Denarius Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus 3 Reverse

The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius (Latin: ''Aedes Iuppiter Feretrius'') was, according to legend, the first temple ever built in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(the second being the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus). Its site is uncertain but is thought to have been on the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

is said to have dedicated the temple to the god

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

after defeating Acro, king of the Caeninenses, in 752–751 BC. It was a small building, fewer than 15 feet long according to

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...

, and has not survived into the modern era. A visual representation appears on coins minted by Lentulus Marcellinus, a nobleman whose ancestor Marcellus had made a famous offering to the temple. The reverses of these coins depict the temple as 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 ...

building, without any

pedimental sculpture Pedimental sculpture is a form of architectural sculpture designed for installation in the tympanum, the space enclosed by the architectural element called the pediment. Originally a feature of Ancient Greek architecture, pedimental sculpture ...

. The origin of the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

'Feretrius' is unclear and may relate to one of two Latin verbs - 'ferire' (making it mean 'he who strikes', since the spolia opima was offered there) or 'ferre' (making it mean 'he to whom he spolia opimaare brought'). It referred to Jupiter in his capacity as enforcer of "the most solemn oaths". In line with this function of the god, the temple housed a sacred piece of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

and a scepter, ancient relics used by the Fetials in the ceremonies attending the signing of treaties and the declaration of wars. According to

Cornelius Nepos Cornelius Nepos (; c. 110 BC – c. 25 BC) was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Cisalpine Gaul not far from Verona. Biography Nepos's Cisalpine birth is attested by Ausonius, and Pliny the Elder calls him ''Pad ...

, by the middle of the first century BC the temple had lost its roof after many years of neglect. It was rebuilt by the emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, acting upon the suggestion of

Titus Pomponius Atticus Titus Pomponius Atticus (November 110 BC – 31 March 32 BC; later named Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus) was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman ...

. In the emperor's autobiography, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, this project appears on the list of renovations which Augustus sponsored in Rome.Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti 19 If still in use by the 4th century, the temple would have been closed during the

persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina ( Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian chur ...

Bibliography

*Andrea Carandini, ''Roma il primo giorno'', Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2007.

References

{{Reflist Jupiter Feretrius Feretrius 8th-century BC religious buildings and structures Destroyed temples

See also

Bibliography

References