The Milliarium Aureum (Classical Latin:[miːllɪˈaːrɪ.ũːˈau̯rɛ.ũː]; Italian: Miliario Aureo), also known by the translation Golden Milestone, was a monument, probably of marble or gildedbronze, erected by the Emperor Augustus near the Temple of Saturn in the central Forum of Ancient Rome. All roads were considered to begin at this monument and all distances in the Roman Empire were measured relative to it.[1] On it perhaps were listed all the major cities in the empire and distances to them,[2] though the monument's precise location and inscription remain matters of debate among historians.
Roman Forum plan with the Milliarium Aureum in red and the Umbilicus Urbis in blue.Remains labeled "Milliarium Aureum" in the Roman Forum
According to Philip Schaff,[3] the phrase "all roads lead to Rome" is a reference to the Milliarium Aureum—the specific point to which all roads were said to lead. A marble structure speculated to be the base of the milestone is present in the Roman Forum.
Augustus, as curator viarum, erected the monument in 20 BCE.[4] It probably received the name Milliarium Aureum soon after its inauguration. It symbolized the starting point of the Roman road system to the rest of Italy and to all the imperial possessions.
Architecture and styleedit
The plan of the monument is among those missing from the recovered fragments of the Forma Urbis. The remaining fragments for this area of the Roman Forum are all in the so-called slab V-11, Stanford University#19 (Temple of Saturn with the frontal section and staircase, but the Rostra section is missing, Temple of Concordia, and Temple of the Deified Vespasian). Information from ancient authors is also very scarce, so there are many problems of interpretation concerning the exact nature of the Milliarium Aureum.
Locationedit
It is certain that it was "hard by [under] the Temple of Saturn at the head of the Roman Forum", but its exact location is still unknown. Due to archaeological data from excavations by Kähler in 1959, which seem to confirm data from excavations by Bunsen in 1833, many scholars now believe that it was located at the southeast corner of the podium of the Rostra Augusti on a symmetrical axis with the Umbilicus urbis Romae.[5][6]
Style, structure, and dimensionsedit
The Milliarium Aureum seems to have been a marble column sheathed in gilded bronze; according to C. Hülsen, a huge marble cylinder was found in 1835 near the Temple of Saturn and it still had bronze hooks. The whole monument likely had the standard form of a Roman milestone. Some scholars think that the Milliarium Aureum was made entirely of gilded bronze,[6] while others believe only the inscribed letters were gilded bronze.[7] Probable dimensions for the structure include a height of 3.7 metres (12 ft), and a diameter of 1.15 metres (3.8 ft) (column only) or 3 metres (9.8 ft) if including the alleged base (i.e. the carved marble fragments labeled "Milliarium Aureum" in the Roman Forum).
The problem of the inscriptionedit
Ancient sources never directly say what was inscribed on the Milliarium Aureum, so every idea one may have about the inscription must be considered a modern inference based on the typical form, structure and function of Roman milestones.
The main hypotheses about the inscription suggest that it included:
Nothing, except for the name and title of the Emperor.
The names of the roads out of Rome and the men of praetorian rank Augustus had made curatores viarum to see to their upkeep,[9] based on Cassius Dio's account of the erection of the monument.
The problem of the marble fragments labeled "Milliarium Aureum"edit
The ca. 3-m diameter marble fragments labeled "Milliarium Aureum" with an anthemionfrieze decoration have long been considered part of the base of the monument. However, there is no direct evidence for this, considering as well that the diameter of this base seems to be too large for a standard milliarium.
According to Richardson, the ruins labeled "Milliarium Aureum" can be considered pertinent only if the column of the monument was of a colossal scale, of almost 3 m diameter and not 1.15 m:
Still less credible is that the carved stone members labelled Milliarium Aureum at the northwest end of the Forum Romanum today actually belonged to the base of that monument. The frieze decorated with an anthemion belongs relatively high on a building, and both elements are of a diameter equal to that of the Umbilicus Romae, too large for a milestone, unless it were of colossal scale.[10]
^No direct ancient evidence seems to support this interpretation: Z. Mari, 'Miliarium Aureum', in E. M. Steinby (ed.) Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae (1996) vol. 3, pp. 250-251 (Italian). ISBN88-7140-096-8; 'Miliarium Aureum,' in L. Haselberger (ed.) Mapping Augustan Rome p. 167.
^Schaff, P. (1867/1886). Ante-nicene fathers: The Apostolic fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus [Roberts, A. & Donaldson, J, Eds]. [Electronic reprint] Grand Rapids, MI, USA: CCEL. 1886, v.1 p. 1
^L. Richardson, jr., 'Milliarium Aureum', A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (1992) p. 254.ISBN0-8018-4300-6
Samuel Ball Platner, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, London: Oxford University Press (1929), p. 342 [1].
External linksedit
UCLA Digital Roman Forum page for the "Miliarium Aureum" Archaeological discussion and 3D reconstruction
Stanford University Forma Urbis Romae: slabs of the Forum Area with the "Miliarium Aureum" (the "Miliarium Aureum" is a missing part near the letters "...ordia")
The book Article by C. Hülsen about the "Miliarium Aureum" at Lacus Curtius
November 01, 2023
milliarium, aureum, classical, latin, miːllɪˈaːrɪ, ũː, ˈau, ũː, italian, miliario, aureo, also, known, translation, golden, milestone, monument, probably, marble, gilded, bronze, erected, emperor, augustus, near, temple, saturn, central, forum, ancient, rome, . The Milliarium Aureum Classical Latin miːllɪˈaːrɪ ũː ˈau rɛ ũː Italian Miliario Aureo also known by the translation Golden Milestone was a monument probably of marble or gilded bronze erected by the Emperor Augustus near the Temple of Saturn in the central Forum of Ancient Rome All roads were considered to begin at this monument and all distances in the Roman Empire were measured relative to it 1 On it perhaps were listed all the major cities in the empire and distances to them 2 though the monument s precise location and inscription remain matters of debate among historians Milliarium AureumThe probable position of the Milliarium AureumMilliarium AureumShown within RomeLocationRegio VIII Forum RomanumCoordinates41 53 33 N 12 29 04 E 41 89250 N 12 48444 E 41 89250 12 48444TypeMilestone with gilded bronze finishingHistoryBuilderEmperor AugustusFoundedInauguration 20 BCERoman Forum plan with the Milliarium Aureum in red and the Umbilicus Urbis in blue Remains labeled Milliarium Aureum in the Roman ForumAccording to Philip Schaff 3 the phrase all roads lead to Rome is a reference to the Milliarium Aureum the specific point to which all roads were said to lead A marble structure speculated to be the base of the milestone is present in the Roman Forum Contents 1 History 2 Architecture and style 2 1 Location 2 2 Style structure and dimensions 2 3 The problem of the inscription 2 4 The problem of the marble fragments labeled Milliarium Aureum 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editAugustus as curator viarum erected the monument in 20 BCE 4 It probably received the name Milliarium Aureum soon after its inauguration It symbolized the starting point of the Roman road system to the rest of Italy and to all the imperial possessions Architecture and style editThe plan of the monument is among those missing from the recovered fragments of the Forma Urbis The remaining fragments for this area of the Roman Forum are all in the so called slab V 11 Stanford University 19 Temple of Saturn with the frontal section and staircase but the Rostra section is missing Temple of Concordia and Temple of the Deified Vespasian Information from ancient authors is also very scarce so there are many problems of interpretation concerning the exact nature of the Milliarium Aureum Location edit It is certain that it was hard by under the Temple of Saturn at the head of the Roman Forum but its exact location is still unknown Due to archaeological data from excavations by Kahler in 1959 which seem to confirm data from excavations by Bunsen in 1833 many scholars now believe that it was located at the southeast corner of the podium of the Rostra Augusti on a symmetrical axis with the Umbilicus urbis Romae 5 6 Style structure and dimensions edit The Milliarium Aureum seems to have been a marble column sheathed in gilded bronze according to C Hulsen a huge marble cylinder was found in 1835 near the Temple of Saturn and it still had bronze hooks The whole monument likely had the standard form of a Roman milestone Some scholars think that the Milliarium Aureum was made entirely of gilded bronze 6 while others believe only the inscribed letters were gilded bronze 7 Probable dimensions for the structure include a height of 3 7 metres 12 ft and a diameter of 1 15 metres 3 8 ft column only or 3 metres 9 8 ft if including the alleged base i e the carved marble fragments labeled Milliarium Aureum in the Roman Forum The problem of the inscription edit Ancient sources never directly say what was inscribed on the Milliarium Aureum so every idea one may have about the inscription must be considered a modern inference based on the typical form structure and function of Roman milestones The main hypotheses about the inscription suggest that it included Nothing except for the name and title of the Emperor The names of the most important cities of Italy and of the Roman Empire in 20 BCE with the distances of these from Rome 8 According to a vague sentence by Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia 3 66 the distances in Roman miles were measured starting from the city gates and not from the location of the Milliarium thus with a difference of ca 1 mile Via Appia from Porta Capena to Brundisium Greece and the Oriental Provinces Via Salaria and Via Nomentana from Porta Collina and Via Flaminia to Northern Italy Raetia Noricum Pannonia and Illyricum Via Aurelia to the Galliae and Hispaniae Via Ostiensis to Ostia and the main harbours of Corsica and Sardinia Sicilia and Africa The names of the roads out of Rome and the men of praetorian rank Augustus had made curatores viarum to see to their upkeep 9 based on Cassius Dio s account of the erection of the monument The problem of the marble fragments labeled Milliarium Aureum edit The ca 3 m diameter marble fragments labeled Milliarium Aureum with an anthemion frieze decoration have long been considered part of the base of the monument However there is no direct evidence for this considering as well that the diameter of this base seems to be too large for a standard milliarium According to Richardson the ruins labeled Milliarium Aureum can be considered pertinent only if the column of the monument was of a colossal scale of almost 3 m diameter and not 1 15 m Still less credible is that the carved stone members labelled Milliarium Aureum at the northwest end of the Forum Romanum today actually belonged to the base of that monument The frieze decorated with an anthemion belongs relatively high on a building and both elements are of a diameter equal to that of the Umbilicus Romae too large for a milestone unless it were of colossal scale 10 See also edit nbsp Ancient Rome portalKilometre zero Milion an equivalent monument in Ancient ConstantinopleReferences edit Cassius Dio 54 8 4 Plutarch Galba 24 7 Pliny Naturalis Historia 3 66 Tacitus Historiae 1 27 Suetonius Otho 6 2 No direct ancient evidence seems to support this interpretation Z Mari Miliarium Aureum in E M Steinby ed Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae 1996 vol 3 pp 250 251 Italian ISBN 88 7140 096 8 Miliarium Aureum in L Haselberger ed Mapping Augustan Rome p 167 Schaff P 1867 1886 Ante nicene fathers The Apostolic fathers Justin Martyr Irenaeus Roberts A amp Donaldson J Eds Electronic reprint Grand Rapids MI USA CCEL 1886 v 1 p 1 Cassius Dio Historiae Romanae 54 8 4 H Kahler Das Funfsaulendenkmal fur die Tetrarchen auf dem Forum Romanum Cologne 1964 23 58 59 a b B Frischer D Favro and D Abernathy University of California Los Angeles 2005 R A Staccioli La Roma di Augusto Novara 1985 C Hulsen Bretschneider and Regenberg 1904 L Richardson 1992 L Richardson jr Milliarium Aureum A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome 1992 p 254 ISBN 0 8018 4300 6 Samuel Ball Platner A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome London Oxford University Press 1929 p 342 1 External links editUCLA Digital Roman Forum page for the Miliarium Aureum Archaeological discussion and 3D reconstruction Stanford University Forma Urbis Romae slabs of the Forum Area with the Miliarium Aureum the Miliarium Aureum is a missing part near the letters ordia The book Article by C Hulsen about the Miliarium Aureum at Lacus Curtius Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Milliarium Aureum amp oldid 1176676897, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
