THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER CAPITOLINUS.
"It stood upon a high rock, and was 800 feet in circuit, each side containing near 200; the length does not exceed the width by quite 15 feet. For the temple that was built in the time of our fathers, upon the same foundations with the first, which was consumed by fire, is found to differ from the ancient temple in nothing but in magnificence and the richness of the materials, having three rows of columns in the south front, and two on each side. The body is divided into three temples, parallel to one another, the partition walls forming their common sides. The middle temple is dedicated to Jupiter; and on one side stands that of Juno, and on the other that of Minerva. And all three have but one pediment and one roof." (Dionysius, iv. 61. See also Tacitus, "Hist." iii. 72; Livy, i. 55; Plutarch, in "Publicola;" Tacitus, "Hist." iv. 53.)
Four different temples have been erected on this site, and now it is occupied by a Christian church. The first, built by Tarquinius Superbus, and consecrated by Horatius the consul, was burned in the civil war. The second, erected by Sylla, and consecrated by Catulus, was destroyed under Vitellius. The third, erected by Vespasian, was burned before it was consecrated. The fourth was built by Domitian.
Access is now to be had to some curious vaults below the convent, which were formerly closed by the monks. Supporting these vaults are some remains of massive tufa walls—one piece in particular being about 36 feet long and 8 feet high—consisting of single blocks of stone, of which the other fragments seem to be continuations. These appear to have been built originally as substructions, and run parallel with the Via Marforio, and could not have been part of the city wall, for that is within the city of the two hills. Nibby records that tufa walls remain under the stairs leading up to the Ara Cœli Church. We think them to be part of the foundations of the celebrated Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
We may mention that among the rubbish contained in the vaults of the convent are two slender columns of Pentelic marble. May not these have belonged to the temple?
TEMPLE OF JUPITER CAPITOLINUS.
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The strongest evidence of the position of the Temple of Jupiter "supremely good and great" is pictorial. We have it represented on the relief in the Palazzo dei Conservatori which formed part of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius. That emperor is there, after a victory, offering sacrifice upon the Capitoline Hill; and in the background is a representation of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus: it has three doors, and the figures of Minerva, Jupiter, and Juno. This is to the spectator's left, and faces south, as we are told the temple faced. This relief is further corroborated by another in the Louvre, in the background of which is likewise a representation of a temple of the Corinthian order, facing the same way and to the left of the spectator, and having over the door the words Iovi Capitolinus. Upon a relief in the Capitol Museum, another building appears upon a lower level, ornamented with pilasters, having Doric capitals. This building corresponds with the front of the Tabularium towards the Capitol.
To the right of the Palazzo dei Conservatori (New Museum) a road, through a gate, leads to the German Embassy. In the garden Bunsen found the remains of the Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, which have lately been covered in; but a fine piece of the wall of the Temple of Juno may yet be seen. By applying at the Embassy, permission will be given to enter the garden.