The Shrine of Venus Cloacina (''Sacellum Cloacinae'' or ''Sacrum Cloacina'') was a small sanctuary on 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 ...

, honoring the divinity of the '' Cloaca Maxima'', the "Great Drain" or sewer of Rome.

Cloacina Cloacina was a goddess who presided over the Cloaca Maxima ('Greatest Drain'), the main interceptor discharge outfall of the system of sewers in Rome, Italy, Rome. Name The theonym ''Cloācīna'' is a derivative of the noun ''cloāca'' ('sewer ...

, the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

goddess associated with the entrance to the sewer system, was later identified with the Roman goddess

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

for unknown reasons, according to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

History

The foundation and cult of the shrine was associated in

Roman legend Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to the ...

with the

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

king

Titus Tatius According to the Roman foundation myth, Titus Tatius, also called Tatius Sabinus, was king of the Sabines from Cures and joint-ruler of the Kingdom of Rome for several years. During the reign of Romulus, the first king of Rome, Tatius dec ...

, who ruled during the time of

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

(8th century BC). The Etruscan deity Cloacina may have been associated originally with the small brook which marked the boundary between the Sabines on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

and Romans on the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

and later became the city's '' Cloaca Maxima''. Two important episodes from Rome's founding are said to have taken place at this shrine, including the purification of the Sabine and Roman armies after a war and the death of

Verginia Verginia, or Virginia (c. 465 BC449 BC), was the subject of an ancient Rome, ancient Roman story recounted in Roman historian Livy's text ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy), Ab Urbe Condita''. Upon a threat to her virtue, Verginia was killed by her ...

. According to legend, the father of the virtuous Verginia, using a butcher's knife from one of the stalls of the ''Tabernae Novae'' ("new shops"), killed his daughter rather than let her fall victim to the lecherous attentions of Appius Claudius in 449 BC. The Shrine of Venus Cloacina is first mentioned by the playwright

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

in the early second century BC. It was located in the Forum in front of the ''Tabernae Novae'' and on the

Via Sacra The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road ...

. The ''Tabernae Novae'' were replaced by the expanded

Basilica Aemilia The Basilica Aemilia (), or the Basilica Paulli, was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Lucius Aemilius Paullus initiated its construction, but the building was completed by his son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, in 34 BCE. Under Augustus, it was ...

in the middle Republic (179 BC), but the shrine was preserved. The round masonry Shrine probably dates from this construction.

Description

Coins minted during the

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November ...

(''ca.'' 42 BC) by a moneyer named Lucius Mussidius Longus give a fairly clear visual representation of the shrine. They show a round ''

sacellum A ''sacellum'' is a small shrine in ancient Roman religious contexts. The word is a diminutive of ''sacrum'' (neuter of ''sacer'', "belonging to a god"). The numerous ''sacella'' of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private proper ...

'' (small, uncovered shrine) with a metal balustrade. The scant archaeological remains uncovered between 1899 and 1901 (round

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

substructure, marble rim, diameter 2.40 meters) conform nicely to the pictures on the coins. In his ''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

'' (77-79 AD),

refers to ''signa Cloacinae'', which were evidently the two statues shown on the coins and perhaps some other, unidentified objects. One of the statues is holding or waving an object (possibly a flower). Each statue has a low pillar with a bird on it (flowers and birds were well known attributes of Venus). The two statues may have represented the two aspects of the divinity, Cloacina and Venus.

Religious significance

The Romans believed that a good sewage system was important for the future success of Rome, as a good sewer system was necessary for physical health. Romans cultivated Cloacina as the goddess of purity and the goddess of filth. Cloacina's name is probably derived from the Latin verb ''cloare'' (“to purify” or “to clean”), or from ''cloaca'' (“sewer)”.Schladweiler, Jon C., , Arizona Water and Pollution Control Association.

References

External links

''Cloacina Sacrum''
at the Digital Roman Forum {{DEFAULTSORT:Shrine Of Venus Cloacina Venus Cloacina Temples of Venus

History

Description

Religious significance

See also

References

Further reading

External links