ROSTRA, or The Beaks, was the name applied to the stage (_suggestus_)
in the Forum, from which the orators addressed the people. This
stage was originally called _templum_, because it was consecrated by
the augurs, but obtained its name of _Rostra_ at the conclusion of
the great Latin war, when it was adorned with the beaks (_rostra_)
of the ships of the Antiates. The Greeks also mutilated galleys in
the same way for the purpose of trophies: this was called by them
ἀκρωτηριάζειν. [ACROTERIUM.] The rostra lay between the Comitium or
place of meeting for the curies, and the Forum or place of meeting
for the tribes, so that the speaker might turn either to the one or
the other; but down to the time of C. Gracchus, even the tribunes
in speaking used to front the Comitium; he first turned his back
to it and spoke with his face towards the forum. The rostra was a
circular building, raised on arches, with a stand or platform on the
top, bordered by a parapet, the access to it being by two flights of
steps, one on each side. It fronted towards the comitium, and the
rostra were affixed to the front of it, just under the arches. Its
form has been in all the main points preserved in the ambones or
circular pulpits of the most ancient churches, which also had two
flights of steps leading up to them, one on the east side, by which
the preacher ascended, and another on the west side, for his descent.
The speaker was thus enabled to walk to and fro, while addressing his
audience. The suggestus or rostra was transferred by Julius Caesar
to a corner of the Forum, but the spot where the ancient rostra had
stood still continued to be called _Rostra Vetera_, while the other
was called _Rostra Nova_ or _Rostra Julia_. Both the rostra contained
statues of illustrious men.
[Illustration: Rostra on Coin of M. Lollius Palicanus. (British
Museum.)]