The Temple of Apollo Palatinus ('Palatine Apollo') was a temple on the Palatine Hill of

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 BC ...

, which was first dedicated by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

to his patron god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

. It was only the second temple in Rome dedicated to the god, after the Temple of Apollo Sosianus. It was sited next to the Temple of Cybele. Prior to excavations in 1956, these remains were thought to belong to the Temple of Jupiter Victor.Filippo Coarelli, Rome and Environs: An Archaeological Guide, page 142

History

It was vowed by Octavian in return for the victory over

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...

at the

Battle of Naulochus The naval Battle of Naulochus ( it, Battaglia di Nauloco) was fought on 3 September 36 BC between the fleets of Sextus Pompeius and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, off Naulochus, Sicily. The victory of Agrippa, admiral of Octavian, marked the end ...

in 36 BC and over

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

and Cleopatra at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

31 BC, and was built on a site where a lightning bolt had struck the interior of Augustus' property on the Palatine. It was dedicated on October 9, 28 BC. The ludi saeculares, reinstituted by Augustus in 17 BC and also largely developed and funded by him, involved the new temple. Augustus' private house was directly connected to the terrace of the sanctuary via frescoed halls and corridors. This tight connection between the sanctuary and the house of the

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

, both dominating the

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and l ...

, repeated a trope already present in royal palaces of Hellenistic dynasties. If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.

Description

The remains of the building were excavated in the 1960s by Gianfilippo Carettoni, in an area sloping steeply down towards the

. The temple's precinct (the area Apollinis) was an artificial terrace (70 x 30 m), supported on

opus quadratum ''Opus quadratum'' ("squared work") is an ancient Roman construction technique, in which squared blocks of stone of the same height were set in parallel courses, most often without the use of mortar. The Latin author Vitruvius describes the tec ...

sub-structures. It contained an altar faced with the sculptural group "

Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agela ...

's Herd", sited together on an elaborate base. In the northern part of this terrace the temple was raised on a high podium, built in blocks of

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

and

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

in the load-bearing parts and elsewhere in cement. The temple itself was in blocks of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

, with a

pronaos 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 cult ...

as well as a facade of full columns on the front and the same order continued on half columns against the outside walls of the

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

. In the excavations different polychromatic terracotta slabs were recovered with reliefs of mythological subjects (of the "lastre Campana" type). The adjoining library, the Bibliotheca Apollinis Palatini, according to the Forma Urbis Romae, was constituted from two apsidal halls, with the walls decorated by a row of columns.

Sculptures

The ancient sources state the temple had ivory doors and held numerous works of sculpture. The pediment included two bas-reliefs of hunting the Galatians, from Delphi, and 6th century BC Chian art, with sculptures of the

Niobids In Greek mythology, the Niobids were the children of Amphion of Thebes and Niobe, slain by Apollo and Artemis because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with those of Leto, A ...

by Bupalus and Athenis. The cult group in the cella included a statue of

Apollo Citharoedus An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of Apollo with a cithara (lyre). Among the best-known examples is the '' Apollo Citharoedus'' of the Vatican Museums, a 2nd-century AD colossal marble statue by an unknown (pr ...

, possibly by

Scopas Scopas ( grc-gre, Σκόπας; born in Paros, fl. 4th century BCE) was an ancient Greek sculptor and architect, most famous for his statue of Meleager, the copper statue of Aphrodite, and the head of goddess Hygieia, daughter of Asclepius. Ea ...

and perhaps from the sanctuary of Apollo at Rhamnus in Attica; a sculpture of Diana, by Timotheos; and one of Latona, sculpted by Cephisodotus. Into shelves at the basis of the statue of Apollo were placed the Sibylline Books, transferred here from the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol (cf. Suetonius, ''Div. Aug.'' 31.3). The temple was surrounded by a portico (the portico of the Danaids) with columns in yellow 'giallo antico' marble, and with black marble statues of the fifty Danaids in between the column-shafts, a sculpture of Danaos with his sword unsheathed, and equestrian statues of the sons of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Bibliography

*Olivier Hekster and John Rich, **'Octavian and the thunderbolt: the Temple of Apollo Palatinus and Roman traditions of temple building', ''The Classical Quarterly'' (2006), 56: 149-168 ** Apollo Palatinus and the manipulation of ritual'br>Linda Jones Roccos, 'Apollo Palatinus: The Augustan Apollo on the Sorrento Base', ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 93, No. 4 (Oct., 1989), pp. 571-588Charles L. Babcock, 'Horace Carm. 1. 32 and the Dedication of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus', ''Classical Philology'', Vol. 62, No. 3 (Jul., 1967), pp. 189-194
* ttp://www.camws.org/southernsection/meeting2006/abstracts/miller.html Miller, 'Apollo Medicus in the Augustan Age'*Jens Fischer, Vates Apollinis, vates Augusti – Das Verhältnis des palatinischen Apollonheiligtums zu Orakeln und sein Einfluss auf das Selbstverständnis der zeitgenössischen Dichter, GLB 26/2 (2021) 83-98 *Jens Fischer, Folia ventis turbata – Sibyllinische Orakel und der Gott Apollon zwischen später Republik und augusteischem Principat (Studien zur Alten Geschichte 33), Göttingen 2022

References

External links

Platner and AshbyImages and bibliography
* {{Authority control