ROMAN FORUM

All Roads Lead to Rome (rather to Roman Forum)

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Growing up, this was amongst the first few English language proverbs I learnt. I presumed it meant one would achieve the desired goal what ever way one takes, as long as one is actively engaged. 

But why Rome. It turns out there was a reason this proverb would make sense in Italian peninsula. Rome was a city state, turned eventually into a colonial empire and it needed roads to communicate, conquer and control its colonies.

These roads were made of flat rock, many were lava stones, wide enough to accommodate two carriages, (dual highway) lined with trees on both sides, mostly pine, and had stations every 15 miles or horse change and 30 miles for night stay. Originally laid for military purposes, later used for trade and eventually for commoners to travel. 

This is 500 BC, safely two thousand years before Sher Shah Suri built upon the old Maurya Empire road in early 16th century.

So all the roads originated from Rome to the rest of the world they knew as theirs, and hence if you travel back on any of these roads, you will sooner or later enter Rome, or more specifically the Roman Forum. All these roads had these milestones which told the travelers how far away they were from Roman Forum. Like now we have milestones (at least in my childhood) informing the miles away from the local GPO)

Mile stone

Example of one mile stone in Roman Forum. 

Roman Forum was where Romans lived. literally.  Rome was a city of one million people, a very large number by any standard, definitely the largest for a very long time, considering that we are talking about two thousand years back. 

Rich lived in their palaces and mansions, and poor lived in small cabins around the city, but everyone thrived in the public space. Here you have the public spaces for every activity, religious, civic, senate, official work, and public debate.

Rome has given us concepts and words on all activities of daily civic life. Words like palace (Palatine Hills), Senate, President, Forum, Rostrum. Coliseum, Basilica. all is here.

It is the valley between two of the seven hills of Rome, Palatine Hills and Capitol Hill.

The best example one can imagine the grandeur of Roman Forum is watching the segment of the movie Cleopatra when she enters Rome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNjrfXOgZkM


This ancient Rome, once vandalized by the Vandals at the fall of Roman Empire in 476, and the population of 1 Million was reduced to 10,000,   it slowly deteriorated as the focus shifted from Rome to other areas of power. Even if the Papacy remained intact in Rome as a client state of other kingdoms, the central interest in Roman forum was gone, Over centuries it was neglected, and eventually buried under the dirt and debris of time. Later only the tops of certain monuments and structures were visible, and rest was underground. It was being uses as a grazing ground, Many artifacts and building materials including copper and other minerals were stolen or recycled and it was not until the British Gibbons in 1700, who realized it and it was gradually excavated.

There are more than one way to enter Roman Forum, but the more common is through the Arch of Titus as it takes you from the Coliseum to the Forum. This arch is of particular importance and one of the few places I recommend you spend some time.

This arch is to commemorate the final victory of Romans over Jerusalem. Judea as it was perhaps called was already a Roman province for long time, but the Romans allowed the Jewish Temple to function as long as it did not interfere with the Roman rule. 

Ultimately the Zealots rebelled and Rome responded by siege and final destruction. This arch was perhaps the oldest Arch build to commemorate a victory and has been used as inspiration for many triumphal arches including the famous Paris Arc de Triomphe.

Siege of Jerusalem was in 70 AD which led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple, ( only the Western Wall of which remains). This Arch was build ten years later by the brother of the king Titus. By that time Saint Peter was already crucified 64, and there would have been presence of Christians in Rome, but this artifact does not show any mention of that.

Two sides on the inner side show two different scenes. Entering the Forum, the left side shows the Jewish Slaves being brought in the city, carrying their belongings, the most prominent being the menorah candle.

 On the opposite side, shows the Romans and their King, Titus entering the city triumphantly on horses. Until the State of Israel was founded in 1948 there was a rabbinical prohibition to walk under the arch and many Jews refused to walk under it. 

The menorah depicted in the Arch is perhaps the oldest relic of a menorah and was used as a model for the menorah on the emblem of the State of Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_Israel#/media/File:Arch_of_Titus_Menorah.png

VESTAL NUNS:

Many pagan cultures have the concept of celibate men and women giving up pleasures of normal life for deities. Perhaps the catholic church's concept of nuns grew form the Roman vestal nuns. After all Catholicism is basically a Roman phenomenon. 

Some how a woman's chastity has always fascinated men of god.

So there is this temple of Vesta. Nuns were from the families of elite, the patricians, from age 6-10 and chosen by the High Priest, Pontifex Maximus (the same name taken by the Pope) and offered 30 years of service. She would remain celibate, have certain privileges like special seating in Colosseum, voting and property rights. She would have special duties like keeper of the wills and keeping the fire on at the temple and after 30 years of service could be free to marry.

If however she did not remain chaste she would lose her life. She would be buried alive, as shedding blood was prohibited in the confines of Rome. In fact burying alive was also prohibited in Rome so they would be buried with some food so that the eventually die in the underground tomb.

Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta represents the site of ancient cult activity as far back as 7th century BCE

And then there is the Temple of Caesar. It was here that Julius Caesar was cremated and later deified. He the first Roman made into a deity. There was a comet appearance in Rome at the time of his death and it was considered that Caesar's soul has joined other gods in the sky as one of them. That is the reason that the sign of comet, ie a star with a tail became the official mark for Rome.

Now the tradition of making 'saints' in Catholicism is perhaps the modification of the same old cult of deification?

Then you have the actual Senate and the Rostrum. Rostrum as the name suggests was the actual Speaker's Corner and gave the Romans the freedom to express their views openly and freely.

The Temple of Saturn,  temple to the god Saturn has the most iconic picture looking at the bare columns from the East side to the rest of the Roman Forum and with Arch if Titus and Coliseum in the background

Next: Killing people for sports, The Colosseum 

The House of Worship for All, The Pantheon

The Most Influential Building in Art History

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I always thought of pagan as a bad word, meaning uncivilized and uncultivated. Perhaps used pejoratively, pagan religion or culture would be something preceding organized religion, be polytheistic and would have left much to be desired.
 
Later I learned many pagan ethics and morals are rooted in human nature and are quite altruistic.

Pantheon, perhaps was not the name given to it by its makers, is the grandest example of paganism. Built, over an older temple of 27 AD, by Roman Emperor Hadrian from 118-125 AD, this is the only relic of Ancient Rome which still stands intact. However the numbers of dieties worshiped here is reduced to Trinity.

Like many religions who either completely neglected shrines of previous religions or consecrated them as their own, Ancient Christians of Rome were not much different. This is yet another church in the long list of Roman churches. That is the reason it survives intact, much like the Cordoba Mosque; otherwise it would have been neglected or demolished.

Usually the pagan houses of worship are dedicated to one deity, but here is an example of (at least) seven known deities, all being worshiped at the same time, much like Kaaba in pre Islamic Mecca. In fact Kaaba would have existed as a similar house of pantheistic worship as this Pantheon.

In one way it is the ancient world corollary to the modern interfaith houses of worship. One could worship any deity of interest, like an equal opportunity provider.

Architecturally it is a marvel. On the outside there is a porch, Portico which is rectangular building with large columns, leading to the actual building.

 Inside what you see is the Mother of all domes. It is perhaps the most influential building in art history. Many domes in the later history were inspired by it, including Michelangelo's St Peters Cathedral, Florence Cathedral and even the US Capitol.

It is a big and simple dome, with seven niches in it. the walls of the circular building are tall and then there is a big dome sitting on it. It is the largest structure of reinforced concrete anywhere in the world, built in second century and still stands on its own. 

In order to have as less weight as possible, the width of the wall of dome was highest at the bottom, 21 feet and gradually is decreased as it reaches the top, where it is on 3.9 feet. On top there is a big hole, yes it is open. 

 Eyes to the Heavens

Oculus, The hole on the top of the dome is 9 meters feet wide in diameter. As you enter you see the sunlight beaming in and as the day goes by the beam shifts. Only in the midday it is straight down.

The height of the oculus is equal to the diameter of the dome's largest circle ie 142 feet. In other words, the whole building can accommodate a big ball equal to the diameter of its dome's largest diameter.

One myth is that it never rains in the Pantheon. Possible explanation is that in the old days, it was lit up by candles and the hot air collects at the top of the dome. So in case of rain the water was heated by the hot water and vaporized before it reached the ground. However, there are twenty two strategically places holes in the ground mosaic which drain the rain water so that there is never accumulation of the rain.

Rome officially got Christianized in the fourth century. After the Fall of the Roman Empire much of the Rome was under the indirect rule of Eastern Rome and the Byzantine Emperor gave the building away to the Roman Pope who finally converted Pantheon into a church in 609 in the name of holy martyrs. Remains of martyrs from the catacombs were brought in here and buried near the base of the holy Alter.  Rumor is that once the place was bathed for purification, seven winds blew as if the seven pagan gods ran away out of the building.

The importance of the place continued as many notables are buried in it. The fist king of united Italy, Emmanuel, decided to be buried there. He is like the George Washington of USA or Quaid e Azam, M A Jinnah of Pakistan; and here is where he thought he should rest eternally.

The famous painter Raphael, whose work adorn Vatican Museums and is considered second to Michelangelo in his contributions to Vatican wished to be buried here. A few centuries after his death, there was a question whether it was his remains or not; his body was exhumed and reburied after confirmation.

Pope did change the direction of the worship and now the original niche is the main place of worship, adorned by Madonna and Child.

Copper was used much by Ancient Romans, the pagans,  and was stolen or 're-cycled' by Medevil Romans, the Christians. The prime example of that is in Pantheon. Its dome was originally covered with copper plates with outside covering of bronze and copper tiles. These tiles were stolen by Constans II in 663 and were on route to Constantinople but re-stolen by Saracens en route. Thousand years down the road Pope Urban VIII needed copper for currency and churches and removed copper plates from the roof, giving him 200 tons of copper sheets and 4 tons of copper nails. Re-cycling, or repossessed from one god for the other.

Out of may copper and bronze from Ancient Rome, only the bronze doors  of Pantheon remain unmelted. 

Waiting for someone! I hope not.


Next: The Roman Forum. All roads lead to------
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Ref: 
http://www.copper.org/education/history/60centuries/greece_rome/copperin.html
 http://www.findingancientrome.com/PantheonUnexplained.shtml

Do in Rome as the Romans Do

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Rome is where I got pick pocketed.

Warned a lot, multiple times, but somehow I did not think it was something I have to worry about. I was wrong. It was on the third day, coming back on the subway from Termini Station to our Menzonni, I did the cardinal mistake of getting in the crammed middle car where it was jam packed. I do not remember anything except that on the steps out of the station I reached for my wallet and it was not there. Luckily the money and the passport were in other pockets. What I lost was my driver's license, and cards including the Capitol One card which does not cost international service charge. So all in all it cost me a few hours of phone calls and made me fully financially dependent on my better half for the rest of the trip; and the anger and embarrassment of why me and how come it happened to me.

Later I learned that it is not uncommon. More than one of my Italian patients laughed and expressed their inherent contempt for Rome when I told them about this episode.

That was however the only bad experience I had in Rome. Romans, if that is what the citizens of Rome are called today, are pretty laid back people. Streets are always full of people and like New York, it is hard to separate the tourist from the resident. Sometime it seems that every one is a tourist. Italians in general have an easy going attitude towards every day life, I am told. There is an expression il dolce far niete (the sweetness of doing nothing) The Punjabi equivalent of that would be /thand ay. ٹھنڈ  اے 

It was early morning on Friday May 29th that we landed in Rome after a long direct flight from NY.  You realize at the airport that there are benefits to be a national of EU countries. They have 'fast pass' and everybody else, us included, stand in the longer line.

The weather was nice and the car ride to hotel was a long one. Nicholas, our driver was as good at English as we were at Italian. Later I realized that to be a prevalent issue. Spain is much better than Italy for English speaking visitor. It is better to learn a few words of Italian to avoid unnecessary hurdles.

Riding through the streets and roads of Rome reminded me a bit like Lahore during 70's and 80's, Wide roads, with small cars, many vespas and a lot of trees. Climate is not much different either. Many times in travel around the city you see the city wall. In fact there are two walls. The earlier one is Servian Wall around 7 miles long and the second larger are the Aurelian Walls, almost 12 miles. Tall as much as 32 feet they are almost 3 yards wide. By now I know a bit about the bricks. The smaller the width and the flatter it is, the older and ancient it is.

English names of the cities are not what they are actually called. I learned that in Spain and the same was true in Italy. Rome is Roma. Florence is Firenze, Venice is Venezia (z pronounced as tz as in Nazi), Milan is Milano, Turin is Turino, Naples is Napoli and so on. 

As I mentioned earlier, you see a lot of Bangladeshis, as much as Africans or more. They are competing with each other on how to sell the counterfeit brand name ladies bags, selfie sticks and other visitor paraphernalia.

Traveling by public transport was very easy. There are only two lines of subway which cross each other at the station Termini. The same ticket can be used for buses. Almost no one checks the bus tickets, it seems to have an honor system. One has to validate the ticket on the bus or on the subway for the first time. Cabs we did not use but reportedly do not cost more than 15 Euro or so for an average trip. A good map helps, but one has to know the names, as one place may be named in more than one ways and there may be a difference between what your guide book says and what map reads.

I never visited as many churches as I did in this trip to Italy. They are a fascinating place to go. More tourists than worshipers but still have a sense of quietness and serenity.

After visiting a few must-see places one quickly feels the sense of saturation and information overload. The best way to enjoy the city in the afternoons and evenings is to get lost in one of the many walking streets of  Rome. 

Walk from The Roman Forum to the Piazza Venezia and lounge in the footsteps of Emmanuel Monument. Then either to Trevi Fountaion to the Spanish Steps or to the absorbing sunlight in the Piazza Navona. Or go anywhere, and make your own discoveries.

Walking along River Tiber is an experience in itself. Once known for its floods now it is confined between high embankments and the riverbed is lined by boulevards lungoteveri. It is walking distance from the Vatican and worth a stroll. It has scenic bridges and unforgettable views.

Let yourself be absorbed in the mood of the city. As they say do in Rome as Romans do. As my favorite travel guide Rick Steve points out, if you fall off your moral horse, call it a cultural experience

Next: House of Worship in Ancient Rome, still intact