The Temple of Hercules Victor ('

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 Winner') ( it, Tempio di Ercole Vincitore) or Hercules Olivarius ((Hercules the

Olive Branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...

Bearear) is 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 ...

in Piazza Bocca della Verità in the area of the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle ''forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome ...

near the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is a tholos, a round temple of Greek '

peripteral A peripteros (a peripteral building, grc-gre, περίπτερος) is a type of ancient Greek or Roman temple surrounded by a portico with columns. It is surrounded by a colonnade ('' pteron'') on all four sides of the ''cella'' (''naos''), crea ...

' design completely surrounded by a colonnade. This layout caused it to be mistaken for a temple of Vesta until it was correctly identified by Napoleon's Prefect of Rome, Camille de Tournon. Despite (or perhaps due to) the Forum Boarium's role as the cattle-market for ancient Rome, the Temple of Hercules is the subject of a folk belief claiming that neither flies nor dogs will enter the holy place. The temple is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome. The Hercules Temple of Victor is also the only surviving sacred temple in ancient Rome that is made of Greek marble. Today it remains unsolved who this temple was dedicated to and for what purpose.

Description

Dating from the later 2nd century BC, and perhaps erected by L. Mummius Achaicus, conqueror of the Achaeans and destroyer of

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, the temple is 14.8 m in diameter and consists of a circular

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

within a concentric ring of twenty

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s 10.66 m tall, resting on a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

foundation. These elements supported an

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

and roof, which have disappeared. The original wall of the cella, built of

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 pro ...

and marble blocks, and nineteen of the originally twenty columns remain but the current tile roof was added later.

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

's published reconstruction suggested a dome, though this was apparently erroneous. The temple is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome. The temple's original dedication is dated back to circa 143-132 BCE, a time when intense construction was taking place in Portus Tiberinus.

Identification

Its major literary sources are two almost identical passages, one in

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

' commentary on the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'' (viii.363) and the other in

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

' ''Saturnalia''. Though Servius mentions that ''

aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive spe ...

duae sunt'', "there are two sacred temples", the earliest

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the Roman dictator, dictator Julius Caesar and Roman emperor, emperor Augustus in the ...

s mention but one festival, on 13 August, to ''Hercules Victor'' and ''Hercules Invictus'' interchangeably.

Post-Classical history

In the 1st century CE, the temple was hit with some sort of disaster as 10 columns were replaced with Luna marble, which is similar to the original but not an exact replica. By 1132, the temple had been converted to a church, known as Santo Stefano alle Carozze (St. Stephen 'of the carriages'). In 1140, Innocent II converted the temple into a Christian church dedicating it to Santo Stefano. Additional restorations (and a

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

over the altar) were made in 1475. A plaque in the floor was dedicated by

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

. In the 12th century, the cella wall was replaced with brick faced concrete and windows were added as well. In the 17th century, the church was rededicated to ''Santa Maria del Sole'' ("St. Mary of the Sun"). The temple and the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli were an inspiration for Bramante's

Tempietto Tempietto (Italian: "small temple") generally means a small temple-like or pavilion-like structure and is a name of many places in Italy: * San Pietro in Montorio#The Tempietto in Rome, a tomb by Donato Bramante * Villa Barbaro#Church (Tempietto ...

and other High Renaissance churches of centralized plan. Between 1809 and 1810, the surrounding ground level was lowered and the temple was restored once again. The temple was recognized officially as an ancient monument in 1935 and restored in 1996.See Alessandro Pergoli Campanelli,
Restauro del cosiddetto Tempio di Vesta
', in "AR", XXXV, 32, novembre-dicembre 2000, pp. 26-30.

References

Sources

* Alberti, Leone Battista. ''Architecture, 1755'', tr. Leoni, James. * Claridge, Amanda. ''Oxford Archaeological Guides - Rome''. Oxford University Press, 1998 * Coarelli, Filippo. ''Guida Archeologica di Roma''. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1989. * * Woodward, Christopher. ''The Buildings of Europe - Rome''. page 30,

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...

, 1995. * *Loar, Matthew Hercules, Mummius, and the Roman Triumph in Aeneid 8.” ''Classical Philology'', www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/689726.

External links

Detailed photographs of the interior and features of the building
*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
Temple of Hercules , Art Atlas
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Of Hercules Victor 2nd-century BC religious buildings and structures