Temple of Divus Augustus
Encyclopedia
The Temple of Divus Augustus was a major temple
originally built to commemorate the deified
first Roman emperor
, Augustus
. It was built between the Palatine
and Capitoline Hill
s, behind the Basilica Julia
, on the site of the house that Augustus had inhabited before he entered public life in the mid-1st century BC. It is known from Roman coinage that the temple was originally built to an Ionic
hexastyle design. However, its size, physical proportions and exact site are unknown. Provincial temples of Augustus, such as the much smaller Temple of Augustus in Pula
, now in Croatia
, had already been constructed during his lifetime. Probably because of popular resistance to the notion, he was not officially deified in Rome until after his death, when a temple at Nola
in Campania
, where he died, seems to have been begun. Subsequently, temples were dedicated to him all over the Roman Empire
.
The temple's construction took place during the 1st century AD, having been vowed by the Roman Senate
shortly after the death of the emperor in AD 14. Ancient sources disagree on whether it was constructed by Augustus' successor Tiberius
and Augustus' widow Livia
or by Tiberius alone. It was not until after the death of Tiberius in 37 that the temple was finally completed and dedicated by his successor Caligula
. Some scholars have suggested that the delays in completing the temple indicated that Tiberius had little regard for the honours of his predecessor. Others have argued the opposite case, pointing to evidence that Tiberius made his last journey from his villa on Capri
with the intention of entering Rome and dedicating the temple. However, the emperor died at Misenum on the Bay of Naples before he could set off for the capital. Ittai Gradel suggests that the long building phase of the temple was a sign of the painstaking effort that went into its construction.
The long-awaited dedication took place in the last two days of August 37. According to the historian Cassius Dio, the commemorative events ordered by Caligula were exceptionally extravagant. A two-day horse race took place along with the slaughter of 400 bears and "an equal number of wild beasts from Libya
", and Caligula postponed all lawsuits and suspended all mourning "in order that no one should have an excuse for failing to attend". The splendour and timing of the commemorations was a carefully calculated political act; not only was August the month in which the late emperor had died (and which was named after him), but the climax of the celebrations occurred on Caligula's birthday and the last day of his consulship. The combination of these events would have served to emphasise that Caligula was Augustus' direct descendant. Caligula later ordered that a statue of Augustus' wife Livia be raised in the temple and that sacrifices in her honour were to be made by the Vestal Virgins.
During the reign of Domitian
the Temple of Divus Augustus was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt and rededicated in 89/90 with a shrine to his favourite deity, Minerva
. The temple was redesigned as a memorial to four deified emperors, including Vespasian
and Titus
. It was restored again in the late 150s by Antonius Pius, who was perhaps motivated by a desire to be publicly associated with the first emperor. The exact date of the restoration is not known, but the restored temple is shown on coins of 158 onwards, which depict it with an octostyle design with Corinthian
capitals and two statues - presumably of Augustus and Livia - in the cella
. The pediment
displayed a relief featuring Augustus and was topped by a quadriga
. Two figures stood on the eaves of the roof, that on the left representing Romulus
and the one on the right depicting Aeneas
leading his family out of Troy
, alluding to Rome's origin-myth. The steps of the temple were flanked by two statues of Victory
.
The Temple of Divus Augustus was described in Latin literature as templum Augusti or divi Augusti, though Martial
and Suetonius
call it templum novum ("the new temple"), a name attested in the Acta Arvalia
from AD 36. There are references to a library erected by Tiberius in the vicinity of the temple, called the bibliotecha templi novi or templi Augusti. Caligula was said to have later built a bridge connecting the Palatine and Capitoline hills, passing over the temple. Other than the well-attested cult statues of Augustus and Livia, little is known about the temple's decoration other than a reference by Pliny
to a painting of Hyacinthus by Nicias of Athens, which was given to the temple by Tiberius.
The last known reference to the temple was in 248; at some point thereafter it was completely destroyed and its stones were presumably quarried for later buildings. Its remains are not visible and the area in which it lay has never been excavated.
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion. The main room housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was...
originally built to commemorate the deified
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State...
first Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
, Augustus
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...
. It was built between the Palatine
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...
and Capitoline Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
s, behind the Basilica Julia
Basilica Julia
The Basilica Julia , is a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the early Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated...
, on the site of the house that Augustus had inhabited before he entered public life in the mid-1st century BC. It is known from Roman coinage that the temple was originally built to an Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
hexastyle design. However, its size, physical proportions and exact site are unknown. Provincial temples of Augustus, such as the much smaller Temple of Augustus in Pula
Temple of Augustus (Pula)
The Temple of Augustus is a well-preserved Roman temple in the city of Pula, Croatia . Dedicated to the first Roman emperor, Augustus, it was probably built during the emperor's lifetime at some point between 2 BC and his death in AD 14...
, now in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, had already been constructed during his lifetime. Probably because of popular resistance to the notion, he was not officially deified in Rome until after his death, when a temple at Nola
Temple of Divus Augustus (Nola)
The Temple of Divus Augustus was a temple commemorating the deified first Roman emperor, Augustus. It was constructed in Nola in Campania, where Augustus had died in AD 14. The temple was erected on the place where Augustus died and was dedicated by his successor Tiberius in 26....
in Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, where he died, seems to have been begun. Subsequently, temples were dedicated to him all over the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
The temple's construction took place during the 1st century AD, having been vowed by the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
shortly after the death of the emperor in AD 14. Ancient sources disagree on whether it was constructed by Augustus' successor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
and Augustus' widow Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
or by Tiberius alone. It was not until after the death of Tiberius in 37 that the temple was finally completed and dedicated by his successor Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
. Some scholars have suggested that the delays in completing the temple indicated that Tiberius had little regard for the honours of his predecessor. Others have argued the opposite case, pointing to evidence that Tiberius made his last journey from his villa on Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
with the intention of entering Rome and dedicating the temple. However, the emperor died at Misenum on the Bay of Naples before he could set off for the capital. Ittai Gradel suggests that the long building phase of the temple was a sign of the painstaking effort that went into its construction.
The long-awaited dedication took place in the last two days of August 37. According to the historian Cassius Dio, the commemorative events ordered by Caligula were exceptionally extravagant. A two-day horse race took place along with the slaughter of 400 bears and "an equal number of wild beasts from Libya
Ancient Libya
The Latin name Libya referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements....
", and Caligula postponed all lawsuits and suspended all mourning "in order that no one should have an excuse for failing to attend". The splendour and timing of the commemorations was a carefully calculated political act; not only was August the month in which the late emperor had died (and which was named after him), but the climax of the celebrations occurred on Caligula's birthday and the last day of his consulship. The combination of these events would have served to emphasise that Caligula was Augustus' direct descendant. Caligula later ordered that a statue of Augustus' wife Livia be raised in the temple and that sacrifices in her honour were to be made by the Vestal Virgins.
During the reign of Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
the Temple of Divus Augustus was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt and rededicated in 89/90 with a shrine to his favourite deity, Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
. The temple was redesigned as a memorial to four deified emperors, including Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
and Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
. It was restored again in the late 150s by Antonius Pius, who was perhaps motivated by a desire to be publicly associated with the first emperor. The exact date of the restoration is not known, but the restored temple is shown on coins of 158 onwards, which depict it with an octostyle design with Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
capitals and two statues - presumably of Augustus and Livia - in 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...
. The pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
displayed a relief featuring Augustus and was topped by a quadriga
Quadriga
A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast . It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing...
. Two figures stood on the eaves of the roof, that on the left representing Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
and the one on the right depicting Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
leading his family out of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, alluding to Rome's origin-myth. The steps of the temple were flanked by two statues of Victory
Victoria (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion, Victoria was the personified goddess of victory. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Nike, and was associated with Bellona. She was adapted from the Sabine agricultural goddess Vacuna and had a temple on the Palatine Hill...
.
The Temple of Divus Augustus was described in Latin literature as templum Augusti or divi Augusti, though Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
and Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
call it templum novum ("the new temple"), a name attested in the Acta Arvalia
Acta Arvalia
In Ancient Rome the Acta Arvalia recorded protocols of the priestly brotherhood of the Arvales fratres, who emerged from obscurity at the end of the Republican period as an elite group, to judge from the status of their known members in the Augustan period...
from AD 36. There are references to a library erected by Tiberius in the vicinity of the temple, called the bibliotecha templi novi or templi Augusti. Caligula was said to have later built a bridge connecting the Palatine and Capitoline hills, passing over the temple. Other than the well-attested cult statues of Augustus and Livia, little is known about the temple's decoration other than a reference by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
to a painting of Hyacinthus by Nicias of Athens, which was given to the temple by Tiberius.
The last known reference to the temple was in 248; at some point thereafter it was completely destroyed and its stones were presumably quarried for later buildings. Its remains are not visible and the area in which it lay has never been excavated.
See also
- Monumentum AncyranumMonumentum AncyranumThe name Monumentum Ancyranum refers to the Temple of Augustus and Rome in Ancyra , or to the inscription Res Gestae Divi Augusti, a text recounting the deeds of the first Roman emperor Augustus, the most intact copy of which is preserved on the walls of this temple.The temple was built between 25...
- Temple of Augustus (Pula)Temple of Augustus (Pula)The Temple of Augustus is a well-preserved Roman temple in the city of Pula, Croatia . Dedicated to the first Roman emperor, Augustus, it was probably built during the emperor's lifetime at some point between 2 BC and his death in AD 14...
- Temple of Augustus in BarcelonaTemple of Augustus in BarcelonaThe Temple of Augustus in Barcelona was a Roman temple built during the Imperial period in the colony of Barcino as a place of worship for Emperor Augustus. It was the central building on Tàber Hill, currently in Carrer del Paradís number 10, in the city's so-called Gothic Quarter...
External links
- Ancient Coins: Antonius Pius denarius. Analysis of a Roman coin depicting the Temple of Divus Augustus. (Dr. Tom Buggey, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)