Comitium - Roman Republic

Roman Republic

When Rome became a republic, the original altar and shrine of Vulcan may have served as a podium for senators or political opponents. Next to this spot is where the rostra has its early beginnings. It is believed that the tradition of speaking to crowds from an elevated platform for political purposes may have begun as early as the first king of Rome. In this area was another raised platform for speakers, with ascending and descending stairs on either side. The idea of speaking from a raised area is still seen today in pulpits. The first structure to be called "Rostra" was on the south east section of the forecourt of the Curia Hostilia at the edge of the Comitium. As the population grew and not all Romans could fit in the comitium, speakers in the later republic would turn their backs on the curia and crowds within the comitium and direct their speech from the rostra to the crowd in the Forum. All of the city's most important decisions and laws were made in the senate. A law required that any bill not approved within an augered and consecrated space was not valid. For this reason all meeting spaces of the Senate were templums. Over time as the senate's size and power increased, so did the size of the senate house. In 80 BC the curia was enlarged by Sulla who also added heating to the building for the first time.

In 55 BC a political war broke out within the city that centered around two factions, Clodius with his followers and his adversary Milo, backed by his supporters. The rostra became a fortress and was more than once used to throw deadly missiles upon the opposing side. On January 2, 52 BC, Clodius died at the hands of the opponents mob near Bovillae, setting off a riot as the Clodius faction carried the body to the comitium and cremated it on a funeral pyre improvised with the senatorial seating from the Curia Hostilia. The fire consumed the curia, destroying it as well as damaging the Basilica Porcia. Faustus Sulla, son of the dictator Sulla was commissioned by the senate to rebuild the curia. It lasted for only seven years until Julius Caesar began his changes.