Temple of Jupiter at Cumae
About
The Temple of Jupiter occupied the highest terrace of Cumae's acropolis, raised on a Samnite-era foundation and monumentalized after Rome absorbed the city in 338 BCE, likely as its Capitolium. From its platform the sanctuary commanded a sweeping view down the Campanian coast. It served as Cumae's principal civic temple through the Roman period, still a working pagan shrine in 117 CE. Its later life as a Christian church and baptistery lay centuries in the future.
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
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 →