The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

'' forum venalium'' of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

. It was located on a level piece of land near the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome (''Portus Tiberinus''), the Forum Boarium experienced intense commercial activity. The Forum Boarium was the site of the first

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

ial contest at Rome which took place in 264 BC as part of aristocratic funerary ritual—a '' munus'' or funeral gift for the dead. Marcus and Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva put on a gladiatorial combat in honor of their deceased father with three pairs of gladiators. The site was also a religious centre housing the Temple of Hercules Victor, the

Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus ( it, Tempio di Portuno) or Temple of Fortuna Virilis ("manly fortune") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several t ...

(Temple of Fortuna Virilis), and the massive 6th or 5th century BC Great Altar of Hercules.

Architecture

The Temple of Hercules Victor or ''Hercules Olivarius'' (Hercules the Olive Branch Bearear ), is a circular

peristyle In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...

building dating from the 2nd century BC. It consists of a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

of Corinthian columns arranged in a

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center p ...

ring around the cylindrical cella, resting on a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

foundation. These elements originally supported an architrave and roof which have disappeared. It is the earliest surviving

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

building in Rome. For centuries, this was known as the

Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta h ...

. The

is a rectangular building built between 100 and 80 BC. It consists of a

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

and cella mounted on a podium reached by a flight of steps. The four Ionic columns of the portico are free-standing, while the six columns on the long sides and four columns at the rear are

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

along the walls of the cella. It is built of tuff and

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

with a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

surface. This temple was for centuries known as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis. Sources claim the Forum was the site for placement of a statue by the sculptor

Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agelada ...

, which had been looted from Aegina. While the source mentions a cow, it may have been a statuary group of ''Theusus defeating the Minotaur'', which was apt for a cattle market. On the late period of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

, the area became overtaken with shops. Both temples were deconsecrated and converted to Christian churches. Across the street is the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, housing the

Bocca della Verità The Mouth of Truth ( it, Bocca della Verità ) is a marble mask in Rome, Italy, which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum B ...

Restoration

Beginning in the late 1990s, a partnership between the Soprintendenza speciale per i beni archeologici di Roma and

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

resulted in the conservation of both temples in the Forum Boarium. The project also included new landscaping for the site. However, the

Arch of Janus The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was set up at a crossroads at the northeastern limit of the Forum Boarium, close to the Velabrum, over the Cloaca Maxima drain that went from the Forum to the Rive ...

is still unrestored.

References

External links

Lacus Curtius:
Forum Boarium
Virtual Tour and Pictures of Boarium Forum

Forum Boarum
World Monuments Fund *Sequence {{Authority control Boarium Rome R. XII Ripa Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century BC Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century BC