So last Thursday we visited the ancient site of the Forum Boarium in Rome. The Forum Boarium is located west of the Palatine, north of the Aventine, south of the Capitoline, and east of the Tiber River. The Roman Forum is located northeast of the Forum Boairum. Few scholars hold the idea from primary sources that the Forum Boarium was a place were Romans raised cattle in the Regal and early Republic periods. Nevertheless, all scholars agree that the Fourm Boarium was a center for business (the sales of cows especially) and religion. The Forum Boarium was a port for trade coming up the Tiber river as well. The patron god, while there were many patron gods, was primarily Hercules who was the god of merchants by this time. By having Hercules as a patron god, we can also infer that the Forum Boarium was a place of cultural exchange since Hercules is a Greek god. The Forum Boarium became depopulated when the Roman empire began to decline though sacrifices continued on the Ara Maxima well into the 4th century A.D.
Between the Pons Aemilius and the Pons Sublicus, the Temple of Portunus lays east of the Tiber. The Temple of Portunus is built in a beautiful blend of archaic Etruscan and Greek style. Etruscan features are the following: The temple has 50% porch and 50% cellae which were build upon a raised platform with axial (steps in front) steps. The temple (cella) is pushed back on its axis and is completely built out of tufa and sheathed in travertine. Furthermore, the entire temple was stuccoed. The Greek features are as is: ionic columns going all around the temple while some colums are infused with cella (making half columns). There are decorations in Greek garlands supported by cupids, candelabrae, and bucrania (cow skulls). Portunus was a Roman harbor god. He is also the god of doorways, thresholds, keys, and ports. The temple was converted into a church in 782 A.D. The church was then deconsecrated in 1818 and handed to the Italian government.
The Round Temple by the Tiber lays south of the Temple of Portunus. The temple is designed in a circular shape (tholos) with Corithian columns going around in a circle. It is made out of Greek pentelic marble from Mount Pentelikos. There were also stairs surrounding the temple. The cella was also circular with blocks cut on a curve in different sizes. There are also inserted margins (drafted-margin masonry) between blocks for decoration. The temple was thought to have a conical roof instead of its current Medieval tiled roof. The temple was design to stand out in city filled with large squared-shaped temples. Scholars still passionately debate concerning for which god the temple was dedicated. The leading argument is that the temple was dedicated to Hercules Victor since Hercules was the patron god of the Forum Boarium. However, literary sources state that there were two temples of Hercules Victor in the Forum Boarium. The possible dedication to the tholos temple is Hercules Victor Olivarius since they found an inscription nearby. Furthermore, scholars speculate that either M. Octavius Herrenus (olive merchant) built the tholos or it was built by Lucius Mummius. Mummius raised Corinth to the ground in 146 B.C (the same year that Carthage fell). It is then speculated that he (while censor) built the temple in 141 B.C. when competing with a colleague who was building a temple to Jupiter Stator.
East of the Forum Boairum is the Velabrum where the Arch of the Argentarii lies. The Arch is highly decorated with military standards, sacrificial images, an image of Hercules, ancanthus leaves, Genus populi Romani, two roman soldiers fighting Parthians, etc. The top is made out of marble and the botttom is build out of travertine. The archway probably opened a path to the collegia of the argentarii and negotiatores (bankers). The archway was built under Septimius Severus in 204 A.D. with an inscription praising him by the bankers and cattle sellers. However, Caracalla, the son of Septimius, erased images of Severus and his (Caracalla's) wife in the process called Domatio memoria.
By the current church of St. Omobono lays the ruins of a few temples by the Vicus Iugarius located north of the Forum Boarium. The first temple (now covered by the ruins of two other temples) was an archaic temple built after the archaic altar. A second archaic temple was built over the first by the Tarquins which illustrate that Rome was a place of cultural exchange. The votives around this region were produce, animal bones, and Greek pottery dating back to the early 6th century B.C. Then in 560 B.C. along with the founding of the Republic the temple was destroyed and the land was filled with dirt from the Capitoline. In the middle Republic two temples were built in this site. Scholars speculate that they were dedicated to Fortuna and Mater Matuta though there is no real evidence to support this. Today the apse of the modern church is weirdly aligned with the side of the archaic temple from the regal period.
Tiber Island is an island formed out river deposit. It is located northwest of the Forum Boarium. The island has this mythical story. There was a plague in Rome. The Sibylline books were consulted and told the Romans to bring the god Asclepius to Rome. So as the Romans brought the statue from Greece to Rome, a snake left the boat and went on Tiber Island. There the Romans erected a temple to Asclepius and the plague vanished. The temple required one (who was sick) to sleep in the temple, dream, and tell the priests (who were basically doctors) what they dreamed. It is specualted that people would think about their illness and possible cures during the day and dream about them at night. Furthermore, the cult upheld that Asclepius did not heal morally wrong people. Tiber island is significant for three reasons: one, since Asclepius was a forum god he was naturally located outside the Promerium of Rome, two, the cult continued to be practice in to the early Christian period while other cults died off, and three, the island today houses the a hospital and the church of St. Bartholomew.
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