The Temple of Hercules Musarum (Latin: ''Aedes Herculis Musarum'') was a temple 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 ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, near 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 ...

. The temple was built by

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior Marcus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman general. He started his political career as curule aedile in 195 BC. When he was praetor (193 BC) he served with distinction in Spain, and as consul in 189 BC he completely broke the power of the Aetolian Leag ...

, who conquered the Greek city of

Ambracia Ambracia (; grc-gre, Ἀμβρακία, occasionally , ''Ampracia'') was a city of ancient Greece on the site of modern Arta. It was captured by the Corinthians in 625 BC and was situated about from the Ambracian Gulf, on a bend of the navigabl ...

in 189 BC. It was probably completed and dedicated during his triumph in 187 BC. The epithet 'Musarum' means 'of the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

' and refers to Nobilior's discovery that Hercules was known in Greece as 'Musagetes' or 'leader of the Muses'. The temple contained copies of the

fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

and statues taken from Ambracia, including statues of the Muses. The

Portico of Metellus The Porticus Octaviae (Portico of Octavia; it, Portico di Ottavia) is an ancient structure in Rome. The colonnaded walks of the portico enclosed the temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina, as well as a library. The structure was used as a fi ...

was later built near the temple. In 29 BC, Lucius Marcius Philippus restored the temple and built a portico around it, later known as the ''Porticus Philippi'' or Portico of Philippus. Part of the temple's floorplan is known from a fragment (number 33) of the 3rd century

Forma Urbis Romae The ''Forma Urbis Romae'' or Severan Marble Plan is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211. Matteo Cadario gives specific years of 205–208, noting that the map was based on pro ...

.Richardson, L. "Hercules Musarum and the Porticus Philippi in Rome." American Journal of Archaeology 81, no. 3 (1977): 355-61. Accessed May 2, 2021. doi:10.2307/503009.

References

External links

*http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Aedes_Herculis_Musarum.html {{coord missing, Italy Hercules Musarum 180s BC establishments 2nd-century BC establishments in Italy 2nd-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic Temples of Heracles 2nd-century BC religious buildings and structures Destroyed temples