The Great Altar of Unconquered Hercules ( la, Herculis Invicti Ara Maxima) stood in the
Forum Boarium of
ancient Rome. It was the earliest
cult-centre of Hercules in Rome, predating the circular
Temple of Hercules Victor. Roman tradition made the spot the site where Hercules slew
Cacus
In Roman mythology, Cacus ( grc, Κάκος, derived from κακός, meaning bad) was a fire-breathing giant and the son of Vulcan (Plutarch called him son of Hephaestus). He was killed by Hercules after terrorizing the Aventine Hill before the ...
and ascribed to
Evander of Pallene its erection. Virgil's ''
Aeneid'' tells of Evander attributing the original creation of the Ara Maxima to
Potitius and the Pinarii.
The original altar burned in the
Great Fire of Rome, 64 CE, but was rebuilt and still stood in the fourth century. A tentative identification of a tufa platform in the crypt of
Santa Maria in Cosmedin with the foundation of the altar has been made by
Filippo Coarelli and other archaeologists.
Various references, with
Varro as their source, justified the exclusion of women from ceremonies here, or of partaking in the sacrificial meats. The rites at the Ara Maxima were unique within the cult of Hercules in that they were performed ''ritu Graeco'', with heads uncovered.
[Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'', iii.6.17;]
See also
*
List of Ancient Roman temples
*
List of ancient monuments in Rome
This is a list of ancient monuments from Republican and Imperial periods in the city of Rome, Italy.
Amphitheaters
* Amphitheater of Caligula
* Amphitheatrum Castrense
* Amphitheater of Nero
* Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus
* Colosseum
Bath ...
References
External links
Samuel Ball Platner and Thomas Ashby, ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' 1929
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Altar Of Hercules
Hercules
Rome R. XII Ripa
Temples of Heracles