Lacus Curtius
Encyclopedia
The Lacus Curtius is a mysterious hole in the ground in the Roman Forum
, now small, more or less filled in and paved over with ancient stone, but once said to have been a widening chasm. Its nature and significance in Rome's early history is unknown, and this was already the case by the late Republican period. However the name of the place seems to be connected with the Curtia Gens
, a very old Roman Family with Sabine
origins.
It was, however, regarded with some veneration by the ancient Romans, and the story most often repeated is that told by Livy
(vii.6): Rome
, facing a peril which an oracle
had stated would be overcome only when the City threw into the chasm what she held to be most dear, was saved by a young horseman named Marcus Curtius (a member of the Curtia Gens
), who understood that it was the life of a brave Roman youth that the Romans held most dear, and who therefore plunged into it in full armour on his horse, whereupon the earth closed over him and Rome was saved.
Alternatively, Titus Livius tells that the Lacus Curtius was named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine horseman who rode into or fell into it while fighting against Romulus
, during the war begun after the Rape of the Sabine Women.
Still another version, told by historian Marcus Terentius Varro
had it that Gaius Curtius Philon, a consul
of 445 BC
, consecrated the site after a lightning strike opened it.
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
, now small, more or less filled in and paved over with ancient stone, but once said to have been a widening chasm. Its nature and significance in Rome's early history is unknown, and this was already the case by the late Republican period. However the name of the place seems to be connected with the Curtia Gens
Curtia Gens
The Curtia Gens was a very ancient Roman family, whose roots came from the Sabine race. According to the historian Titus Livius, the Curtia Gens was one of the hundred families already existing at founding of Rome....
, a very old Roman Family with Sabine
Sabine
The Sabines were an Italic tribe that lived in the central Appennines of ancient Italy, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome...
origins.
It was, however, regarded with some veneration by the ancient Romans, and the story most often repeated is that told by Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
(vii.6): Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, facing a peril which an oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
had stated would be overcome only when the City threw into the chasm what she held to be most dear, was saved by a young horseman named Marcus Curtius (a member of the Curtia Gens
Curtia Gens
The Curtia Gens was a very ancient Roman family, whose roots came from the Sabine race. According to the historian Titus Livius, the Curtia Gens was one of the hundred families already existing at founding of Rome....
), who understood that it was the life of a brave Roman youth that the Romans held most dear, and who therefore plunged into it in full armour on his horse, whereupon the earth closed over him and Rome was saved.
Alternatively, Titus Livius tells that the Lacus Curtius was named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine horseman who rode into or fell into it while fighting against Romulus
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
, during the war begun after the Rape of the Sabine Women.
Still another version, told by historian Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
had it that Gaius Curtius Philon, a consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
of 445 BC
445 BC
Year 445 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augurinus and Philo...
, consecrated the site after a lightning strike opened it.