Temple of Concord
About
Original temple vowed 367 BCE, rebuilt 121 BCE by L. Opimius; completely rebuilt on a larger scale by the future emperor Tiberius between 7 BCE and 10 CE and rededicated as the Aedes Concordiae Augustae on 16 January 10 CE. Pliny the Elder catalogued the treasures Tiberius installed inside: panel paintings by the Greek masters Zeuxis, Nikias, and Theoros, bronze statues of Hercules and Mercury, and Corinthian columns carved with leaping rams. Winged Victories stood at the pediment's corners, marking Tiberius and his brother Drusus's German campaigns, while two chambers in the podium likely stored treasure. This Tiberian-era temple, effectively an art gallery as much as a shrine, was standing at the west end of the Forum 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
- Ovid, Fasti 1.637–650
Marks 16 January as the dedication day of the temple Tiberius rebuilt from German spoils, and calls Concord the goddess of the imperial house.
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 →