Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/850

 830 EOJIA. just described were two sacred myrtles, which were characterised by distinctive appellations as jmtricia and pleheia. But, to have faced the Porticus Vip- sania, Martial's house must not only have been situated on the western side of the Quirinal, but also towards its southern extremity; which likewise appears from what has been said in the preceding section respecting the route from it to that of his friend Pliny being through the Subura and Vicus Cyprius ; for this would have been a roundabout way had ilartial dwelt towards the northern part of the hilL All these circumstances tend to snow that Numa's Capitol must have stood on the spot before indicated, and the temple of Flora a little to the N. of it. The part of the hill which it occupied was probably that called Latiaris in the Argive fragments. The part styled Collis Salutaris must have been that near the gate of the same name, derived from the ancient Sacelluji of Salus, which stood near it ; in place of which a regular Temple of Salus was dedicated by C. Junius Bubulcus, b. c. 203 (Liv. ix. 43, X. 1), and adorned with paintings by Fabius Pictor. These were still to be seen in the time of Pliny, when the temple was destroyed by fire in the reign of Claudius (xxxv. 7; of. Val. Illax. viii. 14. § 6). Cicero's friend Atticus lived close to the temple of S;tlus (" — tuae vicinae Salutis," ad Att. iv. 1), and at the same time near that of Quirinus : " Certe non longe a tuis aedibus inambulans post excessum suum Romulus Proculo Julio dixerit, se deum esse et Quirinum vocari, templumque sibi dedicari in eo loco jusserit." {De Leg. i. 1.) The vicinity of the temples is likewise indicated in another passage rela- ting to a statue of Caesar, which had been erected in that of Quirinus : " De Caesare vicino scripseram ad te, quia cognoram ex tuis Uteris : eum avvvaov Quirino malo quam Saluti" (ad Att. xii. 45). Hence the sites of the two temples in question are still further established. For as that of Salus lay on the N. side of the hill, near the Porta Salutaris, and that of Quirinus some 200 yards to the S. of it, at the church of S. Andrea^ so we may assume that the house of Atticus lay between the two, and he would thus be a close neighbour to both. Another ancient .sacrarium on the Quirinal was that of Semo Sancus or Ditjs Fidius. We have shown, when treating of the Servian gates, that the Porta Sanqualis took its name from this sacellum ; and Livy (viii. 20) describes it as facing the temple of Quirinus. Hence it must have stood on or near the site of the Palazzo Quirinale, between the temple of Salus and that of Flora. It had a perforated roof, for the deity loved the open air, whence his title of Dius; and some thought that no oath by this god should be sworn under a roof. (Varr. L. L. v. § 66.) Sancus was an old Sabine deity, and his temple at Rome appears to have been founded by Tatius. (Ov. Fast. vi. 213; Prop. v. 9. 74; Ter- tull. ad Nat. ii. 9.) Its antiquity is attested by the circumstance that the distaff and sandals of Tana- quil, the wife of Tarquinius Priscus, are recorded to have been preserved in it, and are said to have been in existence down to the time of Augustus. (Plin. viii. 74; Plut. Q. R. 30.) It appears to have been rebuilt by Tarquinius Superbus, but its dedication was reserved for Sp. Postumius. (Dionys. ix. 60.) The part of the hill where it stood must have been the Collis Muciaus of the Argive fragments. (Varr. v. § 52.) ROMA. There were several Tejiples of Fortuna on the Quirinal, but they do not seem to have been of much importance; and the notices respecting them are very obscure. Vitruvius (iii. 2) mentions three which stood close together at the Porta Collina, belonging perhaps to those alluded to by Ovid under the name of Fortuna Publica {Fast. iv. 375, v. 729), and by Livy, who mentions a temple of For- tuna Primigenia on this hill (xxxiv. 53). There was also an Altar of Fortuna in the Vicus Longus. (Plut. Fort. Rom. 10.) In the street just named stood also a Sacellum PiDiciTLAE Plebeiae, founded by Virginia, the daughter of Aulus, after the quarrel between the matrons in that of Pudicitia Patricia alluded to in a former section (Liv. x. 23). Outside of the Porta Collina was a temple of Venus Erycina, near which the Ludi ApoUinares were held when the circus had been overflowed by the Tiber. (Liv. XXX. 38; Appian, B. C. i. 93.) Of the Temple OF Serapis, mentioned in the Notitia along with that of Salus, nothing further is known, except that from the fragment of an inscription found near the church of 5. Agata alia Subura, where possibly the temple may have stood, it may be inferred that it was dedicated by Caracalla. (Gruter, Ixxxv. 6; Preller, Reg. p. 124.) These are all the ascertained temples that lay on the Quirinal ; for it is a disputed point whether we are to place on this hill the splendid Temple of Sol, erected by Aurelian. (Aur. Vict. Caes. 25; Eutrop. ix. 15 (9); Vopisc. Aurel.} Altogether, however, the most probable conclusion is that it stood there, and Becker's objections admit of an easy answer {Handb. p. 587, seq.). By those who as- sume it to have been on the Quirinal it is commonly identified with the remains of a very large building, on the declivity of the hill, in the Colonna gardens, on which spot a large Mithraic stone was discovered with the inscription " Soli Invicto." (Vignoli, de Columna Antuniniana, p. 174.) This position may be very well reconciled with all the ancient accounts respecting the temple. Becker objects that it is mentioned in the Notitia in the 7th Re- gion (Via Lata). But this Region adjoined the western side of the Quirinal, and the temple of the Sun may have been recorded in it, just as many buildings on the declivity of the Aventine are enu- merated in the 11th Region, or Circus Maximus. In the Catalogue Imperatontm Vienn. (ii. p. 246, Rone.) it is said of Aurelian, " Templum Solis et Castra in Campo Agrippae dedicavit;" and it will appear in the next section that the Campus Agrip- pae must have been situated under this part of the Quirinal. Becker assumes from the description given by Vopiscus of his ride with Tiberianus, the conversation during which was the occasion of his writing the life of Aurelian, that the temple in question could not have been so near the Palatine as the spot indicated ('' Ibi quum animus a causis atque a negotiis publicis solutus ac liber vacaret, sermonem multum a Palatio usque ad hortos Vale- rianos instituit, et in ipso praecipue de vita prin- cipum. Quumque ad templum Solis venissemus ab Aureliano principe consecratum quod ipse nonni- hilum ex ejus origine sanguinem duceret, quaesivit," &c., Vopisc. Aurel. 1). We do not know where the Horti Valeriani lay; they might possibly, as assumed by Preller, have been identical with those of Lucullus on the Pincian, subsequently in the pos- session of Valerius Asiaticus (Tac. Ann. xi. 1), i