Caelius
The Caelius (Latin Caelius mons , Italian Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome . It is located southeast of the Palatine and south of the Esquiline . Its height is about 50 m, its surface area is about 2 km × 500 m.
The Caelius corresponded roughly to the II. Augustan region of Rome, which bore the name Caelimontium . It was partly outside the sacred city limits, the pomerium . A road ran over the hill to Porta Caelimontana and parallel to it several water pipes.
history
Originally the hill was also called Querquetulanus mons after the oaks that stood there . The name Caelius is said to go back to an Etruscan from Vulci , Caele (Caelius) Vibenna, a comrade of the ruling King Servius Tullius . However, it is also believed that the name could be derived from the Latin verb “caedere” (to fall), since the conquerors set about cutting down the oak forests on the hill.
On or on the Caelius, which stretches in an easterly direction to the Lateran , there were several sanctuaries, such as the grove of the Camena in honor of the spring nymph of the same name , the temple of Minerva Capta in honor of Minerva , the Hercules Victor and finally a cult site of Diana .
During the imperial era, after one of the Roman fires in 27, the Caelius gained its reputation as an expensive residential area among the wealthy population. That impression has faded today, however. However, it is worth mentioning that there are still existing buildings from antiquity and in particular the Caracalla Baths . In addition to the Lateran, there are a number of other precious churches, some of which go far back into early Christianity. These include the Santi Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio , the titular churches Santi Giovanni e Paolo and San Clemente (the latter with mithraeum ), the Santi Quattro Coronati and the Santo Stefano Rotondo .
During the imperial period, a large temple for the deified Emperor Claudius and several military camps were built on the Caelius .
literature
- Filippo Coarelli : Rome. An archaeological guide. Verlag von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2685-8 , pp. 200-214.
- Christian Hülsen : Caelius mons 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 1, Stuttgart 1897, Col. 1273-1275.
- Samuel Ball Platner , Thomas Ashby : A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome . Oxford University Press, London 1929, pp. 87-89 ( online ).
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 0 ″ N , 12 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E