b. The Forum Romanum and the Colosseum.
In the most ancient times the Capitol and Palatine were sep-
arated by a deep and marshy valley about 38 ft. above the level of
the sea, and 22 ft. above the level of the Tiber. The inhabitants of
the city must have begun at the period of the Kings ( 6th cent. B. C.)
to drain and utilise this valley, at the same time regulating, em-
banking, and covering the channel of the streamlet which flowed
out of it to the Tiber. In this manner was gradually formed the
Cloaca Maxima (pp. 296, 322). — Tradition makes this valley
the scene of the conflict of the Romans under Romulus against the
Sabines under Titus Tatius after the rape of the Sabine women.
After the hostile tribes made peace on the Comitium, the highest
lying portion at the foot of the Capitol, they chose the valley to be
the Forum, or central point, of the new community. The Forum
and the Comitium adjoined each other, somewhat as the Piazza and
Piazzetta at Venice adjoin each other to-day, but they served dif-
ferent purposes. In the Comitium, the smaller but more dignified
square, which extended from near the Arch of Severus to the present
Via Cremona, the popular assemblies and courts of justice were held.
On it lay the Curia Hostilia, or council-hall, which is said to have
been erected by King Tullus Hostilius, and the Career Mamertinus
(p. 309). The Forum, on the other hand, was originally used for
trading-purposes, as a market-place, etc.; and along its sides were
ranged the Tabernae Veteres and Novae, or shops, which were
at first occupied by butchers and other craftsmen. In the course
of time a number of temples, public buildings, and monuments were
erected in and around both squares. The Temple of Vesta and
Shrine of Juturna are among the earliest sanctuaries of which
remains are still extant. The Temples of Saturn ( 497 B.C.) and of
Castor and Pollux (484) date from the Republican period. The
Temple of Concordia (366) commemorates the termination of the
protracted struggle between the Patricians and the Plebeians. With
the extension of Rome's supremacy, especially after the Samnite War,
the development of public life required more and more space. The
popular assemblies were transferred from the Comitium to the
Forum, and the small dealers were banished from the latter to the
'Macellum', or flesh-market, and the 'Forum Piscatorium', or fish
market, which were now erected on the N. side, while the shops
thus vacated were occupied by money-changers and goldsmiths
(Tabernae argentariae). The Forum was used also for the cele-
bration of the funerals of the nobility, for the gladiatorial combats
introduced about the year 264, and on other public occasions.
The first expedient for gaining space, resorted to after the second
Punic War, was the erection of basilicas, or quadrangular courts
surrounded by colonnades, adjoining the Forum, with a view to