Aulus Postumious, a victorious general vowed to build their people a temple should they win their battle in 495 BC after the Battle of Lake Regilus. After multiple restorations it was last rebuilt in 6 AD.
The temple was used as a remembrance and dedication to Castor and Pollux, who supposedly showed up during the battle on white horses and helped the Italian’s to victory. Once the temple was built, a cavalry festival was held every year on July 15 to celebrate the victory.
Originally, the temple podium was 7m high, and measured 32x50m. Inside were 25 chambers most likely used as the temple’s function as the office of weights and measurements, and one chamber may have been used by a dentist. The temple itself was made of white Italian marble and had 8 columns front and back and 11 on the sides. It was a Corinthian peripteros. Currently standing is only three of the original columns, and the podium behind them.
From http://romereborn.frischerconsulting.com/ge/TS-021-PA.html
“…There are many memorials in Rome to this strange and marvelous epiphany. They include the Temple to Castor and Pollux that the city built in the Roman Forum on the site where the apparitions appeared, and the fountain next to it likewise named after the two deities and considered sacred to this day … . But the most spectacular observance occurs after the sacrifice at this temple, when all those who own a horse for military service ride in procession, grouped in rows by tribe and century … . The horsemen, as many as five thousand of them, ride through the Forum and past the Temple of Castor and Pollux, wearing whatever insignia their commanders have awarded them for bravery in battle. This parade is a stunning expression of the power of Roman rule.” Dionysius, Early Rome 6.13.1-4
Task #11
1. Who are Castor and Pollux? What is their importance in Roman Mythology?
2. What event occurred in 14 BC that caused an almost complete rebuild of the temple?
The temple was used as a remembrance and dedication to Castor and Pollux, who supposedly showed up during the battle on white horses and helped the Italian’s to victory. Once the temple was built, a cavalry festival was held every year on July 15 to celebrate the victory.
Originally, the temple podium was 7m high, and measured 32x50m. Inside were 25 chambers most likely used as the temple’s function as the office of weights and measurements, and one chamber may have been used by a dentist. The temple itself was made of white Italian marble and had 8 columns front and back and 11 on the sides. It was a Corinthian peripteros. Currently standing is only three of the original columns, and the podium behind them.
From http://romereborn.frischerconsulting.com/ge/TS-021-PA.html
“…There are many memorials in Rome to this strange and marvelous epiphany. They include the Temple to Castor and Pollux that the city built in the Roman Forum on the site where the apparitions appeared, and the fountain next to it likewise named after the two deities and considered sacred to this day … . But the most spectacular observance occurs after the sacrifice at this temple, when all those who own a horse for military service ride in procession, grouped in rows by tribe and century … . The horsemen, as many as five thousand of them, ride through the Forum and past the Temple of Castor and Pollux, wearing whatever insignia their commanders have awarded them for bravery in battle. This parade is a stunning expression of the power of Roman rule.” Dionysius, Early Rome 6.13.1-4
Task #11
1. Who are Castor and Pollux? What is their importance in Roman Mythology?
2. What event occurred in 14 BC that caused an almost complete rebuild of the temple?