Temple of Castor and Pollux. The Temple of Castor and Pollux is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy.
It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus. Castor and Pollux were the Dioscuri, the twins of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda.
Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy. The Roman temple is one of a number of known Dioscuri temples remaining from antiquity.
The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and his allies, the Latins, waged war on the infant Roman Republic. Before the battle, the Roman dictator Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis vowed to build a temple to the Dioscuri if the Republic were victorious.
According to legend, Castor and Pollux appeared on the battlefield as two able horsemen in aid of the Republic; and after the battle had been won they again appeared on the Forum in Rome watering their horses at the Spring of Juturna thereby announcing the victory. The temple stands on the supposed spot of their appearance. One of Postumius' sons was elected duumvir in order to dedicate the temple on 15 July 484 BC. During the Republican period, the temple served as a meeting place for the Roman Senate, and from the middle of the 2nd century BC the front of the podium served as a speaker's platform. During the imperial period, the temple housed the office for weights and measure
It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus. Castor and Pollux were the Dioscuri, the twins of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda.
Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy. The Roman temple is one of a number of known Dioscuri temples remaining from antiquity.
The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and his allies, the Latins, waged war on the infant Roman Republic. Before the battle, the Roman dictator Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis vowed to build a temple to the Dioscuri if the Republic were victorious.
According to legend, Castor and Pollux appeared on the battlefield as two able horsemen in aid of the Republic; and after the battle had been won they again appeared on the Forum in Rome watering their horses at the Spring of Juturna thereby announcing the victory. The temple stands on the supposed spot of their appearance. One of Postumius' sons was elected duumvir in order to dedicate the temple on 15 July 484 BC. During the Republican period, the temple served as a meeting place for the Roman Senate, and from the middle of the 2nd century BC the front of the podium served as a speaker's platform. During the imperial period, the temple housed the office for weights and measure
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