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Palatine Hill

The central hill of Rome and the site of imperial residences throughout Roman history; reflects Rome’s evolution from its legendary founding through the Republic and Empire

Augustus and the Palatine Hill

Augustus established the Palatine as the seat of imperial power, building his residence there and setting the precedent for future emperors to use the hill as a symbol of authority

Nero’s Golden House (Domus Aurea)

A massive, lavish palace complex built by Emperor Nero after the Great Fire of 64 CE; a megalomaniac architectural solution that took over large parts of central Rome for his personal residence

Nero’s Colossus

A giant bronze statue of Nero erected near his Golden House; after Nero’s death the Flavians repurposed the area, and the statue’s location gave the Colosseum its name

Flavian Palace (Domus Flavia / Domus Augustana)

The imperial palace built by the Flavian emperors on the Palatine Hill after Nero’s death, replacing the excess of the Golden House with a more formal seat of government

Arch of Titus

A triumphal arch on the Via Sacra commemorating Emperor Titus’s conquest of Jerusalem in 70 CE; its reliefs depict the spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem, including the menorah

Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum)

The massive arena built by the Flavian emperors (begun by Vespasian, completed by Titus around 80 CE) on the site of Nero’s private lake; symbolized the return of land to the Roman people after Nero’s excess

Flavian emperors

The dynasty of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian (69–96 CE) who transformed Rome after Nero’s death by building public monuments like the Colosseum and reshaping the Palatine Hill

Imperial Fora

A series of monumental public squares built by successive emperors adjacent to the original Roman Forum; served both practical and ideological functions as centers of law, commerce, religion, and imperial propaganda

Forum Iulium (Forum of Julius Caesar)

The first of the Imperial Fora, built by Julius Caesar; contained the Temple of Venus Genetrix, linking Caesar’s family line to the goddess Venus

Temple of Venus Genetrix

The temple in the Forum of Julius Caesar dedicated to Venus as the ancestral mother of the Julian family; served an ideological function connecting Caesar to divine lineage

Forum Augusti (Forum of Augustus)

The forum built by Emperor Augustus featuring the Temple of Mars Ultor; used to project Augustan ideology of military victory, divine favor, and moral authority

Temple of Mars Ultor

“Mars the Avenger,” the centerpiece of Augustus’s forum; vowed by Augustus to avenge the assassination of Julius Caesar and celebrate military victory

Flavian Temple-Forum of Peace (Templum Pacis)

Built by Vespasian after 71 CE to celebrate peace following the Jewish War; functioned as a forum with gardens, libraries, and displayed spoils from Jerusalem

Forum Nervae (Forum Transitorium)

A narrow forum built by Domitian and inaugurated by Nerva; served as a passageway connecting the other Imperial Fora, hence its alternate name “Transitorium”

Trajan’s Forum

The largest and last of the Imperial Fora, built by Emperor Trajan; featured a grand basilica, libraries, and Trajan’s Column; drastically changed the topography of Rome by cutting into the Quirinal Hill

Trajan’s Column

A monumental column in Trajan’s Forum decorated with a continuous spiral relief depicting Trajan’s military campaigns in Dacia; an innovative new element in Roman monumental art and propaganda

Trajan’s Markets

A large complex of shops and administrative offices built into the hillside cut for Trajan’s Forum; an architectural innovation that combined commercial and governmental functions

Ideological functions of the Imperial Fora

Each forum served to glorify its builder’s achievements, connect the emperor to divine authority, display military victories, and reshape Rome’s urban landscape as a statement of imperial power

Trajan’s new elements in architecture and ideology

Trajan’s Forum introduced unprecedented scale, the spiral narrative relief of his Column, and the cutting of a hill to reshape urban topography; surpassed all previous Imperial Fora in ambition

Pompeii

An ancient Roman city near Naples buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE; preserved as an extraordinary record of Roman urban life, including public buildings, domestic architecture, and daily commerce

Forum of Pompeii

The central public square of the city, serving as the political, religious, and commercial heart; surrounded by temples, government buildings, and markets

Theatres of Pompeii

Public entertainment venues including a large open-air theatre and a smaller covered odeon, reflecting the importance of performance and spectacle in Roman provincial life

Baths of Pompeii

Public bathing complexes that served as social gathering places; examples of Roman engineering with heated rooms, cold plunges, and communal spaces

Atrium house

The typical domestic architecture inside the city of Pompeii; centered on an atrium (open central hall) with an impluvium to collect rainwater, rooms arranged around it

Julia Felix

A large, wealthy estate in Pompeii that included a private bath complex, gardens, and rental spaces; an example of elite domestic architecture and commercial enterprise within the city

Venus Seashell (House of Venus in the Shell)

A Pompeian house known for its garden fresco depicting Venus on a seashell; an example of the artistic decoration typical of wealthy homes

Octavius Quartio (House of Octavius Quartio)

A Pompeian house notable for its elaborate garden with a long water channel and extensive painted decoration, blending domestic and garden architecture

House of the Vettii

A wealthy Pompeian house owned by freedmen, known for its richly painted rooms and garden; demonstrates the social mobility and conspicuous consumption possible in Roman provincial life

House of the Faun

One of the largest and most opulent houses in Pompeii, famous for the Alexander Mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus; reflects the wealth of Pompeii’s elite

Villa of Diomedes

A large suburban villa outside the walls of Pompeii with extensive gardens, underground chambers, and porticoes; represents the villa lifestyle outside city walls

Villa of the Mysteries

A suburban villa outside Pompeii famous for its large fresco cycle depicting what is believed to be a Dionysiac initiation ritual; one of the best-preserved examples of Roman wall painting

Urban features specific to Pompeii

As a wealthy provincial city, Pompeii had features like stepping stones across streets, abundant public fountains, campaign graffiti, and fulleries (laundries), distinguishing it from a typical Roman city

Public life vs. private life in Pompeii

Public areas include the forum, theatres, baths, and temples; private life is reflected in the atrium houses and villas, with their gardens, frescoes, and domestic shrines

CLASSES 9–12: Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

The ancient port city of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River; developed from a naval port to a major commercial hub, and contains the oldest Jewish place of worship in Western Europe

Portus

The larger artificial harbor complex built near Ostia to handle the increasing volume of trade supplying Rome; expanded the port capacity beyond Ostia’s river harbor

Warehouses (Horrea)

Large storage buildings (grandi horrea) in Ostia used to store grain and goods imported for Rome; essential infrastructure for feeding the capital

Thermopolium of Ostia

A street food counter in Ostia where hot food and drinks were sold; similar to modern fast-food counters and evidence of everyday commercial life in a Roman port city

Bakery (Pistrinum)

Bakeries in Ostia with mills for grinding grain and ovens for baking bread; part of the food supply chain serving the port and the capital

Barracks of the Vigiles

The station of the Roman fire brigade and night watch in Ostia; reflects the administrative and military infrastructure of the port city

Forum and Capitolium of Ostia

The central public square and main temple of Ostia, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva; the civic and religious center of the port city

Theatre and Forum of Corporations

Ostia’s theatre was adjacent to the Forum of the Corporations (Piazzale delle Corporazioni), a colonnade with mosaic floors identifying the offices of various trade guilds and shipping companies from across the Mediterranean

Baths of Neptune

A major public bath complex in Ostia known for its black-and-white floor mosaics depicting Neptune and sea creatures

Insulae

Multi-story apartment blocks in Ostia that housed the working population; an example of Roman domestic architecture distinct from the single-family atrium houses of Pompeii

Temple of Diana in Ostia

A temple within one of the residential blocks of Ostia, integrated into the urban fabric of the port city

Serapis and Charioteers

Subjects of garden houses and other oral reports in Ostia; Serapis was an Egyptian-Greco-Roman deity whose presence in Ostia reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the port

Development of Ostia from navy port to commercial port

Ostia began as a military naval base defending the Tiber mouth and evolved into Rome’s primary commercial port, handling the grain supply and international trade that sustained the capital

Role of topography in Ostia’s development

Ostia’s position at the Tiber mouth shaped its growth; silting of the river and changing coastlines influenced the construction of the artificial harbor at Portus

Urban features specific to Ostia as a port city

Warehouses, the Forum of Corporations, multi-story insulae, and diverse religious temples reflect Ostia’s function as a cosmopolitan commercial hub, distinct from a typical inland Roman city

Campus Martius

The “Field of Mars,” a large flat area in Rome originally used for military exercises; transformed under the Flavian and later emperors into a monumental civic center with temples, baths, theatres, and imperial monuments

Stadium of Domitian

A large stadium built by Emperor Domitian for athletic competitions; its shape is preserved today in the outline of Piazza Navona in Rome

Pantheon

A temple to all the gods, rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian (around 125 CE) with its iconic concrete dome and oculus; one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings and an engineering marvel

Mausoleum of Hadrian

The massive circular tomb built by Emperor Hadrian on the bank of the Tiber; later converted into Castel Sant’Angelo and used as a papal fortress

Temple of Hadrian

A temple in the Campus Martius dedicated to the deified Emperor Hadrian; its remaining columns are incorporated into a later building (now the Rome Stock Exchange)

Column of Antoninus Pius

A monumental column erected in the Campus Martius to honor the deified Emperor Antoninus Pius; its base relief shows the apotheosis (divine ascension) of the emperor and his wife

Column of Marcus Aurelius

A column modeled on Trajan’s Column, depicting Marcus Aurelius’s military campaigns against Germanic and Sarmatian tribes; stands in Piazza Colonna in Rome

Flavian emperors and the Campus Martius

The Flavians (late 1st century CE) began reshaping the Campus Martius into a new monumental city center, continued by the “Five Good Emperors” of the 2nd century CE

Five Good Emperors (Adoptive Emperors)

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (96–180 CE); known for stable rule and major building projects that transformed the Campus Martius

Imperial Cult

The worship of emperors as divine or semi-divine figures, especially after death; the Campus Martius served as a site for celebrating emperors through temples, columns, and mausolea

Campus Martius for entertainment of the Roman people

Beyond imperial commemoration, the Campus Martius housed stadiums, theatres, and baths, making it a center of public leisure and entertainment

CLASS 14: Late Imperial City — Pagan to Christian Transition

Temple of Faustina (Temple of Antoninus and Faustina)

A temple in the Roman Forum dedicated to the deified Empress Faustina and later her husband Antoninus Pius; later converted into the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda, illustrating the pagan-to-Christian transition

Arch of Septimius Severus

A triumphal arch in the Roman Forum built in 203 CE to commemorate the victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his sons in Parthia; reflects the militarism of the Severan dynasty

Severan emperors

The dynasty of Septimius Severus and his successors (193–235 CE); oversaw major building projects and changes to the city that reflected Rome’s evolving imperial identity

Decennalia Base and Tetrarchs

A monument base in the Roman Forum commemorating the 10th anniversary of Tetrarchic rule; the Tetrarchy was Diocletian’s system of dividing imperial power among four rulers, reflecting a major shift in how Rome was governed

Tetrarchy

The system of government established by Diocletian (circa 293 CE) dividing the Roman Empire among four co-rulers; marked a departure from single-emperor rule and influenced late imperial art and architecture

Temple of Venus and Roma

A massive double temple built by Emperor Hadrian dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma; one of the largest temples in Rome, reflecting the grandeur of the high imperial period

Temple of Romulus

A circular temple in the Roman Forum (early 4th century CE), later incorporated into the Church of Santi Cosma e Damiano; another example of the transition from pagan to Christian use of Roman buildings

Basilica of Maxentius (Basilica Nova)

One of the largest buildings in the Roman Forum, begun by Emperor Maxentius and completed by Constantine; its massive vaulted structure influenced later Christian basilica design

Arch of Constantine

A triumphal arch near the Colosseum erected in 315 CE to celebrate Constantine’s victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge; notable for reusing (spoliation of) sculptural elements from earlier imperial monuments

Lateran Basilica (San Giovanni in Laterano)

The first major Christian basilica in Rome, built under Constantine; it became the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) and symbolizes the official arrival of Christianity in Roman architecture

Constantine the Great

The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity; issued the Edict of Milan (313 CE) granting religious tolerance, and initiated major Christian building projects in Rome including the Lateran Basilica

Transition from Pagan to Christian Rome

The late imperial period saw Roman temples converted into churches, Christian basilicas built on imperial land, and a gradual shift in the city’s monumental landscape from celebrating emperors and gods to celebrating the Christian faith

How Constantine moved on to something new

Constantine broke from typical Roman imperial tradition by embracing Christianity, building churches instead of temples, and eventually moving the capital to Constantinople, marking the end of pagan Rome as the center of empire​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​