The Temple of Pudicitia Plebeia was an ancient

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 ...

on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...

, along the ''Vicus Longus'', on what is now via Nazionale. It was dedicated to ' plebeian chastity' and built in 296 BC by Virginia, wife of the future consul Lucius Volumnius, in a section of her own house. According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, (10.23.6-10), it was built in opposition to a shrine or temple to Pudicitia Patricia (whose existence is not definite and may be a conflation with the Temple of Fortuna) after the patrician-born Virginia was excluded from the latter after her marriage to a plebeian. Livy states that the cult declined and was forgotten due to women's extreme openness and opposition to the concept of chastity, though Festus in the 2nd century AD stated that its cult was still active. If still in use by the 4th-and 5th century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.

Bibliography

{{reflist *Filippo Coarelli, ''Guida archeologica di Roma'', Verona, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1984 *Lawrence Richardson, Jr., ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', JHU Press. Pudicitia Plebea Roman temples by deity 3rd-century BC religious buildings and structures

See also

Bibliography