracalla.
A third popular mystery religion centered around the deity Magna Mater. This goddess's name literally means "Great Mother," and indeed her worship focused on her role as the mother of all things. This religion seems to have been a Roman variant of the Phrygian cult of the goddess Cybele.
The worship of Magna Mater featured a number of dramatic rituals, among them a special form of sacrifice in which a worshiper stood in a pit over which a grate was placed, and then a bull was led on top of the grate and killed so that its blood drenched the worshiper below. There were different categories of worshipers of Magna Mater, including a group called the Dendrophori, literally the "Tree Carriers." The most famous category, however, was certainly the priests, known as Galli, who in a frenzied state castrated themselves using crude implements such as pieces of flint.
One high point of fhe year for worshipers of Magna Mater at Rome came on April 4, when there was a festival with a parade that issued from her sanctuary on the Palatine and wound through the streets of the city. The Galli marched and danced while playing various instruments including cymbals and tossing flowers and coins before a statue of the goddess that was borne through the streets.
World History
