Temple of Mars Ultor

You stand on the marble steps of the temple (see navigational plan) and look up at the eight tall fluted marble columns crowned with Corinthian capitals. If you crane your neck you can just see the magnificent sculptures on the pediment. In the center stands a heroic semi-nude Mars; one of his feet rests on a globe, and he leans on a spear and holds a sword. You remember a coin showing the youthful Octavian in a similar pose in 36 BCE, celebrating his conquest of Sextus Pompey. Could this be a deliberate allusion, you wonder? On Mars' right hand stands Venus Genetrix, and on his left stands Fortuna (goddess of good luck and abundance) holding a cornucopia and ship's rudder. Flanking these central deities are seated figures representing Roma and Romulus as an augur, then the reclining figures of the river-god Tiber and the Palatine Hill, where Augustus had his residence. You notice that all these deities have some connection with Augustus and the Julian family.

This association is even more apparent as you look inside the temple, where you see the larger-than-life cult statue of Mars Ultor, dressed in elaborate armor (this statue is thought to be a copy of the cult statue, though the head and legs are restored). On the center of Mars' shield is engraved an crown of oak leaves, the corona civica awarded to soldiers who had saved the life of a comrade in battle. Again a connection with Augustus, who was awarded this crown honorifically by the Senate ob civis servatos ("since he had saved the lives of all the citizens"), as noted on many of his coins. On Mars' right hand you see Venus Genetrix, divine mother of Divus Julius, the deified Julius Caesar who was the great-uncle and adoptive father of Augustus. Mars was the father of Romulus, founder of Rome, through his union with the Vestal Rhea Silvia; Venus was the mother of Aeneas, progenitor of the Julian line, and also the lover of Mars, who disarmed and tamed the war god and brought peace and abundance after the disruption of war. You notice all the military insignia in the temple and around it; click on Signa below to learn why they are here.