Page - 114 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

114 DylanK. Rogers Fig. 6:SilverDena- rius, 42BC, the reversedepicts the SacellumofVenus Cloacina. before the forumbasinwas drained and the streams of the Cloacawere yet to be canalized, it is easy tounderstand thedesire to establish a cult to the spirit of thewater that permeates the volatile landscape.With the archaeological and literary evidence, then, we can discern a cult of longuedurée, amonumentcontinuouslyseenthroughout thehistoryof the forumandindica- tive of its mytho-historical past. The sacellumwas also actually in a long line of other small shrines in front of the Basilica (e.g., the Temple of Janus Geminus, etc.), whichmarked the space,openingontotheviaSacra,asoneofareligiouscharacter,butalsosteepedinthehistori- cal past of the city.56 Further, the shrine was placed over the spot where the CloacaMaxima turns to the west, past the Basilica Aemilia, to head southwest across the forum. Thewaters associatedwith theCloacawouldhavebeensacred,moving,andpurifying,whichwouldeasily encourageacultofagoddessofa literallypurifyingnature.57Thus, theshrineofVenusCloacina would have had a number of associations for a Roman. She was a figure in Roman history before the kings, illustrating the antiquity of the deity. And her cult celebrated the purifying and sacredwaters of the great Cloaca,which stresses the aquatic landscape that once reigned in this space thatwas conqueredby theRomans. TheForumRomanum’swatery connectionswere also emphasizedwith the constructionof various rostra. The speaker’s platforms couldbe found in theRomancomitiumand the forum. After the naval victory of 338BC against the Latins at Antium, however, that platform in the forumwas decorated with naval beaks (rostra) – and so called after them.58 After the naval victories of the PunicWars, the rostrawas further decorated with the beaks of enemy ships. JuliusCaesar, however, decided to remove the rostra from the forum (connected to the ancient comitium thatwasclearedawayinthisperiod),andreplace itwithanewone,whichwasfinished by Augustus and given a prominent position on the northwest limit of the forum.59 The rostra Augustihad at least five phases: Caesarian (a simple 13.00m long, 3.50mhigh speaker’s plat- formwithbeaks); Augustan (larger core for two rowsof beaks to be added, 23.80m long,with amarble front balustrade); Flavian; Severan (more ornate decoration added, along with five columnson top, theso-called ‘Fünfsäulendenkmal’); andLateAntique.60TherewasalsoaDio- cletianic rostra installedon thewest side of the forum,whichwouldhavebeenapendant of a similar formof theSeveranperiod rostraAugusti.61 In addition to the rostraproper, therewere 56 Freyberger 2012, 49. See also the recent excavations of theBasilicaAemilia: Ertel et al. 2007; Lipps 2011; Frey- berger–Ertel 2016. 57 VanEssen 1956;Hopkins 2012, 96f. 58 Liv. 8, 14, 12; Plin. nat. 34, 20; Richardson 1992, 334f.; LTUR IV (1999) 212–214 s.v. Rostra (età repubblicana) (F. Coarelli). 59 Coarelli 1985,passim;Richardson1992,335f.;Haselberger2002,216;LTURIV(1999)214–217s.v.RostraAugusti (P.Verduchi). 60 LTUR IV (1999) 218f. s.v. Rostra: ‘Fünfsäulendenkmal’ (A. Pulte). 61 LTUR IV (1999) 217f. s.v. RostraDiocletiani (P.Verduchi).