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Stories in Stone from the Roman Forum

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Stories in Stone from the Roman Forum S R IES IN S O NE F ROMTHE TO . T ROMAN FO RUM STORIES IN STONE FROM THE ROMAN FORUM ISABEL LOVELL I LLUSTRA TED Na yak THE MACMILLA N COMPANY LOND N : MACMILLAN A D LTD O N CO. 1 904 P BY THE MACMILLAN COM ANY. 0 Set up, elecmtyped, and published Sepwmber, 190 . M h 1 atc , 904. Nath a n M - Nonwood. Nan , U. 8 .A. PREFACE TO wh sim l a ex tell y, p y and cle rly, is the ceedin l this book Not g y ambitious aim of . ” ’ which ae afiair how, is the arch ologist s , but wh Forum of th y, why the Rome became e ’ i h R a r centre of the nation s l fe, w y the om ns wo e ublic r white togas, why the p Treasu y was under ’ wh as were Saturn s charge, y the basilic built, why the donkeys were decked with cakes during ’ on h Vesta s festival, why the temples stood igh i foundat ons, why the magnificent monuments ” crumbled into ruins, and many other whys to k al that travellers wish now, that historic s readers eek, that young students enjoy. The r no sto ies are but retold, the facts restated, but n e n m legend is arrat d, no stateme t ade, that is unvouched for by a recognized authority. It may be added that the illustrations have been inserted more as aids to the imagination than l s u as materia for cientific st dy. NEW YOR! , 1 65079 CONTENTS TEE STORY or TEE Foam: TTSELE TEE STORY or TEE TEMPLE or SATURN TEE STORY or THE Conn-n un THE STORY OP TEE TEMPLE or VEsTA - TEE STORY or TEE TEMPLE or GASma AND POLLUE THE STORY or TEE TEMPLE or CONOORD TEE STORY or JULIUS CE SAR’S BAse A AND or ms TEMPLE ' VIII . TEE STORY OE TEE Forum s STREETS ILLUST RA T IONS TRIUMPEAL PROCESSION ON TEE SACRA VIA RESTORATI ON or TEE FORUMLOO! ING TO WARD TEE TABULARI UM , RESTORATION OE TEE FORUMLOO! I NG TOWARD TEE TEM or , PLE VESTA m u n ch! TEE FORUM LOO! ING TOW or , ARD TEE BASILIcA JULIA R NS or TEE F RUM UI O , EARLY PART or NINETEENTH CENTURY RUINS TEE FOR M D or U , EN OF NINETEENTE CENTURY RESTORATION OE TEE TEMPLE or SATURN RUIN OF TEE TEMPLE OE SATURN RESTORATION OE TEE TEMPLE or VESTA RUIN OE TEE TEMPLE OE VESTA RUIN or TEE ATRI UM RUI N or TEE TEMPLE OE CASTOR AND POLLUII RESTO RATI ON or TEE BASILIcA JULIA RUI N or TEE BASILICA JULIA A U THO RITIES LI DIONYSIUS OE HALICARNASSUS. PUB US VIRGILIUS. AVI TITUS LIVIUS . FL US JOSEPEUS. P . OYIDIUS NASO . MOMMSEN . PLAUTUS . HENRY TEEDENAT. VA E A T A . ORAzro MAR EI . M. L RIUS M R I LIS UCC SExTUs AuRELIUs PROPERTIUS . GASTON BOISSIER . C . CORNELIUS TACITUS . RODOLFO LANCIANI . PLUTARCH . J . HENRY MIDDLETON . C . SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS. FRAN CIS MORGAN NICHOLS. M . FABIUS UI TILIA . D . Q N NUS. H JOR AN M . TULLIUS CICERO . APPIANUS. E. GIBBON . DION CASSIUS C CEIA . D M OC NUS W A A S . C . ALL TI R P . S US US C IS US L. PRELLER . PLINY TEE ELDER ENCYCLOPE DIAS AND CLASSI EE PLINY T YOUNGER . CAL DICTIONARIES . STORIES IN STONE FROMTHE ROMAN FORUM THE STORY OF THE FORUM ITSELF THIS rs is a story about a place out of doo , “ r for that is what forum means. It is a sto y in n s of stone, told by the buildings and monume t a m R the gre t Foru of ome, one of the most inter w esting places in all the orld . And the story tells, not only Of the making of the Forum, but of the many things that happened there, and from wa it we learn of a people strong and rlike, of a r nation of conquero s and lawgivers, who became the masters of the ancient world . This Forum was the place out of doors of w which the people ere most fond and proud, and, s was an like the forum of other Roman towns, it a h s r open, oblong sp ce t rough which pas ed seve al I STORIES IN STONE narrow roads, and in and round which were many of the principal buildings of the city. It for r — - was used many pu poses as a market place, of where all kinds things were bought and sold, from a sack of meal to a necklace of finest gold ; of r as a court law, where men were t ied and to of judged, from the pickpocket the traitor his - country ; as a meeting place, where friends came together, both the common citizens and the men d a of r of high egree ; and as place ente tainment, where the people amused themselves with games, ' and where feasts were given in honour of great ' s of event , such as the birthday an emperor, or the triumph of a victorious general . am Although it bec e much more important, the u For m took the place of the central square, or r l e n ou . gr en, or commo , of one of smal towns To such an open space the people go to meet each to to in other, listen public speeches, to rally of or to times war, to buy and sell ; and here are found such buildings as the shops, the court h or c . ouse, the theatre, the chur hes r But the Roman shops we e not like our shops, which are parts of houses, or are great buildings in e e s themselves ; th y were mor like booth , with z STORIES IN STONE n was done out of doors, and many thi gs were sold in the Forum by men who, with stands or of baskets, stood about the corners the buildings out d and cried their goods, much as is one — on our streets to day ; still other venders had ’ their places in the porticos of the Forum s great basilicas. Now these basilicas were the Roman courts of difierent - law, but were from our court houses, for besides having a great hall in the middle of the h building, w ere the trials were carried on, they d . were ma e with wide, shady porticos These were so large that the quiet of the court room was undisturbed by the noise of the crowds out w i side, where the people ere walk ng up and down s among the marble pillar , gossiping together, bar — gaining with the money changers, or playing w games of chance, for the Romans ere very fond f o gambling. But there were no theatres like ours in the Roman Forum, although plays were sometimes given there . At such times the people, in gay sat holiday dress, on rows of wooden benches w w e hich , whenever the sho s took place, wer put up round the centre of the Forum, where the 4 THE FORUM acting was all done in the open air. Some of the citizens looked on from the upper stories of and the shops basilicas, while a few very wealthy and honourable families sat in balconies round r columns, placed in the Forum to the memo y of r some of their famous ancesto s. And the plays themselves were not like our plays, for the actors wore large masks a r n if c yi g face if the part was sad, a laughing face the part was gay and spoke long poems, and made many gestures . Besides the plays, games were often given in the Forum, and these again ff were di erent from our games, for although the m Ro ans had of course games for Children, and sports simply for amusement and to show skill ” S k and strength, when they po e of a game, or “ ” the games, they meant not only a contest of some sort, but a part of a great religious ceremony l or festiva . These games were of many kinds, but only two sorts were given in the Forum fi hts t g be ween wild beasts, and combats between use men called gladiators who, skilled in the of w rs various eapons, fought in pai against each other until one of them was killed . When these gladiatorial shows were given in the Forum they 5 STORIES IN SI‘ ONE also, like the plays, took place in the centre, and the people watched them with even more interest the than they did actors, for these contests were the favourite amusement of the Romans . But one thing about the fights of the gladiators seems even stranger than the fact that men, and women, too, enjoyed looking upon their fellows as they and strove to kill each other, that is, that these gladiators were hired to fight at funerals . For the Romans believed that the spirits of their of if ancestors were fond blood , and that much of it was spilled round the pyre on which a was body burned , the soul of the dead would be So r w safe and happy. the gladiato s ere hired to fight there ; and the richer the family of the per who son died, the greater the number of them employed in these contests, which all the people R w of ome came to atch.
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