Porticus Octaviae

Name for the Augustan renovation of the Republican porticus Metelli, which was located in the area of the *Circus Flaminius (Octaviae porticibus: Vell. Pat. 1.11.3; Pliny, NH 35.114). The quadriportico followed the NE-SW orientation of the circus and enclosed the Temples of Iuno Regina and Iuppiter Stator (Vell. Pat. 1.11.3-5; index nos. 32a, b). Between 27 and 23 B.C. a member of the imperial family restored the portico and added a library to the complex; at that time it was renamed ‘Porticus Octaviae’ (Lauter, Ciancio Rossetto, Richardson). Scholarly consensus holds that the porticus Metelli was built by Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus in 146 B.C. around the temples of Iuno Regina and Iuppiter Stator. Remains of the porticus Metelli (Monteverde tufa foundations and the podium) are preserved (Lauter, Viscogliosi 131). The pseudo-peripteral hexastyle Temple of Iuno Regina was built by M. Aemilius Lepidus during his censorship in 179 B.C. with a December 23rd dies natalis shared by the Temple of *Diana (Degrassi, Inscr. Ital. 13.2, 544-45). It was damaged by the fire of 156 B.C. (Obsequens 16). The Temple of Iuppiter Stator was built ex manubiis either in 146 (Coarelli 489) or 131 B.C. (Gwyn Morgan) by Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (Vell. Pat. 1.11.3-5); its dies natalis was September 5th (Degrassi, Inscr. Ital. 13.2, 508). Rome’s first marble temple, it was planned by Hermodorus of Salamis (Vitr., De arch. 3.2.5). The date and author of the rededication of the porticus Metelli as the Porticus Octaviae were already objects of debate in antiquity (Coarelli 529). Although Augustus omits the porticus from the Res Gestae, it seems certain that the rebuilding was financed from the booty of his 33 B.C. Dalmatian campaign (cf. Suet., Aug. 29.4; Dio Cass. 49.43.8). Festus attributes the portico to Augustus’ sister Octavia (188: Octavia soror Augusti fecit), and from Plutarch (Marc. 30.6) and Livy (Epit. 140) it can be inferred that she was responsible for the library built c. 23 B.C. (perhaps placed in the exedrae of the W wall: Lauter). Ovid (Ars am. 1.69-70) seems to attribute the restoration to Augustus’ adopted son Marcellus (cf. Vitr., De arch. 3.2.5). Perhaps the building campaign began in 27, and concluded with the dedication of the library three years later. On the occasion of its Augustan restoration, the portico was modified to host the library (Plut., Marc. 30.6, the schola (Pliny, NH 35.114, 36.112) and the curia (Pliny, NH 36.128; cf. 34.31, 35.139, 36.15: in Octaviae operibus). The entrance building on the W side of the porticus was also an Augustan addition (Viscogliosi). Since the outskirts of the portico on the E and W were already occupied by other structures in the late 1st c. B.C., the only possible solution was to expand the portico toward the NE (Lauter). The surviving Augustan restoration features four niches on the W side of the porticus, perhaps intended for the display of sculpture (Lauter); originally, these niches extended along the entire exterior of the porticus Metelli. With the Augustan addition of the library and the curia, the Temple of Iuppiter Stator lost its postern to the opera Octaviae. In fact, Vitruvius describes the temple as peripteral with 6 by 11 columns, while the Severan Marble Plan (frag. 29) depicts only 9 columns on the long sides. This difference suggests that Vitruvius saw the temple before Augustus reduced its size to make room for the opera Octaviae (Gros 1973, id. 1976, Coarelli 489). In the space between the temples and the N wall of the colonnade was a large apsidal area, identified as the curia Octaviae of Pliny (loc. cit.; Gros 1967, 508; id. 1973, 143 n.4; id. 1976; Coarelli 535). Remains of the Augustan restoration, characterized by Anio tufa, have been found on the E part of the porticus as well as along the SE perimeter wall (Viscogliosi, Ciancio Rossetto). Recent investigations suggest that the post-Augustan restorations of the portico were limited to the superstructure; our map depicts the reconstructed layout of the monument after 23 B.C.