Owen Bennett

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2. What is known about the planning, position and decoration of the Temple of Mars Ultor
in the Forum of Augustus?

The construction of the temple of Mars Ultor by Augustus, completed in 2 B.C.E, was
heavily loaded with the political ambition of its creator. Augustus, then known as Gaius
Octavius Thurinus, reportedly vowed the construction of the temple to Mars Ultor, or the
Avenger, on the eve of the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E, where he would avenge the
assassination of his adopted father, Julius Caesar. [1] Mars, as the son of Jupiter and Juno,
and father of Romulus, was an important god, yet was the only main Roman God absent from
the Pomerium. The way in which Augustus would go on to reinvent Mars, who was best
known as the God of war, to Mars Pater, a more fatherly figure, is an important way of
stressing his own strong connection to Romulus, the founder of Rome. The significance of
Octavian vowing the construction of a temple to Mars Ultor, in light of his own exploits,
strengthens this connection. The Augustan connection to Romulus is made obvious as the
senate voted the title of pater patriae, or “Father of the Fatherland” in 2 B.C.E, the same year
in which the forum of Augustus was completed. Augustus’ politically self-serving motives
are evident in many aspects of the temple of Mars Ultor, particularly in its position in Rome,
the context of its construction and the range of people chosen to make up the 108 portrait
statues [2] within it.

In earlier depictions of Mars, such as the temple of Mars Gradivus, the marching god was
potrayed in profile wearing full military suit. [3] It is difficult to understand why such a
unquestionable Roman characteristic as valour, or what the Romans revealingly called virtus,
would be left out of the pomerium, the sacred boundary of Rome. The form Mars does
eventually take in the pomerium provides insight on this question. Flanked by Venus on his
left, and Julius Caesar on his right, Mars is portrayed in familial light, as Venus was
reportedly his lover, and Julius a direct descendent of Venus through Aneus. To further
reinforce this point, Romulus and Aneus, Mars’ and Venus’ son’s respectively, flank the
temple outside it. Mars himself as aged in this depiction, while still in military uniform, he is
portrayed with a beard. It is evident that Mars’ image has transformed from being exclusively
a God of war, to a father figure. This is confirmed when Mars becomes known as Mars Pater,
or Father, later in the empire. However, all thee decorations, the selections and positioning of
these famous mythic figures, in essence only serves only one cause; legitimising and
justifying the empirical rule of Augustus.   

Until the time of Augustus, Mars had no temples inside the pomerium aside from the
Sacrarium Martis, located in the Regia on the Palatine. However, the dedication to Mars in
the Sacrarium Martis was limited only to a spiritual sense, as there was explicit dedication.
Additionally, the Sacrarium Martis was only the west room of the Regia, with the east room
containing a sanctuary of Ops Consiva. The absence of a temple exclusively espousing Mars
inside the sacred boundary of Rome was significant. The importance of putting Mars into the
pomerium must be considered alongside Augustus’ decision to recruit from the Praetorian
Guard, which he brought into Rome in 27 B.C.E. The presence of a guard to protect the ruler
of Rome would have been non-existent during the republic, so it is clear that by bringing
Mars into the pomerium, Augustus was increasing the divinity of the army, his guard
included.

As one enters the forum of Augustus, attention will first be drawn to a large statue of
Augustus himself, in full military uniform inside a chariot [4], which is placed in the centre of
the Forum. Then the eye will be drawn in to the series of bronze or marble Roman
triumphatores to the left side of the Forum or either to full statues of famous Julian-Claudian
decedents. These statues trace Augustus’ lineage down through the fourteen Alban kings, to
the founding ancestors Aeneas and Romulus. Then upon admiring the front of the temple,
made from various marbles, one would observe the inscriptions of Romulus, Mars, Venus
and Fortuna on the front side of the roof, along with Augustus’ name as the creator of the
Forum.

 Although Augustus is not depicted in the temple itself, through the prominent positioning of
his statue and his inscription atop the temple, Augustus is nevertheless firmly entrenched in
the viewers mind. Combining the private revenge of Augustus’ victory over Julius Caesar’s
assassins with the civic revenge of re-capturing the Romans standards from the Parthian’s, in
addition to the undeniable family connection between Mars, Venus, Romulus and Aneus
being suggested in the Forum of Augustus, is all done to achieve one ultimate aim; the name
of Augustus becoming synonymous with the empire of Rome and entrenching the rule of the
empire.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ovid, Fasti, Harmondsworth, 2000, 5.545-98

2. Peter J. Aicher. Rome Alive: A Source-Guide Tothe Ancient City,

Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2001

3. Amihay Mazar; Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean, 1989-1996: Volume 2,

Israel Exploration Society, Israel, 2007

4. Mary Beard, John A. North, S. R. F. Price, Religions of Rome: A

sourcebook, Blackwell, 2006