The Velia — or Velian Hill or Velian Ridge — is a

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

stretching out from the middle of the north side of the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

towards the

Oppian Hill The Oppian Hill (Latin, ''Oppius Mons''; it, Colle Oppio) is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian H ...

(itself a spur of the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

) 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 ...

. In later times, the Velia was called ''Summa Sacra Via'' ("Summit of the

Sacra Via The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The ...

") — since that road began there at its highest point — and was marked by the Arch of Titus and

Temple of Venus and Roma The Temple of Venus and Roma ( Latin: ''Templum Veneris et Romae'') is thought to have been the largest temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, between the eastern edge of the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum, in Rome, it was dedic ...

. (An alternate theory is that the Velia was actually the eastern half of the Palatine).

Description

The Velian was reckoned as one of the seven hills on which the

Septimontium The Septimontium was a proto-urban festival celebrated in ancient Rome by ''montani'', residents of the seven ''(sept-)'' communities associated with the hills or peaks of Rome ''(montes)'': Oppius, Palatium, Velia, Fagutal, Cermalus, Caelius, ...

was celebrated. The name appears more frequently in the singular, but also in the plural. The hill is described by

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 ...

as ''ὑψηλὸν ἐπιεικῶς καὶ περίτομον'' (high and steep). A primitive grave found in 1908 near the Arch of Titus lay at about 28 metres above sea-level, whereas virgin soil was found in the lowest part of the valley occupied by the

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum ( plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancie ...

at 3.6m, and in connection with the excavation of the Sepulcretum, at 10.63 metres. The original height of the ridge may have been somewhat diminished by the construction of the Domus Aurea. The meaning and derivation of the Velia is as uncertain now as it was in antiquity. It is regularly mentioned in extant literature in connection with the ''

Aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...

Deorum Penatium'' (Temple of the

Penates In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates () or Penates ( ) were among the ''dii familiares'', or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates. ...

) and the Domus Valeriorum (House of the Valerii).Jord. I.1.196; 2.416‑419; HJ 1; Gilb. I.38‑39, 101‑109

References

Citations

Other sources

*Rebert, Homer Franklin (1925)
“The Velia: A Study in Historical Topography”
'' Transactions of the American Philological Association''; Vol. 56 (1925), pp 54–69.

External links

Platner and Ashby
{{Authority control Hills of Rome Septimontium Roman Forum Rome R. X Campitelli

Description

See also

References

Citations

Other sources

External links