The Roman Forum - 2002

Random Recollections

• The Curia where the Roman Senate met was somewhat plain, but quite large and impressive, nonetheless. When you envision the senators sitting there and the issues they decided in that room, it struck you deeply.
• We were so fortunate to have Fred present to explain what we saw. Many of the buildings were dismantled by Christians in later years who felt no loyalty to the earlier Romans.
• We were struck by the spatial layout. Although the Forum is fairly large, it is an extremely compact area relative to the number of temples, government buildings, arches, statuary, etc. which were present at its peak.
• We learned that captured prisoners were marched into and through the Forum along the Via Sacra or sacred road. It must have been an intimidating experience to find yourself in such a situation at the center of the richest and most powerful society on earth at that time.
• In further research, I discovered that the Forum with its wall-to-wall temples completely covered in gleaming marble and paved roads and walkways would have seemed perfectly in harmony with the downtown of any major modern city.
• Fred was delighted when he was able to orate from the rostra where orators of old stood and addressed the Roman masses.
• We were able to walk in the area where Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Senate. The site of his funeral pyre is still open to tourists.
• At the north end of the Forum, I was surprised to find Christian churches which claim to have been the location where the apostle Peter was imprisoned in Rome.