About
Temple of Venus Genetrix
Standing columns of the Temple of Venus Genitrix.
GENITRIX'13
The Temple of Venus Genetrix is a ruined temple in the Forum of Caesar, Rome, dedicated to the Roman goddess Venus Genetrix, the goddess of motherhood and domesticity. It was dedicated to the goddess in 46 BC by Julius Caesar.
Description
The temple was built of solid marble with eight columns (octostyle) on the facade on a raised podium ascended by two small lateral staircases. The temple treasure (now long vanished) included a statue of Venus, as well as statues of Julius Caesar. Numerous works of art, including Greek paintings; six collections of engraved gems; and a breastplate decorated with pearls from Britannia.
The Temple of Venus Genetrix was dedicated by Caesar on September 26, 46 BC, the last day of his triumph (Dio, XLIII.22.1-3). It was of marble (Ovid, Art of Love, I.81), almost square, Corinthian, with eight columns across the front (octastyle) set very close together (the diameter of one and one-half columns (pycnostyle); Vitruvius cites the temple as an example of the type, III.3.2) and eight down each side (peripteral). The high podium rose sheer in front and was ascended by two small lateral staircases. Inside the cella, there was a statue of Venus, as well as statues of Caesar and Cleopatra (Dio, LI.22.3; Appian, Civil Wars, II.102); numerous works of art, including Greek paintings; six collections of engraved gems(dactyliothecae); and a breastplate decorated with pearls from Britannia.
The area was damaged by the fire of AD 80 and the temple rebuilt by Domitian (as can be seen in the Flavian style of the cornice). It was rededicated by Trajan in AD 113, the year his own forum was dedicated. The columns and entablature that were re-erected in the 1930s belong to that restoration. The rest of the forum lies in ruins.
History
Caesar originally planned to build the temple to Venus Victrix, but the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC postponed the construction. He decided to dedicate his own temple to Venus Genetrix as the mother of Aeneas, considered the ancestor of the gens Julia to which Caesar belonged.
The temple was built in 46 BC in the city of Rome, in the new Forum of Caesar. It was placed at the end of a long enclosure by the Forum, a practice that was borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans and which later became a standard architectural feature throughout the Roman Empire.
The area was damaged by the fire in 80 AD. Later the temple was rebuilt by Domitian and was restored by Trajan in 113 AD. The three columns now visible belong to this later reconstruction.
The Temple of Venus Genetrix is a ruined temple in the Forum of Caesar, Rome, dedicated to the Roman goddess Venus Genetrix, the goddess of motherhood and domesticity. It was dedicated to the goddess in 46 BC by Julius Caesar.
Description
The temple was built of solid marble with eight columns (octostyle) on the facade on a raised podium ascended by two small lateral staircases. The temple treasure (now long vanished) included a statue of Venus, as well as statues of Julius Caesar. Numerous works of art, including Greek paintings; six collections of engraved gems; and a breastplate decorated with pearls from Britannia.
The Temple of Venus Genetrix was dedicated by Caesar on September 26, 46 BC, the last day of his triumph (Dio, XLIII.22.1-3). It was of marble (Ovid, Art of Love, I.81), almost square, Corinthian, with eight columns across the front (octastyle) set very close together (the diameter of one and one-half columns (pycnostyle); Vitruvius cites the temple as an example of the type, III.3.2) and eight down each side (peripteral). The high podium rose sheer in front and was ascended by two small lateral staircases. Inside the cella, there was a statue of Venus, as well as statues of Caesar and Cleopatra (Dio, LI.22.3; Appian, Civil Wars, II.102); numerous works of art, including Greek paintings; six collections of engraved gems(dactyliothecae); and a breastplate decorated with pearls from Britannia.
The area was damaged by the fire of AD 80 and the temple rebuilt by Domitian (as can be seen in the Flavian style of the cornice). It was rededicated by Trajan in AD 113, the year his own forum was dedicated. The columns and entablature that were re-erected in the 1930s belong to that restoration. The rest of the forum lies in ruins.
History
Caesar originally planned to build the temple to Venus Victrix, but the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC postponed the construction. He decided to dedicate his own temple to Venus Genetrix as the mother of Aeneas, considered the ancestor of the gens Julia to which Caesar belonged.
The temple was built in 46 BC in the city of Rome, in the new Forum of Caesar. It was placed at the end of a long enclosure by the Forum, a practice that was borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans and which later became a standard architectural feature throughout the Roman Empire.
The area was damaged by the fire in 80 AD. Later the temple was rebuilt by Domitian and was restored by Trajan in 113 AD. The three columns now visible belong to this later reconstruction.
Standing columns of the Temple of Venus Genitrix.
Purpose
The Forum of Caesar originally meant an expansion of the Forum Romanum. The Forum, however, evolved so that it served two additional purposes. As Caesar became more and more involved in this project, the Forum became a place for public business that was related to the Senate in addition to a shrine for Caesar himself as well as Venus Genetrix.
Before his assassination, Caesar would have the Senate meet him before his temple, an act deemed very unpopular by the Senate. The Forum of Caesar also had an effect on the Curia, which Caesar began to reconstruct in 44 BC. This reconstruction moved the Forum of Caesar much closer to the Curia. The ten tabernae located on the western side of the Forum and its now close approximation to the Senate house symbolized the unity that Caesar felt between him and the Senate.
Caesar also placed a statue of his favourite horse in front of the temple. Following his assassination, a statue of Caesar riding this horse was added. Caesar (gens Julia) claimed descent from Venus through his ancestor Julus. The Temple of Venus Genetrix was completed after Caesar's assassination by Roman senators, which included lavish games in reference to Caesar's original dedication to the Forum. Caesar had plans for this temple well in advance, having dedicated the construction of a temple to Venus Victrix at the climactic Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, though never being able to see its completion. This original dedication was done because it was Pompey's favourite goddess, and Caesar hoped to gain the goddess's favour before the battle against Pompey. The temple was re-built after the removal of the gap between the Capitoline Hill and the Quirinal Hill, under the reigns of Domitian and Trajan; during the adaptation of the gap, a second floor of tabernae was created behind the west portico of the square and a building with pillars made of tuff blocks, named Basilica Argentaria, was erected. The new temple was inaugurate in the same day as the Trajan's Column, on may 12, 113, as attested by an inscription in the Fasti Ostienses.
The Forum of Caesar originally meant an expansion of the Forum Romanum. The Forum, however, evolved so that it served two additional purposes. As Caesar became more and more involved in this project, the Forum became a place for public business that was related to the Senate in addition to a shrine for Caesar himself as well as Venus Genetrix.
Before his assassination, Caesar would have the Senate meet him before his temple, an act deemed very unpopular by the Senate. The Forum of Caesar also had an effect on the Curia, which Caesar began to reconstruct in 44 BC. This reconstruction moved the Forum of Caesar much closer to the Curia. The ten tabernae located on the western side of the Forum and its now close approximation to the Senate house symbolized the unity that Caesar felt between him and the Senate.
Caesar also placed a statue of his favourite horse in front of the temple. Following his assassination, a statue of Caesar riding this horse was added. Caesar (gens Julia) claimed descent from Venus through his ancestor Julus. The Temple of Venus Genetrix was completed after Caesar's assassination by Roman senators, which included lavish games in reference to Caesar's original dedication to the Forum. Caesar had plans for this temple well in advance, having dedicated the construction of a temple to Venus Victrix at the climactic Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, though never being able to see its completion. This original dedication was done because it was Pompey's favourite goddess, and Caesar hoped to gain the goddess's favour before the battle against Pompey. The temple was re-built after the removal of the gap between the Capitoline Hill and the Quirinal Hill, under the reigns of Domitian and Trajan; during the adaptation of the gap, a second floor of tabernae was created behind the west portico of the square and a building with pillars made of tuff blocks, named Basilica Argentaria, was erected. The new temple was inaugurate in the same day as the Trajan's Column, on may 12, 113, as attested by an inscription in the Fasti Ostienses.
Temple of Venus Genetrix
"...and vowed, if he was successful, to make a thank-offering by building a temple to her in Rome as bringer of victory."
About Britannia
"...and vowed, if he was successful, to make a thank-offering by building a temple to her in Rome as bringer of victory."
Britannia Statue:
Britannia is an ancient term for Roman Britain and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain; however, by the 1st century BC Britannia came to be used for Great Britain specifically. In AD 43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, which came to encompass the parts of the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). The native Celtic inhabitants of the province are known as the Britons. In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet.
Britannia is an ancient term for Roman Britain and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain; however, by the 1st century BC Britannia came to be used for Great Britain specifically. In AD 43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, which came to encompass the parts of the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). The native Celtic inhabitants of the province are known as the Britons. In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet.