Day 4: Colosseum, Forum and much more

Today we began early, leaving the hotel and walking to the Colosseum.  We decided to walk because the transit workers in Rome were going on strike.  We made excellent time and arrived plenty early for our 8:30 am appointment.  We paused for a group photo outside.

Then took this photo as we walked to the entrance.

Once inside we heard about the history of the building from our most excellent tour director Richard and saw how much room there was underneath the arena floor for the trap doors and elevators (as shown in the movie "Gladiator").

Leaving the Colosseum, we headed to the Forum, passing through the Arch of Titus along the way.

 Once in the Forum we saw the remains of huge temples, including this one to Castor and Pollux, the Gemini twins.  The twins appeared and fought on the Roman side in the Battle of Lake Regillus against the former king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Snobby).  Castor and Pollux were mythological figures even at that time, so their appearance on the Roman side was miraculous.  Later they were seen to water their horses in the Forum,

at the Font of Juturna, pictured here.  The Font of Juturna is located immediately next to the Temple of Castor and Pollux.

Here we see a shot of the Roman Forum.  The temple on the left in the back is dedicated to Antoninus Pius and his wife, Faustina.  The set of three columns on the right is the remains of the Temple of Vesta.

 Here we have the Temple of Saturn.  Saturn was the father of Jupiter, and Roman legend has it that after he was overthrown by his children, he went to Italy where he presided over a Golden Age until the coming of civilization.

 Here is a view of the back side of the Temple of Saturn, taken from higher up the Capitoline Hill.

Atop the Capitoline Hill is the Capitoline Museum.  One of the first things we encountered in the museum were the remnants of the colossus of Constantine, including his hand, index finger raised.

Further inside, we saw a statue of Hercules, with his club, golden apples and lion skin cloak.

 We saw a statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius,

another statue of Hercules, this one found near the Temple of Hercules which we will see shortly,

 and a statue of Marsyas, who was foolish enough to challenge Apollo, the god of Music, to a contest.  One of the judges, King Midas (already famous for once having the golden touch) judged Marsyas the winner.  Apollo gave Midas donkey ears as a punishment.  Marsyas had a worse punishment--Apollo had him flayed alive.  The sculptor used different colored marble to indicate where Marsyas' skin had been stripped off.

We then encountered the statue of the river god, Marforio,

 and the famous statue of the "Dying Gaul".

 

Further inside we see a famous statue of Bacchus

and two fauns.

This statue was originally of a discus thrower, but was reworked to show the figure as a wounded warrior.

After finishing our quick tour of the Capitoline Museum, we headed down the hill to the area of the Forum Boarium, the market where cattle were traded.  Here we visited the Temple of Hercules.  Hercules had an association with cattle because of his tenth Labor, where he was assigned to herd the Cattle of Geryon from the end of the earth back to Greece.  The Romans believed he spent some time in Italy and near the spot of the Forum Boarium, encountered Cacus--a fire-breathing giant son of Vulcan who was terrorizing the area and stole some of Hercules' cattle.  Of course, when posing in front of the Temple of Hercules, it's only appropriate to flex one's muscles.

 Near the Temple of Hercules is the Temple of Portunus.  Portunus was the ancient Roman god of doors, keys, livestock and grain.  Both the Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Portunus date back more than 2,000 years ago.

We continued our walk, passing by the remains of the Temple of Apollo,

and the Theater of Marcellus.  Marcellus was Augustus' nephew and son-in-law and the first of Augustus' intended heirs. He died young and Augustus built this theater, the second in Rome, in his honor.  A modern-day apartment building uses the ruins as part of its structure.

We then passed the Porticus of Octavia, built by Augustus in honor of his sister.  It was the home of a fish market

We then broke for a well-deserved lunch, having covered nearly six miles on our walk to that point.  When we reconvened an hour later, we went to visit the Pantheon.  Originally built by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' right-hand man, the Temple was destroyed by fire and rebuilt by Hadrian.

 The Pantheon features the biggest non-reinforced concrete dome in the world and is a marvel of engineering.  Roman concrete was more durable than modern concrete (and more ecologically friendly) because of its secret ingredient--volcanic ash from the area of modern Pozzuoli.

From the Pantheon, we went to the Largo di Torre Argentina.  In 1927 as part of a plan to create a traffic circle, the existing buildings on the site were destroyed and the remains of four temples were found that dated back to the era of the Roman Republic (BC).  At the rear of the area, barely visible in these photos, is the lower level of the Theater of Pompey, Caesar's great rival.  Caesar was assassinated in the Theater of Pompey on the Ides of March.

 The fourth temple is only partially excavated and most of it lies under the street to the left.

Finally, we visited the Piazza Navona.  This was originally a stadium called Domitian's Circus and was used for track and field events.  Today it houses a famous statue, Bernini's statue of the Four Rivers.

After such a busy day, we all took a break for a few hours until it was time for dinner.  We ate pizza and then began preparing for our adventure tomorrow at Gladiator School.  I hope you're enjoying the updates!