Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1227

 TIBUn. ami by; and tlie remains at the cathedral mayliave belonged to a third. It is pretty certain, however, that the Forum of Tibur was near the cathedral, and occupied the site of the present Piazza dell Onno and its environs, as appears from a Bull of Pope Benedict VII. in the year 978, referred to by Ughelli in his Italia San-a (t. i. p. 1306), and co- pied by JIarini (Papiri Biplomatici, ]>. 3G). In this Bull, the object of which was to determine the rights and jurisdiction of the bishop of Tivoli, many places in the town are mentioned by their ancient names; as the Forum, the Vicus Patricius, the Eu- ripus, the Porta Jlajor, the Porta Obscura, the walls, the postern of Vesta, the district of Castrum Vetus, &c. The round temple at the cathedral belonged therefore to the Forum, as well as the crypto-por- ticus, now called Porto cU Ercole in the street del Pogrjio. The exterior of this presents ten closed arches about 200 feet in length, which still retain traces of the red plaster with which they were co- vered. Each arch has three loopholes to serve as windows. The interior is divided into two apart- ments or halls, by a row of twenty-eight slender pillars. Traces of arabesque painting on a black ground may still be seen. The mode of building shows it to be of the same period as the circular remains. In that part of the city called Castro Vetera, which Xibby identifies with the ars, are two temples, one round, the other oblong, both of which have 1" "n variously identified. The round one, a charm- iiii relic of antiquity, is commonly regarded as the t6iJ.aTi ^AASou- ['C'l'a, Suid. p. 3302 Gaisf.); and Horace evidently alludes to her when he speaks of the " domus Albu- nr-aeresonantis" at that place. (CfZ. i. 7. 12.) It can Murcely be doubted therefore that she had a fane at Tibur. But Nibby is of opinion that the epithet of " resonantis," which alludes to the noise of the wa- tfifall, is inapplicable to the situation of the round temple on the clifT; for though it immediately over- hung the fall, before the recent diversion of the stream, the cataract, as before shown, must in the time of Horace have been lower down the river. This ob- Ji'ction however, may perhaps be considered as pressing a poetical epithet rather too closely; nor is there anythini: to show how far the fall may have been removed by the catastrophe described by the younger I'liny. Some writers have ascribed the temple to 'i'sta, an opinion which has two circumstances in its favour: first, we know that Vesta was worshipped virgins of the Tiburtini; secondly, the temples of 'e.-ita were round, like the celebiated one near the K'lnian forum. Unfortunately, however, for this liypothesis, the Bull of Pope Benedict before referred t(] shows that the district of Vesta was on the op- [lo^ite side of the river. Hence Nibby {Dintnriii, lii. p. 20.5) regards the building in question as the Icinple of Hercules Saxanus. We know that round temples were sometimes erected to that deity, as in the i'lirum Boarium at Rome; and the epithet of Saxanus is applicable to the one in question, from its being seated on a r(x;k. It may be observed, however, that Saxanus is not a usual derivative form from Saxum ; and on the whole it may perhaps be as satisfactory to follow the ancient tradition which ascribes the temple to the Sibyl. It is of the style called peripteral, or hav- TIBUP. 12n.T ing columns all round. These were originally eighteen in number, but only ten now remain, of which seven are isolated and three are built into the wall of a modern structure; but in .'•ucli a manner that the sides towards the cell are visible. The columns are of travertino, of the Corinthian order, and channelled : hence the temple bears considerable resemblance to that in the Forum Boarium at Rome. According to the Bull before quoted, it w.as, in the 10th century, a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The same was the case with the adjoining temjile, which was dedicated to S. George. This building is also principally of travertino. It has four columns in front, now hidden by modern houses, and six at each side, five of which are built into the walls of the cella to the extent of two-thirds of their circum- ference. Hence it was of the style called prostyles tetrastylos pseudo-peri pteros. The columns are of the Ionic order. From an inscription found near if, some writers have inferred that the temple was de- dicated to the worship of Drusilla, the sister of Ca- ligula : biit the style of building is considerably earlier, and belongs to the age of Sulla. Others have called it the temple of the Sibyl. Professor Nibby {Dintorni, iii. p. 210) started a novel hypothesis, and regarded it as the temple of Tiburtus, or Ti- burnus. It is certain that the eponymous founder of the city enjoyed divine honours in it, as wo .see from Horace ( " Tiburni lucus," Od. i. 7. 13) and Statius (" ilia recubat Tiburnus in umbra," Silv. i. 3. 74). But these expressions refer to a sacred grove or Tf fifvos, probably with a shrine, or perhaps merely an altar, and therefore situated, in all likelihood, in tlie outskirts of the town, and not in a narrow crowded place like the arx. And we must here point out a little inconsistency into which the learned professor has fallen : for whilst he objects to the round temple being called that of Vesta, on the ground that it was not within hearing of the waterfall, when that was in its ancient state, yet he regards the square one, which immediately adjoins it, as the temjde of Tiburnus, because it was close to the cataract. On the whole, therefore, wo must for the present content ourselves with one of the ancient names for this building, or else, which may perhaps be the safer course, leave it altoeether unidentified. The cata.strophe of 1826 brought to light the re- mains of a bridge ; and another still more perfect one was discovered in 1832, in the progress of the works for diverting the course of the river. At the same time the workmen came upon a small tomb, between the Via Valeiia and the banks of the river, containing several skeletons and monumental stones. Among these was a cenotaph to Senecio, wiio was consul for the fourth time A. D. 107, and several inscriptions. Under this tomb was an ancient aque- duct, intended to distribute the waters of the Anio among the adjacent villas. There are no other remains in the town except some fine opus reticnlatum ct lateritium, near llie church of S. Andrea. At this spot were discovercii, in 1778, some large and handsome columns with Corinthian capitals, and also the {jodestal of a sintuo to Fur. Maecius Graccus, with an inscription con- necting it with some embellishment of the luiliis. Hence we may conclude that the thermae were bi- tiuited here. Outside the city, on the Via Constantiana, is the building known lus the temple of Tussis, for which appellation, however, no authority e,ist.s. Kxleni- ally it is of an wtagon form, but round inside.
 * it Tibur, from inscriptions recording the Vestal