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Temple of Concord
The Temple of Concord, or Temple of Concordia, (Latin: Aedes Concordiae) in Rome refers to a series of temples dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia, and erected at the western end of the Roman Forum. The Romans believed that the earliest temple was built by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BC, but archeological evidence indicates the first shrine to Concordia on the site was constructed in 218 BC by Lucius Manlius Vulso. The temple was rebuilt in 121 BC by Lucius Opimius, following the killing of the Gaius Gracchus and his supporters, and again by the future emperor Tiberius between 7 BC and AD 10.
According to Ovid and Plutarch, the first temple to Concordia was built on the site by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BC. The construction was to commemorate the passing of the Lex Licinia Sextia, the law opening the consulship to the Plebeian class. The office of Consul had previously been confined to the Patricians. Camillus is said to have been named Dictator to defend against an invasion of Gauls, backing the Lex Licinia Sextia as a means of resolving the ensuing crisis, and vowing the construction of the temple as a symbol of unity and reconciliation. Modern scholarship doubts much of the story of Camillus, but it was largely accepted as fact in the Roman world.
Camillus' story is not mentioned by Livy, who instead describes the dedication of the Temple of Concord in the Vulcanal, a precinct sacred to Vulcan on the western end of the forum, by Gnaeus Flavius in 304 BC. Flavius' identity in ancient sources is unclear; Livy makes the claim that he was an aedile, while Cicero and Pliny claim he was a scribe. In either case, he was reportedly the son of a freed slave, and therefore of low social standing. The nature of the conflicting identities of Flavius has caused some to call this story into question.
A third Temple of Concord was begun in 217 BC, early in the Second Punic War. This temple was built by the duumviri Marcus Pupius and Caeso Quinctius Flamininus, fulfilling a sacred vow made by the praetor Lucius Manlius Vulso following his victory over the Gauls in 218 BC. The reason why Manlius vowed a temple to Concordia specifically is not immediately apparent, but Livy alludes to a mutiny that had occurred among the praetor's men. The temple was completed and dedicated the following year by the duumviri Marcus and Gaius Atilius, and is the first temple attested in the archaeological record.
The murder of Gaius Gracchus in 121 BC marked a low point in the relationship between the Roman aristocracy and the popular party. His death was immediately followed by further killings, this time of three thousand of Gracchus' supporters. Attempting to quell the subsequent unrest, Lucius Opimius, at the Senate's behest, ordered a fourth reconstruction of the Temple of Concord. The plebeians regarded this as an insincere attempt to clothe his actions in a symbolic act of reconciliation. The temple became a political battleground, with enraged plebeians using graffiti to place their own interpretations on the temple. In one incident, the words "a work of mad discord produces a temple of Concord" were carved under the temple's main inscription.
From this period, the temple was frequently used as a meeting place for both the Senate and the Arval Brethren. Two important Senate meetings, including one in which Cicero delivered his Fourth Catilinarian speech and another in which Sejanus was condemned to death, took place in the Temple of Concord.
A statue of Victoria placed on the roof of the temple was struck by lightning in 211 BC, and prodigies were reported in the Concordiae, the neighborhood of the temple, in 183 and 181. Little else is heard of the temple until 7 BC, when the future emperor Tiberius undertook another restoration, which lasted until AD 10, when the structure was rededicated on 16 January as the Aedes Concordiae Augustae, the Temple of Concordia of Augustus.
This new temple served as a museum for a number of works of art, many of which are described by Pliny. The fine collection consisted primarily of Greek art including a statue of Hestia, several group bronzes, and panel paintings by famous Greek painters including Zeuxis, Nikias and Theoros.
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Temple of Concord AI simulator
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Temple of Concord
The Temple of Concord, or Temple of Concordia, (Latin: Aedes Concordiae) in Rome refers to a series of temples dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia, and erected at the western end of the Roman Forum. The Romans believed that the earliest temple was built by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BC, but archeological evidence indicates the first shrine to Concordia on the site was constructed in 218 BC by Lucius Manlius Vulso. The temple was rebuilt in 121 BC by Lucius Opimius, following the killing of the Gaius Gracchus and his supporters, and again by the future emperor Tiberius between 7 BC and AD 10.
According to Ovid and Plutarch, the first temple to Concordia was built on the site by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BC. The construction was to commemorate the passing of the Lex Licinia Sextia, the law opening the consulship to the Plebeian class. The office of Consul had previously been confined to the Patricians. Camillus is said to have been named Dictator to defend against an invasion of Gauls, backing the Lex Licinia Sextia as a means of resolving the ensuing crisis, and vowing the construction of the temple as a symbol of unity and reconciliation. Modern scholarship doubts much of the story of Camillus, but it was largely accepted as fact in the Roman world.
Camillus' story is not mentioned by Livy, who instead describes the dedication of the Temple of Concord in the Vulcanal, a precinct sacred to Vulcan on the western end of the forum, by Gnaeus Flavius in 304 BC. Flavius' identity in ancient sources is unclear; Livy makes the claim that he was an aedile, while Cicero and Pliny claim he was a scribe. In either case, he was reportedly the son of a freed slave, and therefore of low social standing. The nature of the conflicting identities of Flavius has caused some to call this story into question.
A third Temple of Concord was begun in 217 BC, early in the Second Punic War. This temple was built by the duumviri Marcus Pupius and Caeso Quinctius Flamininus, fulfilling a sacred vow made by the praetor Lucius Manlius Vulso following his victory over the Gauls in 218 BC. The reason why Manlius vowed a temple to Concordia specifically is not immediately apparent, but Livy alludes to a mutiny that had occurred among the praetor's men. The temple was completed and dedicated the following year by the duumviri Marcus and Gaius Atilius, and is the first temple attested in the archaeological record.
The murder of Gaius Gracchus in 121 BC marked a low point in the relationship between the Roman aristocracy and the popular party. His death was immediately followed by further killings, this time of three thousand of Gracchus' supporters. Attempting to quell the subsequent unrest, Lucius Opimius, at the Senate's behest, ordered a fourth reconstruction of the Temple of Concord. The plebeians regarded this as an insincere attempt to clothe his actions in a symbolic act of reconciliation. The temple became a political battleground, with enraged plebeians using graffiti to place their own interpretations on the temple. In one incident, the words "a work of mad discord produces a temple of Concord" were carved under the temple's main inscription.
From this period, the temple was frequently used as a meeting place for both the Senate and the Arval Brethren. Two important Senate meetings, including one in which Cicero delivered his Fourth Catilinarian speech and another in which Sejanus was condemned to death, took place in the Temple of Concord.
A statue of Victoria placed on the roof of the temple was struck by lightning in 211 BC, and prodigies were reported in the Concordiae, the neighborhood of the temple, in 183 and 181. Little else is heard of the temple until 7 BC, when the future emperor Tiberius undertook another restoration, which lasted until AD 10, when the structure was rededicated on 16 January as the Aedes Concordiae Augustae, the Temple of Concordia of Augustus.
This new temple served as a museum for a number of works of art, many of which are described by Pliny. The fine collection consisted primarily of Greek art including a statue of Hestia, several group bronzes, and panel paintings by famous Greek painters including Zeuxis, Nikias and Theoros.