The Basilica Opimia was one of four Republican-era
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
s in the
Roman Forum. The other two were the
Basilica Aemilia, the
Basilica Porcia
The Basilica Porcia was the first civil basilica built in ancient Rome. It was built by order of Marcus Porcius Cato Marcus Porcius Cato can refer to:
* Cato the Elder (consul 195 BC)
* Cato the Younger (praetor 54 BC)
* Marcus Porcius C ...
, and the
Basilica Sempronia. Of the three, only the Basilica Aemilia partially survives.
It was built in 121 BC near the
Temple of Concord
The Temple of Concord ( la, Aedes Concordiae) in the ancient city of Rome refers to a series of shrines or temples dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia, and erected at the western end of the Roman Forum. The earliest temple is believed ...
and named after
Lucius Opimius
Lucius Opimius was a Roman politician who held the consulship in 121 BC, in which capacity and year he ordered the execution of 3,000 supporters of popular leader Gaius Gracchus without trial, using as pretext the state of emergency declared after ...
, who had financed its construction and that of the temple. When the Temple of Concord was enlarged under
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
the basilica had to be sacrificed and there is no record of its survival after that date.
See also
*
List of monuments of the Roman Forum
This list of monuments of the Roman Forum (''Forum Romanum'') includes existing and former buildings, memorials and other built structures in the famous Roman public plaza during its 1,400 years of active use (8th century BC–ca 600 AD). It is d ...
Bibliography
*
Filippo Coarelli
Filippo Coarelli is an Italian archaeologist, Professor of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Perugia.
Born in Rome, Coarelli was a student of Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli. Coarelli is one of the foremost experts on Roman antiquiti ...
, ''Guida archeologica di Roma'', Verona, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1984.
Opimia
120s BC establishments
Roman Forum
{{ancientRome-struct-stub