The Roman Forum was a space of about 5 acres situated between The Palatine Hill and The Capitoline Hill. Its construction started in the 8th century B.C. and included market places, judicial offices and temples. It would have been comparable to the Agora in Greece.
A common use of the Roman Forum was to celebrate triumphant returns of Roman armies. The leaders would make a “lap” around the Palatine Hill, move through the Constantine Arch and end in the Colosseum.
This is a stock photo comparing the before and after. It’s amazing. The Forum included:
- the Arch of Constantine
- the Arch of Titus
- the Senate House
- the Temple to Saturn
- the Temple of Romulus
This is the Arch of Constantine.
I love this picture because you can see the stairs built on top of a supporting arch.
I tried to picture hoards of people making their way through the forum, talking, laughing and listening to proclamations from political and religious leaders.
This was not my favorite place to visit primarily because I could not visualize the buildings in their prime. It was, nevertheless, fascinating.
LORD, How terrifying it must have been for the early Christians to live in this place during times of persecution. We have no idea how easy we have it. Help us to understand the cost they paid and to be willing to do the same. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment