Temple of Apollo Sosianus

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The remains of the Temple of Apollon Sosianus next to the Marcellus Theater
Architrave with frieze

The Temple of Apollo Sosianus , also called the Temple of Apollo in circo , is located in Rome in the immediate vicinity of the Marcellus Theater .

According to Titus Livius , the first temple of Apollo was built on this site in 431 BC. Inaugurated by the consul Gaius Julius Mento. At that time the consecration took place under the name Apollo Medicus . The aim was to emphasize the healing character of the deity. A few years earlier, on the occasion of a rampant plague, the Romans had made the vow to build a temple to the saving god Apollo if he would free them from the plague. A location on the edge of the Mars field had been chosen as the location for the temple , since a temple for Apollo as a strange god could not be moved into the center of the city. In addition, an altar to the God who said was at this location for some time (probably since 449 v. Chr.) Apollon Alexikakos , so the evil defensive ends was dedicated.

The cult for the Greek god Apollo probably reached Rome from Cumae at an early stage through contacts . Also Etruscan influences seems to have taken place in this direction.

Building history

Over the centuries the temple has been rebuilt and repaired several times. This has been proven for the years 353 BC. BC, 179 BC BC and 34 BC The renovation in 34 BC. BC was financed by Gaius Sosius , after whom the temple is named to this day - also to distinguish it from the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill . This is what Pliny (Nat. Hist. 36,28) calls him templum Apollinis Sosiani . However, Sosius not only had the temple repaired, but also rebuilt, for the first time in marble . The construction of a theater in this area had already been planned under Caesar , a project that Augustus implemented after acquiring additional land. Since the foundations of the old Temple of Apollo were built over for the construction of the Marcellus Theater and the Temple of Bellona stood right next to it , it was apparently laid down for the theater like the neighboring temples of Pietas and Diana . The new building of the Temple of Apollo was relocated a few meters to the north. The front flight of stairs was also given up and replaced by side stairs, so that the distance between the theater and the temple was less than 6 meters. This seemed just enough to leave enough room for both the theater and the temple to both relate to each other, since Apollo was also considered the god of the arts. The Apollinian Games , namely plays in honor of God, have been staged in front of the temple since Republican times . With the start of construction of the theater around 20 BC The new building of the Sosianus temple was completed, which consequently took place around the mid-twenties BC. Is to be dated.

Building description

Today, three 14 m high Corinthian columns with an architrave can still be seen from the temple, which was once 40 m long and 21.32 m wide . These were rebuilt here in 1940. Garlands of olive leaves and bulls' heads can be seen on the architrave. Other finds are now in the possession of the Capitoline Museums . For example, a group of gables showing the battle of Heracles and Theseus against the Amazons is exhibited in the Centrale Montemartini in Via Ostiense. This probably comes from the 5th century BC. BC and was originally at a temple of Apollo in Eretria in Greece .

Exterior construction

Location and layout of the temple

The temple, which rose on a podium, had a pseudoperipteral floor plan with a 6 × 3 column porch. The long sides of the cella were structured with seven half-columns each, a corresponding structure was dispensed with for the rear wall. This shows the dependence on the slightly older Temple of Apollo on the Palatine, which had a similar vestibule and structure of the long sides. In contrast to this, the Temple of Sosianus was, however, a pycnostylus , that is, the clear distance between its columns was one and a half times its lower column diameter. With the same column thickness, the Sosian building is a little smaller.

The exterior building, which was built from Roman travertine and mostly from Lunensian marble , was extremely richly decorated on almost all structural elements. This wealth begins with the column bases . The bulges were made as thick ropes, the retraction platelets ( scotia ) each carried a rod of pearl , the Scotia itself was divided by a ring made of opposing cords. The column shafts were structured with 32 alternately wider and narrower fluting , which, according to Vitruvius (4, 5,2), should only occur on columns of interior orders. The capitals are also lavishly decorated with their vegetable forms. In addition to the well-known acanthus motifs , there are tufts of laurel. Wavy tendrils adorn the sides of the abacus . In addition, there is an egg stick as a finishing profile on the upper edge of the abacus.

The wealth found its continuation in the entablature . So were festoons of architrave with by Kymatien accompanied bucrania and palmettes decorated. The architrave sides were divided into fascia of different heights, the top of which carried a pipe frieze with a final egg stick. The frieze itself, the center of which was a thymiaterion , had a pendants made of bucrania and laurel. The console geison that followed was covered with acanthus leaves, egg sticks, pearl sticks and bow kymatia stylized as laurel and lotus plants. Only the side surfaces of the consoles remained undecorated. Between the consoles there were cassette fields that received small rosettes in their center. Only the Sima had no other decoration besides the lion's head gargoyles . This geison, which was also continued on the sloping gable, framed the tympanum equipped with a multi-figure group of gables .

Interior

The richness of the exterior building was increased in the design of the temple interior. Various colored marbles were used here to further enhance the various, richly rhythmic arrangements and architectural elements. Playful aedicules with a richly varied gable construction - in addition to simple triangular gables, segment gables and pagoda-shaped gables were used. These aedicules, about 2.10 meters wide and 0.90 meters deep, rising on pedestals, were framed by two-story blend architecture made of pavonazzetto and Carrara marble. The cella was covered by a slightly vaulted ceiling, the stucco remains of which have been extensively preserved, although their belonging to the Sosian building has not been proven, but could rather be attributed to a later repair.

The interior of the temple was decorated with works of art, the most important of which Pliny tells us:

literature

  • Eugenio La Rocca: Amazzonomachia. Le sculturi frontonali del tempio di Apollo Sosiano. 1985.
  • Eugenio La Rocca: The Temple of Apollo Sosianus. In: Mathias Hofter (ed.): Emperor Augustus and the lost republic. An exhibition in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, June 7th - August 14th, 1988. von Zabern, Mainz 1988, pp. 121–135.
  • Ralf Schenk: The Corinthian Temple until the end of the Augustus' Principle (= International Archeology. Volume 45). Leidorf, Espelkamp 1997, pp. 124-132, ISBN 978-3-89646-317-3 .
  • Alessandro Viscogliosi: The architectural decoration of the cella of the Apollo Sosianus temple. In: Mathias Hofter (ed.): Emperor Augustus and the lost republic. An exhibition in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, June 7th - August 14th, 1988. von Zabern, Mainz 1988, pp. 136–148.
  • Alessandro Viscogliosi: Il tempio di Apollo in circo e la formazione del linguaggio architettonico augusteo. Rome 1996, ISBN 88-7062-942-2 .

Web links

Commons : Temple of Apollo Sosianus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 32.4 "  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 46.5"  E