The Significance of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus

[E. I.Smith]

I have read several articles on the significance of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. This Rome based monument was particularly useful to Roman authorities. It was a place where Roman politicians would worship Roman gods and offer sacrifices to a cult statue of Jupiter, it was a political conference center, and likewise, a fellowshipping hall for Roman politicians. It also served as a public records archive, as well as the endpoint for Roman triumph processions. The Temple, being the centerpiece of Area Capitolina, was an important religious, political, and cultural symbol that was rebuilt four times, a true testament to the temple's importance to Rome's cultural identity.

I found a picture of a relief, circa A.D. 180, that depicts Emperor Marcus Aurelius making an animal sacrifice to the Roman god Jupiter in the presence of fellow Roman political figures. This temple would have been the fourth one constructed.

Edited January 1, 2018 by E. I.Smith

[indianasmith]

The Temple of Jupiter Ops seemed to have a particularly difficult time in the last days of the Republic and the first century of the Empire, being burned and rebuilt three times in just over a century!