The Old Roman World : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization.Lord, John
History
The Old Roman World : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization.
Lord, John
Rome -- Civilization
ascends the steps which lead from the Temple of Concord to the Temple of
Juno Moneta upon the Arx or Tarpeian Rock, on the southwestern summit of
the hill, itself one of the most beautiful temples in Rome, erected by
Camillus on the spot where the house of M. Manlius Capitolinus had
stood. Here is established the Roman mint. Near this is the temple
erected by Augustus to Jupiter Tonans and that built by Domitian to
Jupiter Gustos. But all the sacred edifices which crown the Capitoline
are subordinate to the Templum Jovis Capitolini, standing on a platform
of eight thousand square feet, and built of the richest materials. The
portico which faces the Via Sacra consists of three rows of Doric
columns, the pediment is profusely ornamented with the choicest
sculptures, the apex of the roof is surmounted by the bronze horses of
Lysippus, and the roof itself is covered with gilded tiles. The temple
has three separate cells, though covered with one roof; in front of each
stand colossal statues of the three deities to whom it is consecrated.
Here are preserved what was most sacred in the eyes of Romans, and it is
itself the richest of all the temples of the city. What a beautiful
panorama is presented to the view from the summit of this consecrated
hill, only mounted by a steep ascent of one hundred steps. To the south
is the Via Sacra extending to the Colosseum, and beyond it is the Appia
Via, lined with monuments as far as the eye can reach. Little beyond the
fora to the east is the Carinae, a fashionable quarter of beautiful shops
and houses, and still further off are the Baths of Titus, extending from
the Carinae to the Esquiline Mount. This hill, once a burial-ground, is
now covered with the house and gardens of Maecenas, and of the poets whom
he patronized. It is not rich in temples, but its gardens and groves are
beautiful. To the northeast are the Viminal and Quirinal hills, after
the Palatine the most ancient part of the city--the seat of the Sabine
population. Abounding in fanes and temples, the most splendid of which
is the Temple of Quirinus, erected originally to Romulus by Numa, but
rebuilt by Augustus, with a double row of columns on each of its sides,
seventy-six in number. Near by was the house of Atticus, and the gardens
of Sallust in the valley between the Quirinal and Pincian, afterwards
the property of the emperor. Far back on the Quirinal, near the wall of
Servius, were the Baths of Diocletian, and still further to the east the
Pretorian Camp established by Tiberius, and included within the wall of
Aurelian. To the northeast the eye lights on the Pincian Hill covered by
the gardens of Lucullus, to possess which Messalina caused the death of
Valerius Asiaticus, into whose possession they had fallen. In the valley
which lay between the fora and the Quirinal was the celebrated Subura,--
the quarter of shops, markets, and artificers,--a busy, noisy, vulgar
section, not beautiful, but full of life and enterprise and wickedness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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