Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/822

 802 BOMA. 3. There are evident traces that Trajan's forum extended still farther to the NW., though it is doubtful whether this extension was owjng to Trajan himself or to Hadrian. Excavations in this direc- tion have brought to light enormous granite pillars belonging probably to the temple which Hadrian dedicated to Trajan (Spart. Eadr. 19), and which TEMPLE OF TRAJAN. TEMPLE OF TRAJAN. is mentioned in the Notitia in conjunction with the column. This is further confirmed by some in- scriptions bearing the name of Hadrian which have been discovered in this quarter. (Bunsen, Les Fo- rum Romains, W"^" partie, p. 35.) Thus the space occupied by these noble structures extended from the fora of Caesar and Augustus almost to the Via Lata, or to the modern Piazza degli Apostoli. How long the forum of Trajan existed is un- certain. The Anonymous of Einsiedlen mentions it in the way from Porta Nomentana to the Forum Romanum. In the Mirahilia it seems to be spoken of as a thing that has disappeared. VI. The Palatine and Velia. After the Capitol and forum, the Palatine hill is undoubtedly the most interesting spot at Rome, both from its having been the cradle of the eternal city, and also the seat of its matured power — the resi- dence of the emperors when those emperors ruled the world, or, in the words of Tacitus, " ipsa imperii arx" (/T. iii. 70), — a circumstance from which it lias given name to the residences of subsequent princes. (Dion Cass. liii. 1 6.) In treating of the topography of this region, and indeed of that of the remainder of the city, we shall not endeavour to ob- serve a chronological order, as was desirable in treat- ing of the forum, in order that the reader might gain a clear idea of its appearance in the various periods of Roman history ; but shall follow the most convenient method without regard to the dates of the ROMA, different objects mentioned. We have already de- scribed the situation and height of the hill. The latter, however, cannot be very accurately given, as the soil is covered to a great depth with rubbish, the sole remains of those magnificent edifices which once stood upon it. On the side of the Circus Maxi- mus, indeed, in the Vigna del Collegia Tnglese, these ruins assume something of a more definite form; but the gigantic arches and terraces at that part, though they may still excite our wonder, are not sufiiciently perfect to enable us to trace any plan of the buildings which they once formed. How- ever, they must all have been subsequent to the time of Nero; since the ravages of the fire under that emperor were particularly destructive on the Palatine hill. Hence the chief topographical inte- rest attaches to the declivities of the hill, which present more facilities for ascertaining spots con- nected with and sanctified by the early traditions ot the city, — of which several have already been dis- cussed, as the Porta Romanula and Clivus Victoriae, the Porta Mugionis, the Curiae Veteres, &c. We have already seeu that the declivity towards the Capitoline hill was called Germalus or Cekmalus; but though in ancient times this was regarded as a separate hill, the reason is not clear, since it by no means presents any distinct features, like the Velia. Here was the Lupercal, according to tradition a grotto sacred to Pan ever since the time of the Arcadians (Dionys. i. 32, 79), and near it the Ficos Ruminalis, or sacred fig-tree, under which Romulus and Remus were discovered suckled by the wolf. It is difficult to determine the exact spot of the Lupercal. Evander points it out to Aeneas as lying " gelida sub rupe " (Virg. Aen. viii. 343), and Dionysius (?. c.) describes it as on the road (koto ri]v oSov) leading to the Circus IIaxinius; and his authority is preferable to that of Servius, who describes it as " in Circo " («rf Aen. viii. 90). Its most probable site therefore is at the western angle of the hill, towards the circus. Its situation is in some degree connected with that of the Casa Romull The description of the lOlh Regio, or Palatine, in the Notitia begins at the Ca.sa Romuli, and proceeding round the base of the hill to the N. and E. ends, in coming from the circus, with the Lupercal; whence it is plain that the Casa Romuli must have stood a little to the N. of it. Plutarch notices the Casa Romuli, which was also called Tugurium Faustuli, in the following manner: 'PcfO/xvKos 6e (yKfi) naf.a Toiis Aeyoixevovs Ba6fj.ovs KaA^s 'Akttjs • ovToi S4 elai rrepi t^ els rhv Itttzo- Spo/xov rhv fiiyav 4k llaAavTiov KaTd.€a(j'iv (^Roin. 20). Here the expression KoA^ 'Aktt] is puzzling, as an equivalent name does not occur in any Latin author. Properly aKrri signifies the sea-shore, and cannot therefore be applied to the banks of the Tiber : nor, in prose at least, to an inland bank. Hence Preller is inclined to think that it is merely Plutarch's awkward translation of the Roman name for a place called Fulcra Rupes, which obtained this appellation after the Lupercal had been restored by Augustus and adorned with architectural ele- vations. (^Regione7i, p. 181.) But Plutarch was surely master of his own language; and though he may not have been a very profound Latin scholar, yet as he lived some time in Rome and occupied himself with studying the history and manners of the people, we may perhaps give him credit for knowing the difference between rttpes and litttcs. It seeuiB more probable therefore that the Roman