The
Quintessential monument of ancient Rome, The Colosseum
(70-80 AD), known in ancient times as the Flavian
Amphitheatre, commemorates the dynastic name of emperor
Vespasian (69-79 AD) who began the project and his son
Titus (79-81 AD) who completed it. The current name of
the amphitheatre first appears in the writings of the
Venerable Bede (c. 673-735 AD), who quotes an Anglo-Saxon
pilgrim's prophecy: 'While the Coliseum stands, Rome
shall stand; when the Coliseum falls, Rome shall fall;
when Rome falls, the world shall fall.' The amphitheatre
was constructed, as most ancient roman structures were,
with a core of brick tufa (an indigenous stone of Rome)
surrounded by a shell of travertine. The exterior wall
has four stories, of which we see pictured here the
second and third. The lower three stories have rows of
arches decorated with engaged columns of the three
classical orders: Doric on the lowest story, Ionic on the
middle and Corinthian on the top. The exterior dimensions
of the wall are 188m length, 15m breadth, circumference
527m and height 50m.
The Arch of
Constantine (315 AD) was erected in honor of the first
Christian Emperor's victory over Maxentius at Soxa Rubra
(the Milvian Bridge) in 312 AD, just north of Rome. The
arch served as the triumphal entryway to the Forum,
through which victorious generals passed on their way to
the steps of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
located on the Capitoline . The triple arched structure
was decorated with fragments from older Roman monuments,
testifying to the decline of the arts in the Late Empire.
Among these earlier "spoils" include the
reliefs on the central archway and those above the sides
of the arch taken from a monument dating from Trajan's
reign. (98-117 AD) The eight medallions of the two
facades belonged to a monument of Hadrian (117-38 AD),
while the eight high reliefs of the attic come from a
monument to Marcus Aurelius (161-80 AD). Only the small
bas-reliefs of the frieze and the victories and captives
at the base of the columns are of the period of
Constantine.Temple of Mars Ultor (the Avenger)
The second of the Imperial Fora after
that of Julius Caesar, the Forum of Augustus was built to
commemorate the emperor's victory at the battle of
Philippi (42 BC) thereby avenging the murder of his
adoptive father. The octastyle temple (a temple with
eight columns across the front) was dedicated in 2 BC and
originally had columns on three sides. Three columns at
the end of right flank are still standing, while only
four of the original eight Corinthian columns of the
front (the two middle and one at either end) have been
partially reconstructed from antique fragments.of the Forum of Nerva
The Forum of Nerva or Forum
Transitorium, so called because it led into the Forum of
Vespasian, was begun by Domitian in AD 97. The only
surviving fragments of the Temple of Nerva, still
standing at the beginning of the 17th century when it was
pulled down by Pope Paul V to provide marble for the
Fontana Paolina on the Janiculum, are that of the
Colonnace. Two colossal Corinthian columns support a
sculpted attic containing a high relief of Minerva. The
rich frieze of the entablature depicts Minerva teaching
the arts of sewing and weaving as well as the punishment
of Arachne, the Lydian girl who excelled in the art of
weaving and deigned to challenge the goddess.to Temple of Castor and Pollux
The triple Arch of Septimius Severus,
nearly 21m high and over 23m wide is entirely faced with
marble and was erected in AD 203 to honor the 10th
anniversary of the emperor's ascension. It was dedicated
by the Senate and People of Rome (S.P.Q.R.) to Severus
and his sons Caracalla and Geta, in honor of their
victory over the Parthians. Geta's name has been
not-so-surreptitiously obliterated from the inscription,
presumably after his murder by his brother Caracalla in
212 AD. The Fratricida replaced his brother's name with a
laudatory phrase praising himself and his father. The
three columns seen through the arch are the remains of
the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
The
Temple of Castor and Pollux was originally built in 484
BC by the dictator Aulus Postumius in honor of the twin
heroes Castor and Pollux, whose miraculous appearance at
the battle of Lake Regillus (496 BC) resulted in the
victory for the Romans over the Tarquins. The temple was
rebuilt several times after numerous fires, most
significantly by L. Caecilum Metellus and by Tiberius
during the reign of Augustus (AD 6). Three columns
survive from the last temple, supporting the intricately
sculpted entablature.