The Temple of Peace (), also known as the ''Forum of Vespasian'' (), was built in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 71 AD under Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

in honour to Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. Positioned southeast of the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

, between the

Via Sacra The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road ...

and the Carinae, the temple stood on the southeast side of the

Argiletum The Argiletum (Latin ''Argīlētum''; ) was a street in ancient Rome, which crossed the popular district of Suburra up to the Roman Forum, along the route of the current Via Leonina and Via della Madonna dei Monti. On its eastern side, towards t ...

, offering a view of the

Velian Hill The Velia — or Velian Hill or Velian Ridge — is a saddle or spur stretching out from the middle of the north side of the Palatine Hill towards the Oppian Hill (itself a spur of the Esquiline Hill) in Rome. In later times, the Velia was c ...

and overlooking the renowned

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

. It housed artifacts such as the Table of Shewbread and the seven-branched menorah from the

Jerusalem Temple The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accor ...

, which were taken as spoils during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

History

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

claims that Emperor

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

was largely responsible for the completion of the temple, not Vespasian - this issue remains controversial within the archaeological world today. The Temple of Peace is part of the

Imperial Fora The Imperial Fora (''Fori Imperiali '' in Italian) are a series of monumental '' fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and ...

which is "a series of monumental ''fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries." It is not officially considered a forum because there is no evidence of it serving a political function, therefore it is called a temple. The funds to create this grand monument were acquired through Vespasian's sacking of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

during the

Jewish–Roman wars The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Judaea against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The conflict was driven by Jewish aspirations to restore the political independence lost when Rome conquer ...

. The interior and surrounding buildings were decorated with the treasures collected there by the Roman army. According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, statues brought from Greece and Asia Minor by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

to furnish his

Domus Aurea The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Roman Empire, Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the Great Fire of Rome, great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part ...

also came to reside in the Temple of Peace. Among these were works by the Greek sculptors

Polykleitos Polykleitos (; ) was an ancient Greek sculptor, active in the 5th century BCE. Alongside the Athenian sculptors Pheidias, Myron and Praxiteles, he is considered as one of the most important sculptors of classical antiquity. The 4th century B ...

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; , ''Pheidias''; ) was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of ...

, Naukydes of Argos,

Myron Myron of Eleutherae (480–440 BC) (; , ''Myrōn'' ) was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. Alongside three other Greek sculptors, Polykleitos Pheidias, and Praxiteles, Myron is considered as one of the most important sculptors ...

, and Leochares. The Severan-era bases and inscriptions from two of these statues survive: the '' Ganymede'' of Leochares and the '' Pythocles'' of Polykleitos. Because Vespasian was both a leading general and later appointed emperor during the first war, the Temple of Peace was especially important to him as a leader. A grand and significant monument such as this is vital to the promotion of a powerful, strong public image of the emperor, and is a symbol of the peace and prosperity Vespasian was able to bring the empire. The temple was destroyed by fire in February 192 AD. It was subsequently restored by

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

sometime around 203 AD. The halls were remodeled a century later, and were admired by the emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

during his visit to Rome in 357 AD. If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during the

persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...

, when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting all non-Christian worship and sanctuaries. The Temple of Peace was damaged during the sack of Rome in 410 by

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

and was never restored after the event. The historian Procopius writes that Alaric looted the emerald-encrusted treasures of Solomon, which, scholar Robert Coates-Stephens believes must have been stored in the complex, as the treasures comprised the main part of Flavian's original booty. The adjacent

Basilica of Maxentius The Basilica of Maxentius (), sometimes known by its original Latin name, Basilica Nova or, less commonly, the Basilica of Constantine (Italian: ''Basilica Constantini''), was a civic basilica in the Roman Forum. At the time of its construction, ...

was long believed to be the actual temple. The archaeologist Antonio Nibby made the correct identification in the 19th century.Coarelli, 2014; p. 125

Structure of the Temple

Although very little remains of the Temple of Peace in Rome today, much about its structure and layout are known due to the Forma Urbis, a large, detailed marble map of Rome and its buildings that was originally hung on a wall inside the temple itself in the 3rd century. The temple was made up of an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

that opened into a large

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s separated the temple from the central unpaved, grassy area. This was different from the majority of other fora, which were typically paved. This area probably featured gardens, pools, statues, and other treasures acquired during the conquest of Jerusalem.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures demolished in the 5th century Imperial forums of Rome Temples of the imperial fora Vespasian Roman temples by deity Destroyed temples 1st-century religious buildings and structures Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) Destroyed Roman temples

History

Structure of the Temple

See also

References

External links