Aedes Castoris

160 BC

Sources

Plan: Nielen and Poulsen, Fig.61 p.83

Facade: see Tuscan temple rule documentation


44 BC

Sources

Plan: SaraNistri


Timeline

  • 499/496 BCE: Temple is vowed
  • 484 BCE: Temple is dedicated
  • Between 200 and 117 BCE: Pronaos is reconstructed
  • First half of 2nd century BCE: A tribunal is added
  • 117 BCE: Temple is restored with the floor raised about 3 meters, but the size kept roughly the same.  Tribunal is enlarged, connected to pronaos by stairs.
  • 74 BCE: Temple is restored again
  • 14/9 BCE: Temple is possibly burned by fire, but sources do not mention this.
  • 6 CE: Temple is completely rebuilt by Tiberius. Raised 1 more meter in height.  New dimensions of 32.1m x 49.5m.  Smaller tribunal, replaced by a wide frontal staircase in Severan times.
  • 4th century CE: Temple is ruined by this point.

Physical details

  • Slightly sloping ground, 10 m. east of the Cloaca Maxima, roads on 3 sides.
  • Visible remains mostly from the Augustan period
  • Original temple’s podium partly preserved (27.5m x 37-40m)
  • Etruscan style
  • 3 rows of 4 columns for its pronaos.
  • High podium, 5m up from west, 3.6m up from east.
  • Temple oriented N-NE.
  • Columns not of marble, since they were later stuccoed.

Literary sources

  • Livy book 2 says that Postumius’ son vowed the temple after the Dioscuri appeared there.
  • Cicero’s Verrine Orations refer to how Verres was charged with restoring the temple in 74 BCE.
  • Cass. Dio 55.27.4
  • Cic. nat. deor. 3.13; Scaur. 46; Verr. II 1.129-134, II 3.41, II 5.186
  • Dion. Hal. ant. rom. 6.13
  • Liv. 2.20.12, 2.42.5
  • Mart. 1.70.3-6
  • Plut. Cor. 3.4
  • Suet. Tib. 20