Sicilian Expedition - Paestum and Velia

Two weeks ago, we went to Sicily as part of our coursework at the Centro. On the first 2 days of our "Sicilian Expedition" we journeyed down the boot of Italy and took a ferry from Naples to Sicily. Along the way, we stopped at two sites: Paestum (where we stayed a night) and Velia. The first day in Paestum (the ancient Greek Poseidonia), we visited a museum where we had a number of interesting lectures about ceramics, metopes, and tomb-painting. Above you can see a curious donut-shaped jug. This is one of 3 Doric temples we saw at Paestum. Constructed around 500 BC, this archaic temple (dedicated to Athena) has many innovative features, such as entasis (a slight outward curving of the columns) and the mixing of Doric and Ionic columns. Here we are on Fabio bus, traveling from Paestum to Velia.

Here, you can see a view of some of the ancient city of Velia (founded in 540 BC) and its acropolis in the background.

Machicollations, holes built into the tops of fortifications so that things can be dropped on attackers. This medieval tower was built atop the ancient acropolis.

Augustus!

I just got back from Sicily, and I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. So, let me begin with Tuesday, two weeks ago, March 1. The theme of the week, for our lectures and readings, was Augustus and the transformation from Republic to Principate. This statue (The "Prima Porta Augustus") is of Rome's first emperor, Augustus Caesar. Born Octavius, he changed his name to Octavianus when he was adopted by Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 BC) in his will. Finally, after bringing an end to the civil wars, Octavianus consolidated his power and took on the title "Augustus" (the august/venerable one). Augustus' building program supported his "propagandistic" aims. We had the chance to visit Caesar's and Augustus' fora. We had special permission to enter areas of the Imperial Fora that most tourists only dream of entering.

For some reason this relief was covered by pigeons.

It was a rainy day, and my umbrella was in a sorry state. Fortunately, later on, I figured out how to fix it. Taking notes while holding an umbrella is difficult.

Here, Adam gives a lecture on the Temple of Mars Ultor (Mars the avenger) built in the 1st century BC, a massive structure central to Augustus' forum. Augustus' building program was quite extensive, and we got to see a number of structures associated with Rome's first emperor, including the Temple of Bellona, the Temple of Apollo Veiovis, the Theater of Marcellus, and the Porticus Octaviae. Many of these projects were in fact tied to Augustus' dynastic aims. Augustus did not have any male offspring, so he ended up going through a number of possible heirs (Marcellus, Drusus, Lucius, Gaius) before finally settling upon Tiberius. If you would like any insight into the complex social relations of the Julio-Claudian family, you can follow this link. The family's marriages, divorces, adoptions, remarriages, and murders could surely be the topic of a soap opera, or, at the very least, a good book.

Here are some busts of members of the Julio-Claudian family. Notice the characteristic wide forehead and triangular face, traits brought on partly by extensive intermarrying.

When Augustus died, he had the Senate read aloud three documents publicly. The first two were his financial records and personal will, but the last, and most significant, was a document entitled the Res Gestae Divi Augusti (The Deeds Accomplished by the Deified Augustus). This was put up in various public places in cities throughout the empire. The inscription glowingly reports Augustus' works and deeds, at home and abroad.

A copy of the document was displayed outside of Augustus' Mausoleum (visible on the far left). Augustus' choice of this site for his burial underscored his desire to be seen as a true Roman, in opposition to the Hellenized Mark Antony. In the center of the model, you can see the original site of the Ara Pacis (altar of peace). You can see a reconstructed version in the picture below.

The Horologium Augusti was basically a giant sundial built made from an obelisk. This particular building project emphasized the extent of Augustus' authority. He commanded not just nations but time itself! Of course, this was far from true, and, in 14 AD, Augustus himself died, and, within 55 years, the Julio-Claudian dynasty was no more.

The Forum Romanum II

Last Thursday, we went to visit the Forum for the second time. A number of the sites we visited were off-limits to the average tourist, but, then again, we are not average tourists.
We had special permission to enter the Basilica Julia. Above you can see students climbing over the fence. A basilica was a multi-purpose public building whose functions did not include religious activities. Initially the site of the Bailica Sempronia, Julius Caesar began construction of the building in 54 BC (possibly a reaction to Pompey's construction of the Theater of Pompey in 55 BC) while he was off campaigning in Gaul. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Augustus finished his adopted father's work.

This student decided to wear a toga during his site presentation as he described the function's of the rostra (situated at the far right). The rostra was basically a speaker's platform which got its name from the prows of ships mounted upon it. Caesar had it moved from the comitium to a position between the Curia Julia, Basilica Julia, and Basilica Aemilia.

After Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators, his body was displayed in the Forum by Mark Antony. Mark Antony whipped the crowed into a frenzy with a passionate funeral oration. The crowd, amid Antony's protestations, lit a pyre in the forum and cremated Caesar. Later, a temple to Divus Julius was built on the site of his cremation. To this day, people honor the man's memory by putting flowers on the site.

Here, Professor Adam (Serfass) gives a lecture in the Basilica Aemilia, across from the Basilica Julia. Although the Basilica was erected by the Aemilii, Julius Caesar financed its renovation in accordance with his other construction projects. You may notice that Professor Serfass is wearing a scarf and hat. It was a surprisingly cold day, and most of us students were unprepared for the unexpected blasts of cold wind.

Here, 3 students are standing in front of the forum. Notice the Curia Julia (senate meeting house), the big square building in the background. After Clodius' supporters burned down the Curia Hostilia in a funeral gone awry, Caesar paved over the comitium and built a new Curia. Caesar's changes to the Forum Romanum parallels his demolishment of the old political order.

A Triumphal Tour

Last Tuesday, we began our Journey in the Campus Martius and went along the putative triumphal route (the route taken by victorious generals during triumphs), visiting sites along the way. First we visited a set of manubial temples (temples vowed by a general in a battle) at Largo Argentina. It also happened to be a cat sanctuary. Apparently the Italians feed and vaccinate stray cats at the site, and people can adopt them if they want.
Above you can see part of a manubial temple. These temples happened to sit adjacent to the Theater of Pompey, which is where Caesar was assassinated. Somewhere under the modern road in the background, behind the concrete core, Caesar was stabed to death on March 15, 44 BC.

Here, is a picture of part of the foundation of the Theater of Pompey, now part of a restaurant. The net-like brick-work (opus reticulatum) is a fine specimen and was some of the first of its kind in the city of Rome.

Near the site of the Theater of Pompey is a modern market. I bought some grapes.

As we continued along the triumphal route, we walked by the Theater of Marcellus.Here, Professor Gregg is lecturing and gesturing (adlocutio?). These Manubial temples had been converted into a church. We had the chance to go into the crypt and see the substructures for temples of Spes, Juno Sospita, and Janus. After that, we met on the Capitoline (one of the seven hills) and went to the Capitoline Museum.This famous statue is actually the subject of much controversy. Although most Italian scholars date the wolf to the 5th century BC (the twins were added in the 15th century AD), a recent study has called this into question. As it turns out, the wolf may actually have been made in the Renaissance. If this is the case (which it may not be), we cannot know whether it is a copy of an earlier Etruscan work or merely a modern invention.

Here is a picture of me standing in the Tabularium (now part of the Palazzo Senatoro) overlooking the Forum Romanum. You may notice a pad of paper in my hand. Note-taking is an integral part of the centro experience (or college in general for that matter). I really enjoy

This is the "Dying Gaul" or the "Dying Trumpeter." A marble copy of a 3rd century BC bronze statue, this sculpture has many of the signature features of Hellenistic sculpture: intense negative emotions, torsion, historical subjects, chiaroscuro (deep shadows). One of my colleagues, Louis, believes that the original Gaul was not dying, but was merely suffering from a bad cramp. I cannot disprove this theory.

I thought that these Egyptian monkey statues looked funny. I'm not sure what they are doing or what their functions were. Perhaps they were cultic. Or maybe they were just decorative.

Epigraphy!

This Thursday, we went to an epigraphy (inscription) museum in Rome (Il Museo Nazionale dei Iscrizioni). In order to prepare for this excursion we read a book on inscriptions and had an epigraphy workshop. There were a lot of really exciting things in the museum.

This bust has nothing to do with epigraphy, but I thought that it was worthy of being photographed.
Here is a picture of me with a copy of the cippus found beneath the lapis niger. The inscription is truncated and archaic (older than the 6th century BC), so nobody knows exactly what it says. However, there is a mention of either a rex (king) or a rex sacrorum (a religious office in the early republic). This baffling inscription is the subject of much study, speculation, and debate. I have included this Julio-Claudian inscription because it is interesting. Mentioned along the bottom are "AETORES TUBICINES LITICINES CORNICINES ROMANI," which means something like "Roman trumpeters, tuba players, buglers, and horn players." Apparently, this inscription was purchased by ancient brass players to honor the emperor.
This was my groups inscription. 2 other students and I were given the task of translating one inscription and writing a short commentary. Here's a closer up view:

Part of the challenge of an inscription, besides it obviously being in an ancient language, is the use of abreviations. In this case, there weren't too many. I'll show you an edited version of the text and then a translation.

D(IS) M(ANIBUS) MAGNIA VENERIA [FECIT] T(ITO) MAGNIO DULITO PATRONO IDENQUE MARITO ET T(ITO) MAGNIO PHILOSTORGO FILIO QUI VIXIT ANNIS XII MENSIBUS V DIES VIIII DULCISSIMIS

"To the gods of the underworld, Magnia Veneria erected this for Titus Magnius Dulitus, her patron and also her husband, and for Titus Magnius Philostorgus, her son who lived for 12 most sweet years, 5 months, and 9 days."

It was a lot of fun putting together a translation and commentary. Even a seemingly insignificant grave marker can have a lot of meaning. Compared to literature, epigraphy is not too difficult; it just takes some getting used to.

The Fields of Gabine Juno

In Book VII of the Aeneid, Virgil describes the Latin peoples and mentions the arva Gabinae Junonis (the fields of Gabine Juno, 682-683). This past Tuesday, we had the opportunity to visit those fields when we went to the site of Gabii, an ancient town outside of Rome which began to decline in significance and size as other cities became more important. At the site is a massive temple and sanctuary to Juno. The area was beautiful:
Well, actually, this photo is of nearby Palestrina (ancient Praeneste), but it gives you the idea. At Praeneste, we got to see a museum and the remains of some monumental architecture. Basically, the Romans built up a large temple complex using concrete and vaulted architecture. So resilient were Roman architectural methods and materials that, during the Second World War, when the allies bombed the Italians and Germans entrenched on the mountain, only the medieval, renaissance, and modern buildings were destroyed; the Roman concrete was by and large unscathed.Here is a picture of Scott (aka Professor Smith) giving a lecture in one of the crypts at Praeneste. I also have Scott for Latin and some have him for intermediate Greek.

We then went to a boat museum (shown above). There we got to see reconstructions of Caligula's (Gaius Caesar) pleasure boats. The model that you see here is only 1/10 the size of the original ships. Originally, the museum was meant to house the two ships, but during WWII, retreating Nazis burned down the museum and the boats were lost (forever!). The ships must have been remarkable to behold, but alas, they are no more.

Then we visited what once was a sanctuary to Diana. We are told in a number of ancient sources that the Rex Nemorensis (king of the grove) was a priest here. Strabo says that "the people set up as priest merely a run-away slave who has slain with his own hand the man previously consecrated to that office; accordingly the priest is always armed with a sword, looking around for the attacks, and ready to defend himself." How are we to explain this strange story? Did the Rex Nemorensis really exist? If so, was he constantly in danger of being killed by a runaway slave and replaced? I am inclined to believe that the stories are real and that the practice was some sort of pseudo-human sacrifice, based on earlier religious beliefs.

And, after a truly long day of lecturing and traveling, we stopped on our way back and bought some gelato. Here is a photo that I took of some of the other Centristi. All in all, I enjoyed our trip to Gabii, Praeneste, etc. Our week long trips in Campagnia and Sicily will probably be similar - characterized by many wonderful sites, numerous lectures, and a lot of time spent on the bus - but for 7 days a week, and not just 1.

Tiber, Soccer, etc.

I'm going to quickly wrap up what I've done over the remainder of last week. Then I'll be caught up on everything and will be ready to blog about our trip to Gabii tomorrow.



On Thursday, we went to the Forum Boarium (between the Tiber, Capitoline, and Palatine). There, we saw a number of sites and temples, including a round temple (to Hercules?) and a temple to Portunus. I, unfortunately, forgot my camera, so I don't have any lovely pictures. If you're really interested in seeing pictures, let me know, and I can try to get some from other people. We also visited Tiber Island and heard a student presentation on the role of the island and its connection to Asclepius, the god of healing. After that trip and an afternoon Italian class, I was done with classes for the week!



On Saturday, a number of us students went to go see a soccer game between Roma and Napoli. But first, as all good sports fans should, we had a barbeque. We bought hamburgers, hot dogs, and vegetables and had a nice meal in the Centro's garden. It was quite an experience seeing Franco (the director) use a ping pong paddle to shovel and fan the coals. In the end we had a wonderful meal (Franco Barbeque), and, after getting our faces painted, we were off to the game!
Some Centristi with their war paint.
The players were far away, but fun to watch. Roma is red, and Napoli is blue.

The Roma mascot (a wolf) leading cheers. (e.g. "Non siamo Napoli!" or "We are not Napoli!")

I bought a scarf and jersey. Here, I am holding a little wolf stuffed animal that Franco let us bring.

But alas! Rome lost by 2 points. Although I had no stake in the game, having cheered for Roma, I could not help but feel slightly dejected. Such is the nature of sports. Once you get your mind set on a particular outcome, any alternative leaves you unsatisfied.