The Library of Palatine Apollo () was a public library established by the Roman Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. It was located at the portico of the

Temple of Apollo Palatinus The Temple of Apollo Palatinus ('Palatine Apollo'), sometimes called the Temple of Actian Apollo, was a temple of the god Apollo in Rome, constructed on the Palatine Hill on the initiative of Augustus (known as "Octavian" until 27 BCE) be ...

and consisted of two halls, one for Greek and one for Latin books. The walls of the library included medallion portraits of famous writers, and the space was large enough for Augustus to hold meetings of the senate. When Augustus assumed the office of pontifex maximus, he moved the

Sibylline Books The ''Sibylline Books'' () were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameter verses, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous cri ...

from the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus to the Palatine Apollo.

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, a freedman of Augustus and accomplished grammarian, was the director of the library. Exclusion from the library definitively signaled an author’s rejection.

References

{{AncientRome-struct-stub Ancient libraries Augustus Libraries in Rome