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Apollo: Foreigner in Rome

By Isaac Roberts and Patrick Brewer

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An image taken by Carole Raddato of a fresco fragment from the vicinity of Augustus house,
depicting Apollo with a Lyre.

in Rome, Augustus, Apollo, Temples

This week, we have a double episode! Isaac Roberts and Patrick Brewer both discuss the

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presence of arguably the most important Hellenic god in Rome; Apollo. But how did a Greek
god become a naturalized Roman? Let’s take a look at Apollo’s presence in Rome, both
physically and conceptually. HOME

Gods are extremely interesting historical figures; they paradoxically both exist in the hearts
and minds of humans, yet do not physically exist, while their worship is subjective to
geography and time. One such god is Apollo. Brought into Rome during the 5th Century BC,
Apollo was absorbed into the Roman Pantheon by a process called interpretatio Romana1
(Darvill 2008). Such a process can be seen in the affiliation between Jupiter and Zeus, or
Mars and Ares. Interpretatio Romana began with the adoption of the Greek deity, including
associated origin stories and myths, followed by identification of the pre-existing Roman
deities that more closely corresponded to the newer Greek one. However, what makes the
case of Apollo curious is that he had no direct Roman equivalent; he was simply adopted
along with the Greek notions of how he should be depicted. The final stage of the
interpretatio Romana was the codifying of the god into the Roman system. As the origins of
Rome itself were heavily rooted in the Trojan War with Aeneas, Greece already played a
major role in early Roman tradition, and this last stage of interpretatio Romana would likely
have been fairly straightforward.

Held in great esteem and worship, Apollo was the Greek and Roman god of music, oracles,
archery, medicine and the sun. Apollo’s origins are described in the Homeric ‘Hymn to
Apollo’, which states that Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto. Furthermore, the Homeric
author highlights that, upon being given nectar and ambrosia, the infant Apollo grows into
an adult and proclaims, “The Lyre and curved bow shall ever be dear to me, and I will declare
to men the unfailing will of Zeus” (Hymn. Hom. Ap. 131). Thus, the lyre and curved bow
became symbols associated with Apollo, often appearing beside him in depictions in art,
sculpture and even coinage (figs. 1, 4, 7).

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Figure 1. Fresco fragment of Apollo with a Lyre from the vicinity of Augustus’
house, now held in the Palatine Museum, Rome 8401736810. Photo by Carole
Raddato, used under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Romans commonly used mythology to identify themselves with certain ancestral lineages.
For example, the Roman poet, Virgil, crafted Aeneas’ background to be traceable to Venus;
thus, Julius Caesar could also claim descendancy to Venus through tracing his lineage to
Aeneas. (Virgil, Aeneid, 1.254). As Caesar’s adopted son, Augustus (fig. 2) would have
therefore also claimed descendancy from Venus. However, Augustus seems to have had a
deep affinity to Apollo, and often used his association with the god during military
campaigns to grant himself divine protection (Zanker 1990), as we shall see further on.

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Figure 2. A bronze denarius depicting Augustus; minted in Spain in 18 BC, RIC

37.a, ACANS collection: 16A47(5132).

By the age of Augustus, Apollo had grown from a foreign god into one of Rome’s most
important deities. Yet, how do we know this? We definitely can’t ask Apollo. Instead, we
must track him through his impact on the city. Apollo was portrayed in Rome in many forms
including temples, statues and figurines. He had two temples in the actual city of Rome, the
changes of which permit us to trace Apollo’s evolution in Rome, for his increased
prominence may have resulted in these changes.

The Temple of Apollo

Medicus

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The first major temple to Apollo in Rome was actually located outside the city, in the
Campus Martius2. Likely, this temple was built where a cult statue of Apollo was reported to
have shed tears for three days after the HOME
death of Scipio the Younger (Dio, 22.84.2). It is
significant that a religious temple in honour of a god had to be built outside the pomerium,
the religious boundary of the city of Rome. This was due to the fact that, at this time, Apollo
was seen as a foreign god and thus unable to house a temple within Rome (Hill 1962: 126).
According to Livy (History of Rome 4.25.3), construction of the temple was begun in 433 BC
after a plague swept through Rome. It is for this reason that the temple became known as
the Temple of Apollo Medicus, the doctor.

Figure 3. Ruins of the Temple of Apollo Medicus/Sosianus with the remains of

the Theatre of Marcellus in the background. Photo by Xerones, used under CC
BY-SA 2.0.

However, while the origin of this temple is important, it is it’s restoration that is far more
interesting. The temple of Apollo Medicus stood for several centuries, the passing of which
left its mark on the building. Eventually, in 32 BCE, the temple was restored by the consul, C.
Sosius, and the Temple of Apollo Medicus was subsequently given the epithet Sosianus.
Sosius began building the temple just prior to Octavian’s battle with Antony for supremacy
in Rome, the latter of whom he supported. However, after Antony’s defeat, Augustus seems
to have forgiven Sosius for not supporting him, giving him the time to continue with the
temple’s restoration (Crittenden 2017). Augustus claimed divinity from Apollo, and it is
possible that restoring this temple restored Sosius in Augustus’ eyes.

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Figure 4. A statue of Pythian Apollo, most likely a Roman copy of a Greek

Bronze original, now held in the Vatican Museum. Photo by Karl-Ludwig
Poggemann, used under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Very little of the temple remains today, with only three columns remaining (fig. 3). However,
many fragments from the pediment have been found and reconstructed, with much
information coming from the works of Pliny the Elder. The art that decorated this restored

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