With the establishment of the Roman Republic, there was obviously a desire to supersede or at least match the kings' actions. One example is the establishment of a new temple to Jupiter on the Capitoline, which would eventually supplant the earlier cult of Jupiter Capitolinus. This new temple to Jupiter was called the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter the Best and the Greatest). A second important cult institutionalized during the republic was that of the Vestal Virgins, whose house was constructed adjacent to the Roman Forum. These six virgin priestesses were charged with maintaining the sacred fire of the city. At this point, the Romans were still imitating Etruscan styles of religious architecture. Also, by the sixth century bc, many houses of aristocrats were clustered on the Palatine hill.
Perhaps the most pivotal event in the development of the early republican city happened in 390 bc, when a large force of Gauls invaded from the north and sacked the city of Rome. Most of the Romans fled to other cities nearby, but some took refuge on the Capitoline hill and held out for some time against the Gallic attacks. Having failed to capture the Capitoline by frontal attacks, the Gauls decided to try a sneak attack at night. The Romans had not set proper guards, and the Gauls succeeded in climbing up the hill, but, as luck would have it, the point at which they climbed up was where the sacred geese of Juno, the queen of the gods, were kept. The geese began honking, and this roused the Romans, who were able to repel the Gauls and drive them off fhe hill. Thus, af least according to legend, the Romans were saved by the sacred birds. Eventually the Gauls were bribed to leave, but this experience caused the Romans to construct a circuit of walls enclosing the seven hills (but not the Campus Martius). This wall, which became known as the Servian Wall, was the first comprehensive set of defensive walls for the city. The area enclosed within this wall comprised about 400 hectares.
At the end of fhe fourth century bc, the censor of Rome, Appius Claudius Caecus, consfructed several imporfant works of infrasfructure that served as precursors for many more thaf followed. Appius paved fhe main norfh-soufh road, which connecfed Rome with southern Italy. This was the first paved road in Italy, and the Romans would eventually become very famous for their network of finely made roads. This road, named in his honor, was known as fhe Via Appia. It was so well made that it remained in use for hundreds of years, and even today, stretches of the Roman paving can be walked upon more than 2,000 years later. The same man was responsible for another important first by constructing the earliest aqueduct, bringing water to the city in 312 bc. This was also named after him: the Aqua Appia.
The city grew steadily, and another burst of acfivify fook place around 180 BC, focusing on the Emporium district, which was the area where ships unloaded. This commercial region stretched from the Forum Boarium south along the bank of the Tiber to below the Aventine hill. In 179 bc, the first stone bridge was built, connecting the Transtiberim with the Forum Boarium. Also around this time, the docks along the Tiber were improved, and south of the Aventine, the Porticus Aemilia was built, which was a long, covered colonnade that served as a general-purpose, commercial clearinghouse.
Some highlights of the middle to Late Republic included the development of buildings related to politics in the area of the Roman Forum. Among these were a new senate house, a platform from which speakers could address crowds of citizens in the forum, and an office to house important public records.
Just as the politics of the Late Republic were dominated by the important generals and politicians, the same men were responsible for initiating the main building activities of this period. The general Pompey the Great wished to promote himself by constructing buildings for fhe benefif of the city's inhabitants but faced the problem that the main part of the city was largely filled up by fhis fime. His solution was to turn to the still-empty Campus Martius. In the southern part of the Campus Martius, he erected a huge complex, including the first permanent stone theater for fhe enter-fainment of the people as well as public gardens and parks surrounding it. Julius Caesar, the rival of Pompey, had ambitious plans to rebuild the city, but his assassination took place before fhese could be put into effect; it would remain for Caesar's adopted son, Augustus, to take up where he had left off.
IMPERIAL ROME
Perhaps more than any single person up to this time, the first emperor, Augustus, was responsible for changing the city of Rome. One of his famous quotations is "I found the city made of brick and left it made of marble," and there is a good deal of truth to this statement.
Figure 2.3 Head of the first emperor, Augustus, who transformed Rome "from a city of bricks to one of marble."
Augustus began by reorganizing the city and dividing it into 14 districts, which would be known as the 14 Augustan regions. He repaired all the buildings that had fallen into neglect during the civil wars and rebuilt no fewer than 82 temples. He also had a number of buildings reconstructed using marble facing rather than the earlier brick or concrete, which gave a new, more-impressive appearance to the city. He (or his assistants) extensively overhauled the infrastructure, including the streets, aqueducts, and sewers.
His work did not end with these renovations, for once they were complete, he undertook the construction of many new buildings and monuments as well. Among these were two high-profile temples. Julius Caesar's body had been cremated in the Roman Forum during a riot, and on this spot, Augustus built a new temple to the deified Julius Caesar. Augustus also swore to take revenge on the people who had killed his adoptive father, Caesar, and once he had succeeded, he showed his gratitude to the gods by building a gigantic new temple dedicated to Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger), enclosed within the equally spectacular Forum of Augustus.
Augustus then built even more structures that were intended as works of propaganda praising himself and his virtues. Some of the most famous of these were the Ara Pacis (altar of peace) and the horologium. The latter was an enormous sundial in the Campus Martins 150 meters wide by 80 meters deep. The gnomon, or spike, of the sundial was an obelisk brought from Egypt. It was constructed so that on Augustus's birthday, the shadow cast by the obelisk pointed directly at the Ara Pacis.
The emperors after Augustus continued to add to the city. Most notable among these developments was the gradual expansion of the emperor's palace on the Palatine until it took up the entire top of the hill. The emperor Claudius also constructed an enormous new harbor, Portus, near the mouth of the Tiber.
An important event in the city's life took place in ad 64 during the reign of Nero, when a fire broke out and spread until it affected the entire city. This fire raged for a week and destroyed 10 of the 14 regions. When Nero rebuilt the city, he instituted wider streets and also took advantage of this disaster to build for himself a fantastic new palace called the Domus Aurea (Golden House), which included an octagonal dining room, a mile-long colonnade, and a 33-meter-tall naked statue of Nero himself.
After the depredations of Nero, the next family of emperors, the Flavians, wished to show that they were returning the city to the people. Therefore, they razed much of the Golden House and, where it used to stand, built in its place the Flavian Amphitheater, today known as the Colosseum,
Several emperors of the second century ad were active builders in Rome. Especially notable among these was Trajan, who built a new forum north of the old Roman Forum. In or around Trajan's Forum were also
Figure 2.4 Map of the main structures and buildings of Rome, (Adapted by the author and David West Reynolds, Phaeton Group, Scientific Graphic Services Division, from map of Rome in The Urban Image of Augustan Rome by Diane Favro, 1996, with the permission of Cambridge University Press.)
1. Mausoleum of Hadrian; 2. Mausoleum of Augustus; 3. Sundial of Augustus; 4, Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis); 5. Stadium of Domitian; 6. Baths of Nero; 7. Pantheon; 8. Temple of Hadrian; 9. Odeon of Domitian; 10. Baths of Agrippa; 11. Saepta Julia; 12. Theater of Pompey; 13. Portico of Pompey; 14. Sacred Area of Largo Argentina; 15. Porticus Minucia; 16. Diribitorium; 17. Theater of Balbus; 18. Porticus Octaviae; 19. Theater of Marcellus; 20. Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus; 21. Forum of Trajan; 22. Forum of Augusfus; 23. Curia {Senate House); 24. Basilica Aemilia; 25. Rostra (Speakers' Platform); 26. Temple of Concord; 27. Temple of Saturn; 28. Roman Forum; 29. Basilica Julia; 30, House of the Vestals;
31. Basilica of Maxentius; 32. Palace of Tiberius; 33. Imperial Palace (Domitianic); 34. Temple of Venus and Rome; 35. Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum); 36. Ludus Magnus; 37, Baths of Titus; 38. Baths of Trajan; 39. Baths of Constantine; 40. Baths of Diocletian; 41. Temple of Claudius; 42. Circus Maximus; 43. Baths of Sura; 44. Baths of Decius; 45. Baths of Caracalla; 46. Horrea Galbana; 47. Porticus Aemilia; 48. Via Ostiensis; 49. Via Appia; 50, Via Salaria; 51, Via Flaminia; 52. Pons Aelius; 53. Pons Neronianus; 54, Pons Agrippae; 55, Pons Fabridus; 56. Pons Cestius; 57. Pons Aemilius; 58, Pons Sublicius; 59. Servian Wall; 60. Monte Testae do
The famous column and the Markets of Trajan, which were a multistory-precursor to the modern shopping mall. Other emperors continued to develop the Campus Martius.
Construction trailed off somewhat in the late empire, as Rome had to contend with threats such as the barbarians. Nevertheless, a number of these later emperors still managed to build a series of fruly gigantic public bath complexes, such as the Baths of Caracalla. In ad 279, in response to fears of invasion, a new wall system was constructed called the Aurelian Wall, which enclosed all of the 14 regions, including the Campus Martius and the Transtiberim.
In the fourth century ad, the first Christian emperor, Constantine, focused most of his attention on his new capital city of Constantinople in the East, but at Rome he did build a famous arch and a basilica—a type of building that would become the basis for all later Christian churches.
World History
