Where did the Romans live?

When we walk across the Roman ruins, we always see the glory that was Rome, that is to say, temples, Basilicas, statues and reliefs. But, when we come to describe the private life of the Romans , we may feel in discomfort, because we do not know so much of the domestic architecture.
Only Pompeii and Ostia in part supply the information we need: Pompeii will always be popular for its aristocratic domus, and Ostia for its condos and apartments. Rome was similar to Ostia in terms of private architecture, since it had the big domus only on the Palatine Hill or outside of Rome, in the consular roads. A well example of private multi storey house is preserved in the Insula of the Aracoeli, located at the bottom of the Capitol hill. This insula can be seen from one corner of Venice square and shows the practical way in which the Romans lived. At the bottom there was a store and on the first and second floor the apartment where the owner of the store lived with his family.

The Complex of the Theater Dedicated to Marcellus

Augustus, even before becoming the first Roman emperor always desired to have male heirs. However, although at the end of the civil war became the richest and most famous Roman, he was unlucky in this regards. He tried to favor his male relatives and he tried to built a theater dedicated to his newphew Marcus Marcellus and a library dedicated to his sister Octavia. Because this theater was so close to the docks of the Tiber River, it needed to be built with a big Scaenae Frons and a higher podium to avoid periodical floods from the main river of Rome. The theater of Marcellus was one of the three main theatrical complexes built in ancient Rome, and it was the second to be built after the theater of Pompey the Great. It could accommodate 20.000 spectators and had three orders of arches like the Colosseum. Without a doubt when the Colosseum was built, Roman engineers studied it thoroughly and took inspiration from this Augustan monument. Still today may people get confused and think that the Theater of Marcellus is indeed the Colosseum. However, at a closer look, as the picture reveals, the last floor of the theater is missing because in the middle ages the wealthy family of the Savelli built its residence on top of it, reusing the same travertine blocks that belonged to the third order of arches.

The Tarpeian Rock

The tale about Tarpeia is linked to the period of the monarchy in ancient Rome. Tarpeia was a noble lady who betrayed the Romans allowing the Sabins of Titus Tatius to enter and sack Rome. As soon as the lady saw the jewels worn by the Sabins, she was caught by the desire to own them all and asked the Sabins to have them. The Sabins said that it was ok but only if the lady opened the gates of the city. However, as soon as they got close to her, instead of giving her the jewels ,they crushed her with the weight of their weaponry and they killed her. After that the Sabins got rid of her, they had free access to the newborn city and inflicted several casualties to the Roman army. This account, however, tells only about the legend built around Tarpeia. The physical evidence says, however, that a cliff on the Capitol hill was dedicated to the ancient deity called Tarpeia. From this cliff all the criminals sentenced to death as well as the deformed babies were thrown down.

The First Food Markets in Ancient Rome

Long before that the Roman Forum began its activity, the Etruscans and the Romans used to meet and do business in a small area located between the Circus Maximus and the Tiber River. The reason of this choice was in the common worship of Hercules, who was not only popular for his famous 12 deeds but also because he was the patron of the olive trees. In the mythical accounts of Rome, Hercules killed the giant Cacus, who had previously stolen his cattle. After this event, the Romans built in his honor the Ara Maxima Herculis, that is located where today stands the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin where the Mouth of Truth is. In addition, other temples were built in the early Rome to honor the harbor of Rome god, whose name was Tiberinus and new markets extended the areas between the Ara of Hercules and the Tiber with a new round temple dedicated to the Greek hero and two new markets dedicated to the purchase of cattle animals (Forum Boarium) and the vegetables (Forum Holitorium).

The Role of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome

From one side of the Palatine hill it is possible to admire the elongated form of the largest stadium built in the ancient world: the Circus Maximus. According to the historian Livy it was wanted by the Etruscan king Tarquinius Priscus to celebrate chariot races competition. The stadium could accommodate around 300 thousand people and had shops at the bottom of its structures. As we have discussed in the previous posts it was from there that the fire of Rome began in the year 62 CE also because at Nero's time the circus had the upper level seats still on wood. It was really a magnificent building that had an internal water channel that allowed the charioteers to better guide their performances and had also obelisks that were brought by the Roman emperors throughout the history as a plunder from Egypt.

The Multiple Layers of the Caelian Hill

The Caelian Hill is one of the seven historical hills of Rome and is located between the Domus Aurea and the Colosseum. The etymology of the name is straightforward: the name may pertain to one of the Etruscan leaders, whose name was Caele Vibenna, who helped Servius Tullius to get into rhe supreme power in Rome. According to the emperor Claudius, whose dedicatory temple was built on purpose on the Caelian Mount, Caele Vibenna and Mastarna helped a new Etruscan family to get rid of Tarquinius Priscus. The emperor Claudius was the main scholar about the Etruscan world in antiquity but unfortunately we have lost his writings about the predecessors of the Romans. He revered so much the Etruscans and their religious institutions that we have recorded his speech about the importance of the study of the Etruscan in his Lyons tablets.

The Triumphal Processions in Ancient Rome

What already said about the triumphal arches in the Forum pertains to the general phenomenon of the triumphal processions. When the Romans arrived in Greece in the third century BCE, they began to discover how important was the self representation. Once they became aware of the Greek statues representing the deities in nude poses, they immediately realized that their carved heads can be placed on these marble bodies. Talented slaves working as artists in Rome implemented an enormous amount of imagery that dcorated the Roman houses but also the public squares in the Fora. As soon as the Romans, who were frugal by nature, initiated to collect these works of art, they became so fond of the Greek culture that some of the Roman emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius spoke Greek. The Forum was the stage where all the major triumphal processions took place, and writers such as Livy and Plutarch give us many details on the display of the new stautes coming from the Eastern side of the Roman empire.