5. Exedrae
TITLE: Exedrae (also known as hemicycles)
DATE: 42-2 BCE
DESCRIPTION: Four semicircular structures flanking the colonnades and reached via a short flight of steps; each exedra with a square pattern pavement below columns and pilasters; the pilasters interspersed with niches holding statues depicting important figures from Rome’s history
DIMENSIONS: Each exedra 45.50 metres in diameter
MATERIALS: Walls of peperino faced with marble; paved with bardiglio, pavonazzetto, and africano; columns of cipollino
LOCATION IN THE FORUM: The northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast edges of the forum
FUNCTION: Largely legislative
DECORATION OF THE EXEDRAE
Each of the four exedrae held statues recalling the glories of Rome’s past
The northwest exedra had a central statue of pius Aeneas (see below), with members of the Julian family to the north and the kings of Alba Longa to the south
The northeast exedra had a central statue of the other founder of Rome, Romulus, carrying the spolia opima (the standards of an opposing army), with summi viri (the ‘best men’ of Rome) to the north and the south
The recently rediscovered southern exedrae are, like the forecourt (see number 1 at right) under later structures. Until recently, texts published plans of the forum with only two exedrae, and as their decoration remains unknown, they are often omitted from reconstructions of the forum
PIUS AENEAS
Aeneas, the Trojan hero who founded the Roman people and also the Julian family which included Julius Caesar and Augustus, was increasingly venerated under the princeps as the ideal Roman man. This was exemplified by his pietas – the tripartite Roman virtue encompassing devotion to your family, your country, and your gods
In Augustan literature, Aeneas gained the epithet pius (‘having pietas’), and this was soon reflected in visual culture. The hero fleeing Troy with his father Anchises carrying the penates (the household gods) on Aeneas’ shoulders, and holding his son Ascanius by the hand, became emblematic of pius Aeneas. This typology was followed in the arrangement of Aeneas depicted in the forum. The same typology can be seen throughout Roman art, from household statuettes to Imperial coinage. As well as demonstrating the importance of this image, these later examples also complete our understanding of the forum sculpture’s appearance