The Temple of Hercules Custos (Latin: ''Aedes Herculis Custodis'') was a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...

dedicated to '

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

the Guardian'. Its location is unknown and no remains have been found, although a Temple to Hercules linked to

Lucius Cornelius 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 ...

(the ''Herculem Sullanum'') was noted as standing in the region of the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' ( Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is that the hill was named after the ...

during the late 4th century. Its history is unclear.

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

writes that it was to the west of the

Circus Flaminius The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "bu ...

- it was probably built around the same time (221 BC). It was re-built by Sulla after consulting the

Sibylline Oracles The ''Sibylline Oracles'' (; sometimes called the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles) are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen b ...

. This consultation of the oracles and the epithet 'Custos' seems to imply it was built and/or rebuilt in response to a major crisis, though it is unknown what its nature was. In 218 BC, the senate decreed a ''

supplicatio In ancient Roman religion, a ''supplicatio'' is a day of public prayer during times of crisis or a thanksgiving for receipt of aid. During days of public prayer, Roman men, women, and children traveled in procession to religious sites around the ...

'' in the ''Aedes Herculi''. Though there were several temples of Hercules, this probably refers to that of Hercules Custos. The decemvirs ordered a statue to be set up in the temple of Hercules Custos in 189 BC.Livy
38.35.4
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* L. Richardson, jr, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', Baltimore - London 1992, pp. 186. {{coord missing, Italy Hercules Custos Temples of Heracles 3rd-century BC religious buildings and structures Destroyed temples Destroyed Roman temples

See also

References

Bibliography