Roma quadrata
Encyclopedia
Roma quadrata, "square Rome", was an area or perhaps a structure within the original pomerium
of the city. It appears to have dated to an early stage of the city's formation. The original meaning had already become obscure to both Latin
and Greek historians
by the late Roman Republic
.
Pomerium
The pomerium or pomoerium , was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within the pomerium; everything beyond it was simply territory belonging to Rome.-Location and extensions:Tradition maintained that it was the original line ploughed by Romulus around the...
of the city. It appears to have dated to an early stage of the city's formation. The original meaning had already become obscure to both Latin
Roman historiography
Roman Historiography is indebted to the Greeks, who invented the form. The Romans had great models to base their works upon, such as Herodotus and Thucydides. Roman historiographical forms are different from the Greek ones however, and voice very Roman concerns. Unlike the Greeks, Roman...
and Greek historians
Greek historiography
The historical period of Ancient Greece is unique in world history as the first period attested directly in proper historiography, while earlier ancient history or proto-history is known by much more circumstantial evidence, such as annals, chronicles, king lists, and pragmatic epigraphy.Herodotus...
by the late Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
.
Further reading
- Joseph Rykwert, The Idea of a Town: The Anthropology of Urban Form in Rome, Italy and the Ancient World (MIT Press, 1976, 1988), limited preview
- Andrea Carandini, "The Blessing of the Palatine and the Founding of Roma Quadrata," in Idem, Rome: Day One (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2011), 50-62.