Antium was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conquered by the Romans. In some versions of Rome's foundation myth, Antium was founded by Anteias, son of

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. The territory of Roman Antium almost entirely corresponded to modern Anzio and Nettuno.P. Brandizzi Vittucci, ''Antium: Anzio e Nettuno in epoca romana'', Roma, Bardi Editore (2000). .

Location

The Latin-volscian town stood in the Capo d'Anzio (modern Anzio), on a higher ground and somewhat away from the shore, though it extended down to it. This was defended by a deep ditch, which can still be traced, and by walls, a portion of which, on the eastern side, constructed of rectangular blocks of tufa, was brought to light in 1897. The fortification of the town would included the acropolis, to which it would be adjacent to the east, isolated but connected. The Latin colony of 467 BC, of which it will be said later, would be installed alongside the fortified Latin-volscian oppidum, also to the east. A coeval port town, Caenon, was the port under the control of Antium (which did not have a natural harbour of its own): according to alternative theories, the port of Caenon would be located in the Capo d'Anzio,G. Lugli, ''Saggio sulla topografia dell'antica Antium'', Roma (1940). or the port town very north of it, or the town on a hill near Nettuno to the east, and the port over the mouth of the nearby river Loricina. The settlement of Roman Antium was certainly present in the area of the Capo d'Anzio (in particular, a presumed extensive town since the mid-republican age, the imperial colony and the great harbour of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

), but a parallel agricultural settlement, with the same name, was likely to be in the same position as modern Nettuno since the colony of 338 BC; so from 60 AD the ''colonia Antium'' of Nero in the Capo d'Anzio would coexisted with a supposed, more ancient, ''civitas Antium'' in Nettuno, which in the 4th century AD would have been the only real town: a thesis that has found some perplexitiesB. Cacciotti, ''Testimonianze di culti orientali ad Antium'', on B. P. Benetucci (curator), ''Culti orientali tra scavo e collezionismo'', Roma, Artemide (2008). or an opposition.H. Solin, ''Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica'', vol. 36, Helsinki (2002), pp. 210-211.

History

Volscian Antium

As said in the beginning, for a long time Antium was the capital of the Antiates Volsci, on the Thyrrenian coast. In 493 BC - the same year that, according to a theory, the Volsci likely settled in the town - the Roman consul Postumus Cominius Auruncus fought and defeated two armies from Antium and as a result captured the Volscian towns of Longula, Pollusca and Corioli (to the north of Antium). According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

the Roman leader Coriolanus, who fought at Corioli, took refuge at Antium to the noble Attius Tullius Aufidius, when the Roman had been accused of disloyalty to Rome and the Volsci. Aufidius obtained consent that, by Volscian hand, Coriolanus was first tried, then assassinated before the end of the trial. In 469 BC the town Caenon was destroyed by the Roman consul Titus Numicius Priscus. In 468 BC Antium was captured by the Roman consul Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus following a war started by the Volsci, and the mentioned Latin colony was planted there the next year. Three Roman ex-consuls were appointed as commissioners to allocate the lands (triumviri coloniae deducendae) amongst Roman colonists. They were Titus Quinctius, the consul of the previous year who had captured Antium from the Volsci; Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, the consul of 469 BC; and Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus, the consul of 472 BC. In 464 BC the Antiates were suspected of allying with the Aequi against Rome. The chief men of Antium were summoned to Rome but they did not give adequate explanations. Antium was asked to contribute emergency troops for the Roman war against the Aequi, however the force of 1,000 troops from Antium arrived too late to help. In 338 BC the consul Gaius Menius Publius suddenly attacked and defeated the troops of Aricia,

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

and Velitres as they were joining the Antiates next to the river Astura. Antium was finally defeated and its warships seized, a part taken to the arsenals in Rome, while the others burned. The town was banned from navigation, and Gaius Menius had the rostra of the burned ships mounted in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

as ornaments of the speaker's platform thenceforth called the ''Rostra''.

Roman Antium

MNR 307 - Mosaico parietale da Anzio 1010467

In 338 BC Antium became a '' colonia'' with Roman citizenship of the Antiates,Livy, viii. 14. and in 317 BC it became a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

''. The Roman colony had '' duumvirs'', and '' quaestors'' were also present as magistrates. During the civil war against Gaius Marius, Antium - breadbasket of Rome - was allied with

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

: in 87 BC it suffered a surprise attack and was devastated by the Marian troops, with many citizen deaths. With the expansion of

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

Antium was just far enough away to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. The Romans built magnificent seaside villas there and their remains are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the northwest of the town.

Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...

also had a villa. Many ancient masterpieces of sculpture have been found there: the '' Fanciulla d'Anzio'', the '' Borghese Gladiator'' (in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

) and the ''

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo'', ''Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is ...

'' (in the Vatican) were all discovered in the ruins of villas at Antium. When Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, where the scrolls would be secure. Of the villas, the most famous was the imperial villa, known as Domus Neroniana (Villa of Nero), which was used by each emperor in turn, up to the Severans and which extended some along the seafront of the Capo d'Anzio. Augustus received a delegation from Rome there to acclaim him ''Pater patriae'' ("Father of his Country"). The Julian and Claudian emperors frequently visited it; both Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

and

were born in Antium. Nero razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive scale and according to an imperial style. Including a theatre were built in Antium. In 60 AD Nero also founded a colony of veterans and built a new harbour, the projecting moles of which still exist. Of the famous temple of Fortune (

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, ''Od''. i. 35) no remains are known, but its location is assumed in the Capo d'Anzio, area of the Domus Neroniana.

Late Antiquity

There are records of the participation of a few bishops of Antium in synods held in Rome: Gaudentius in 465, Felix in 487, Vindemius in 499 and 501. Barbarian incursions in the 6th century put an end to its existence as a residential

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. Accordingly, Antium is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Middle Ages

Attacked by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

of Gaiseric (5th century), the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

of Vitiges (6th century), and then by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Antium was deserted in favour of Nettuno, which maintained the legacy of the ancient town. Nettuno is usually attributed only a medieval origin, but in the modern era it was considered a natural heir, a continuation of Antium;J. Hondius, Nova et accurata Italiae hodiernae descriptio, Apud B. et A. Elsevir, 1627, pp. 164-165: a map illustrating ''Neptunium olim Antium'', "Nettuno, once Antium". a view taken up by a contemporary orientation.

Notes

External links

Illustrated reconstruction of Nero's Villa
.
{{Authority control Archaeological parks Roman towns and cities in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio Roman sites in Lazio Ostia (Rome) Mithraea Former populated places in Italy Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy Roman harbors Roman harbors in Italy Volsci Anzio