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Forum Augustum

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building this was on his mind from the beginning of his reign

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even though there were already two forums, the Roman Forum and the Forum of Julius Caesar, the population of Rome was growing as was the need to try judicial cases

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more likely Augustus before the Battle of Philippi where Octavian and Mark Antony joined to defeat Brutus and Longinus, Augustus vowed that if he won, he would build a temple to Mars the Avenger to help him avenge the death of Julius Caesar

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that temple needed an environment, a common practice, hence a good excuse to build his forum around it

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after the Battle of Actium, he had time

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28 BC begun

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2 BC dedicated Temple of Mars

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rectangular space, open to the sky

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built it onto Caesar's Forum

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colonnades

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added two hemicycles

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Temple of Mars

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Estrucan design

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flat back wall

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large porch

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steps on the front

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high podium

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steps sheathed in Cararra marble

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columns also made of Cararra marble

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sculpture in the pediment

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elaborate capitals

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zoomorphic scultures on column capitals

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seen these in Greece a bit earlier

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the Via dei Fori Imperali built by Mussulini

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plan is to remove this street again and reunite all of these archeological forums in some great archaeological park someday

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precinct wall protecting the Subura: the rickety wooden structures of the city that could easily burn