Capitol of Dougga

About

The Capitol crowned Thugga's forum with a temple to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, dedicated in 166 CE under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Byzantine soldiers later built it into their fortress wall, which is why six of its Corinthian columns still stand 12 meters tall today. In 117 CE this corner of the forum held only open pavement. The temple that made Dougga famous was still half a century away.

What happened here

The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougga
• https://vici.org/vici/7877/

Nearby

Temple of Mercury

37 m

Temple of Augustan Piety

106 m

Temple of Saturn

149 m

Temple of Juno Caelestis

237 m

Forum of Dougga

31 m

Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga

69 m