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Regia
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Image:Regia.jpg thumb|right|250px|Regia in the Roman Forum
The '''Regia''' is one of the oldest buildings at the
Roman Forum. It was originally the residence of the
List of Kings of Rome kings of Rome or at least their main headquarters, and later the office of the
Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman religion. It occupied a triangular patch of terrain between the
Vesta Temple of Vesta, the Temple of
Temple of Caesar Divus Julius and Temple of
Antoninus Pius Antoninus and
Faustina the Elder Faustina. According to ancient tradition it was built by the second king of Rome,
Numa Pompilius who also build the
Vesta (mythology) Temple of Vesta and the
Domus Publica. When
Julius Caesar Caesar became pontifex maximus he exercised his duties from the Regia.
The building had an irregularly formed enclosed courtyard that was paved in
tufa with a wooden portico. The interior was divided into three rooms with entrance from the courtyard into the middle room. The West Room was the shrine of
Mars (god) Mars, ''sacrarium Martis'', in which the ancilia (shields) of Mars were stored. Here, too, stood the
lances that were consecrated to Mars, the ''hastae Martiae''. If these lances would ever start vibrating something terrible would happen. They are also said to have vibrated in the night of 14 March 44 BC. Caesar, High Priest at the time, in spite of the vibrating lances left the Regia to be present at the meeting of the
Roman Senate Senate. It would be his last. He was assassinated by
Decimus Junius Brutus Brutus and
Gaius Cassius Longinus Cassius. The East Room contained a sanctuary of
Ops Consiva, so sacred that only the pontifex maximus and the
Vestal Virgin Vestal Virgins were allowed to enter it.
The archives of the pontifices were kept here, the formulas of all kinds of prayers, vows, sacrifices, etc., the state calendar of sacred days, the Annales- the record of events of each year for public reference- and the laws relating to marriage, death, wills, etc.
The Regia was the place of assembly of the
College of Pontiffs and at times of the
Fratres Arvales.
Originally the Regia, the Temple of Vesta with the associated House of the Vestal Virgins, and the Domus Publica all formed a single religious and political complex. This relationship probably stems from the time when the Vestal Virgins were the king's daughters.
The Regia was burned and restored in 148 B.C. (for a possible burning by the Gauls in 390 B.C., see Mem. Am. Acad. ii.59-60); and again in 36 B.C., when the restoration was carried out in marble by
Domitius Calvinus, the conqueror of
Spain on the regal foundation. The curious
wiktionary:trapezoid trapezoidal shape was an attempt to maintain the building's orientation to the points of the compass and still fit behind the Temple of Caesar, still under construction.
The Regia was physically cut off from the main square of the forum when the Temple of Caesar was built. The importance of the Regia was largely symbolic in the imperial period, and was transferred into a private residence in the seventh or eight century.
External link
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The Regia
Category: Ancient Roman architecture
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