12/6/2023 0 Comments Julius caesar coin front and back![]() ![]() Where the earlier monuments were physical manifestations of the divinity bestowed on Julius Caesar by the populace - as well as the development of the cult of Divus Julius - the temple drew a deliberate link between Augustus and his father. The formal dedication of the temple in 29 BC was celebrated with games hosted by Augustus ( .22.1-4). The construction, however, is claimed by Augustus alone ( .2). The Temple of Divus Julius was authorised by the Second Triumvirate in 42 BC. It was at this site, where Julius Caesar was cremated and his monuments erected, that the Temple of Divus Julius was built. ![]() It is possible that the altar described by Appian and Cassius Dio is based on the altar which ultimately replaced the other monuments when the temple was built. The marble column was in turn replaced by an altar around the time construction began on the Temple of Divus Julius ( Sumi,2011:213). The column was then replaced by Octavian with one made of marble, and bearing a statue of Julius Caesar ( Sumi,2011:213). He suggests a small column was erected by the plebeian supporters of Julius Caesar in the aftermath of the funeral and was, shortly thereafter, removed by Dolabella ( Sumi,2011:213). Geoffrey Sumi offers a possible explanation for the varied descriptions of the monument. References to a column at the site are also made by Suetonius ( Suet.Iul.85.1), who describes a monolith of Numidian marble inscribed with the words Parenti Patriae, "To the Father of his Country".Ĭicero ( .15) later refers to a statue at the site in an account of a speech made by Octavian, in which he swears an oath to attain his father's honours by raising his hand towards "his" statue - presumably referring to the Divus Julius statue. Similarly, Cicero ( .15) provides an account of the removal of a monument by Dolabella, however, he refers to the monument as a column. Cassius Dio ( .51.2) goes on to describe the removal of the altar by the consuls. Several ancient sources refer to the erection of a monument at the site of Caesar's cremation, with various descriptions of a column, a statue and an altar.Īppian ( App.B.Civ.III.3) and Cassius Dio ( .51.1) describe the erection of an altar at the site soon after the cremation, at which sacrifices were made to the deified Julius. Sumi notes the symbolic significance of this location for its association with both the urban plebeian populace and the Pontifex Maximus ( Sumi,2011:210-1). The crowd relocated Caesar's bier to the eastern end, near the Regia, and set it ablaze. Suetonius ( Suet.Iul.84.3) and Cassius Dio ( .50.2) describe a grief stricken and angry crowd, which seized control of the funeral taking place at the western end of the Forum. Photo by RIbberlinĬaesar's funeral was held a few days later and although a pyre was prepared at the Campus Martius, his cremation took place in the Forum Romanum ( Suet.Iul.84.1). La morte di Cesare, Vincenzo amuccini's artistic representation he assasination of Julius Ceasar in the Theatre of Pompey, 1804-5. And if Appian ( App.B.Civ.II.117) is to be believed, he left this world, rather poetically, at the foot of the statue of Pompey as seen in the painting below. When Caesar was ambushed in the Theatre of Pompey by the Roman senators who conspired against him, he was stabbed 23 times ( Suet.Iul.82.2) and died. The assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, 44BC, is arguably one of the most famous events of antiquity. Siobhan Christie takes us through what the temple would have looked like, as well as its significance in the Eternal City. The temple was not only an exhibition of Caesar's deification, but a symbol of Imperial Rome. Julius Caesar left his mark on the world, but nowhere more than Rome itself, where he was immortalised in the Temple of Divus Julius. ![]()
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