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The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width and could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.
In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales. She was also honoured in the May lustration (lustratio) of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival: at harvest-time: and during Roman marriages and funeral rites. She is usually depicted as a mature woman.
In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon. She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun, Sol, conceived of as a god. Luna is also sometimes represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess, along with Diana and either Proserpina or Hecate. Luna is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses.
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae were either public (publicae) or private (privatae). State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games (ludi), such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically feriae, but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi, holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families. This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome.
The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill. It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place in the public religion of Rome.
The Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius is a Roman temple in Piazza Bocca della Verità, the former Forum Boarium, in Rome, Italy. It is a tholos, a round temple of Greek 'peripteral' design completely surrounded by a colonnade. This layout caused it to be mistaken for a temple of Vesta until it was correctly identified by Napoleon's Prefect of Rome, Camille de Tournon.
The Temple of Saturn was an ancient Roman temple to the god Saturn, in what is now Rome, Italy. Its ruins stand at the foot of the Capitoline Hill at the western end of the Roman Forum. The original dedication of the temple is traditionally dated to 497 BC, but ancient writers disagreed greatly about the history of this site.
The Temple of Janus at the Forum Holitorium was a Roman temple dedicated to the god Janus, located between the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber River near the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius. The temple was built during the First Punic War, after the Temple of Janus in the Roman Forum.
The Temple of Jupiter Stator, also known to the ancient Romans as the Temple of Jove Metellina and Metellus's Temple, was a temple dedicated to the Roman god Jupiter Stator. It was located beside the Temple of Juno Regina in the Porticus Octaviae in the southern Campus Martius before its destruction in the AD 64 Great Fire of Rome.
The Temple of Cybele or Temple of Magna Mater was Rome's first and most important temple to the Magna Mater, who was known to the Greeks as Cybele. It was built to house a particular image or form of the goddess, a meteoric stone brought from Greek Asia Minor to Rome in 204 BC at the behest of an oracle and temporarily housed in the goddess of Victory's Palatine temple. The new temple was dedicated on 11 April 191 BC, and Magna Mater's first Megalesia festival was held on the temple's proscenium.
Jupiter Tonans, or, in Latin spelling, ivppiter tonans was the aspect (numen) of Jupiter venerated in the Temple of Jupiter Tonans, which was vowed in 26 BCE by Augustus and dedicated in 22 BCE on the Capitoline Hill; the Emperor had narrowly escaped being struck by lightning during the campaign in Cantabria. An old temple in the Campus Martius had long been dedicated to Iuppiter Fulgens. The original cult image installed in the sanctuary by its founder was by Leochares, a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BCE.
The Aventine Triad is a modern term for the joint cult of the Roman deities Ceres, Liber and Libera. The cult was established ca. 493 BC within a sacred district (templum) on or near the Aventine Hill, traditionally associated with the Roman plebs. Later accounts describe the temple building and rites as "Greek" in style. Some modern historians describe the Aventine Triad as a plebeian parallel and self-conscious antithesis to the Archaic Triad of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus and the later Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Minerva and Juno. The Aventine Triad, temple and associated ludi served as a focus of plebeian identity, sometimes in opposition to Rome's original ruling elite, the patricians.
The Temple of Venus Erycina was a temple on the Capitoline Hill in Ancient Rome dedicated to Venus Erycina. This was an aspect of the goddess Venus. Later this temple was probably called the Temple of the Capitoline Venus. There was another temple with the same name in Rome, the Temple of Venus Erycina.
The Temple of Juno Lucina was a Roman temple dedicated to Juno Lucina on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. It was dedicated on 1 March 375 BC, the festival of the Matronalia. Before its construction, the cult of Juno Lucina occurred in a sacred grove or lucus on the site - Varro dates the cult's origin to Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines. It was struck by lightning in 190 BC, damaging the tympanum and doorway. In 41 BC the quaestor Quintus Pedius built or rebuilt a wall possibly dating back to the sacred grove. It was still operational in the imperial period, as attested to in inscriptions.
The Temple of Fides was a minor temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. It was dedicated to Fides, the goddess of good faith, who was patron of diplomatic relations.
The Temple of Hercules Custos was a Roman temple dedicated to 'Hercules the Guardian'. Its location is unknown and no remains have been found, although a Temple to Hercules linked to Lucius Cornelius Sulla was noted as standing in the region of the Esquiline Hill during the late 4th century.
The Temple of Juno Regina was a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome. A temple was vowed to "Juno, Queen of Veii" by Marcus Furius Camillus on his conquest of Veii. It was built in 396 BCE and dedicated on September 1. It held a statue of the goddess brought from Veii by Camillus - the temple was later noted for its gifts, sacrifices and miracles and was restored by Augustus, but is not mentioned in any post-Augustan sources. It was on the upper part of the clivus Publicius - two inscriptions relating to the lustral procession of 207 BC are preserved in the Santa Sabina basilica.
The Sanctuary of Ceres, Liber and Libera was a temple to Ceres, Liber Pater and Libera built on the Aventine Hill in Rome. It was dedicated in 494 BC. The temple was destroyed by fire in 31 BC, but was repaired. It was still in function in the 4th-century, but would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
The Temple of Mercury was a sanctuary in Ancient Rome on the Aventine Hill, which was dedicated to god Mercury. The temple was founded in 495 BC. It was one of the oldest temples in Rome. It is known to have still existed in the 3rd century. If in use into the 4th century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
The Temple of Jupiter Invictus, sometimes known as the Temple of Jupiter Victor, was a temple on the Palatine Hill of ancient Rome.