Letter writing was very common among the educated. Letters were usually written with the stylus, an iron instrument like a pencil in size and shape, on thin slips of wood or ivory covered with wax, and folded together with the writing on the inside. The slips were tied together by a string, and the knot was sealed with wax and stamped with a signet ring. Letters were also written on parchment with ink. Special messengers were employed to carry letters, as there was no regular mail service. Roman letters differed from ours chiefly in the opening and close. The writer always began by sending "greeting" to the person addressed, and closed with a simple "farewell," without any signature. Thus "Cicero S. D. Pompeio" (S. D. = sends greeting) would be the usual opening of a letter from Cicero to Pompey.
CHAPTER XLVII. PUBLIC BUILDINGS, SQUARES, ETC.
Rome was built on seven hills,—the Palatine, the Aventine, the Capitoline, the Esquiline (the largest), the Quirínal, the Viminal, and the Coelian.
There were various public squares (forum = square or park). Some were places of resort for public business, and most were adorned with porticos. The most celebrated square was the Forum Románum, or simply The Forum. There were also the Forum Caesaris and Forum Trajáni. Some served as markets; as Forum Boarium, the cattle market; Forum Suarium, the hog market, etc.
Temples were numerous. The Pantheon (temple of all the gods), built by Agrippa and restored by Hadrian, was dedicated to Jupiter. It was situated outside of the city, in the Campus Martius, and is now used as a Christian church. The Temple of Apollo Palatínus, built by Augustus, was on the Palatine Hill. It contained a library, which was founded by Augustus. The Temple of Aesculapius was on an island in the Tiber; that of Concordia, on the slope of the Capitoline Hill, was dedicated in 377 B.C., and restored by Tiberius. The Temple of Janus was an arched passage east of the Forum, the gates of which were open during war. Up to the time of Ovid the gates had been closed but three times, once in Numa's reign, again at the close of the battle of Actium. Janus was one of the oldest Latin divinities, and was represented with a face in front and another on the back of his head. From him is named the month of January.
(Illustration: ROME AND ENVIR.)
There were several temples of Jupiter, the most famous of which was that of Jupiter Optimus, Maximus, or Capitolínus, built during the dynasty of the Tarquins, and splendidly adorned. (See Chapter V.) There were also numerous temples of Juno, of Mars, and of other deities.
The COLOSSÉUM was the largest building in Rome.
There were three theatres; that of Pompey, of Marcellus, and of Balbus; and several circuses, the most famous of which was the Circus Maximus.