Comitium - Structures Within The Comitium

Structures Within The Comitium

The comitium was open towards the forum. At its boundary where the monuments and statues recording political events and famous Romans. There were four sacred fig trees in the city, three of which were within the forum area. A tree planted near the Temple of Saturn was removed when its root system began undermining a valued statue. In the medio foro a fig tree stood aside an olive tree and a grape vine. Verrius Flaccus, Pliny and Tacitus state that a third tree stood in the comitium near the statue of the auger Attus Navia who, legend says, split a wet stone with a razor in the comitium and transferred the Ficus ruminalis or its sacred importance from the banks of the to the assembly area. Scholars still refer to the Ficus Navia as the Ficus Ruminalis while excepting the difference. Livy reports that a statue to Publius Horatius Cocles was erected in the comitium. There existed another grandstand within the comitium beside the Rostra. The graecostasis was located on the west side of the comitium. Beside the rostra and the Graecostasis was the Columna Maenia. In 338 BC, Consul Gaius Maenius erected a column that some historians believe to be from the atrium of his home which was sold to Cato and Flaccus as mentioned in Ps.-Asc. Caec. 50. Pliny states that the accensus consulum announced the supremam horam, the time when the sun had moved downward from the Columna Maenia to the Carcer. This was done from the same location as the call for midday, the Curia. The column was south of the place of observation or on a line which passed from the Rostra and Graecostasis. The Tabula valeria was one of the first public works of its kind in the City. In 263 BC, consul Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus Messalla placed a painting of his victory over Heiro and the Carthaginians in Sicily, on the side of the ancient curia. Samuel Ball Platner states in his book, The topography and monuments of ancient Rome (1911):

A more probable explanation is that the tabula Valeria was an inscription in bronze or marble, containing the provisions of the famous Valerio-Horatian laws concerning the office of tribune. Such a tablet might very naturally be set up near their subsellia."

The comitium changed after the time of Caesar. The original spot of many of the monuments and statues was altered drastically. One of the biggest changes was to the Rostra Vetera. This structure changed considerably even before 44 BC. It began as two simple monuments, an altar and shrine. It became even more sacred when miraculous events occurred. Milk and blood rained down from the heavens.