…“So Cleopatra, taking only Apollodorus the Sicilian from among her friends, embarked in a little skiff and landed at the palace when it was already getting dark; and as it was impossible to escape notice otherwise, she stretched herself at full length inside a bed-sack, while Apollodorus tied the bed-sack up with a cord and carried it indoors to Caesar. It was by this device of Cleopatra’s, it is said, that Caesar was first captivated, for she showed herself to be a bold coquette.”

Cleopatra (1888). By John William Waterhouse (1849-1917). Public Domain.

Cleopatra remains somewhat enigmatic, despite her many appearances in ancient histories. Some historians describe her as a ravishing beauty. Others claim that she was attractive, yet not stunningly gorgeous; rather it was her confidence, intelligence, and personality that captivated the Roman men who visited Egypt. Cleopatra was fluent in at least nine languages, giving her the advantage of entertaining ambassadors and communicating with her people without using an interpreter. She was the only Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to learn the native Egyptian language. Her charismatic wit and charm impressed all who met her, and particularly attracted the attention of the Romans, whose usual ideal for woman was something altogether more quiet and demure.

Siege of Alexandria

Thanks to her dramatic appearance before Caesar, the Roman general agreed to take up her cause, and initially worked to reconcile her with her brother and husband, Ptolemy. It seemed successful, but the general Achillas escaped to his camp and kicked off a war with Caesar, besieging Caesar and Cleopatra, who remained in the palace of Alexandria with Ptolemy held as captive. Cleopatra’s younger sister, Arsinoe, soon arranged for the assassination of Achillas and took command of the Egyptian forces.

Outnumbered and surrounded in the city, the war was a difficult one for Cleopatra, Caesar, and his men. Arsinoe ordered the water canals filled with seawater, causing panic among Caesar’s soldiers. However, they managed to dig new wells that directly accessed fresh water and also sent ships to search for fresh water along the coast. Arsinoe next tried to cut Caesar off from his fleet, but he responded with a fire that caused significant damage to the great Library of Alexandria. Unfortunately for Arsinoe, she was betrayed by the Egyptian officers, who had little interest in being commanded by a woman. They negotiated an exchange, sending Arsinoe as a captive to Caesar and thereby securing Ptolemy’s release.

A 19th century illustration of the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Source: www.thedailybeast.com

Ptolemy maintained the siege, but eventually Mithridates of Pergamon came to the aid of the besieged Caesar and broke his forces out of the city. They met with Ptolemy’s opposing army in the Nile Delta in February of 47 B.C. The battle was fierce and hard fought, with Caesar’s forces attacking their enemy’s fortified camp. Finally, however, a contingent of the Romans managed to break through and attack Ptolemy’s forces from the rear, and the frightened army broke and scattered.

Caesar and Cleopatra

With her husband neutralized, Cleopatra emerged as the sole ruler, but she married her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, to maintain the illusion of a male ruler. The marriage was nothing more than political theatre, and Cleopatra spent her days and nights instead with Caesar. Already a notorious womanizer in Rome, Caesar delayed in Egypt until April to enjoy his dalliance with Cleopatra, an uncharacteristic move for the ambitious general who almost never paused his military and political operations.  Yet Caesar remained captivated by Cleopatra. Suetonius claims that he joined her for a cruise down the Nile on a luxury barge, viewing the monuments and buildings of Egyptian history. She also almost certainly showed him around the Mouseion of Alexandria, and introduced him to the new style of dating which Caesar would adopt as the Julian calendar, a direct antecedent to the calendar we still use today.

Julius Caesar. August 43 BC. AR Denarius. Rome mint. Laureate head right within within pelleted border / Venus Genetrix as Felicitas holding caduceus and long scepter. www.cngcoins.com Used by permission of CNG.

When he finally left Egypt for Syria, Cleopatra was heavily pregnant, and shortly after his departure, gave birth to a boy that she named Caesarion.  Caesar remained publically silent regarding the child, neither claiming him as his own nor denying his parentage, but Cleopatra loudly declared Caesar as the father, and few doubted her. After his return to Rome, Caesar invited Cleopatra to join him in the capital city, an invitation which she gladly accepted, staying in Caesar’s villa in the Horti Caesaris, the Gardens of Caesar, outside the city walls. These would later be purchased by Sallust, and became known as the Gardens of Sullust.

Gardens of Sallust. Photo by Lalupa, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Queen of Egypt

Cleopatra was largely despised by the Romans, seen as a foreign tramp and a potential threat. Caesar did not help this distaste by commissioning a golden statue, modeled on Cleopatra, which he placed in the Temple of Venus Genetrix. Despite her unpopularity, her presence and poise remained as striking as always, and soon Roman women were imitating her hairstyle and fashions. Cleopatra and Caesarion were still in Rome when, on March 15^th of 44 B.C., a group of conspirators murdered Caesar during a meeting of the Senate.

Temple of Venus Genitrix, Forum Iulium, Rome. By Jebulon – Own work, CC0.

Cleopatra bravely remained in Rome until the reading of the will, hoping that Caesar would name Caesarion as his son. However, Caesar’s will declared his nephew, Octavius, as his sole heir. Cleopatra fled the volatile situation in Rome and returned to Egypt. Once there, she poisoned her younger brother and named her young son Caesarion as her co-ruler. She had lost Caesar and the power of his legions, but she had gained the unchallenged sole rule of Egypt.

To be continued….

The Gardens of Sallust: What to See Here?

The splendid parkland that sprawled across the valley between the Pincian Hill and Esquiline hills was first acquired by Julius Caesar in the first century BC. After the dictator’s death, the governor of Africa Nova and famous historian Sallust (author of the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Jugurthine War) purchased the property—thus giving it its enduring name—and left it to his great-nephew when he himself died in 35 BC.

Horti Sallustiani, Aula Adrianea. By Lalupa – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.

In 20 AD, the gardens passed into the hands of the Emperor Tiberius and where henceforth kept and maintained by various successive Roman emperors as part of the Imperial property. Vespasian, the first of the Flavian emperors, certainly enjoyed staying there; presumably the fact it was in these very gardens that his army had fought the decisive battle that won him control of the city did nothing to keep him up at night. Nerva, the first of the following dynasty, loved them too: the gardens being the spot where he shuffled off his mortal coil in 98 AD.

View of the interior of the ruins of the Temple of Venus in the Gardens of Sallust, Rome, with four figures Etching. Engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, from Varie vedute di Roma antica e moderna (Various Views of Ancient and Modern Rome), published by Fausto Amidei, 1748. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

The Gardens of Sallust were expanded under Hadrian and Aurelian; the latter, according to the Historia Augusta, adding a mile-long portico along which he would regularly ride his horse. The gardens’ beauty couldn’t save it from destruction in the fifth century however, and the gardens and its monuments were finally sacked by Alaric and his Goths in 410 after their entry into the city through the gardens’ gates.

Time has not been kind to the Gardens of Sallust. Rome’s expansion in 1871, as the capital of the Republic of Italy, saw much of the valley between the Pincio and Quirinal filled in, burying whatever had survived centuries of sackings, fires, earthquakes and destructive construction (or reconstruction) projects. Nothing survives of Aurelian’s mile long portico, nor can we find any remains of the sepulchre erected to house the bodies of two Augustan giants who apparently measured a staggering 10’3.

Sallust Gardens in Rome. By Carlo Dani – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

There are some hints of the gardens’ former glory however. The well-preserved remains of a three-storey pavilion, buried some 14 metres underground, can be seen in the centre of the modern Piazza Sallustio. A Hadrianic cistern is situated at the corner of Via San Nicola da Tolentino and Via Bissolati. And a cryptoporticus that probably dates from the third century AD is still visible from the garage of the nearby United States Embassy.

Though the Gardens of Sallust have fared badly, certain treasures recovered from them still survive spread out across the city. The obelisk that now stands at the top of the Spanish Steps was first erected in the Gardens of Sallust sometime after the death of Augustus. Likewise, the statue of the Dying Gaul now housed in the Capitoline Museums was taken from the gardens and dates from the time of Julius Caesar.

Dying Gaul – Palazzo Nuovo – Musei Capitolini, Rome. Copy after Epigonos, CC BY 2.0.

Silenus holding the child Dionysos. Marble, Roman copy of the 1st–2nd century CE after a Greek original of the late 4th century BC. Now in Louvre, France. From the Horti Sallustiani in Rome. Photo by Jastrow, Public Domain.

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Sources: Plutarch, Life of Caesar; Cassius Dio, Roman History; Appian, Civil Wars; Caesar, African Wars; Suetonius, Life of Caesar

Featured image: “Caesar giving Cleopatra the Throne of Egypt” by Pietro da Cortona. Public Domain.

The specific origins of Antium remain unclear, but archaeologists believe that the Volsci were not the first residents. Later Roman myths would claim that Anteias, the son of Odysseus, founded Antium in the aftermath of Troy. The Romans found themselves in frequent conflict with the Volsci tribe, who made their capital in the city. Antium was a center point in the Roman wars with the Volsci, the backdrop to Shakespeare’s epic play Coriolanus.  The city later morphed from the center of strife to a luxurious resort and tourist town.

The Volsci Wars

The third and lesser known Roman play by William Shakespeare tells the tragic story of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. A semi-legendary figure, historians over the years have questioned the truth of his existence. Modern scholars tend to believe he was real, but that some of his deeds may have been exaggerated. Multiple ancient historians write of Coriolanus as a factual individual, and it is specious to dismiss them all entirely. Shakespeare based his epic tragedy largely on the Life of Coriolanus by Plutarch. The material is certainly worthy of dramatic depiction.

Coriolanus in Plau am See by Wilhelm Wandschneider (1903), CC BY-SA 3.0.

Born Gaius Marcius, he was a Roman general with a dim view of the masses, making him unpopular. Still, he won great acclaim for his valiant service in the wars with the Volsci. As the Roman army laid siege to Corioli, the Volsci sent soldiers from Antium to relieve the city. Cominius, the consul and leading general, turned the army to face this new threat. He left Titus Lartius, and Gaius Marius under him, to maintain the siege. With the majority of the Romans now gone, a group of Volsci sallied from Corioli to attack. Initially victorious, they chased the Romans back to their camp. There, Marcius and some of his best soldiers darted out to counterattack. He was a vigorous and inspiring soldier, and he rallied the Romans and chased the Volsci back to Corioli. Most of the Romans stopped at the gate, but Marius charged into the city with only a few men.

Coriolanus at the gates of Rome. By Franz Anton Maulbertsch, Public Domain.

Victor and Traitor

Seeing how few attackers they faced, the Volsci surrounded them. Marcius “waged a combat in the city which, for prowess of arm, speed of foot, and daring of soul, passes all belief” (Plutarch).  He pushed the enemy back, and set fire to many houses within the city. Most of the soldiers busied themselves pillaging Corioli. Martius, however, rebuked them for their greed when battle raged on elsewhere. He led his small group of loyal soldiers to find Comitius in battle with the Volsci from Antium. They caught up with them before the fighting had begun, and Martius begged to face the enemy’s best soldiers. Comitius granted his request, and the battle began.

Amazona y bárbaro (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme). Found in Antium, now on display in Rome. By Miguel Hermoso Cuesta – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Martius fought madly in the battle and helped to rout the enemy. When his friends tried to convince him to withdraw and rest, as he was exhausted from battle and heavily wounded, he responded that “weariness was not for victors,” and took off after the fleeing enemy. Comitius honored Martius for his bravery with the cognomen Coriolanus, and he was well-loved for a time. However, Coriolanus retained his callous views of the people. He suggested harsh measures, was eventually put on trial, and rather than appear in court, he fled the city. He went to the Volsci, and offered his services to them, leading them in an assault on Rome. The siege was only broken off when his beloved mother came out to plead with him. He capitulated, and called off the attack, only to be killed by the betrayed and angry Volsci.

Defeat of the Volsci

Roman conflict with the Volsci continued for some time. They only resolved in 338 B.C., when Rome emerged victorious from the Latin Wars at the Battle of Antium. After this battle, Gaius Maenius took the prows of the enemy ships back to Rome to form the rostrum. You can read more about that story here. Rome formed a colony in Antium, and the city became a part of the growing Roman territory.

Theater of Antium: Orchestra. By Jacopo Cherzad – Own work, Public Domain.

As years of peace passed, Antium became an ever more popular resort and tourist town. It boasted an original work by Pythagoras, which brought many visitors, and was also a favorite imperial getaway. Not only that, Antium was the hometown of two Roman emperors, Caligula and Nero. Nero especially loved the town, and built both a new port and an expansive villa there. Several later emperors, including Domitian, Hadrian, and Septimius Severus enjoyed and expanded upon the imperial residence. Until as late as 537 A.D., Nero’s port remained busy. It fell into disuse sometime within the following two hundred years. The city remained largely abandoned until the eighteenth century.

What to See Here ?

The remains of the superb Villa Imperiale Neroniana are visible from the modern beachfront, carved impressively into the rock. Yet to attribute the impressive complex solely to the mad, bad, and dangerous-to-know Emperor Nero would be misleading. The vaulted spaces, pavilions, manmade caves, and luxury constructions (such as spas) actually date back to the late Republic.

Almost nothing remains of Nero’s port; most of it has sunk beneath the Port of Innocenzo. But attached to the Villa of Nero is the Archaeological Museum of Antium. Occupying the ground floor of the seventeenth century Villa Adele, the museum is well worth a visit. It documents Antium’s notable history through snippets of ancient texts and a host of artefacts unearthed during excavations.

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Header image: Roma, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, mosaico parietale da Anzio. Num.cat. 307. By Lalupa – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The open spaces and accessible ruins make Ostia Antica a wonderful day trip for families. Winding cobble paths lead tourists on an intimate journey throughout the beautifully preserved city. Visitors can freely explore the houses and commercial area. Very few of the buildings are roped off (only when structural safety is a concern) giving a real sense of discovery and connection with the people who once lived and worked in the ancient city. 

Unlike the more popular Pompeii and Herculaneum, visitors to Ostia won’t have to fight the crowds. There’s plenty of space to run, walk, and sit on your journey through the city – strolling the Decumanus Maximus, visiting the baths and market area, taking a seat in the ancient theatre, walking room to room along residential streets, stepping through doorways, peering up the ancient stairs that lead to the upper apartments. Every step uncovers something new that makes you reconsider what life was like for the people of ancient Ostia. 

Ostia’s Ancient Beginnings

The salt flats along the Tiber River attracted a small settlement from as early as the Bronze Age, around 1400 BC. Ancient authors confirm that Roman Ostia was founded by the fourth king of Rome, Ancus Marcius, in 620 BC with its name deriving from the Latin word “ostium”, meaning “river mouth”. All that remains from this early period are traces of an ancient road, known as the Via della Foce (“Road of the Mouth”). The road led south-east from the mouth of the Tiber and its continued use created the irregular forked arrangement of the Imperial-era city grid.

During the 4^th century, a military camp, known as a castrum, was established near what would later be the Forum. The rectangular fortress was built with walls of large tufa blocks, it measured 194 x 125.7 metres overall with four main gates. The main streets were laid out in the typical Roman fashion of Cardo and Decumanus. The town soon supported a military harbour and was used as a naval base and a seat of the quaestores classici. The city prospered as a major commercial port during the late Republic during which it was an important trade centre supplying Rome with grain and exotic goods from Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa. At the height of prosperity during the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries, several Roman emperors sponsored large construction projects in the city. However, as shipping activities moved from Ostia to Portus during the middle of the 3^rd century, Ostia began to decline. It was eventually abandoned in the 6^th century AD and left to be covered by silt and sand from the Tiber River flood waters.

Following discoveries at the site during the nineteenth century, excavations began in the 1880’s and continue today. The entire city has not yet been revealed. As it is, Ostia Antica is a hugely sprawling port town with visible ruins covering over 170 acres (69 hectares) from the necropolis along the Via Ostiens, along the main Decumanus and its network of minor streets, and leading eventually to the modern Tiber with the remains of luxurious mansions along its bank. For the determined visitor, it would take an entire day (or two) to truly do the site justice. For most visitors, several hours spent exploring the heart of the city is enough. 

A Glimpse at Life in Roman Ostia

Walking the ancient streets reveals a working city alive with taverns, baths, shops, and guild centres. Much of the graffiti, wall paintings, and mosaics are focused on shipping and trade. The bustling city serviced a hardy population of soldiers, wagon-drivers, sailors, naviculari (shipmasters), and traders. 

Juvenal’s Satire 8, which takes a humorous look at the paradoxes of aristocratic conduct, suggests that Ostia was well known for its taverns. 

“Send your general to Ostia, O Caesar! But search for him in some great tavern. There you will find him reclining cheek-by-jowl with some common cut-throat, in the company of sailors, and thieves, and runaway slaves, among executioners and cheap coffin-makers, or of some eunuch priest lying drunk with idle timbrels.”

There are some eighty tabernae or popinae (small taverns and food bars) identified in Ostia. They are often on street corners where busy residents could grab a meal and a drink on their way to or from work, or while visiting the baths. Their style is completely different to those seen at Pompeii. In Ostia, the food counters often block the doorways with a prominent water fountain alongside. Guests would sit outside in the street on wooden benches. Only the largest taverns offered a room or garden with indoor seating. A shelf for drinking vessels and wine was built on the wall within easy reach of the shopkeeper to quickly serve passers-by. In many of the ancient bars, the counters, water basins, and the lead pipes used to supply their water can still be seen. Grinding mortars and foci for cooking show that some taverns served spiced wine or prepared meals. 

From this many tabernae, it’s just a few steps to the entrance of some lavish bath or to the side streets with their multi-storey apartments. There are taverns alongside the fish market, the grain warehouse, theatre, next door to millers, fullonicae, bakeries, and hotels. At every turn, visitors to Ostia Antica see evidence of the everyday activities and daily life of the ancient residents. It’s this accessibility that makes Ostia one of the most evocative ancient Roman sites in Italy. 

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Bibliography

Boin, Douglas. Ostia in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Hermansen, Gustav. Ostia: Aspects of Roman City Life. University of Alberta, 1981.

Juvenal, Satires, Satire VIII 173.

This article was written for Time Travel Rome by Michelle Richards.

Early Work

The very first digging occurred shortly after the disaster that buried the city. Residents who had escaped returned and dug into their villas for precious items. Some profiteers also tunneled into the city, seeking articles to sell. However, the dangers put them off. Unstable tunnels often collapsed, and pockets of poisonous gas killed some unwary visitors. After an initial return, Romans forgot the city, and it passed into legend for centuries.

Architect Domenico Fontana stumbled on the city again between 1594 and 1600 A.D., when was digging a water route. He found two ancient inscriptions, and upon further search, several frescoes. He had little interest, however, and covered them back up. Then, in 1709, local monks digging a new well stumbled upon some relics. Prince d’Elbeuf, an eager collector of ancient items, bought the land, which proved to be the city of Herculaneum. Sadly, his workers dug at random, causing great damage and removing statues and artwork. 

Official excavations began in 1738 under the oversight of Spanish engineer Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre. The finding of Pompeii nearby shifted attention away from the seaside resort and back to the major city. Yet poor techniques in the 18^th and 19^th centuries caused damage and allowed large scale decline in coming years.

Rebuilding Begins

The first organized scientific work in Pompeii began in 1863 under the direction of Giuseppe Fiorelli. Rather than jumping from one promising location to the next, his crew dug layer by layer, street by street. He left most items in situ, an kept detailed notes. He also realized that cavities remained where the ash had buried its victims. Using plaster poured into the cavity, they were able to preserve the final moments of many people. The process still bears his name, though now uses a clear resin that causes less damage. The plaster casts are iconic symbols of Pompeii, capturing the horror of its final days and humanizing its victims. 

In the early 1900s, repair began in earnest as the site prepared to be a tourist attraction. The new director, Amedeo Maiuri, wanted to recreate the atmosphere of the Roman town. They cleared the main road, the Via dell’Abbondanza, and rebuilt almost every excavated building along its length.  The large palestra also received heavy work. They did not realize that the tools used, chiefly the alkaline in the cement mixture, worsened erosion and damage.  

In 1943, a new threat loomed over the city. Allied bombs falling during World War Two destroyed several houses on the main street. A few years later, and earthquake caused further damage. Work for the rest of the century focused on rebuilding those locations, using much safer supplies. Rebuilt sites included the large palestra, the House of Epidius Rufus, The House of Triptolemus, and the park museum.  Ironically, the House of Gladiators, which collapsed in 2010 creating much anger and dispute, was almost entirely a reconstruction. 

Modern Efforts

Later rebuilding, took place in the 1980s. Yet even so, by the time of the collapse that took place in 2010, Pompeii was in serious crisis. Only about ten buildings and 14 acres of the 110 visible were open to tourists. Luckily, experts were vocal about their concerns, and in 2012 received funds for emergency intervention and future efforts.  The current director, Massimo Osanna, feels excited about the city’s future. He and his team are continuing to work on the “Great Pompeii Project.” It’s an ambition plan, calling for meticulous, cross-disciplinary study as well as improved conservation and restoration. The goal is to revive Pompeii as a living picture of ancient Roman life. The first phase was completed in 2015, and opened another 12,500 m²  of area to the public.

With funding to protect the ruins, new work has begun in the 54 or more acres of untouched city. 2018 saw amazing new findings. The “street of balconies” contains very expensive villas, some whose second stories were preserved, rare in Pompeii. Team members also found a richly adorned shrine and a garden with preserved plants of intense value to botanists. Newly found remains include several human and a stable with a number of horses. Pompeii’s renaissance will continue to provide new  knowledge of history, while still sharing its immersive experience with visitors.

Sources:  Butterworth, Alex, Pompeii: The Living City; Mau, August, Pompeii, Its Life and Art; Current World Archaeology, Issue 90, “New Finds from Pompeii;” Frank Viviano, National Geographic, “Bringing the Ghostly City of Pompeii Back to Life.”

Photo: Face, sculpture, Pompeii by  jfleszar is licensed under  CC0

This article was written for Time Travel Rome by Marian Vermeulen.