The extant inscriptions of this series come down to the year 40 A.D. As an example, we give that of 2 B.C., in which the _ministri Augusti_ first appear: _N. Veius Phylax, N. Popidius Moschus, T. Mescinius Amphio, Primus Arrunti M. s., min. Aug., ex d. d. iussu M. Holconii Rufi IV, A. Clodi Flacci III d. v. i. d., P. Caeseti Postumi, N. Tintiri Rufi d. v. v. a. s. p. p. Imp. Caesare XIII, M. Plautio Silvano cos_,--'Numerius Veius Phylax, Numerius Popidius Moschus, Titus Mescinius Amphio and Primus the slave of Marcus Arruntius, Servants of Augustus (set this up), in accordance with a decree of the city council, on the order of Marcus Holconius Rufus, duumvir with judiciary authority for the fourth time, Aulus Clodius Flaccus, duumvir for the third time, and of Publius Caesetius Postumus and Numerius Tintirius Rufus, duumvirs in charge of the streets, buildings, and public religious festivals (the official title of the aediles, p. 13) in the thirteenth consulship of the Emperor Caesar (Augustus), the other consul being Marcus Plautius Silvanus.' It is not difficult to understand how the worship of Augustus came to have a place in this sanctuary. The divinities here honored stood in close relation to him. Apollo was his tutelary divinity, to whom he thought that he owed the victory at Actium, and in whose honor he built the magnificent temple on the Palatine. Venus, moreover, was revered as the ancestress of the Julian family; and finally Mercury was said to be incarnate in Augustus himself. This last conception found expression in one of the finest of the odes of Horace, written in 28 B.C. Fearful portents, the poet says, are threatening Rome; Jupiter with flaming right hand has even struck his own temple on the Capitoline. To what god shall we turn for help--to Apollo, to Venus, or to Mars? or rather to thee, winged god, Maia's son, that even now doest walk the earth in the form of a youth, the avenger of Caesar:-- Sive mutata iuvenem figura Ales in terris imitaris almae Filius Maiae, patiens vocari Caesaris ultor. It is interesting to note that evidence of the worship of Augustus as Mercury has come to light also in Egypt. In an inscription from Denderah we find _Helmîs Kaisar_, 'beloved of Ptah and of Isis'; Helmîs Kaisar is apparently 'Hermes Caesar,' and in Egyptian inscriptions Augustus is elsewhere referred to as 'the beloved of Ptah and of Isis.' FOOTNOTE: [3] O · KAMP[aniìs ... kva]ISSTUR · KOMBENNI[eìs tanginud] · APELLUNEÌS EÌTIU[vad ... ops]ANNU · AAMAN[aff]ED. CHAPTER XI _THE BUILDINGS AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE FORUM, AND THE TABLE OF STANDARD MEASURES_ The large building at the northwest corner of the Forum (Fig. 33, 1, 2, 3) was erected after the earthquake of the year 63. We do not know whether at the time of the eruption it had yet been roofed; the inside at least was in an unfinished state. [Illustration: Fig. 33.--Plan of the buildings at the northwest corner of the Forum.