Nestled among the modern buildings (or at least from this millennium) is a great square that was the epicenter of ancient Roman political life. The city of Rome, among other names, is the City of Seven Hills: the Esquiline, the Quirinal, the Viminal, the Capitoline, the Aventine, the Caelian, and the Palatine. While several are famous for various reasons, the Palatine was supposedly chosen by Romulus - the legendary namesake for the Roman people and also their first king - to be the main hill because of its central location and its proximity to the Tiber River, a major source of connection, protection, and economy. The landscape alone made the area excellent for a city; the hills would help defend against neighboring tribes, and the river would easily connect it to the Mediterranean. Eventually, the Palatine Hill became the home of the imperial palace - indeed, the English word palace comes from "Palatine." The ruins of the palace are still there, which provide an incredible view into the vastness of the emperors' wealth and prestige.
But first: back to the Forum Romanum, located just beside the Palatine Hill. We arrived in the morning, before most of the other tourists came, and took an all-too-brief trek down the ancient streets, past the ruins of shops and temples and important buildings of state. Ancient Rome had many fora - squares or gathering places for meeting and commerce - but the Forum Romanum was mainly for politics, religion, and expensive shopping. The Curia - the building used by the impressive Roman Senate - towered in the corner in its location first chosen by Julius Caesar. Near it was the temple to Saturn and a huge basilica (not religious, but secular) used for greeting and impressing important guests to the city. The temple of Vesta, guarded by the well-respected female priestesses, stood opposite Saturn's. At either end were two magnificent arches - built for the emperor Titus and by the emperor Septimius Severus, respectively - engraved with Rome's rich battle history. The Rostra - where grand speeches were made by some of history's best orators - stands next to the "Umbilicus Urbis" - the belly button of the city! - a round platform marking the center of the city. Later, the emperor Constantine would construct a gargantuan basilica with beautiful marble arches nearby. It's easy to imagine toga-clad Senators walking these streets, visiting the shops along the Via Sacra to buy exotic spices from the farthest reaches of the empire or mingling with diplomats from distant provinces. The Forum was designed to show off everything the Romans liked about themselves: their excellent architecture and engineering, their highly civilized and logical approach to life, their political genius and power, their piety, their wealth, their semi-divine history.
Poorly lit shot of the Forum Romanum
Remaining wall of the circular temple of Vesta, goddess of the hearth (and, by extension, the home and family life of Rome)
Remains of a temple
Temple of Saturn
Arch of Septimius Severus
The Curia, where the ancient Senate debated
This entire space on which we're standing would have been roofed by that enormous basilica of Constantine!
Basilica built by Constantine
Arch of Titus
Following the Palatine Hill up from the Forum, an ancient Roman would have been struck by the sheer size of the imperial palace. Entering into a towering atrium, decorated with larger-than-life marble statues, a guest would have seen the peristyle, an interior garden-courtyard flanked by colonnades that made for excellent walking and talking. Behind the peristyle, if you were a very good friend of the emperor's, you would have enjoyed a lavish meal in the triclinium, where Romans (being civilized freemen and not servants - or barbarians) would have reclined on couches to eat. Next to this enormous building was a separate wing - the more private courters of the imperial family - with an even larger peristyle and a sunken garden for more leisurely strolls. Behind the palace was the Circus Maximus, an enormous elliptical racetrack for chariot races. (Pictures to come.)
After exploring the Forum and the Palatine in heat uncharacteristic for late September, we headed past the impressive Arch of Constantine for the grandaddy of them all: the Flavian Amphitheater. (If you're not familiar, the colloquial term for the Flavian Amphitheater is "The Colosseum.") Built following a series of bad emperors and increasingly bad luck for the still-young empire, the Flavian father-son emperor team, Vespasian and Titus, used the Colosseum as morale-booster and as a sign to the outside world that Rome was back and better than ever. You've probably at least heard of the Colosseum - made famous anew by Russell Crowe and Gladiator - and have an idea of the kind of thing that went on in there: public executions, animal games, and, of course, gladiator fights. These games were free or very cheap for citizens of all classes to enjoy for entertainment, national pride, and the inculcation of Roman values of law and order, bravery, and military skill. Like many of its contemporaries, much of its original marble was recycled during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Take a look:
Arch of Constantine (half of it covered for cleaning)
THE COLOSSEUM!
Beautiful original interior. Really reminded me of Lambeau Field or Miller Park.
The amphitheater
The platform you see is what the original amphitheater floor would have looked like. The hallways and rooms below it were sort of a "backstage" area for keeping animals, gladiators, etc. that would be raised up out of trap doors in the floor.
The archways below the amphitheater floor
Those two raised posts (with the cross between) signal the area where the emperor would have sat. On the ground floor would have sat the Senators and other important people; the middle levels were for the middling classes; and the upper levels were for the poor, the sleazy, and the women.
Seats would have been here
Yay Colosseum!
Gorgeous view from the second floor of the Colosseum
Ancient graffiti!
Spectators would carve their favorite gladiator or a particularly good fight into the marble seats.
All in all, it was a spectacular day spent walking where real Romans - Julius Caesar, Augustus, Cicero, Hadrian - walked and argued and lived. I'll post again soon, but in the meantime don't forget: SPQR!
"Senatus Populusque Romanus
Incendio Consumptum Restituit"
("The Senate and the Roman People Restored what was Consumed by Fire")
Temple of Saturn
You can just make out the "SPQR" at the end of the very long inscription
Arch of Septimius Severus
Arch of Titus
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