{"id":1851,"date":"2017-07-19T19:46:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T19:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ncc-zeliart\/?post_type=chapter&p=1851"},"modified":"2018-08-22T20:14:37","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T20:14:37","slug":"imperial-fora","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ncc-zeliart\/chapter\/imperial-fora\/","title":{"raw":"Imperial Fora","rendered":"Imperial Fora"},"content":{"raw":"
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View of the Forum of Trajan, c. 112 C.E.. Later medieval walls can be seen amidst the grass on the left; the upright columns of the\u00a0Basilica Ulpia can be seen on the right in front of the larger Column of Trajan<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nFor centuries, the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum<\/em>) was the civic, juridical, and social heart of the ancient city of Rome, a place where civic buildings, sacred buildings, and monuments were to be both found and admired. Beginning in the first century B.C.E., a new series of public spaces, also dubbed as\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0(fora<\/em>being the plural form of the Latin noun\u00a0forum<\/em>) began to be created. These\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0(called Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0since they were built by Roman emperors during the Roman imperial\u00a0period)\u00a0would eventually number five in all and were important public spaces that relied upon the visual potential of monumental art and architecture to reinforce ideological messages.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Topography and chronology<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Locations of the Fora on a map of present-day Rome<\/h4>\r\n
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The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0are located in an area bounded on the southwest by the Capitoline Hill, on the northeast by the Quirinal Hill, and extending toward the Esquiline Hill to the east. The\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0were initially built between c. 54 B.C.E. and 113 C.E., with continuing additions, restorations, and modifications through late antiquity. In the middle ages the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0were spaces re-used for building materials, housing, industry, and burials. Gradually these spaces faded from view, buried beneath the medieval and modern city of Rome. A massive campaign of excavation in the twentieth century on the orders of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini returned large areas of the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0to view. Ongoing archaeological investigation continues to reveal additional elements of the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0and to provide additional data that allow for their contextualization.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Forum of Julius Caesar<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Forum of Julius Caesar (also known as the\u00a0Forum Iulium<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Forum Caesaris<\/em>) was the first of the imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0complexes to be built. Pompey the Great, a political rival of Caesar, had dedicated a monumental theater and portico complex in the Campus Martius in 55 B.C.E. and this perhaps spurred Caesar\u2019s ambition to construct a new forum complex. Caesar\u2019s project required the acquisition of land at the flank of the Capitoline Hill and he was aided in this early on by political allies, including Cicero, with the initial land purchased at a cost of sixty million sesterces (Cic.\u00a0ad Att<\/em>. 4.16.9).<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Temple of Venus Genetrix (plan), Forum of Caesar<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Additional land acquisition may have ballooned the total cost to one hundred million sesterces (Suetonius\u00a0Divus Iulius<\/em>\u00a026; Pliny the Elder\u00a0Natural History<\/em>\u00a036.103). The construction of Caesar\u2019s forum resulted in significant reorganization of the northwest corner of the Forum Romanum.<\/div>\r\n
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The Forum of Caesar takes the form of a\u00a0rectangle measuring 160 by 75 m. The centerpiece of the complex was the Temple of Venus Genetrix, dedicated to the goddess that Caesar celebrated as his distant ancestor. The octastyle (eight columns across the fa\u00e7ade) temple was made of solid marble and sat\u00a0atop a high podium. The long sides of the forum square, flanking the temple, housed two storeys of rooms that may have served political and\/or mercantile functions. The complex was dedicated during the festivities surrounding Caesar\u2019s triumph in September of 46 B.C.E.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Cupids, frieze-architrave, Temple of Venus Genetrix, Forum of Julius Caesar, 113 C.E., marble (Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali)<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Forum of Augustus<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Forum of Augustus (known as the\u00a0Forum Augustum<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Forum Augusti<\/em>) followed the Forum of Caesar as the second of the imperial\u00a0fora.<\/em>\u00a0 At the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E.,\u00a0Augustus vowed a temple to\u00a0Mars in exchange for help in avenging the slain Caesar\u00a0(Suet.\u00a0Aug<\/em>. 29.2), but the temple and forum complex would not be dedicated until 2 B.C.E. (Res Gestae<\/em>\u00a021).\u00a0The Forum of Augustus provided additional room for the meeting of law courts and was built on land acquired by Augustus.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Model of the Temple of Mars Ultor between twin\u00a0porticoes,\u00a0Forum Augusti\r\n(Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali, Rome)<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe temple at the center of the\u00a0Forum Augusti was\u00a0sacred to Mars Ultor (\u201cMars the Avenger\u201d), and was surrounded by a portico that defined the forum space and played a key role in the visual narrative of the public art program installed in the forum. As Augustus had emerged as the sole leader of the Roman state, it was important for him to create and display messages of continuity and stability.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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View of the ruins of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum Augusti, c. 2 B.C.E.; the stairs to the temple platform are visible\u00a0(left) and\u00a0the paving stones of one\u00a0portico\u00a0can be seen at\u00a0the lower right<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe visual program in the Forum of Augustus is complex. The architectural sculpture adorning the Temple of Mars Ultor inserts Augustus into the Julian family (gens Iulia<\/em>) by portraying Augustus in the context of divinities (Mars, Venus, and Cupid) and the deified mortal\u2014Julius Caesar (divus Iulius<\/em>). Flanking the temple in the exedrae (the semicircular, recessed areas behind the colonnades to the left and right\u00a0of the temple)\u00a0of the porticoes were sculptural groups depicting both Romulus and Aeneas, thus connecting Augustus to Rome\u2019s two legendary founders (Ovid\u00a0Fasti<\/em>\u00a05.549-570).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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A possible replica of the pediment of the Temple of Mars Ultor depicting (l-r) Venus, Cupid, Mars, and Divus Iulius. This drawing shows an ancient sculpture now in Tunis that may be a depiction of the actual pedimental group from Mars Ultor\u00a0(possible identifications left to\u00a0right:\u00a0Venus, Cupid, Mars, and Divus Iulius)<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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To complete the narrative cycle, statues of famous Romans of the Republican period adorned the attic of the porticoes. These famous men (summi viri<\/em>) were portrayed alongside small, inscribed plaques (tituli<\/em>) bearing their political and military accomplishments. In this way, Augustus portrayed himself as the ideal man to lead the Roman state; he was\u00a0connected to Rome\u2019s divine origins and he represented continuity with\u00a0its republican tradition. This powerful\u00a0visual narrative represents an important early use of public art to transmit ideological messages in the western world.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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View of the capitals of the Temple of Mars Ultor, Forum Augusti,\u00a0c. 2 B.C.E.<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nSubsequent emperors continued to elaborate upon the Forum of Augustus. The emperor Tiberius added two arches in 19 C.E. meant to honor the German victories of Drusus and Germanicus (Tacitus\u00a0Annales<\/em>\u00a02.64;\u00a0CIL<\/em>\u00a06.911) and the emperor Hadrian restored the forum complex in the second century. Pliny the Elder deemed the Forum of Augustus one of three most beautiful monuments in the city of Rome (Pliny the Elder\u00a0Natural History<\/em>\u00a036.102.5).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Templum Pacis \/ Forum of Vespasian<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The next imperial forum to be built was commissioned by the emperor Vespasian following the suppression of the Great Jewish Revolt that lasted from 66 to 73 C.E. Vespasian came to power following civil chaos in 69 C.E. and, together with his eldest son, Titus, suppressed the revolt and sacked the city of Jerusalem. During the summer of 71 C.E. Vespasian and Titus jointly celebrated a lavish triumph at Rome\u2014an ancient ritual celebrating significant military victories. One of the key tenets of Vespasian\u2019s new administration was the restoration of the city, including the construction of new buildings and monuments. He dedicated a forum complex that housed a temple dedicated to Peace (Pax<\/em>) in 71 C.E., completing it by 75 C.E. (Flavius Josephus\u00a0Jewish War<\/em>7.5.7). This innovative complex was deemed one of Rome\u2019s most beautiful monuments by Pliny the Elder and housed not only significant spoils from Jerusalem but also masterworks of Greek art that had previously been hoarded by the emperor Nero.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Restored plan, Temple of Peace<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis<\/em>) stands out among the imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0for its innovative architectural design. Rather than featuring a central temple seated atop a prominent podium, the Templum Pacis complex consists of a square portico (dimensions 110 x 135 m) with the temple itself set within the eastern side of the portico, flanked by ancillary rooms. This left the square itself open for the installation of decorative water features and plantings which are seen both archaeologically and on fragments of the Severan marble plan of the city of Rome (forma urbis Romae<\/em>) that was mounted in the forum complex in the third century C.E. The fragments of the Severan plan provide valuable information about the design of this architectural complex and has led scholars to speculate that\u00a0the inspiration for its design may have been the great market (macellum magnum<\/em>) of the city that had likely been destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 C.E. It is especially significant to note that this is a public space and that Vespasian\u2019s generosity granted the populace of Rome access not only to a beautiful, monumental square, but also to art\u00a0and the spoils of military\u00a0victory (including spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Columns and relief sculpture, Forum Transitorium (Forum of Nerva), c. 97 C.E.<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Forum Transitorium<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Forum Transitorium, also referred to as the Forum of Nerva, was begun by Domitian, the younger son of Vespasian. Incomplete at the time of Domitian\u2019s assassination in 96 C.E., the complex was completed by Nerva in 97 C.E. This is a narrow forum complex that abuts both the Forum of Augustus and the Templum Pacis and is constrained by these pre-existing structures (dimensions: 131 x 45 meters); as well as\u00a0the Argiletum, a\u00a0street that ran the length of the forum. The Forum Transitorium\u2019s temple was sacred to Minerva, who had been a patron divinity of Domitian, and the architectural sculpture that decorated\u00a0the porticoes featured\u00a0imagery connected to Minerva and scenes from the private lives of women.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Forum of Trajan<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Plan of the Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0showing a freestanding Temple of the\u00a0Deified\u00a0Trajan at the western end of the Forum of Trajan.1)\u00a0Forum of Caesar;\u00a02)\u00a0Forum of Augustus;\u00a03)\u00a0Templum Pacis;\u00a04)\u00a0Forum Transitorium;\u00a05)\u00a0Forum of Trajan;\u00a06)\u00a0Basilica Ulpia (part of Trajan's\u00a0Forum)<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Forum of Trajan (Forum Traiani<\/em>), the final imperial forum, was both the largest and the most lavish. Inaugurated in 112 C.E., the architectural complex relied upon imposing architectural and sculptural features to glorify the accomplishments and principate\u00a0of the emperor Trajan. The elaborate forum complex has a vast footprint, measuring 200 x 120 meters. The open square of the forum is flanked by porticoes that contain exedrae and point viewer attention toward the main structure, the massive Basilica Ulpia. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus was responsible for the innovative design. On the western side of the basilica was another courtyard, flanked by two libraries (one Greek and one Latin), that contained a monumental honorific column, known today as the Column of Trajan.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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View of the Forum of Trajan, c. 112 C.E., the Column of Trajan can be seen behind the columns of the Basilica Ulpia<\/h4>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome; dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus in honor of his victories over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 C.E.<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe Column of Trajan, inaugurated in 113 C.E., is a main feature of the Forum of Trajan and is, in its own right, a masterwork of Roman art.\u00a0\u200bThe column carries an helical frieze of\u00a0historical relief that provides a pictorial narrative of the events of Trajan\u2019s wars in Dacia (101\u2013102 and 105\u2013106 C.E.), culminating with the death of the enemy commander, Decebalus. The column stands 38 meters tall and its frieze wraps around the column shaft 23 times, with a total length of roughly\u00a0190 meters. Carved in bas relief, the exquisite frieze carefully narrates Trajan\u2019s campaigns and its level of detail is simply astounding.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The column\u2019s frieze may draw inspiration from earlier Roman triumphal art, the tradition of which was inclined to depict scenes from the foreign campaigns and, in so doing, glorify the accomplishments of the commander and his soldiers. Throughout the Forum of Trajan the theme of military victory, and its celebration, permeate the monumental decorative programs.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Pontoon bridge with Roman soldiers (detail), Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome\r\n(photo:\u00a0ElissaSCA<\/a>\u00a0\u00a9 All rights reserved, by\u00a0permission)<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWhen Trajan died in 117 C.E., sources tell us that the Roman Senate allowed a special dispensation whereby Trajan\u2019s cremated remains could be deposited in the base of the column and that a temple to his cult (Templum Divi Traiani et Plotinae<\/em>) was added to the forum complex between 125 and 138 C.E. (Historia Augusta - Hadrian<\/em>\u00a019.9). An ongoing point of scholarly contention is the position and appearance of this plan. Traditional reconstructions favor a free-standing temple at the western end of the forum, while more recent reconstructions instead favor a shrine positioned against the western exedra of the Forum of Augustus. Ongoing archaeological fieldwork may yet shed light on this contentious topographical debate.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Interpretation<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0represent important architectural landscapes in the city of Rome. They demonstrate the efficacy of public art and architecture with respect to creating collective identity and communicating clear\u00a0messages that both disseminate and reinforce ideology. The strength and accomplishments of the Roman state, not to mention its stability, are key\u00a0themes in any such program of message making. We should also not underestimate the psychological effect of these grandiose, soaring, bedecked complexes,\u00a0based around massive open plazas,\u00a0on the minds and experiences of city dwellers (many of whom lived in crowded squalor). The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0demonstrate that within the mechanisms of Roman urbanism, civic architecture occupies a crucial role. We are reminded of this efficacy by an ancient example that is perhaps no different from the reaction of a modern visitor to the city of Rome. The emperor Constantius II, visiting Rome in the mid-fourth century C.E., was amazed by the Forum of Trajan, something he considered \u201ca construction unique under the heavens\u201d (Ammianus Marcellinus 16.10.15).<\/div>\r\n
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Essay by Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"
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View of the Forum of Trajan, c. 112 C.E.. Later medieval walls can be seen amidst the grass on the left; the upright columns of the\u00a0Basilica Ulpia can be seen on the right in front of the larger Column of Trajan<\/h4>\n
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For centuries, the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum<\/em>) was the civic, juridical, and social heart of the ancient city of Rome, a place where civic buildings, sacred buildings, and monuments were to be both found and admired. Beginning in the first century B.C.E., a new series of public spaces, also dubbed as\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0(fora<\/em>being the plural form of the Latin noun\u00a0forum<\/em>) began to be created. These\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0(called Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0since they were built by Roman emperors during the Roman imperial\u00a0period)\u00a0would eventually number five in all and were important public spaces that relied upon the visual potential of monumental art and architecture to reinforce ideological messages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Topography and chronology<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Locations of the Fora on a map of present-day Rome<\/h4>\n
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The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0are located in an area bounded on the southwest by the Capitoline Hill, on the northeast by the Quirinal Hill, and extending toward the Esquiline Hill to the east. The\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0were initially built between c. 54 B.C.E. and 113 C.E., with continuing additions, restorations, and modifications through late antiquity. In the middle ages the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0were spaces re-used for building materials, housing, industry, and burials. Gradually these spaces faded from view, buried beneath the medieval and modern city of Rome. A massive campaign of excavation in the twentieth century on the orders of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini returned large areas of the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0to view. Ongoing archaeological investigation continues to reveal additional elements of the\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0and to provide additional data that allow for their contextualization.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Forum of Julius Caesar<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Forum of Julius Caesar (also known as the\u00a0Forum Iulium<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Forum Caesaris<\/em>) was the first of the imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0complexes to be built. Pompey the Great, a political rival of Caesar, had dedicated a monumental theater and portico complex in the Campus Martius in 55 B.C.E. and this perhaps spurred Caesar\u2019s ambition to construct a new forum complex. Caesar\u2019s project required the acquisition of land at the flank of the Capitoline Hill and he was aided in this early on by political allies, including Cicero, with the initial land purchased at a cost of sixty million sesterces (Cic.\u00a0ad Att<\/em>. 4.16.9).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Temple of Venus Genetrix (plan), Forum of Caesar<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Additional land acquisition may have ballooned the total cost to one hundred million sesterces (Suetonius\u00a0Divus Iulius<\/em>\u00a026; Pliny the Elder\u00a0Natural History<\/em>\u00a036.103). The construction of Caesar\u2019s forum resulted in significant reorganization of the northwest corner of the Forum Romanum.<\/div>\n
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The Forum of Caesar takes the form of a\u00a0rectangle measuring 160 by 75 m. The centerpiece of the complex was the Temple of Venus Genetrix, dedicated to the goddess that Caesar celebrated as his distant ancestor. The octastyle (eight columns across the fa\u00e7ade) temple was made of solid marble and sat\u00a0atop a high podium. The long sides of the forum square, flanking the temple, housed two storeys of rooms that may have served political and\/or mercantile functions. The complex was dedicated during the festivities surrounding Caesar\u2019s triumph in September of 46 B.C.E.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Cupids, frieze-architrave, Temple of Venus Genetrix, Forum of Julius Caesar, 113 C.E., marble (Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali)<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Forum of Augustus<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Forum of Augustus (known as the\u00a0Forum Augustum<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Forum Augusti<\/em>) followed the Forum of Caesar as the second of the imperial\u00a0fora.<\/em>\u00a0 At the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E.,\u00a0Augustus vowed a temple to\u00a0Mars in exchange for help in avenging the slain Caesar\u00a0(Suet.\u00a0Aug<\/em>. 29.2), but the temple and forum complex would not be dedicated until 2 B.C.E. (Res Gestae<\/em>\u00a021).\u00a0The Forum of Augustus provided additional room for the meeting of law courts and was built on land acquired by Augustus.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Model of the Temple of Mars Ultor between twin\u00a0porticoes,\u00a0Forum Augusti
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The temple at the center of the\u00a0Forum Augusti was\u00a0sacred to Mars Ultor (\u201cMars the Avenger\u201d), and was surrounded by a portico that defined the forum space and played a key role in the visual narrative of the public art program installed in the forum. As Augustus had emerged as the sole leader of the Roman state, it was important for him to create and display messages of continuity and stability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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View of the ruins of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum Augusti, c. 2 B.C.E.; the stairs to the temple platform are visible\u00a0(left) and\u00a0the paving stones of one\u00a0portico\u00a0can be seen at\u00a0the lower right<\/h4>\n
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The visual program in the Forum of Augustus is complex. The architectural sculpture adorning the Temple of Mars Ultor inserts Augustus into the Julian family (gens Iulia<\/em>) by portraying Augustus in the context of divinities (Mars, Venus, and Cupid) and the deified mortal\u2014Julius Caesar (divus Iulius<\/em>). Flanking the temple in the exedrae (the semicircular, recessed areas behind the colonnades to the left and right\u00a0of the temple)\u00a0of the porticoes were sculptural groups depicting both Romulus and Aeneas, thus connecting Augustus to Rome\u2019s two legendary founders (Ovid\u00a0Fasti<\/em>\u00a05.549-570).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A possible replica of the pediment of the Temple of Mars Ultor depicting (l-r) Venus, Cupid, Mars, and Divus Iulius. This drawing shows an ancient sculpture now in Tunis that may be a depiction of the actual pedimental group from Mars Ultor\u00a0(possible identifications left to\u00a0right:\u00a0Venus, Cupid, Mars, and Divus Iulius)<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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To complete the narrative cycle, statues of famous Romans of the Republican period adorned the attic of the porticoes. These famous men (summi viri<\/em>) were portrayed alongside small, inscribed plaques (tituli<\/em>) bearing their political and military accomplishments. In this way, Augustus portrayed himself as the ideal man to lead the Roman state; he was\u00a0connected to Rome\u2019s divine origins and he represented continuity with\u00a0its republican tradition. This powerful\u00a0visual narrative represents an important early use of public art to transmit ideological messages in the western world.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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View of the capitals of the Temple of Mars Ultor, Forum Augusti,\u00a0c. 2 B.C.E.<\/h4>\n
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Subsequent emperors continued to elaborate upon the Forum of Augustus. The emperor Tiberius added two arches in 19 C.E. meant to honor the German victories of Drusus and Germanicus (Tacitus\u00a0Annales<\/em>\u00a02.64;\u00a0CIL<\/em>\u00a06.911) and the emperor Hadrian restored the forum complex in the second century. Pliny the Elder deemed the Forum of Augustus one of three most beautiful monuments in the city of Rome (Pliny the Elder\u00a0Natural History<\/em>\u00a036.102.5).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Templum Pacis \/ Forum of Vespasian<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The next imperial forum to be built was commissioned by the emperor Vespasian following the suppression of the Great Jewish Revolt that lasted from 66 to 73 C.E. Vespasian came to power following civil chaos in 69 C.E. and, together with his eldest son, Titus, suppressed the revolt and sacked the city of Jerusalem. During the summer of 71 C.E. Vespasian and Titus jointly celebrated a lavish triumph at Rome\u2014an ancient ritual celebrating significant military victories. One of the key tenets of Vespasian\u2019s new administration was the restoration of the city, including the construction of new buildings and monuments. He dedicated a forum complex that housed a temple dedicated to Peace (Pax<\/em>) in 71 C.E., completing it by 75 C.E. (Flavius Josephus\u00a0Jewish War<\/em>7.5.7). This innovative complex was deemed one of Rome\u2019s most beautiful monuments by Pliny the Elder and housed not only significant spoils from Jerusalem but also masterworks of Greek art that had previously been hoarded by the emperor Nero.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Restored plan, Temple of Peace<\/h4>\n
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The Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis<\/em>) stands out among the imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0for its innovative architectural design. Rather than featuring a central temple seated atop a prominent podium, the Templum Pacis complex consists of a square portico (dimensions 110 x 135 m) with the temple itself set within the eastern side of the portico, flanked by ancillary rooms. This left the square itself open for the installation of decorative water features and plantings which are seen both archaeologically and on fragments of the Severan marble plan of the city of Rome (forma urbis Romae<\/em>) that was mounted in the forum complex in the third century C.E. The fragments of the Severan plan provide valuable information about the design of this architectural complex and has led scholars to speculate that\u00a0the inspiration for its design may have been the great market (macellum magnum<\/em>) of the city that had likely been destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 C.E. It is especially significant to note that this is a public space and that Vespasian\u2019s generosity granted the populace of Rome access not only to a beautiful, monumental square, but also to art\u00a0and the spoils of military\u00a0victory (including spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Columns and relief sculpture, Forum Transitorium (Forum of Nerva), c. 97 C.E.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Forum Transitorium<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Forum Transitorium, also referred to as the Forum of Nerva, was begun by Domitian, the younger son of Vespasian. Incomplete at the time of Domitian\u2019s assassination in 96 C.E., the complex was completed by Nerva in 97 C.E. This is a narrow forum complex that abuts both the Forum of Augustus and the Templum Pacis and is constrained by these pre-existing structures (dimensions: 131 x 45 meters); as well as\u00a0the Argiletum, a\u00a0street that ran the length of the forum. The Forum Transitorium\u2019s temple was sacred to Minerva, who had been a patron divinity of Domitian, and the architectural sculpture that decorated\u00a0the porticoes featured\u00a0imagery connected to Minerva and scenes from the private lives of women.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Forum of Trajan<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Plan of the Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0showing a freestanding Temple of the\u00a0Deified\u00a0Trajan at the western end of the Forum of Trajan.1)\u00a0Forum of Caesar;\u00a02)\u00a0Forum of Augustus;\u00a03)\u00a0Templum Pacis;\u00a04)\u00a0Forum Transitorium;\u00a05)\u00a0Forum of Trajan;\u00a06)\u00a0Basilica Ulpia (part of Trajan’s\u00a0Forum)<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Forum of Trajan (Forum Traiani<\/em>), the final imperial forum, was both the largest and the most lavish. Inaugurated in 112 C.E., the architectural complex relied upon imposing architectural and sculptural features to glorify the accomplishments and principate\u00a0of the emperor Trajan. The elaborate forum complex has a vast footprint, measuring 200 x 120 meters. The open square of the forum is flanked by porticoes that contain exedrae and point viewer attention toward the main structure, the massive Basilica Ulpia. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus was responsible for the innovative design. On the western side of the basilica was another courtyard, flanked by two libraries (one Greek and one Latin), that contained a monumental honorific column, known today as the Column of Trajan.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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View of the Forum of Trajan, c. 112 C.E., the Column of Trajan can be seen behind the columns of the Basilica Ulpia<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome; dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus in honor of his victories over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 C.E.<\/h4>\n
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The Column of Trajan, inaugurated in 113 C.E., is a main feature of the Forum of Trajan and is, in its own right, a masterwork of Roman art.\u00a0\u200bThe column carries an helical frieze of\u00a0historical relief that provides a pictorial narrative of the events of Trajan\u2019s wars in Dacia (101\u2013102 and 105\u2013106 C.E.), culminating with the death of the enemy commander, Decebalus. The column stands 38 meters tall and its frieze wraps around the column shaft 23 times, with a total length of roughly\u00a0190 meters. Carved in bas relief, the exquisite frieze carefully narrates Trajan\u2019s campaigns and its level of detail is simply astounding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The column\u2019s frieze may draw inspiration from earlier Roman triumphal art, the tradition of which was inclined to depict scenes from the foreign campaigns and, in so doing, glorify the accomplishments of the commander and his soldiers. Throughout the Forum of Trajan the theme of military victory, and its celebration, permeate the monumental decorative programs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pontoon bridge with Roman soldiers (detail), Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome
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When Trajan died in 117 C.E., sources tell us that the Roman Senate allowed a special dispensation whereby Trajan\u2019s cremated remains could be deposited in the base of the column and that a temple to his cult (Templum Divi Traiani et Plotinae<\/em>) was added to the forum complex between 125 and 138 C.E. (Historia Augusta – Hadrian<\/em>\u00a019.9). An ongoing point of scholarly contention is the position and appearance of this plan. Traditional reconstructions favor a free-standing temple at the western end of the forum, while more recent reconstructions instead favor a shrine positioned against the western exedra of the Forum of Augustus. Ongoing archaeological fieldwork may yet shed light on this contentious topographical debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Interpretation<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0represent important architectural landscapes in the city of Rome. They demonstrate the efficacy of public art and architecture with respect to creating collective identity and communicating clear\u00a0messages that both disseminate and reinforce ideology. The strength and accomplishments of the Roman state, not to mention its stability, are key\u00a0themes in any such program of message making. We should also not underestimate the psychological effect of these grandiose, soaring, bedecked complexes,\u00a0based around massive open plazas,\u00a0on the minds and experiences of city dwellers (many of whom lived in crowded squalor). The Imperial\u00a0fora<\/em>\u00a0demonstrate that within the mechanisms of Roman urbanism, civic architecture occupies a crucial role. We are reminded of this efficacy by an ancient example that is perhaps no different from the reaction of a modern visitor to the city of Rome. The emperor Constantius II, visiting Rome in the mid-fourth century C.E., was amazed by the Forum of Trajan, something he considered \u201ca construction unique under the heavens\u201d (Ammianus Marcellinus 16.10.15).<\/div>\n
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Essay by Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t
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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>