Templum Iovis (Capitolium)

About

Founded in the second half of the 2nd century BCE, originally dedicated to Jupiter alone; after Pompeii became a Roman colony in 80 BCE it was reconsecrated as a Capitolium to the triad Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, closing the north end of the Forum. Badly damaged in the earthquake of 62 CE and still unrepaired when the 79 CE eruption buried it. Destroyed in the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius, 38 years before this map's snapshot — included as it's an essential part of the story.

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/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Pompeii)
• Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones 6.1 (on the 62 CE earthquake damage to Pompeii's public buildings)