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Essay / Importance of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus
The period of the Republic was a time of great construction. Roman emperors and generals built many temples after winning battles. A temple was a structure built for the purpose of religious activities such as sacrifice, and was usually dedicated to a Roman god or goddess. Ancient Rome had many notable temples, but one of the most notable was the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus. The Temple of Mars Ultor represented the successful revenge of a devoted son and cherished the idea of just war as the authentic foundation of Rome's imperial authority and identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe Temple of Mars Ultor was located in the Forum of Augustus. The Forum of Augustus was built next to the Forum of Caesar. Today it is also bordered by the Forum of Trajan and the Forum of Nerva. The form and style of the forum was similar to that of Caesar's forum in that it was an enclosed square dominated by a temple. However, unlike other forums that existed at the time, there was no basilica in the Forum of Augustus. The reason Augustus built the forum was that the other two forums, the Roman Forum and Caesar's Forum, were no longer able to accommodate the day-to-day aspects of the city, such as providing space for legal proceedings. In fact, the need for space became so urgent that the forum was opened before the temple was completed. The temple was located at the eastern end of the forum (Fig.3) and was the only temple in the forum. The forum consisted of the temple of Mars Ultor, porticoes and a large statue of Augustus located in front of the temple. Today, only part of the temple remains. All we have left are the steps, a few columns and parts of the porticos. In 42 BC, the Battle of Philippi took place. This battle would decide who would control Rome and end the Roman Republic. It was fought between Octavian and Mark Antony against the assassins of Octavian's adoptive father Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius. In the first battle (there were two), Octavian lost to Brutus and Antony defeated Caissus. When Caissus lost, he committed suicide, completely unaware that Brutus had succeeded. Brutus was now in full control of the army, but he was not the military leader that Caissus had been. Brutus attacked again and was completely defeated. In honor of this defeat and the success of a devoted son in avenging his father, Octavian vowed to build a temple to the god of war, Mars Ultor. However, the temple was not dedicated until 2 BC. This was thought to be because Augustus did not have the funds to pay for the temple's completion. The Temple of Mars Ultor sat on a high podium and had eight Corthinian-style columns across its facade. , three of which are still standing today. The design of the temple was similar to that of the Temple of Venus in Caesar's Forum, except that it was one and a half times larger. The temple was built of Italian white Luna marble from the Carrara quarries. Marble quarried throughout the empire was representative of the imperial wealth and power of Rome and Augustus. On either side of the temple were porticoes which were used for courtrooms and other legal proceedings. These were lengthened by curving the porticos into two exedra. In the exedra and portico to the left of the temple was a gallery composed of statues of Aeneas and Romulus. Subsequently, the statue of Aeneas was statues of the ancestors of the Julienne family. Following the statue of Romulus were statues of other great men of..