Curia of Pompey

Meeting room of the Roman Senate

Curia of Pompey

A 3D reconstruction of the Curia of Pompey

Curia of Pompey

Shown within Rome

Location| Regio IX Circus Flaminius
Coordinates| 41°53′42″N 12°28′26″E﻿ / ﻿41.895°N 12.474°E﻿ / 41.895; 12.474
Type| Exedra
History
Builder| Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
Founded| 62 BC

The Curia of Pompey, sometimes referred to as the Curia Pompeia,[1] was one of several named meeting halls from Republican Rome of historic significance.[2] A curia was a designated structure for meetings of the senate.[3] The Curia of Pompey was located at the entrance to the Theater of Pompey.

The Curia was attached to the porticus directly behind the theatre section and was a Roman exedra, with a curved back wall and several levels of seating.[1] In A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, L. Richardson Jr. states that after the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar removed the large statue of Pompey and had the hall walled up. Richardson cited Suetonius that it was later made into a latrine, as stated by Cassius Dio.[4]

## History

[edit]

The Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini, 1806

In 55 BC, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) dedicated the opening of the largest theater in the ancient world before its full completion. Built from the profits of his war campaigns, the structure was a political statement meant to raise the status of the Roman general and consul, as well as to memorialize his achievements throughout his career. That would be copied later by the Roman emperors when they created their own imperial forums.[citation needed]

The full structure consisted of a large theater section, incorporating a temple, a pulpitum or stage, scaenae frons and cavea (seating) at one end, a large quadriporticus that surrounded an extensive garden and housed Pompey's collection of art and literature, and the curia itself at the opposite end from the theater. While the theater complex overall would stand for centuries, the curia itself would last for only about a decade. In 44 BC, 11 years after the structure opened, Julius Caesar was assassinated there by a conspiracy of senators. Afterwards, the structure was closed and walled up and was said to have been set on fire. A latrine was put in its place some years later.[citation needed]

## Archaeology

[edit]

The structure is located in an area now called Largo di Torre Argentina. The site was excavated by order of the dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.[5][failed verification] For the most part, only the foundations of the original structure have been excavated[6] and a modern roadway and rail system are now raised above the remains of the curia. In 2012, it was announced that further excavations had uncovered the precise spot of Caesar's murder, marked by his adopted son within the building before its destruction. It was also later announced that the underground excavations of the curia would be opened to the public in 2013.[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Middleton, John Henry (1892). The remains of ancient Rome, Volume 2. University of Michigan Library. p. 68.
2. ^ Bunson, Matthew (1994). Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. Facts On File. pp. 159–160. ISBN 0-8160-4562-3.
3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2\. Samuel L. Hall. 1878. p. 551.
4. ^ Richardson, L (1992). A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 104. ISBN 978-0-8018-4300-6.
5. ^ Hogg, Brewer; Sylvie, Stephen (2012). Frommer's Italy Day by Day. Frommer. pp. 106. ISBN 978-1-118-02736-3.
6. ^ Ewald, Björn Christian; Noreña, Carlos F (2010). The emperor and Rome: space, representation, and ritual. Yale Classical Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 152\. ISBN 978-0-521-51953-3.

* v
* t
* e

Pompey

Military career|

| Sulla's civil war|

* Asio River
* Sena Gallica
* 2nd Clusium
* Utica

|

Sertorian War|

* Lauron
* Valentia
* Sucro
* Saguntum
* Osca

Pirate War|

* Coracaesium

Third Mithridatic War|

* Lycus
* Pelorus
* Abas
* Jerusalem

Caesar's civil war|

* Brundisium
* Dyrrhachium
* Pharsalus

Legislative activity|

* Lex Gellia Cornelia
* Lex Gabinia de piratis persequendis
* Lex Manilia
* Eastern settlement
* Lex Trebonia
* Lex Pompeia de ambitu
* Lex Pompeia de provinciis

Buildings|

* Temple of Hercules Pompeianus
* Theatre of Pompey
* Portico of Pompey
* Curia of Pompey

Cities|

* Pamplona
* Soli
* Pompeiopolis
* Samsun

Family|

| Wives|

* Antistia
* Aemilia
* Mucia Tertia
* Julia
* Cornelia Metella

|

Children|

* Gnaeus
* Pompeia Magna
* Sextus

Other|

* Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (father)
* Pompeia (aunt)
* Pompeia (sister)

Legacy|

* Pharsalia
* Parallel Lives
* Caesar and Pompey
* The Death of Pompey
* Pompeo Magno
* The Tragedy of Pompey the Great

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Julius Caesar

Major life events|

* Early life and career
* First Triumvirate
* Gallic wars
* Caesar's civil war
* Crossing the Rubicon
* Assassination

Military campaigns|

* Mytilene

| Gallic Wars|

* Arar
* Bibracte
* Vosges
* Axona
* Sabis
* Atuatuci
* Octodurus
* Morbihan
* Invasions of Britain
* Ambiorix's revolt
* Avaricum
* Gergovia
* Alesia
* Uxellodunum

|

Civil War|

* Corfinium
* Brundisium
* Ilerda
* Dyrrhachium
* Pharsalus
* Alexandrian war
* Siege
* Battle of the Nile
* Zela
* Ruspina
* Corduba
* Thapsus
* Munda

* Planned invasion of the Parthian Empire

Legislation|

* Lex Julia de maiestate
* Lex Roscia
* Constitutional reforms
* Dictator perpetuo

Works|

* Laudatio Iuliae amitae
* Anticato
* Commentarii de Bello Civili
* Commentarii de Bello Gallico
* De analogia
* Poems by Julius Caesar

Quotes|

* Alea iacta est
* Veni, vidi, vici
* Ut est rerum omnium magister usus
* Last words

Buildings|

* Forum of Caesar
* Curia Julia
* Basilica Julia
* Temple of Venus Genetrix
* Caesar's Rhine bridges

Portraits|

* Tusculum portrait
* Chiaramonti Caesar
* Green Caesar
* Arles bust

Family|

| Wives|

* Cossutia (disputed)
* Cornelia
* Pompeia
* Calpurnia

|

Children|

* Julia
* Caesarion
* Augustus (adopted)

Other|

* Gaius Julius Caesar (father)
* Aurelia (mother)
* Julia Major (sister)
* Julia Minor (sister)

Legacy|

* Life of Caesar by Plutarch
* Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar
* Temple of Caesar
* Caesar's Comet
* Caesarism
* Julio-Claudian dynasty
* Caesar (title)
* Eponyms

Related|

* Julia gens
* Mark Antony
* Cleopatra
* Servilia
* Marcus Junius Brutus
* Curia of Pompey

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template