The Lacus Curtius ("Lake Curtius") was a mysterious pit or pool in the ground in the

Forum Romanum 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 ...

. The area where the Forum would later be built was originally likely a lake, as the area it was in is known to have been surrounded by brooks and marshes. One part of the area was never drained, but gradually became smaller until only a basin, known as the Lacus Curtius, was left.Lacus Curtius
''

Livius.org Jona Lendering (born 29 October 1964) is a Dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, Dutch history and modern management. He has an MA in history from Leiden University and an MA in Mediterranean culture from the Amsterdam Free Uni ...

'' Its nature and significance in Rome's early history is uncertain, and several conflicting stories exist about its history. The name of the place is likely connected with the

Curtia gens The gens Curtia was an ancient but minor noble family at Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The only member of the gens invested with the consulship under the Republic was Gaius Curtius Philo, in 445 BC. A few Curtii held lesser mag ...

, a very old Roman Family with

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

origins.

History

The history of the area wasn't well known even to the Romans, and at least three different explanations were given for the area's name. Two were given by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, and another by

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

. By order of when they are said to have taken place:

Livy's Sabine war origin

According to the oldest story (8th century BCE), Lacus Curtius was named after the

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

of the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

, a horseman named Mettius Curtius. In the war that followed

the Rape of the Sabine Women The Rape of the Sabine Women ( ), also known as the Abduction of the Sabine Women or the Kidnapping of the Sabine Women, was an incident in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other citi ...

, the champion was said to have got stuck in the marsh during battle. This is corroborated by the fact that the area was once marshland, the fact that the Curtia Gens was of Sabine origins, and that the name ''Mettius'' was an authentic Sabine name rendered from the word ''medìss'' "leader".

Varro's lightning origin

A second version (~445 BCE), and also the most prosaic, had it that Gaius Curtius Philon, a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

, consecrated the site after a lightning strike had hit it.

Livy's mythical origin

Campitelli - Campidoglio Tabularium - Lacus Curtius 1020814 - cropped

Lacus Curtius may have been regarded with some veneration by ancient Romans. The most popular story (~362 BCE), and also the one Livy deemed most likely, was of a myth glorifying the nation: Rome was endangered when a great chasm opened on the Forum. An

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ...

told the people that they were to throw into the chasm "that what constituted the greatest strength of the Roman people," and that if they did the Roman nation would last forever. After dropping many things into the ravine without result, a young horseman named Marcus Curtius (again a member of the Curtia gens) saved the city by realizing that it was youth that the Romans held most dear. He jumped in, in full armour on his horse, whereupon the earth closed over him and Rome was saved.Liv. vii.6
/ref> The story, though clearly epic in nature, was likely a copy of another very similar

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

story concerning king

Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...

Other possibilities

A bit to the east of the Lacus Curtius, skeletal remains were discovered of a man, woman and child who had been bound together and drowned. The stories about Mettius and Marcus Curtius may have been warped recollections of a very ancient sacrificial drowning ritual done when the area was still large enough to form a pool. Alternatively, they could have been related to "profaners" mentioned in the inscription on the nearby

Lapis Niger The Lapis Niger ( Latin, "Black Stone") is an ancient shrine in the Roman Forum. Together with the associated Vulcanal (a sanctuary to Vulcan) it constitutes the only surviving remnants of the old Comitium, an early assembly area that preceded ...

, making it a special location of punishment. The theme is related to high-medieval Celtic stories about

lake-burst A lake-burst ( sga, tomaidm, tomaidm, ga, tomhaidhm, tomhaidhm) is a phenomenon referred to in Irish mythology, in which a previously non-existent lake comes into being, often when a grave is being dug. Part of the lake-burst stories may originat ...

In art

Marcus Curtius' self sacrifice has been a popular theme since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

, depicted by

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as '' The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''T ...

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

and many others.

References

External links

Article by Samuel Ball Platner, with photographs
{{Authority control Roman mythology Topography of the ancient city of Rome Roman Forum Rome R. X Campitelli