Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Saturn is located in the Roman Forum in Rome, and was built at the foot of the Capitol. His original 501-498 BC erected building is the second oldest temple of ancient Rome.

History

The original structure was built at the beginning of the Roman Republic, but probably went back to a project of Tullus Hostilius or Tarquinius Superbus. The temple was dedicated to different sources, either by: 1 Titus Larcius during his dictatorship in the year 501 or his second consulate in the year 498; 2 Aulus Sempronius, consul of the year 497; 3 Postumus Cominius, the consul of the year 501 and 493, due to a Senate resolution.

Well in the 4th century BC, the temple was by a Lucius Furius, possibly as a result of renewed Galliereinfalls. In the penultimate decade BC a complete new building of the temple was carried out on behalf of Lucius Munatius Plancus that this financed with his spoils of war. Finally, the temple towards the end of the 3rd century burned down again and was restored in the year 283. From this period which still standing temple front comes with its colonnades and the inscription on the architrave obtained:

Even before the construction of the temple, the site was provided with an altar was dedicated to Saturn. The anniversary of the dedication was one of the highest Roman Holidays and was committed to the 17 December in a multi-day festival, the Saturnalia.

Location

Seen from today's way over the forum, the temple is located directly behind the Rostra, the ancient orators Plateau on the forum in the vicinity of Septimius Severus arch. In Roman times, the Via Sacra ended in front of the temple. The clivus Capitolinus led around the temple to the Capitol.

Importance

Besides the religious significance of ancient Rome, the temple also played an important role in the secular Roman Republic: In the porch of the temple was the seat of Aerarium populi Romani, ie, the repository of the Roman treasury, which was therefore also called aerarium Saturn. Here also tables of the law and Senate resolutions were preserved. The threshold of the entrance to Aerarium is preserved to this day, although the actual stem is almost completely sunken. On the east side of the podium holes of panels are still seen on which the Acta diurna, public notices were posted.

Construction

The visible remains of the temple today originate from various stages of construction. The columns of the obtained front of gray and pink granite go as the corresponding four-sided Ionic capitals of white marble back to the restoration of the year 283. In contrast, include architrave and frieze to a building of the late 2nd or early 3rd century and were reused at the Temple of Saturn, as those obtained for the decorations of the pronaos facing inner sides of the blocks show. The front has been processed to accommodate the aforementioned inscription can. About some additional columns axes smaller blocks of the entablature was used, which also stylistically different from the rest. They compensated for the larger front width for the beams was not originally created. Finally, the cornices must be connected with the construction of Munatius Plancus and was used again here. Over the remains of the early Augustan previous building rose the clad with travertine podium in opus caementicium, under whose frontal staircase was probably the Aerarium.