The Temple of Venus Genetrix is the centerpiece of the Forum of Julius Caesar. The temple has colonnades on each side, as clearly shown in this coin from the reign of Trajan, and in this model. This temple was vowed by Caesar at the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE to Venus as the founder of the Julian gens. Julius Caesar and his adopted son Augustus popularized the connection of the Julian family with the goddess Venus. Through Aeneas, Venus' son, the Julians traced their line to Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus (see coin issued by Antoninus Pius).
The temple has eight columns along the front with stairways on the sides leading to the back of the porch, creating a rostra-like speaking platform for meetings of the Senate in the forum. Caesar used the area when meeting with the Senate and others.
[Caesar] adeuntis se cum plurimis honorificentissimisque decretis universos patres conscriptos sedens pro aede Veneris excepit. (Suetonius, Julius Caesar 78.1)
[Caesar dictator] senatui deferenti ... honores, cum ante aedem Veneris Genetricis sederet, non adsurrexit. (Livy, Periochae 116)
The columns served as models for Vitruvius' description of the Corinthian order. Three columns remain upright, topped by a portion of the entablature. The porch led into a cella decorated with a cult figure of Venus and other artwork collected by Caesar.
Cella of Venus Genetrix