Temple of Apollo Palatinsky

Gaius Julius Caesar , after the Alexandrian war, planned to create a cult center in Rome, modeled on the Museyon , which would include a library and a repository of temple offerings. The implementation of the plan, according to Suetonius ( Iul. , 44) was entrusted to Mark Terence Varron , but in connection with the assassination of the dictator in 44 BC. e., the work was postponed ^[1] .

Octavian Augustus , building the foundations of his own power, created the temple of a nation-wide cult dedicated to the god-lord of the Muses ; apparently, this was supposed to make the sanctuary more significant than the Alexandrian muse. The formal reason for laying the temple was the victory over Sextus Pompey in 36 BC. e. Further, the temple was re-planted in honor of the victory at the Promotion , and completed three years later. Judging by the epigraphic monuments ( Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum I, 2, 331), the temple was consecrated on October 9, 28 BC. e. Propertius , in an ode to the consecration of the temple (IV, 6. 11-60) spoke precisely of the victory over Anthony and Cleopatra and the subsequent triumph of Augustus ^[2] . After the consecration of the temple, books of the Sybillins were transferred to it from the temple of Jupiter of Capitoline , and were buried in a golden casket under the statue of Apollo ^[3] .

The Temple of Apollo played a role in the state ceremonial. Judging by the reports of Josephus Flavius , the Senate held meetings in the temple and received foreign ambassadors; some of the ceremonies of the Mythic Games also performed here ^[4] .

On March 19, 363, the temple burned down, but the Sybillins of the book were saved ( Ammianus Marcellinus , XXIII, 3).

The porticoes of the temple housed a two-section (Greek and Latin) public library. In addition to Suetonius, Horace also mentioned it in his “Messages” (I, 3, 17), as well as Ovid ( Trist. , III, 1, 60). From the scholias to Juvenal (I, 128) it is known that books on civil law and free arts were collected in the library of the temple of Apollo Palatinsky. Almost a century and a half later, the funds of this library were used by Marcus Aurelius ^[5] . In one of the inscriptions of the Adrian era, it is indicated that the epistat trustee ( dr. Greek ἐπιστάτης ) of the Alexandrian muse was at the same time the supreme priest of Alexandria and all of Egypt, as well as head of the Greek and Latin libraries in Rome, that is, at the temple of Apollo Palatinsky, arranged according to the museu sample ^[6] .

It is unclear whether the temple was connected to the House of Augustus (like the Alexandria museu included in the Ptolemaic palace complex). In the porticoes , as was customary in antiquity, the library was kept. Suetonius casually mentioned the decorative decoration of the library, claiming that the shelves in it were gilded (Aug., 29). Apparently, this was supposed to create a solemn mood, introducing to the divine wisdom, and turning the reading process into a sacred action. Josephus wrote about the extreme luxury of the decoration of the temple ( Judean War , II, 6, 1) ^[4] .

The works of art placed in the temple were perceived as offerings to the deity (Horace, Epistles, I, 3). Ancient authors mentioned that in the Palatine temple there were genuine statues of Skopas , Kefisodot the Younger , Timothy (Pliny, Natural History , XXXVI, 24, 25, 32). In this regard, the temple was closer to the modern museum, but all the collections arrived, apparently, simultaneously as trophies of the Roman people. Pliny separately mentioned the collection of rings, rings , carved stones and cameos - the dactylotheque (XXXVII, 11), donated by Claudius Marcellus , a relative of Augustus. There were also sacrificial lamps exported from Kim Aetolian (XXXIV, 14). The temple adjoined the park, descending along the eastern slope of the hill ^[7] . According to V. Porshnev, the temple of Apollo Palatinsky in terms of the volume of collections placed in it could exceed the Alexandrian muses; however, in Rome there was no scientist and poetic “choir” that would create a creative and educational environment; this function entirely remained with Alexandria ^[7] .

Archaeological excavations in the area of ​​the House of Augustus have been conducted since 1865 under the direction of Pietro Rosa. In 1937, the Mussolini government resumed excavations under the leadership of Alfonso Bartoli. As a result of excavations of the 1960s under the leadership of Gianfilippo Carettoni, an artificial terrace of 70 × 30 m was found on which the altar part of the temple was located. The base was made of large blocks of tuff and travertine using Roman concrete . The colonnades of the temple were made of Carrara marble , both in the pronaos and in the arcades along the external walls and other buildings. Polychrome ceramic tiles painted with mythological scenes were also found ^[8] .

• Borukhovich, V. G. In the world of ancient scrolls . - Saratov: Publishing house of the Saratov University, 1976. - 224 p.
• Porshnev, V.P. Musey in the cultural heritage of antiquity. - M .: New Acropolis, 2012 .-- 336 p. - (Tradition, religion, culture). - 1,500 copies - ISBN 978-5-91896-030-1 .
• Olivier Hekster and John Rich. Octavian and the Thunderbolt: The Temple of Apollo Palatinus and Roman Traditions of Temple Building // The Classical Quarterly. New Series. - 2006. - Vol. 56, no. 1 .-- P. 149-168.
• Samuel Ball Platner and Thomas Ashby. A topographical dictionary of Ancient Rome . - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929. - P. 17-19. - 608 p.

• Le temple d'Apollon (fr.) . Université de Caen Basse-Normandie.