Temple of Rome and Augustus
About
Begun under Augustus around 8 BCE and dedicated under Tiberius, this temple anchors the south side of the Old Forum with statues of Roma, Augustus, Tiberius, and Livia inside. Its bilingual Latin and Neo-Punic dedication names two local suffetes, magistrates the city still elected in the old Punic style even as a Roman province. A full century after Tiberius unveiled it, it remains Leptis Magna's grandest imperial-cult shrine in 117 CE.
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.
In ancient writing
- Anonymous, Bilingual dedicatory inscription, Temple of Rome and Augustus IPT 22
Records the temple's completion under two named suffetes and lists statues of Roma, Augustus, Tiberius, and Livia placed inside.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →