He took especial interest in public improvements at Rome. Among these works was the completion of the temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva on the Capitoline Hill. The earlier temple had been destroyed by fire, and the construction of the new building required about thirty-six years. This was the largest and most stately temple in the city. Cæsar laid out a public square, named after his family the Julian Forum, in which he erected a temple to Venus Genetrix (ancestress), from whom he claimed descent. In it he placed a graceful statue of the goddess, carved by Arcesilaus, the most famous sculptor of the age. It is a remarkable example of clinging transparent drapery. In this public exhibition of his descent from a goddess Cæsar boldly displayed his egotism, which was further exalted by decrees of the Senate proclaiming him a god. It was not till after his death, however, that a temple was actually erected, at the east end of the Roman Forum, for his worship.[2] The Curia, Senate House, Cæsar began to rebuild, but its completion was left to Augustus, who named it the Curia Julia, after the Julian family, to which Cæsar, and by adoption Augustus, belonged. On the south side of the Forum he began the construction of the Basilica Julia, afterward finished by Augustus. It was a great hall intended for judicial and mercantile business. These are but a small part of the vast improvements that he planned for Rome, Italy, and the empire. The greater number remained mere schemes. To us the most interesting was the cutting of a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth, a work that has had to await the skill of the modern engineer. [2] The temple of the deified Cæsar, the ruins of which is pictured in this number. As supreme pontiff Cæsar was the head of the state religion and guardian of the sacred lore. In this capacity he reformed the calendar, which in his day had fallen into dire confusion. The improvement consisted essentially in the adoption of the Egyptian solar year of 365¼ days. The Julian calendar remained in force throughout the civilized world till 1582, when it was superseded by that of Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced a more exact system. [Illustration: ROMAN FASCES Bundle of rods and axe bound together and borne before emperors and other rulers as symbols of power] [Illustration: THE BASILICA JULIA--Roman Forum (restored)] [Illustration: A DENARIUS Stamped with the head of Cæsar. A denarius was a silver coin worth about 20 cents] _Personal Appearance, Friends and Character_