be inferior to that of Nerva; the latter yielded in its turn to the matchless edifice of Trajan. This forum consisted of four porticos, supported by pillars of the most beautiful marble; the roof rested upon brazen beams, and was covered with brazen plates; it was adorned with statues and chariots all of brass gilt: the pavement was of variegated marble. The entrance was at one end by a triumphal arch, at the other and opposite was a temple; on one side a Basilica, on the other a public library in the centre rose the celebrated column crowned with the colossal statue of Trajan. Apollodorus was the architect of this wonderful pile, and so great was the beauty, I might almost say, the perfection of the architecture, and so rich the materials, that those who beheld it seem to have been struck dumb with astonishment, and at a loss to find words to express their admiration*. When this wonderful edifice was destroyed it would be difficult to determine; the triumphal arch which formed its entrance was dismantled so early as the reign of Constantine, as its materials, or at least its ornaments, were employed to grace the arch * Such at least appears to have been the sensation experienced by Ammianus Marcellinus, who, in his semi-barbarous style, betrays the confusion both of his feelings and his language. His words are untranslateableCum ad Trajani Forum venisset, (Constantius) singularem sub omni cælo structuram ut opinamur, etiam Numinum assertione mirabilem, hærebat attonitus per giganteos contextus circumferens mentem, nec relatu effabiles, nec rursus mortalibus expetendos.Among the statues that decorated this forum, two were remarkable for their materials, one of Nicomedes king of Bithynia, of ivory; the other of amber, repre senting Augustus. The celebrated equestrian statue of Trajan was in front of the Basilica. erected in honor of that emperor. The forum itself existed, as I have already observed, in the time of Gregory the Great, and consequently had survived, at least as to its essential and constituent parts, the repeated sieges and disasters of the city. It seems, from an expression of John the Deacon, to have existed in the beginning of the ninth century; its destruction therefore must be ascribed to the avarice or the fury of the Romans themselves in their intestine contests. PORTICOS. From the forums we pass naturally to the porticos, so numerous and so frequently alluded to by the Roman writers. It would be difficult to state the precise number of these buildings, though we know it to have been considerable, and still more difficult to describe their site, extent, and various decorations. Of the following however we have some details, by which we are enabled to form an idea of the others, It must be observed that, I speak not here of such porticos as merely formed the vestibules or decorated the entrance of temples, as these made part of the edifices to which they were annexed, but of those only which were erected solely, for the convenience of the public in sultry or inclement weather. The porticus duplex, so called from its double row of pillars, was erected by Cneius Octavius, after the defeat of Perses; it was of the Corinthian order and ornamented with brazen capitals; the walls were decorated with paintings representing the achievements of the Founder. It stood near the Circus Flaminius. The portico of Pompey, annexed to his theatre, was sup ported by one hundred marble columns; it opened on both sides into groves of plane trees, and was refreshed by fountains and streams. It was therefore in summer the favorite resort of the young, the gay, and the gallant*. Augustus, attentive as he was to the general embellishment of the city, did not neglect a species of edifice so ornamental, and at the same time so useful as the portico. We find accordingly that he erected several porticos himself, and that prompted by his example, his most distinguished and opulent friends vied with each other in similar works of magnificence. Among the former were the portico of Caius and Lucius, with a basilica annexed to it; that of Octavia, which rose near the theatre of Marcellus, and contributed not a little to its beauty as well as convenience; that of Livia, near the Roman forum. The latter was ornamented with a collection of ancient pictures, and shaded by a vine of prodigious luxuriance. Ovid alludes to it in his usual lively manner. But this and every edifice of the kind prior to this era, was • Propertius describes it with its characteristic ornaments— Scilicet umbrosis sordet Pompeia columnis Et creber pariter platanis surgentibus ordo Lib. 11. 32. + Suet. in Aug. 29. eclipsed by the splendor of the Palatine portico, dedicated to Apollo. It was supported by pillars of Numidian marble, enlivened with exquisite paintings and statues, and emblazoned with brass and gold. It enclosed the library and temple of Apollo, so often alluded to by the writers of the Au-. gustan age, and was deservedly ranked among the wonders of the city*. Another portico erected by this Emperor, was called Ad Nationes, from the statues with which it was furnished, representing various nations in their respective habits. It was perhaps * The description which Propertius gives of this portico is the best extant, and contains a sufficient number of details to enable us to form a very accurate idea of its decorations. Aurea Phobi Porticus a magno Cæsare aperta fuit: Tota erat in speciem Pœnis digesta columnis: Hic equidem Phœbo visus mihi pulchrior ipso Atque aram circum steterant armenta Myronis Auro solis erat supra fastigia currus Et valvæ Lybici nobile dentis opus; Altera dejectos Parnassi vertice Gallos Altera mærebat funera Tantalidos. Deinde inter matrem, Deus ipse, interque sororem Pythius in longâ carmina veste sonat. Lib. 11. 31. still more remarkable for a statue of Hercules, lying neglected on the ground. That such a divinity should lie thus neglected and dishonored, is surprising, but the reason of a conduct apparently so impious, is highly honorable to Roman feeling. The statue thus degraded had been brought from Carthage*, and was the very one to which the Carthaginians were accustomed to offer human victims, "Sacrum" as Titus Livius remarks, "minime Romanum." The Porticus Septorum. Cicero speaks of this portico as about to be erected, and intended to embrace in its whole extent the space of a mile. Pliny† gives us to understand that it was finished or repaired by Agrippa, and enclosed not the septa tributa comiti, where the people assembled to vote, but the Diribitorium, or place where the legions were mustered and paid. These edifices were all of marble, and the latter in particular unusually magnificent. Agrippa also built and gave his name to another portico, which some suppose to have been connected with the present portico of the Pantheon, and to have been carried round it. But as he had erected Therma and other noble fabrics near that edifice, it is more probable that his portico enclosed the whole, and united them together in one grand circumference. That it was extensive is evident from Horace, who represents it as a public walk, much frequented. *See Pliny xxxv. 40. + Pliny XVI. 40. |