Temple of Hercules Victor
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The Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius, located in the Forum Boarium in Rome, is a round temple of Greek 'peripteros' (enclosed chamber) design. This design caused many to mistake it for a temple of Vesta, but it has been determined to be a temple of Hercules. Hercules was a favorite divinity for traders, so it is appropriate that it would be in a forum.
Dating from about 120 BCE, the temple is 14.8m in diameter and consists of a circular wall within a circle of 20 10.66m tall Corinthian columns resting on a tufa foundation. It is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome.
The original wall and the columns remain but the current tile roof was added later. Palladio suggested a dome, though this was not done.
By 1132 the temple was a church, known as St. Stephen 'of the carriages'. Additional restorations (and a fresco over the altar) were made in 1475. A plaque in the floor was dedicated by Sixtus IV. In the 17th Century the church was renamed St. Mary 'of the Sun'.
This temple and the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli inspired the centralized churches of the Renaissance.
The temple was recognized officially as an ancient monument in 1935.
References
- Claridge, Amanda, Oxford Archaeological Guides - Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998
- Woodward, Christopher, The Buildings of Europe - Rome, page 30, Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 0719040329
- Coarelli, Filippo, Guida Archeologica di Roma, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1989.
External links
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