III. Non. Iun. (June 3). C.
BELLONÆ IN CIRC[O] FLAM[INIO]. (VEN.)
This temple was vowed by the Consul Ap. Claudius in an Etruscan war[[536]] (296 B.C.): the date of dedication is unknown. In front of the temple was an area of which the truly Roman story is told[[537]], that being unable to declare war with Pyrrhus with the orthodox ritual of the fetiales, as he had no land in Italy into which they could throw the challenging spear[[538]], they caught a Pyrrhan soldier and made him buy this spot to suit their purpose. Here stood the ‘columella’ from which henceforward the spear was thrown[[539]].
The temple became well known as a suitable meeting-place for the Senate outside the pomoerium, when it was necessary to do business with generals and ambassadors who could not legally enter the city[[540]]. But of the goddess very little is known. There is no sufficient reason to identify her with that Nerio with whom we made acquaintance in March, as is done too confidently by the writer of the article in Roscher’s Lexicon[[541]].