Pulvinar ad Circum Maximum

A platform or ‘box’ on the *Palatine side of the *Circus Maximus built by Augustus (RG 19: pulvinar ad circum Maximum ... feci; perhaps after the fire of 31 B.C.: Dio. Cass. 50.10.3; see fig. 9) to house the statues of the gods brought into the Circus during the ritual procession preceding each entertainment (Ciancio Rossetto 169; Humphrey 78). Occasionally Augustus himself viewed the races from the pulvinar (though more often he watched from friends’ houses on the Palatine or *Aventine: Suet., Aug. 45.1). The Republican pulvinar was probably a raised wood platform shielded by an awning; while no remains are extant, it seems that the Augustan pulvinar, called a ναός (temple) in the Greek RG, took the form of a stone temple which, like its predecessor, was inserted into the lower tiers of the stands (Ciancio Rossetto 169; Humphrey 78-82; once thought to have been located outside the Circus proper, Mingazzini). Unfortunately, there is no basis by which its dimensions may be estimated. Under Trajan the pulvinar was enlarged and shifted to the rear of the stands (depicted on the Severan Marble Plan, frag. 8g); despite these changes, its position opposite the finishing line and across from the Temple of *Sol probably reflects its Augustan location (Humphrey 80-82). Thus, this important Augustan monument is best represented by an index number on our map.