Forum of Caesar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The forum of Caesar and the Temple of Venus Genetrix.

The Forum of Caesar is one of the imperial fora in Rome. It was built by Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar decided to construct a big forum bearing his name. Forum construction was begun in 54 BC^[1] and it was inaugurated in 46 BC, even if it was probably still incomplete at this time and was finished later by Augustus.

The Forum of Caesar was constructed as an extension to the Roman Forum.^[1] The Forum was used as a replacement venue to the Roman Forum for dealings in public affairs as well as the noblest activities; it was also designed as a celebration of Caesar's power. Caesar had placed, on the front of his forum, a temple devoted to Venus Genitrix^[1], since Caesar's family (gens Julia) claimed to descend by Venus through Aeneas; a statue of Caesar himself riding Bucephalus, the celebrated horse of Alexander the Great, was placed in front of the temple, to symbolise absolute power. This centralised vision corresponded to the ideological function, following the propaganda of the Hellenistic sanctuaries; also the choice of the Forum site carried a meaning: the future dictator didn't want to be far from the central power, represented in the Curia, seat of the Senate. In fact, not long before Caesar's death, the Senate agreed to reconstruct the Curia on the site.

In 2006, a team of archeologists lead by Roberto Meneghini, director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, unearthed beneath the Forum what seems to be an important prehistoric necropolis dating back to the 10th century BC. The most notable find is the discovery of a tomb containing a perfectly preserved skeleton of a high ranked lady dubbed the "Lady of the Forum" or the "Queen of the Latins".^[2]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, First, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 219. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2203907,00.html

[edit] External links

Forum of Caesar. Capitolium.org - Imperial Forums Official Website (June 26, 2002). Retrieved on August 2, 2006.
Platner, Samuel Ball; Ashby, Thomas (1929). Forum Iulium. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved on August 2, 2006.