The Old Roman World : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization Part 8

[Sidenote: Accession of Servius Tullius.]

During the reign of Servius Tullius, who succeeded Tarquin B.C. 578, the various elements of the population were amalgamated, and the seven hills, namely, the Palatine, the Capitoline, the Quirinal, the Caelian, the Viminal, the Esquiline, and the Aventine, were covered with houses, and inclosed by a wall about six miles in circuit. A temple of Diana was erected on the Aventine, besides two temples to Fortune, one to Juno, and one to Luna. Servius also dedicated the Campus Martius, and enlarged the Mamertine Prison by adding a subterranean dungeon of impenetrable strength.

[Sidenote: Tarquinius Superbus.]

On the a.s.sa.s.sination of Servius Tullius, B.C. 535, his son-in-law, Tarquinius Superbus, usurped the power, and did much for the adornment of the city. The Capitoline Temple was completed on an artificial platform, having a triple row of columns in front, and a double row at the sides. It was two hundred feet wide, having three cells adjoining one another, the centre appropriated to Jupiter, with Juno and Minerva on either hand. The temple had a single roof, and lasted nearly five hundred years before it was burned down, and rebuilt with greater splendor.

[Sidenote: Rome under the early consuls.]

[Sidenote: Roman roads.]

Such were the chief improvements of the city during the kingly rule.

Under the consuls the growth was constant, but was not marked by grand edifices. Portunus, the conqueror of the Tarquins at Lake Regillus, erected a temple to Ceres, Liber, and Libera, at the western extremity of the Circus Maximus. Camillus founded a celebrated temple to Juno on the Aventine. But these, and a few other temples, were destroyed when the Gauls held possession of the city. The city was rebuilt hastily and without much regard to regularity. There was nothing memorable in its architectural monuments till the time of Appius Claudius, who constructed the Via Appia, the first Roman aqueduct. In fact the constant wars of the Romans prevented much improvement in the city till the fall of Tarentum, although the amba.s.sadors of Pyrrhus were struck with its grandeur. M. Curius Dentatus commenced the aqueduct called Anio Vetus B.C. 278, the greater part of which was under ground. Its total length was forty-three miles. Q. Flaminius, B.C. 220, between the first and second Punic wars, constructed the great highway, called after him the Via Flaminia--the great northern road of Italy, as the Via Appia was the southern. These roads were very elaborately built. In constructing them, the earth was excavated till a solid foundation was obtained; over this a layer of loose stones was laid, then another layer nine inches thick of rubble-work of broken stones cemented with lime, then another layer of broken pottery cemented in like manner, over which was a pavement of large polygonal blocks of hard stone nicely fitted together.

Roads thus constructed were exceedingly durable, so that portions of them, constructed two thousand years ago, are still in a high state of preservation.

[Sidenote: Ancient basilicas.]

[Sidenote: Temple of Hercules.]

[Sidenote: Asiatic luxuries.] The improvements of Rome were rapid after the conquest of Greece, although destructive fires frequently laid large parts of the city in ruins. The deities of the conquered nations were introduced into the Roman wors.h.i.+p, and temples erected to them. In the beginning of the second century before Christ we notice the erection of basilicas, used as courts of law and a sort of exchange, the first of which was built by M. Portius Cato, B.C. 184, on the north side of the Forum. It was of an oblong form, open to the air, surrounded with columns, at one end of which was the tribunal of the judge. The Basilica Portia was soon followed by the Basilica Fulvia behind the Argentariae Novae, which had replaced the butchers' shops. Fulvius n.o.bilia further adorned the city with a temple of Hercules on the Campus Martius, and brought from Ambrasia, once the residence of Pyrrhus, two hundred and thirty marble and two hundred and eighty-five bronze statues, beside pictures. L. Aemilius Paulus founded an emporium on the banks of the Tiber as a place of landing and sale for goods transported by sea, and built a bridge over the Tiber. Semp.r.o.nius Gracchus, the father of the two demagogue patriots, erected a third Basilica B.C. 169, on the south side of the Forum on the site of the house of Scipio Africa.n.u.s. The triumph of Aemilius Paulus introduced into the city pictures and statues enough to load two hundred and fifty chariots, and a vast quant.i.ty of gold and silver. Cornelius Octavius, B.C. 167, built a grand palace on the Palatine, one of the first examples of elegant domestic architecture, and erected a magnificent double portico with capitals of Corinthian bronze. With the growing taste for architectural display, various Asiatic luxuries were introduced--bronze beds, ma.s.sive sideboards, tables of costly woods, cooks, pantomimists, female dancers, and luxurious banquets. Metellus erected the first marble temple seen in Rome, before which he placed the twenty-five bronze statues which Lysippus had executed for Alexander the Great.

[Sidenote: Sack of Corinth.]

[Sidenote: Adornment of the Forum.]

The same year that witnessed the triumph of Metellus, B.C. 146, also saw the fall of Carthage and the sack of Corinth by Mummius, so that many of the choicest specimens of Grecian art were brought to the banks of the Tiber. Among these was the celebrated picture of Bacchus by Aristides, which was placed in the Temple of Bacchus, Ceres, and Proserpine. The Forum now contained many gems of Grecian art, among which were the statues of Alcibiades and Pythagoras which stood near the comitium, the Three Sibyls placed before the rostra, and a picture by Serapion, which covered the balconies of the tabernae on the south side of the Forum.

[Sidenote: Aqua Marcia.]

In the year 144 B.C., Q. Marcius Rex constructed the Aqua Marcia, one of the n.o.blest of the Roman monuments, sixty-two miles in length, seven of which were on arches, sufficiently lofty to supply the Capitoline with pure and cold water. Seventeen years after, the Aqua Tepula was added to the aqueducts of Rome.

[Sidenote: Triumphal Arches.]

The first triumphal arch erected to commemorate victories was in the year B.C. 196, by L. Sertinius. Scipio Africa.n.u.s erected another on the Capitoline, and Q. Fabius, B.C. 121, raised another in honor of his victories over the Allobroges. This spanned the Via Sacra where it entered the Forum, and at that time was a conspicuous monument, though vastly inferior to the arches of the imperial regime.

[Sidenote: Temple of Concord.]

[Sidenote: Basilica Opimia.]

When tranquillity was restored to Rome after the riots connected with the murder of the Gracchi, the Senate ordered a Temple of Concord to be built, B.C. 121, in commemoration of the event. This temple was on the elevated part of the Vulca.n.a.l, and was of considerable magnitude. It was used for the occasional meetings of the Senate, and contained many valuable works of art. Adjoining this temple, Opimius, the consul, erected the Basilica Opimia, which was used by the silversmiths, who were the bankers and p.a.w.nbrokers of Rome. The whole quarter on the north side of the Forum, where this basilica stood, was the Roman exchange-- the focus for all monetary transactions.

[Sidenote: Private palaces.]

[Sidenote: Houses of the n.o.bles.]

The increasing wealth and luxury of Rome, especially caused by the conquest of Asia, led to the erection on the Palatine of those magnificent private residences, which became one of the most striking features the capital. The first of these historical houses was built by M. Livius Drusus, and overlooked the city. It afterwards pa.s.sed into the hands of Cra.s.sus, Cicero, and Censorinus. Pompey had a house on the Palatine, but afterwards transferred his residence to the Casinae, another aristocratic quarter. M. Aemilius Lepidus also lived in a magnificent palace; the house of Cra.s.sus was still more splendid, adorned with columns of marble from Mount Hymettus. The house of Catullus excelled even that of Cra.s.sus. This again was excelled by that of Aquillius on the Viminal, which for some time was the most splendid in Rome, until Lucullus occupied nearly the whole of the Pincian Hill with his gardens and galleries of art, which contained some of the _chefs d'oeuvre_ of antiquity. The gardens of Servilius, which lay on the declivity of the Houses of Aventine, were adorned with Greek statues, exceeded in beauty by those of Sall.u.s.t between the Pincian and the Quirinal hills, built with the spoils of Numidia, and ultimately the property of the emperors. The house of Clodius on the Palatine, near to that of Cicero, was one of the finest in Rome, occupied before him by Scaurus, who gave for it nearly fifteen million sesterces, about $650,000. It was adorned with Greek paintings and sculptures. The house of Cicero, which he bought of Cra.s.sus, cost him $150,000. Its atrium was adorned with Greek marble columns thirty-eight feet high. Hortensius lived in a house on the Palatine, afterwards occupied by Augustus. The residence of his friend Atticus, on the Quirinal, was more modest, whose chief ornament was a grove. Pompey surrounded his house with gardens and porticos.

[Sidenote: Destruction and rebuilding of the Capitol.]

The year 83 B.C. was marked by the destruction by fire of the old Capitoline Temple, which had withstood the ravages of the Gauls. Sulla aspired to rebuild it, and caused to be transported to Rome for that purpose the column of the Olympian Zeus at Athens. It was completed by Caesar, and its roof was gilded at an expense of $15,000,000. The pediment was adorned with statuary, and near it was a colossal statue of Jupiter.

[Sidenote: Theatre of Pompey.]

In the early ages of the republic there were no theatres at Rome, theatrical representations being regarded as demoralizing. The regular drama was the last development even of Grecian genius. The Roman aristocracy set their faces against dramatic entertainments till after the conquest of Greece. These plays were introduced and performed on temporary stages in the open air, or in wooden buildings. There was no grand theatre till Pompey erected one of stone, B.C. 55, in the Campus Martius, which was capable of holding eighty thousand spectators, and it had between its numerous pillars three thousand bronze statues.

[Footnote: _Plin. H. N._, x.x.xvi. 24.] He also erected, behind his theatre, a grand portico of one hundred pillars, which became one of the most fas.h.i.+onable lounging-places of Rome, and which was adorned with statues and images. Pompey also built various temples.

[Sidenote: Forum Julian.]

[Sidenote: Basilica Julia.]

His great rival however surpa.s.sed him in labors to ornament the capital.

Caesar enlarged the Forum, or rather added a new one, the ground of which cost $2,500,000. It was called the Forum Julian, and was three hundred and forty feet long by two hundred wide, containing a temple of Venus.

He did not live, however, to carry out his magnificent plans. He contemplated building an edifice, for the a.s.sembly of the Comitia Tributa, of marble, with a portico inclosing a s.p.a.ce of a mile square, and also the erection of a temple to Mars of unparalleled size and magnificence. He commenced the Basilica Julia and the Curia Julia--vast buildings, which were completed under the emperors.

[Sidenote: Rome under the Emperors.]

Such were the princ.i.p.al edifices of Rome until the imperial sway.

Augustus boasted that he found the city of brick and left it of marble.

It was not until the emperors embellished the city with amphitheatres, theatres, baths, and vast architectural monuments that it was really worthy to be regarded as the metropolis of the world. The great improvements of Rome in the republican period were of a private nature, such as the palaces of senatorial families. There were no temples equal to those in the Grecian cities either for size, ornament, or beauty.

Indeed, Rome was never famous for temples, but for edifices of material utility rather than for the wors.h.i.+p of the G.o.ds; yet the Romans, under the rule of the aristocracy, were more religious than the Corinthians or Athenians.

[Sidenote: Works of Augustus.]

[Sidenote: The Subura.]

[Sidenote: Forum Romanum.]

[Sidenote: Its magnificence.]

[Sidenote: Surrounding buildings.]

[Sidenote: Temple of Castor and Pollux.]

[Sidenote: Basilica Julia.]

[Sidenote: Arch of Septimius Severus, and columns of Trajan.]

[Sidenote: Forum Julium.]

[Sidenote: Forum Augusti.]

[Sidenote: Forum of Trajan.]

[Sidenote: Basilica Ulpia.]

On the destruction of the senatorial or const.i.tutional party that had ruled since the expulsion of the kings, and probably before, and the peaceful accession of Augustus, B.C. 31, a great impulse was given to the embellishments of the city. His long reign, his severe taste, and his immense resources,--undisputed master of one hundred and fifty millions of subjects,--enabled him to carry out the designs of Julius, and to restore an immense number of monuments falling to decay. But Rome was even then deficient in those things which most attract attention in our modern capitals--the streets and squares. The longest street of Rome was scarcely three fourths of a mile in length; but the houses upon it were of great alt.i.tude. Moreover the streets were narrow and dark-- scarcely more than fifteen feet in width. But they were not enc.u.mbered with carriages. Private equipages, which form one of the most imposing features of a modern city, were unknown. There was nothing attractive in a Roman street, dark, narrow, and dirty, with but few vehicles, and with dingy shops, like those of Paris in the Middle Ages. The sun scarcely ever penetrated to them. They were damp and cold. The greater part of the city belonged to wealthy and selfish capitalists, like Cra.s.sus, who thought more of their gains than the health or beauty of the city. The Subura, the Sub Velia, and the Velabrum, built in the valleys, were choked up with tall houses, frequently more, and seldom less, than seventy feet in height. The hills alone were covered with aristocratic residences, temples, and public monuments. The only open s.p.a.ce, where the poor people could get fresh air and extensive prospect, was Circus Maximus and the Forum Romanum. The former was three fourths of a mile in length and one eighth in breadth, surrounded with a double row of benches, the lower of stone and the upper of wood, and would seat two hundred and eighty-five thousand spectators. The Forum was the centre of architectural splendor, as well as of life and business. Its original site extended from the eastern part of the Capitoline to the spot where the Velia begins to ascend, and was bounded on the south by the Via Sacra, which extended to the arx or citadel. It was that consecrated street by which the augurs descended when they inaugurated the great festivals of the republic, and in which lived the Pontifex Maximus.

Although the Forum Romanum was only seven hundred feet by four hundred and seventy, yet it was surrounded by and connected with basilicas, halls, porticoes, temples, and shops. It was a place of great public resort for all cla.s.ses of people--a scene of life and splendor rarely if ever equaled, and having some resemblance to the crowded square of Venice on which St. Mark's stands. Originally it was a marketplace, busy and lively, a great resort where might be seen "good men walking quietly by themselves," [Footnote: _Plautus Cuve_, iv. 1. ] "flash men strutting about without a denarius in their purses," "gourmands clubbing for a dinner," "scandal-mongers living in gla.s.s houses," "perjured witnesses, liars, braggarts, rich and erring husbands, worn-out harlots," and all the various cla.s.ses which now appear in the crowded places of London or Paris. In this open s.p.a.ce the people were a.s.sembled on great public occasions, and here they were addressed by orators and tribunes. Immediately surrounding the Forum Romanum, or in close proximity to it, were the most important public buildings of the city in which business was transacted--the courts of law, the administrative bureaus, the senate chamber and the princ.i.p.al temples, as well as monuments and shops. On the north side was the Comitium, an open s.p.a.ce for holding the Comitia Curiata and heavy lawsuits, and making speeches to the a.s.sembled people. During the kingly government the temples of Ja.n.u.s and Vesta and Saturn were erected, also the Curia Hostilia, a senate-house, the Senaculum, the Mamertine Prison, and the Tabernae or porticoes and shops inclosing the Forum. During the republic the temple of Castor and Pollux, which served for the a.s.sembly of the Senate and judicial business, was erected, not of the largest size, but very rich and beautiful. The Basilica Portia, where the tribunes of the people held their a.s.semblies, was founded by Cato the Censor, and this was followed by the Basilica Fulvia, with columns of Phrygian marble, admired by Pliny for its magnificence, the Basilica Semp.r.o.nia, the Temple of Concord, and the Triumphal Arch of Fabius, to commemorate his victories over the Allobroges. Under the empire, the magnificent Basilica Julia was erected for the sittings of the law courts, and its immense size may be inferred from the fact that one hundred and eighty judges, divided into four courts, with four separate tribunals, with seats for advocates and spectators, were accustomed to a.s.semble.

Tiberius erected a triumphal arch near the Temple of Saturn. Domitian built the Temple of Vespasian and t.i.tus, and erected to himself a colossal equestrian statue. Near it rose the temples of Divus-Julius and of Antoninus and Faustina. Beside these were the Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus, still standing; the Columns of Phocas and Trajan, the latter of which is the finest monument of its kind in the world, one hundred and twenty-seven feet high, with a spiral band of admirable reliefs containing two thousand five hundred human figures. Beside these, new fora of immense size were constructed by various emperors, not for political business so much as courts of justice. The Forum Julium, which connected with the old Forum Romanum, was virtually a temple of great magnificence. In front of it was the celebrated bronze horse of Lysippus, and the temple was enriched with precious offerings and adorned with pictures from the best Greek artists. It was devoted to legal business. The Forum Augusti was still larger, and also inclosed a temple, in which the Senate a.s.sembled to consult about wars and triumphs, and was surrounded with porticoes in which the statues of the most eminent Roman generals were placed, while on each side were the triumphal arches of Germanicus and Drusus. More extensive and magnificent than either of the old fora was the one which Trajan erected, in the centre of which was the celebrated column of the emperor, so universally admired, while the sides were ornamented with a double colonnade of gray Egyptian marble, the columns of which were fifty-five feet in height. This was one of the most gigantic structures in Rome, covering more ground than the Flavian Amphitheatre, and built by the celebrated Apollodorus of Damascus. It filled the whole s.p.a.ce between the Capitoline and Quirinal. The Basilica Ulpia was only one division of this vast edifice, divided internally by four rows of columns of gray granite, and paved with slabs of marble.