This magnificent building is one of the oldest in the world. It is striking in its truly gigantic dimensions. This article will be interesting not only to tourists traveling to Italy, but also to schoolchildren studying world art culture (MHC). The temple of Saturn, according to legend, was erected on the site of the altar, which was once erected by God himself.
The emergence of the temple
Historians still argue about when the construction of the temple of Saturn in Rome, which is located near Capitol Hill, began. Over its unusually long history, this building was rebuilt more than once. It is worth noting that the townspeople dedicated it to the god of agriculture not by chance. The fact is that the construction of the first building dates back to about 490 BC. It was this period that was extremely difficult for the townspeople, as a continuous series of epidemics, wars and crop failures drained the state treasury and brought the inhabitants themselves to extremes. In order to regain the favor of the gods, the Romans began to build temples. They brought generous gifts to the celestials, asking them to have mercy on them.
The Temple of Saturn was not the only religious building built at that time. The people especially revered this god, since he patronized not only agriculture, but also protected him from all sorts of troubles and misfortunes. Soon, Ancient Rome really began to flourish. The empire successfully captured new lands, thereby expanding its borders even more.
Reconstruction of the temple
In 42 BC, Lucius Munacy Plank decided to radically renew the building, giving it even greater grandeur. After 200 years, a fire occurred in the temple of Saturn, after which the building could no longer be used. In 283, under Emperor Karin, another reconstruction of the building was carried out.
In memory of the fire that happened in its walls and the new construction, a special wall plate was installed. It was written on it that the reconstruction of the temple was approved by the Senate and free Romans. At this time, additional columns appear at the building: six are finished with gray granite, and the rest with a red tint.
Oblivion
When Christians appeared in Rome, the inhabitants of the city were forbidden to worship pagan gods. People stopped going to the temple and actually abandoned it, and state documents and the treasury were transferred to another place.
Over the next several centuries, the building was never reconstructed, so over time it began to collapse under the influence of adverse weather conditions, until it almost completely disappeared from the face of the earth.
Description
The Temple of Saturn was built in the form of a pseudo-periper, because both the rear and side columns were not fully executed and almost half protruded from the walls. The rectangular structure was 40 meters long and 20 meters wide. The foundation of the building is made of natural stone taken nearby. The main part of the temple is made of concrete and bricks, while the exterior is made of travertine and marble.
The structure itself, erected near the slope, was raised nine meters above the ground, so you can only enter it by going up the stairs. To get closer to the temple, it was necessary to cross the fenced area of Saturn. It was decorated with numerous slabs made of stone, on which the basic laws of the Roman Republic were knocked out. On both sides of the entrance to the building stood figures of newts holding large sea shells in their paws, symbolizing the favor of the god Neptune.
Near the stairs were arranged special podiums. Archaeologists were able to find them only a few years ago, when they dismantled the road that ran straight through the Forum. Now scientists are excavating, plunging into the ground a few meters. Rectangular openings were discovered on the eastern side of the temple of Saturn. Scientists believe that in their place the texts of the newly approved state documents, put up for public inspection, were once posted. On the opposite side of the building are visible blocks of frieze and architrave made of white marble.
The frontons of the building were decorated with large statues of horses and newts, and a golden sculpture of Saturn inlaid with ivory was kept in the sanctuary. The height of the eight columns of the temple of Saturn is 11, and the diameter is 1.4 meters, they have a monolithic structure. To reduce the already significant pressure on the foundation, the lightest floors were installed over the columns.
The purpose of the temple
Mostly the building was used for administrative purposes. It is believed that one of the podiums served as a repository for various kinds of financial documentation, the city treasury and the so-called sacred standards, according to which they made measuring rulers.
In addition, the temple of Saturn was used for its intended purpose. In honor of this deity, annual festivities were held, beginning on December 17 and lasting for several days in a row. They symbolized the end of the harvest. At first, sacrificial rites were performed at the doors of the temple, after which the triumphal processions began their festive procession through the city streets, carrying with them a golden statue of Saturn.
These days, aristocrats and wealthy Romans, instead of their outfits made of expensive fabric, wore simple, rough clothes. Presumably, the rich townspeople thus recalled the Golden Age, thus paying tribute to the long-forgotten equality of people. It is believed that it was then that the tradition came to present non-trivial gifts to each other, for example, the rich gave money to the poor. Children did not study, workers rested, and slaves were temporarily released. In addition, people presented clay dolls and candles to their relatives. Scientists have made the assumption that the custom to leave gifts under the Christmas tree for the New Year and Christmas came to us from Roman saturnalia.
Conclusion
So far, only a small part of the building has been preserved. This is a fragment of the base and several walls with a colonnade. In addition, here you can also see the remains of a network of drains and front steps. Despite the fact that time was ruthlessly treated with this ancient structure, tourists study it with great interest and take pictures next to it.