Apollo, Templum (Palatium)

Temple of Apollo built on the SW *Palatine by Augustus (RG 19: templumque Apollinis in Palatio cum porticibus ... feci) and considered one of his most magnificent buildings (Vell. Pat. 2.81.3). In antiquity, the sanctuary was known as a templum (RG 19; Vell. Pat., loc. cit.; Suet., Aug. 29.3), and, occasionally, as an aedes (Prop. 4.6.11: Palatini ... Apollinis aedem; this rare poetic form, Apollo Palatinus, has been awarded undeserved prominence by its use in scholarship) or a delubrum (Pliny, NH 36.32: in Palatino Apollinis delubro). Construction probably began in 36 B.C. following Octavian’s victory at Naulochos over Sextus Pompey and was soon mirrored by C. Sosius, who rebuilt the Temple of *Apollo Medicus around 34 B.C. After the battle at Actium in 31 B.C., Augustus’ temple became an ex voto of the victory of Octavian over Marc Antony (Gros 54) and was dedicated on 9 October 28 B.C. (Dio Cass. 53.1.3; Degrassi, Inscr. Ital. 13.2, 209). Tradition holds that the temple was built on land Augustus had intended for his residence (*Domus: Augustus), but consecrated to Apollo following the interpretation of the haruspices (soothsayers) after the spot had been struck by a thunderbolt (Suet., Aug. 29.3; Dio. Cass. 49.15.5). The remains of the temple have long been connected with Jupiter (e.g., Lanciani, FUR pl. 29: ‘Aedes Iovis Propugnator. in Palatio,’ on this Richardson) but were only correctly identified in the 1960s after the investigations of Lugli and the excavations conducted by Carettoni 1967; id. 1978; Gros 56). The temple is hexastyle, pseudo-peripteral, and has an almost square cella (20.5 x 19 m). Though most accept that the temple faced the *Circus Maximus, Claridge argues that its monumental façade was oriented to the NE, that is, toward the street leading to the house of Augustus (1998, 131; LTUR 225). Elevated on a high podium of opus caementicium and opus quadratum of tufa and travertine, the temple was reached by a lengthy staircase. The opus quadratum superstructure was constructed entirely of Carrara (Luna) marble (Gros 56). The early-Augustan date suggested by the literary evidence is supported by the archaeological finds; for instance, a Corinthian column fragment dates stylistically to the beginning of the Augustan era (Bauer 183-204). Further, either the temple or the Portico of the Danaids (*Porticus: Apollo) was adorned with polychrome terracotta relief plaques dating to 36-28 B.C. (Gros 56). The pediment was decorated with Archaic Greek statues made of Parian marble attributed to the 6th-c. B.C. Chian sculptors Bupalos and Athenis (Gros 54; Pliny, NH 36.4.13). Additional decoration is attested in Propertius (2.31.11-14), who reports that the central acroteria represented the chariot of Helios, and that the double doors of the cella were decorated with ivory reliefs depicting the Celtic attack on Delphi and the myth of the Niobids. The altar of the temple may have been located to the S in the *Area Apollinis, where the Severan Marble Plan preserves an image of a cruciform monument (Rodríguez Almeida). The temple formed an integral part of a group of Augustan buildings on the SW Palatine, which included his own residence, an open terraced area framed by porticoes (s.v. Area Apollinis; Porticus: Apollo), and the Greek and Latin Library (*Bibliotheca Latina Graecaque). Excavations revealed that the temple was situated just E of Augustus’ residence which physically embraced it on the N and W, while on a lower S terrace private vaulted ramps connected the domus to the level of the sanctuary (see infra fig. 10, R; Carettoni 1967; id. 1978). The temple and its surrounding buildings formed a complex overlooking the *Circus Maximus that emulated the Hellenistic palace-sanctuary scheme exemplified in Attalid Pergamon (Gros 57, Zanker 24).