The Ancients - The Roman Forum

Episode Date: September 11, 2020

Another one from the History Hit archive! The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum (Italian: Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.For centuries the Forum was the centre of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million sightseers yearly.This episode was first broadcast on Darius Arya Digs.

Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the Ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit. With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabataeans, and enjoy a new release every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. Today's podcast features the one and only Darius Aria, an archaeologist based in Rome. How cool is that? And in this episode, Darius is going to take you on a tour of the ancient heart of Rome, the Roman Forum. Enjoy!

A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum. I'm standing on the Valia Hill and I'm going to make my way down along the Via Sacra to go to the Roman Forum, the heart and soul of ancient Rome. So let's go take a walk. And there are so many different periods of history that we can contemplate because we're getting a lot of them at the same time. I'm walking down the steps of the Temple of Venus in Rome, last rebuilt by the Emperor Maxentius. Of course, he's going to be killed by Constantine at the Milvian Bridge in 312. Walking down along the Via Sacra on the Augustan level,

I see around me, left and right, are the various globs of foundation work for a higher elevated porticoed walkway of the Via Sacra. So people come here from all over the world. What was Imperial Rome like? What was it like going down the Via Sacra? Well, it was something extraordinary. It would have been a multicultural experience. It would have been, you would have heard sights, you would have heard sounds of people from all over the empire. You would have seen

different forms of dress, different just different rhythms, different smells, different worlds. People are coming here to Rome to come to the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is then the social epicenter of Rome. It's the political epicenter. It's one of the religious epicenters. And if you think about all this attention over time and the space, the space that is going to be built up over time, reconstructed, even recycled over time. But it really is one of the most historical places in the entire ancient world. And of course, if you're a student of Latin and Greek,

you can say, hey, I know that there's a speech by Cicero, or there's declamation by some emperor. And then, of course, it's hard to always be able to place every single moment in time, because we're left with different periods, better or worse, in terms of preservation. Some sites we refer to in the literary sources, they're totally obliterated, or we're guessing with what we've got left behind. So that's what makes the forum experience kind of a big puzzle. But rest assured, the Romans were really proud of their history

they were proud of their humble origins and they preserved in many cases a lot of those stories and traditions and located them in specific points with specific actions that over time accreted further meaning and new purposes with the progression of Rome from basically a modest village to a republican city-state of success

to the capital of a great empire. Let's take a look at a couple of those spaces. of a great empire. Let's take a look at a couple of those spaces. So the Roman Forum might be a place of social and political gathering, a place for contemplation assemblies, riots, but it's also a place where the gods appeared. And that's really the definition of epiphany. It's this moment of divine revelation and it takes many forms and from those moments actions are recorded and the history of those moments is going to be perpetuated and there are going to be specific monuments that the Romans continually rebuild. However modest those monuments might be

originally the Romans are going to maintain them throughout their history, even when it becomes this capital city of an enormous empire. They do not forget their humble origins, and they do not forget that very early on, the gods are favoring the Romans, the gods are favoring Rome. And in this case, we'll take a look at three of these incredible monuments, the Mundus, the Lachis Crucius, and the Lachis Iuturni. The Mundus is a monument that's attributed to the time of Romulus, according to the Romans. Romulus, according to the Romans. And so the story goes is that in the western side of what is the forum today, near where there is the comitium in the construction of this outdoor space where the senators could gather and ultimately address public assemblies from, it's Romulus that's going to be following customs, things that are handed down to him from people

in Etruria, to dig a trench around the Comitium. So you have this circular trench into which then the first roots of harvest are going to be contributed, deposited in this trench. And anyone who's a newcomer to Rome, think that Romulus is assembling people from the outlying areas, even runaway slaves, come and be a part of this idea of Rome, saying bring a handful of soil from your homeland and also deposit this in this trench. from your homeland and also deposit this in this trench. And so it's this trench, this fossa, that is what the Romans call the mundus.

It's also the same word that the Romans use for the heavens. Ultimately, another source is going to define it as there being a vault over a construction in that same area near the comitium, near the rostra, near the much later arch of Septimius Severus. It's got a kind of a vault over top of it, like the vault of heaven, and you can go inside and it's the ancestors of the Romans that determined that this is where you can have this opportunity to go into down below and commune in a space with the spirits of the dead on specific times of the year. So you get a combination of traditions then in a number of sources that are attributing on the one hand to the importance

of the relationship with the goddess Ceres or the goddess of agriculture and grain but also then the gods of the underworld and it is Ceres daughter Persephone who's going to be going down and living in the underworld for quite some time and the Romans

then attributing this all the way back to Romnish, their founder, this series of traditions is something that is part and parcel of what it is to be Roman and also identifying in a very early period with this part of the forum as some of its earliest beginnings and traditions.

And when we do look at the archaeological evidence, and we do look at this natural basin that is the Roman Forum, we have two rims of that basin, as it were. And on one side, we have on the eastern side, the House of the Vesta Virgins, the House of the King, we have the Temple of Vesta Virgins, the House of the King. We have the Temple of Vesta, very, very old in the tradition of Rome with the Regia. And on the opposite side, on the western end, we have on that very substantial shelf where people can build out and not worry about being waterlogged from a very early period.

We have the Comitium, we have the original Curia, the Senate House building, and we also have attributed to that space this Mundus. And when we look for it in the archaeological record, we find a round brick structure, possibly all the way into the 2nd or 3rd centuries A.D., right at the foot, let's say,

of the Imperial rostra. And that is where we then put together these sources and identifying as this Mundus space. So even in the imperial period, there is this connection going from, say, the third century AD all the way back to the time of Romulus in the eighth century B.C the romans are interested in preserving a lot of their history and they're not ashamed of modest beginnings what they are in fact proud of is that they have this connection a special connection early on with various deities and of course the agricultural divinity series will be important as well as a place to commune

with the spirits of the underworld where everyone is destined to go. Looking down onto the central piazza of the Roman Forum, you see the trace remains of various monuments now disappeared. But there's one depression that's quite large that's made in two different periods. The earlier one you see it's more modest and it is a tuff or volcanic stone construction. This is for a fountain. And then there's a larger construction of that same fountain with travertine stone.

And in fact, one piece of the balustrade that actually basically kept away the traffic from falling into the basin is still visible. It's actually a copy of the originals in the Capital Eye Museum. So what it shows is a guy on a horse, and the horse is then jumping into a depression. And around the horse, there are little bits of reeds. You can tell it's a kind of a marshy setting. Now, the ancient sources of the Romans tell us that this is the Lachis Cursus. But of course, we'll see.

It depends on which Cursus we're actually talking about. And what the Romans are all about with these monuments is that sites where incredible things happen, where there are epiphanies, there are miracles, they will create over time meaning. And it's not really up to us to say which one is correct. But we know from great events in history that depending on who's recounting that story,

maybe centuries later or generations later, it can take on new life and new meaning to the person who's been recording that story. So, Vera records the story that the Lachis-Cursus is formed during the Sabine War. Romulus leading the Romans against the Sabines

led by King Titus Tatius. This is already in the late 8th century BC. That's their tradition. And there's a Sabine warrior named Metius Cursus. And he's going to have to retreat from the Romans and he makes his way away from the Palatine Hill, escaping through a marshy area, which eventually is going to be drained out and become the Roman form. But the fact that he escapes from the attack of the Romans, goes across the marshy lands, gets back to his fellow Sabines,

is then the tale, according to Vero, how the spring got its name. And there's another story told by Livy of the same Alacus, Cursus. And this is pretty amazing. So this is around 362 BC. So the story is that there's a cataclysmic earthquake or something, but anyways, in the middle of what will be the forum area, what is the forum area, there's a gaping chasm that opens up. And no one can figure out how to close it up.

They try to fill it in with dirt to no avail. What's the deal? So by eventually consulting with priests, the interpretation is that this is a sign from the gods. with priests, the interpretation is that this is a sign from the gods. And if Rome wants to succeed, if Rome wants to endure, they have to sacrifice right there, whatever it is that gives them strength. And how do you interpret that? What do you, what do you sacrifice? And so the legend is that Marcus Curtus, a young soldier, said that what we really have, what is our greatest value, is our virtus,

our manliness, our excellence, our bravery. And so what he does is he gets on his horse and he rides off into the chasm, sacrificing himself. And as a result, the chasm closes up, and what's left behind is a spring. And so to honor his sacrifice, the Romans call the Lachis after him. The spring is now forever known as the Lachis Cursus.

So again, we're getting two accounts for one monument. Who's to say both can't be right? Now, by the time of Augustus, when people had made this out to be the wishing well for the good fortune and health of the Emperor Augustus, it's already dried up. That sounds like a bad omen. But essentially, the tradition continues. And from all the coins that are drawn out from the dried up fountain, statues of gold are commissioned to honor the Emperor Augustus.

I kind of like to think of the Trevi Fountain. And today, people go, this tradition of, I'm going to come back to Rome, I'm going to throw a coin in over my shoulder. Well, people already have this tradition, I think spontaneously created. Walk by the Lacus Cursus, drop in a coin, wishing well the health of a given emperor. And it's a long-told tradition. So, with the passing of time, traditions are added, epiphanies can be reinterpreted, and many moments of battle can take place in the

forum as well. I think of the Emperor Galba being assassinated famously at the Lachis Cursus, and that is where his head was hacked off. Another layer of meaning for the Lachis Cursus. Beware to the rulers of Rome. The Lachis Juturni, the Pool of Juturni. This is a water nymph with a varied mythological background, even being the sibling

of Turnus who fights against Aeneas in the Aeneid. But definitely there is a spring of Juturni, Fons Juturni, and then it's going to be attached to the Lachis Juturni, the pool of Juturni. So just like we have a spring filling up the Lacus Cursus, we now have another spring in the Roman Forum era. And this is very important because you need water when you're living in Rome. The hills of Rome of volcanic formations, you do not have any natural bodies of water or springs on top of those hills. You need to come off the hills. So you come off the Palatine Hill, you come off the Capitoline Hill, you come down into the Forum Marshy area originally, but there are springs. So you decide it's a great place to conduct business. You start to fill it in,

make it inhabitable, make it usable. But as always, you've got these springs, and the springs also have pools. Now, the Lachis Jatornae is really important because of a particular epiphany, and this is absolutely amazing. So you walk over to the eastern end of the Roman Forum today, and you have a sunken pool, the water's still in it, and you turn around behind you and you've got the massive three columns of the Augustan rebuild of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. This is actually originally a Republican temple

rebuilt last by Tiberius under the Emperor Augustus, but it is a fantastically large Republican monument that continues to have a profound impact visually on you when you come to the Roman Forum, because those three Luna Marvel columns are still standing. This is the temple as well that was used by the consuls, the elected executive officers of ancient Rome. And why is that temple there? Because, as the Roman tradition goes in several sources, in 499, the Roman army has won a battle at Lake Regulus.

This is, you know, about nine kilometers from Rome, not even. And the victory is won by the Romans, but before the Romans can send a messenger back to the Roman Forum, the story goes that two youths, two beautiful young men on gleaming white horses, arrive in the Forum area and they water their horses at the little lochus, at the little pool. And they look like they've come away from a battle. People seeing what's going on, what happened. And they announce the victory that is then further corroborated by the arrival of a messenger from the war itself saying, hey, yeah, we won the battle of Lake Regulus. And the Romans in the forum say, yeah, we know. So this epiphany, This epiphany, this story, has so much weight that as a result, the Romans build to honor Castor and Pollux, who announced the victory.

They build them that very large temple. And of course, who was responsible for winning that battle was the cavalry. So you can see that the patron gods of the cavalry are the ones that get this magnificent victory monument but the tie-in is always with location that's what's so fantastic about the roman form is that we can come and look at real spaces real locations and have those stories recounted again so you know you can today say i in miracles, I don't believe in miracles, I believe in epiphanies, in various forms of religion, we all have them. We ourselves live our lives and have things that we can't explain. Is it happenstance?

Is it fate? Was I meant to do this? Did I have to turn left? Did I have to turn right? Well, for the Romans, they took this stuff very seriously, and again, it's another form of explanation for why they are so successful. Because these amazing things keep happening to the Romans, and so many times it's through direct intervention from the gods themselves. In this case, Castor and Pollux. and to witness all that still today we have these three magnificent marble columns

that stand and really give a sense of scale and grandeur to the Roman form itself which is in such a ruinous state. There are so many ways in which the gods communicate with the Romans in the Roman Forum. Sure, before any meeting of the Senate, the elected official can take the auguries to get a sign from the gods of Jupiter in heaven and looking at the weather patterns, the flight of birds, the sound of thunder. But what's about something really, really explicit? But what's about something really, really explicit?

When we look around the Forum, there are many occasions where the gods help negotiate life. For example, the Cloacina Monument at the foot of the Basilica Emilia is perpetuated from the time of Romulus, say the Romans, all the way up to the last rebuilding of the Basilica Emilia, the lines one side of the Roman Forum, in the Augustan Age. And it's a small, modest-looking, round shrine, but it's going to be marking that point between the land of the Romans and the land of the Sabines in the Age of Romans. So is the story. And you have it still preserved in marble construction in the Augustan age. But it's a very, very old tradition.

Going over to the central forum piazza, there are so many monuments that are erased. But the excavators in modern times decided to replant a vine, an olive tree, and a fig tree. And it's particularly interesting that fig tree that the Romans hone in on. That these things all grow spontaneously through the pavement of the

Roman form itself, but it's that fig tree that recalls the Ficus Rominalis, the tree that gave shade to the she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus at the base of the Palatine here and the Palatine Hill nearby. But here, then, to have that fig tree grow up by chance, by fate, it's going to last a long time. These trees and also the olive tree last a long time. And when they die, it becomes an important, a sign from the gods,

disaster is about to happen. And we have to then mediate that. disaster is about to happen and we have to then mediate that. We have to rectify that broken relationship with the gods. So these trees in the middle of the forum pavement that grow up are very important and traditionally appreciated and watched by the Romans for the signs from the gods. We can go over to the Regia in the eastern part of the Forum. The Regia is ascribed to the early kings of Rome,

particularly the Etruscan kings, but eventually becomes, without the kings and the Republic, a place to hold various important shrines, to Mars, to Conceiva and Ops. And there are inside there, in a room, shields and a spear from Mars himself that are paraded around annually and in a special dance but it is things given

from the gods from heaven from Mars himself to protect the Romans in time of need and nearby you have the construction of the, also on the eastern side of the Roman Forum, the poorly preserved remains of the Temple of Divine Julius Caesar. This is a guy that wanted to be buried like everyone else, outside the city walls,

outside the pomerium. But no, as fate would have it, the people, stirred by the speech by Mark Antony, standing on the rostrum at the other end of the forum motivates them to take his body and to cremate it right there in the heart of the roman forum and in that very spot you're eventually going to have a temple constructed a temple of divine julius caesar and when the construction is taking place between 42 and 29 BC,

what passes by overhead? Halley's Comet. This has been verified. The interpretation at the time was there is the ascending soul of Julius Caesar going to join the gods. So, the Roman Forum

in so many ways is a place of epiphany. It's a place where the Romans would directly communicate with the gods, and the gods would communicate with them, sometimes even appearing. And of course, giving the Romans in the beginning what they needed most in their early city. Abundant, fresh supplies of water. Lachis crucius, lachis jatornai. And the stories today, I think, still resonate with us.

When we come inside to this archaeological park, we can see that history in real locations. Such is the richness of the Roman Forum.