The Temple of Hercules Custos (Latin:''Aedes Herculis Custodis'') was a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of Ro ...

dedicated to '

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

the Guardian'. Its location is unknown and no remains have been found, although a Temple to Hercules linked to

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

(the ''Herculem Sullanum'') was noted as standing in the region of the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' ( Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

during the late 4th century. Its history is unclear.

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

writes that it was to the west of the

Circus Flaminius The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "bui ...

- it was probably built around the same time (221 BC). It was re-built by Sulla after consulting the Sibylline Oracles. This consultation of the oracles and the epithet 'Custos' seems to imply it was built and/or rebuilt in response to a major crisis, though it is unknown what its nature was. In 218 BC, the senate decreed a ''

supplicatio In ancient Roman religion, a ''supplicatio'' is a day of public prayer when the men, women, and children of Rome traveled in procession to religious sites around the city praying for divine aid in times of crisis. A ''supplicatio'' can also be a ...

'' in the ''Aedes Herculi''. Though there were several temples of Hercules, this probably refers to that of Hercules Custos. The

decemvir The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

s ordered a statue to be set up in the temple of Hercules Custos in 189 BC.Livy
38.35.4
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* L. Richardson, jr, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', Baltimore - London 1992, pp. 186. {{Sulla Hercules Custos Temples of Heracles 3rd-century religious buildings and structures Destroyed temples

See also

References

Bibliography