Roman Forum Essay
The Roman Forum or plaza, located at the center of the city of Rome in the small valley between Palatine and Capitoline Hills, has a sprawl of ruins, a grandiose district of temples, basilicas, ancient government buildings and vibrant public spaces. For centuries the Forum was the center of public life in Rome. From elections, to public speeches, to criminal trials, the Roman Forum was the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all of history (Watkin).
First developed in the 7th century BC, the Roman Forum was initially a market place used for festivals, over time it grew to become the social, political and commercial hub of the Roman Empire. Built by Romulus, the founder and the first king of Rome, the forum was surrounded by arched porticos (a porch that leads to the entrance of a building with a roof structure supported by columns or enclosed by walls) with some passages being left as places of entrance (Goodyear). What separated this forum from others was its cleanliness. It was seen fit to build a sewer, a Cloaca Maxima, meaning Greatest Sewer, is one of the world’s earliest sewage systems. It was put in place to drain local marshes and remove the waste to the River Tiber, …show more content…
The first Temple of Saturn was built during the last years of the kings, before the Roman Republic. The current ruins date from 42 BC. The temple of Saturn was used as the state treasury, it contained the money and accounts of the state finances. It also held the standards of the legions, the public laws engraved on brass, the decrees of the Senate and other papers and registers of importance. In 20 BC the Emperor Augustus ordered the erection of a tall column, the Miliarum Aureum, which was placed in front of the temple of Saturn. Due to gradual collapse only the remains of the front portico is left standing with its eight surviving
First developed in the 7th century BC, the Roman Forum was initially a market place used for festivals, over time it grew to become the social, political and commercial hub of the Roman Empire. Built by Romulus, the founder and the first king of Rome, the forum was surrounded by arched porticos (a porch that leads to the entrance of a building with a roof structure supported by columns or enclosed by walls) with some passages being left as places of entrance (Goodyear). What separated this forum from others was its cleanliness. It was seen fit to build a sewer, a Cloaca Maxima, meaning Greatest Sewer, is one of the world’s earliest sewage systems. It was put in place to drain local marshes and remove the waste to the River Tiber, …show more content…
The first Temple of Saturn was built during the last years of the kings, before the Roman Republic. The current ruins date from 42 BC. The temple of Saturn was used as the state treasury, it contained the money and accounts of the state finances. It also held the standards of the legions, the public laws engraved on brass, the decrees of the Senate and other papers and registers of importance. In 20 BC the Emperor Augustus ordered the erection of a tall column, the Miliarum Aureum, which was placed in front of the temple of Saturn. Due to gradual collapse only the remains of the front portico is left standing with its eight surviving