"It stood upon a high rock, and was 800 feet in circuit, each side
containing near 200; the length does not exceed the width by quite 15
feet. For the temple that was built in the time of our fathers, upon
the same foundations with the first, which was consumed by fire, is
found to differ from the ancient temple in nothing but in magnificence
and the richness of the materials, having three rows of columns in the
south front, and two on each side. The body is divided into three
temples, parallel to one another, the partition walls forming their
common sides. The middle temple is dedicated to Jupiter; and on one
side stands that of Juno, and on the other that of Minerva. And all
three have but one pediment and one roof." (Dionysius, iv. 61. See
also Tacitus, "Hist." iii. 72; Livy, i. 55; Plutarch, in "Publicola;"
Tacitus, "Hist." iv. 53.)
Four different temples have been erected on this site, and now it is
occupied by a Christian church. The first, built by Tarquinius
Superbus, and consecrated by Horatius the consul, was burned in the
civil war. The second, erected by Sylla, and consecrated by Catulus,
was destroyed under Vitellius. The third, erected by Vespasian, was
burned before it was consecrated. The fourth was built by Domitian.
Access is now to be had to some curious vaults below the convent,
which were formerly closed by the monks. Supporting these vaults are
some remains of massive tufa walls--one piece in particular being
about 36 feet long and 8 feet high--consisting of single blocks of
stone, of which the other fragments seem to be continuations. These
appear to have been built originally as substructions, and run
parallel with the Via Marforio, and could not have been part of the
city wall, for that is within the city of the two hills. Nibby records
that tufa walls remain under the stairs leading up to the Ara Cœli
Church. We think them to be part of the foundations of the celebrated
Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
We may mention that among the rubbish contained in the vaults of the
convent are two slender columns of Pentelic marble. May not these have
belonged to the temple?
[Illustration: TEMPLE OF JUPITER CAPITOLINUS.]
The strongest evidence of the position of the Temple of Jupiter
"supremely good and great" is pictorial. We have it represented on the
relief in the Palazzo dei Conservatori which formed part of the Arch
of Marcus Aurelius. That emperor is there, after a victory, offering
sacrifice upon the Capitoline Hill; and in the background is a
representation of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus: it has three
doors, and the figures of Minerva, Jupiter, and Juno. This is to the
spectator's left, and faces south, as we are told the temple faced.
This relief is further corroborated by another in the Louvre, in the
background of which is likewise a representation of a temple of the
Corinthian order, facing the same way and to the left of the
spectator, and having over the door the words IOVI CAPITOLINUS. Upon a
relief in the Capitol Museum, another building appears upon a lower
level, ornamented with pilasters, having Doric capitals. This building
corresponds with the front of the Tabularium towards the Capitol.
To the right of the Palazzo dei Conservatori (New Museum) a road,
through a gate, leads to the German Embassy. In the garden Bunsen
found the remains of the Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, which have
lately been covered in; but a fine piece of the wall of the Temple of
Juno may yet be seen. _By applying at the Embassy, permission will be
given to enter the garden._
TEMPLE OF JUPITER FERETRIUS (The Trophy-Bearer).
The first temple built in Rome by Romulus, to receive the spoils
captured from Acron, King of Cænina.
"After the procession and sacrifice, Romulus built a small temple, on
the top of the Capitoline Hill, to Jupiter, whom the Romans call
Feretrius. For the ancient traces of it still remain, of which the
longest sides are less than fifteen feet" (Dionysius, ii. 34. See
Livy, i. 10).
It was enlarged A.U.C. 121 (Livy, i. 33); and was repaired by Augustus
on the advice of Atticus (Nepos. See Livy, iv. 20).
_Opposite the gate leading into the garden_ we can look over the
parapet, down the scarped rock, to the base beneath, which is reached
from below by _taking the Via Tor dei Specchi on the right, looking
towards the Capitol, and the Vicolo Rupe Tarpeia on the left_. It was
here that the terrible scene described in Hawthorne's "Transformation"
took place.
The road leads to the New German Archæological Institute. It was about
here that the messenger from Veii got into the citadel, and where the
Gauls tried to do the same, when the sacred geese in Juno's temple
awoke the garrison. The two bronze "geese" shown in the Hall of the
Conservators are ducks.
_Passing on under the archway, turn to the left; at a little distance
the Via Monte Tarpeia turns off to the right--follow this; at the end,
the house facing us is built up_ against the point of the hill used
for the public executions.