Temple of Apollo Sosianus
Encyclopedia
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
dedicated to Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
in the Campus Martius
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome...
, next to the Theatre of Marcellus
Theatre of Marcellus
The Theatre of Marcellus is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. Today its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, once again provides...
and the Porticus Octaviae
Porticus Octaviae
The Porticus Octaviae is an ancient structure in Rome.Built by Augustus in the name of his sister, Octavia Minor, at some time after 27 BC, in place of the Porticus Metelli, the porticus enclosed within its colonnaded walks the temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina, next to the Theater of...
, in 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...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Its present name derives from that of its final rebuilder, Gaius Sosianus.
Location
Forum Holitorium
The Forum Holitorium was the market for vegetables, herbs and oil forum venalium of early ancient Rome, by the Tiber at the foot of the Capitoline and Palatine hills...
and the Circus Flaminius
Circus Flaminius
The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area of land in Rome that contained a small race-track reserved for mysterious games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was located in the southern end of the Campus Martius, near the Tiber River. It was ‘built,’ or sectioned off, by Flaminius...
", Livy's placing it in the prata Flaminia (Flaminian meadows, as this area was then called) and other references placing it near to the forum, the Capitol and the theatre of Marcellus respectively. All these indicate the presently-accepted site for this temple, just north of the theatre and east of the porticus Octaviae
Porticus Octaviae
The Porticus Octaviae is an ancient structure in Rome.Built by Augustus in the name of his sister, Octavia Minor, at some time after 27 BC, in place of the Porticus Metelli, the porticus enclosed within its colonnaded walks the temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina, next to the Theater of...
, on the street leading through the porta Carmentalis to the campus Martius, a little south of the present Piazza Campitelli.
Republican era
The three columns of the temple which survive to full-height today belong to the Augustan rebuild, but the cult of Apollo had existed in this area since at least to the mid 5th century BC when an Apollinar (a sacred grove or altar) was recorded on this site. Since Apollo was a foreign cult, it thus legally had to be placed outside the pomeriumPomerium
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...
, making it a regular spot for extra-pomerial senate meetings (This was also Apollo's only temple in Rome until Augustus dedicated another
Temple of Apollo Palatinus
The Temple of Apollo Palatinus was a temple on the Palatine Hill of ancient Rome, which 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...
on the Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
.)
The first temple building dates to 431 BC
431 BC
Year 431 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cincinnatus and Mento...
, when the consul Gnaeus Iulius Mento inaugurated one dedicated to Apollo Medicus (the doctor), in fulfilment of a vow to him during a plague of 2 years earlier
433 BC
Year 433 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Vibulanus, Fidenas and Flaccinator...
. This building was restored in 353 BC
353 BC
Year 353 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Peticus and Poplicola...
, and perhaps in 179 BC
179 BC
Year 179 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Fulvianus...
, when the censor Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and his colleague let the contract for building a porticus from the temple to the Tiber, behind the temple of Spes The censor's projects also included a nearby theatre. The shedding of tears for three days by a cult-statue of Apollo, cited among the prodigies at the death of the Younger Scipio
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus , also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and politician of the ancient Roman Republic...
, can only have occurred at this temple, there being no others to Apollo.
A neighbouring temple dedicated to Apollo's sister Diana probably dates to the late Republic, following the destruction of the Apollo temple's precinct in work on the theatre of Marcellus.
Sosian reconstruction
A radical reconstruction was begun by Gaius SosiusGaius Sosius
Gaius Sosius was a Roman general and politician.Gaius Sosius was elected quaestor in 66 BC and praetor in 49 BC. Upon the start of the civil war, he joined the party of the Senate sometimes called optimates by modern scholars...
, probably just after his triumph in 34 BC
34 BC
Year 34 BC was either a common year starting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
. These building-works were themselves soon interrupted by the civil war between Octavian and Antony
Final war of the Roman Republic
The final war of the Roman Republic, also known as Antony's civil war or the war between Antony and Octavian, was the last of the Roman civil wars of the republic, fought between Cleopatra and Octavian...
(with Sosius taking Antony's side), and only resumed some years later when Augustus was reconciled with Sosius. It was thus dedicated in the end to the name of the princeps, with the dedication day in the Augustan period of 23 September. Upon the construction of the theatre of Marcellus soon afterwards the temple's frontal staircase was demolished and replaced with two staircases on the sides of the "pronaos".
Artworks
Twice Pliny speaks of works of art in this temple, probably referring to loot brought back from Greece by Sosius and placed within his reconstruction of the temple. These include:- paintings by Aristides of ThebesAristides of ThebesAristides of Thebes was an ancient Greek painter of the 4th century BC. He is said to have excelled in expression. For example, a picture of his representing a dying mother's fear lest her infant should suck death from her breast was much celebrated. He also painted one of Alexander the Great's...
- several statues by Philiscus of Rhodes
- an Apollo CitharoedusApollo CitharoedusAn Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, designates a statue or other image of Apollo with cithara . Among the best-known realizations of this aspect of Apollo is the Apollo Citharoedus of the Vatican Museums, a 2nd century AD colossal marble statue of by an unknown Roman sculptor...
by Timarchides - a statue of Apollo in cedar wood from SeleuciaSeleuciaSeleucia was the first capital of the Seleucid Empire, and one of the great cities of antiquity standing in Mesopotamia, on the Tigris River.Seleucia may refer to:...
- the celebrated group of the NiobidsNiobidsIn Greek mythology, the Niobids were the children of Amphion of Thebes and Niobe, slain by Apollo and Artemis because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with those of Leto, Apollo's and Artemis' mother: a classic example of...
(attributed by the ancients to ScopasScopasScopas or Skopas was an Ancient Greek sculptor and architect, born on the island of Paros. Scopas worked with Praxiteles, and he sculpted parts of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, especially the reliefs. He led the building of the new temple of Athena Alea at Tegea...
or PraxitelesPraxitelesPraxiteles of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue...
, now attributed to neither).
Late Roman
Only minor reconstructions are known after the Augustan phases, by the urban prefect Memmius Vitrasius Orfitus (356 - 359) and perhaps by Anicius Acilius Fortunatus Glabrio in the 420s.Medieval and modern
Description
The building is oriented almost perfectly towards the south, differing from the orientation of the other neighbouring buildings, including the adjoining temple of BellonaTemple of Bellona (Rome)
The temple of Bellona was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the goddess Bellona and sited next to the Temple of Apollo Sosianus and the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome.-History:...
.
The Augustan
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
phase of the temple was made up of a podium under the columns and the cella
Cella
A cella or naos , is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture...
walls, with its supporting parts made up of travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
blocks to carry the weight and the non-supporting parts merely of tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
blocks and cement. The remains of the podium wall surviving beneath the cloisters of Santa Maria in Campitelli
Santa Maria in Campitelli
Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the Piazza di Campitelli, Rome, Italy....
- 13 metres long, over 4 high and over 2 thick - were assumed by Delbrück
Hans Delbrück
Hans Delbrück was a German historian. Delbrück was one of the first modern military historians, basing his method of research on the critical examination of ancient sources, the use of auxiliary disciplines, like demography and economics, to complete the analysis and the comparison between...
to be unquestionably a part of the original structure. Frank, however, maintains that though the cappellaccio tuff core may belong to the original building, the rest (besides some concrete with an opus reticulatum
Opus reticulatum
Opus reticulatum is a form of brickwork used in ancient Roman architecture. It consists of diamond-shaped bricks of tuff placed around a core of opus caementicium...
facing, attributable to the 34 BC phase) belongs to the 179 BC
179 BC
Year 179 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Fulvianus...
restoration. He argues this from the use in the remains' facing of tuff from Monte Verde
Monte Verde
Monte Verde is an archaeological site in southern Chile, located in the northern Patagonia near Puerto Montt, Chile, which has been dated to 14,800 years BP . This dating adds to the evidence showing that settlement in the Americas pre-dates the Clovis culture by roughly 1000 years...
, the southern end of the Janiculum Hill.
The temple's hexastyle elevation was formed of Carrara marble columns along the front and the two long sides of the pronaos, with those at the back made of plastered brick. This style was continued in travertine half-columns (plastered to look like marble) against the cella walls.
The facade's architrave was made up of blocks of travertine faced and supported with marble in the pittabanda style, rather than solid blocks of marble alone. In the same way the frieze was sculpted on slabs placed on the supporting structure. The capitals are corinthian with extra vegetable motifs (in Italian, "corinzieggiante", no English equivalent), and the frame presents a very protruding ceiling supported by brackets.
The temple's main pediment was decorated with sculptures removed from a classical temple in Greece. These date to c. 450 - 425 BC
425 BC
Year 425 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Atratinus, Medullinus, Cincinnatus and Barbatus...
and show an amazonomachy
Amazonomachy
An Amazonomachy was a portrayal of legendary battle between Greeks and Amazons...
. They are now preserved at Centrale Montemartini of the Capitoline Museums
Capitoline Museums
The Capitoline Museums are a group of art and archeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The museums are contained in three palazzi surrounding a central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 and executed over...
.
The cella's interior walls were decorated with a double order of column shafts in African marble, the lower one with a frieze representing stages of the battles included in the triple triumph of Octavian in 29 BC
29 BC
Year 29 BC was either a common year starting on Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
. Between the columns were aedicula
Aedicula
In religion in ancient Rome, an aedicula is a small shrine. The word aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aedes, a temple building or house....
e with column-shafts in different coloured marbles (giallo antico, pavonazzetto and portasanta) and with tympana in unusual shapes (triangular, half-moon and 'pagoda'-form triangular).
Art-historical analysis
The architectural decoration of the surviving phase includes different and unusual motifs (e.g. the grooves of the column trunks, which are not all equal , but alternately wider and narrower). This shows a moment at which a new decorative style is being elaborated, amalgamating the Italic architectural style of the Republic (as shown, for example, in the Temple of PortunusTemple of Portunus
The Temple of Portunus is an ancient building in Rome, Italy, the main temple dedicated to the god Portunus in the city. It is in the Ionic order and is still more familiar by its erroneous designation, the Temple of Fortuna Virilis given it by antiquaries...
) with the influences of the Hellenistic Greek East, emphasizing the old values of Augustus's new status quo whilst showing the regime's innovative cultural credentials. This style would later be codified in the Forum of Augustus
Forum of Augustus
The Forum of Augustus is one of the Imperial forums of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus. It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor.-History:The triumvir Octavian vowed to build a temple honoring Mars, the Roman God of War, during the battle of Philippi in 42 BC...
. Other new features include the insertion of decorative elements meant to celebrate Octavian, such as the laurel in the frieze and capitals.
The temple also dates from the earliest period in which marble was used in bulk for Roman public buildings, and represents a switch-over period from the traditional technologies of plastered tuff and travertine, with experimentation in ways of working with the new materials. Indeed, marble is only used on the facade, with the architects as yet uncertain of its load-bearing possibilities, as seen in the faced tuff frieze, lintel and capitals.
Other buildings in the area
In the area a circular foundation and other remains suggest the colonnade of a small round building of Flavian date, which could be this temple's perirrantherion, a sacred spring used for the temple's cult (which included purification ceremonies), and later on probably for lustraLustrum
A lustrum was a term for a five-year period in Ancient Rome.The lustration was originally a sacrifice for expiation and purification offered by one of the censors in the name of the Roman people at the close of the taking of the census...
.
The triumphal portico (a long portico stretching a mile between the Servian Wall
Servian Wall
The Servian Wall was a defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was up to 10 metres in height in places, 3.6 metres wide at its base, 11 km long, and is believed to had 16 main gates, though many of these are mentioned only from...
's porta Carmentalis and the Trigarium
Trigarium
The Trigarium was an equestrian training ground in the northwest corner of the Campus Martius in ancient Rome. It was an open space located south of the bend of the Tiber River, near the present-day Via Giulia....
) passed the corners of the temples of Apollo and Bellona, where major remains of it can be seen. Others are visible in the direction of the Capitol, along the present 'Via del Teatro di Marcello', facing the church of San Nicola in Carcere
San Nicola in Carcere
San Nicola in Carcere is a titular church in Rome near the Forum Boarium in rione Ripa. It is one of the traditional stational churches of Lent.-History:...
.
Sources
- Alessandro Viscogliosi, Il tempio di Apollo in circo e la formazione del linguaggio architettonico augusteo, Roma 1996. ISBN 88-7062-942-2
External links
- Miller, 'Apollo Medicus in the Augustan Age'
- Lacus Curtius
- Images of the reliefs and other sculpture
- Other images of the sculptures
- The Amazonomachy frieze on the Capitoline Museums site (Italian)
- Plans of the temples of Apollo and Bellona on the Commune di Roma site (Italian) here and here
- An article on the temple with an analysis of scholarly discussion as to the temple's sculptures (Bolletino Telematico dell'Arte - Italian)
- Precis of Viscogliosi's work on the temple (in Italian)