Fig. 53.—View of the south end of the Forum.
In the background, the ruins of the municipal buildings; in front of these, the remains of the colonnade. In the middle ground the pedestals of the statues of the imperial family.
Along the sides within runs a ledge a little more than five feet above the floor, on which rested a double series of columns, one above the other, serving both as ornament and as a support for a ceiling like that of the temple of Jupiter. If we picture to ourselves the columns in place, the walls covered with marble, and a rich coffered ceiling above, we are led to form a favorable idea of the recuperative powers of the city which set about the construction of such costly and splendid buildings so soon after the terrible earthquake.
The recess at the rear was designed for a large shrine patterned after the small shrines of the Lares and Penates in private houses. The Penates of the city were above all the emperor and his family. If this shrine had been finished, figures representing Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian would probably have been placed in it, facing the three Capitoline divinities in the temple of Jupiter at the other end of the Forum.
The office of the aediles, situated at the corner of the colonnade and close to the Basilica, and with no barrier to prevent ready access, was particularly convenient for magistrates who, among other duties, were charged with the maintenance of order and the enforcement of regulations in the markets. One or perhaps both aediles sat in the apse; while the rear and middle parts of the room were reserved for those who had business with them. The front part, lower than the rest by two steps (shown on the plan), may have served as a waiting room. At the rear of the apse and in the walls at the sides were niches for the statues of members of the imperial family and of those who had rendered important services to the city.
As the duumvirs not only sat as judges but also had in their hands the financial administration of the city, we can see why the hall set aside for their use was the first to be rebuilt after the earthquake. The magistrates, of course, sat in the apse, along the wall of which was a ledge for statues. The strong front doors were fastened with iron bolts, and there was also a latticed gate on the step in front of the threshold; probably the archives of the duumviral office were kept within. The small side door at the right made it possible to enter and leave the building after business hours or at other times when the large doors were closed.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE TEMPLE OF VENUS POMPEIANA
For some years it had been known that a temple once stood in the rectangular block south of the strada della Marina; and in 1898 workmen excavating here began to uncover the massive foundations. When the volcanic deposits had been removed it was seen that the court of the temple, with the surrounding colonnade, occupied the whole area between the Basilica and the west wall of the long room now used as a Museum. On the podium ([Fig. 55]) was found a part of a statuette of Venus, of the familiar type which represents the goddess as preparing to enter the bath; it was probably a votive offering set up by some worshipper. In the subterranean passageway entered near the southeast corner (, IV) the excavators found another votive offering, a bronze steering paddle of the kind shown in paintings as an attribute of Venus Pompeiana; an example may be seen in Fig. 4 ([p. 12]). From these indications, as well as from the size of the temple and its location, near the Forum and on an elevation commanding a wide view of the sea, we are safe in assigning the sanctuary to Venus Pompeiana, the patron divinity of Roman Pompeii.
Prior to the founding of the Roman colony the site of the temple had been occupied by houses, built in several stories on the edge of the hill, which here slopes sharply toward the southwest; remains of the houses, which must have resembled those farther east (an example is the house of the Emperor Joseph II, [p. 344]), have been brought to light in the course of the excavations. In less than a century and a half the temple was twice built, twice destroyed; a third building was in progress at the time of the eruption.
