The Gaianum was an area in the

Transtiberim Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

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 is located in Regio XIV, about 300m northwest of the Mausoleum of Hadrian, south of the Naumachia Vaticana built by

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

, and east of the Via Triumphalis. The historian

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

says that

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

, also commonly known in ancient sources as Gaius, used the Gaianum for chariot exercises. A number of victory statues have been found in the area, but seem to have been installed originally at the Circus of Gaius and Nero. The Gaianum was probably only a track, not a circus building as such. The

Calendar of Philocalus The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrator ...

(354 AD) lists an ''Initium Caiani'' on March 28, at the conclusion of an Imperial-era religious festival for Cybele and Attis that began March 22. The older

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

of the

Megalesia The Megalesia, Megalensia, or Megalenses Ludi, was a festival celebrated in Ancient Rome from April 4 to April 10, in honour of Cybele, known to Romans as ''Magna Mater'' (Great Mother). The name of the festival derives from Greek ''Megale'' (μϵ ...

for Cybele as ''Magna Mater'' ran April 4–10. The regionary catalogues connect the Gaianum to the Phrygianum, a sanctuary of the Magna Mater on the

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The a ...

. Some scholars think an initiation rite in connection with the cult was held on March 28, with the Gaianum substituting for the Phrygianum when it was made inaccessible by the construction of St. Peter's beginning in the early 4th century. March 28 was also the date of Caligula's entry ''(initium)'' into Rome in 37 AD, when he was acclaimed as ''

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

'', and the festival may originate with him, with no relation to the cult of Cybele.Duncan Fishwick, "The Cannophori and the March Festival of Magna Mater," ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 97 (1966), pp. 193–194.

References

Topography of the ancient city of Rome {{ancient-Rome-stub