DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0140
THE MACELLUM
99
untimely death was lamented by Virgil in those touching verses
in the sixth book of the Aeneid. An arm with a globe was also
found, doubtless belonging to the statue of an emperor that stood
on the pedestal at the rear. The chapel contains no altar; sacri-
fice was probably offered on a portable bronze coal pan in the
form of a tripod. Several beautiful examples of these movable
altars have been found, and there are numerous representations
of them in reliefs and in wall paintings.
The Macellum in its present form was at the time of the
eruption by no means an ancient building. While finished and
no doubt in use at the time of the earthquake of 63, it had
been built not many years before, in the reign of Claudius or of
Nero, in the place of an older structure which dated from the
pre-Roman period. The earlier Macellum, of which scanty but
indubitable traces remain, could not have contained a chapel for
the worship of the emperors; this was probably introduced into
the plan of the structure at the time of the rebuilding. The
most reasonable supposition is that the chapel was built in
honor of Claudius, and that his statue with the globe as a
symbol of world sovereignty stood on the pedestal at the rear,
while in the niches at the left were his wife Agrippina and
adopted sbn Nero.
We can hardly doubt that Claudius was worshipped in Pom-
peii during his lifetime; it is known from inscriptions that
even before the death of Claudius Nero was honored with the
services of a special priest. That Octavia and Marcellus,
another mother with a son who was heir to the throne, should
be placed opposite Agrippina and Nero, was quite natural.
Claudius, who through his mother Antonia was the grandson of
Octavia, had great pride in this relationship, through which
alone he was connected with the family of Augustus ; and from
Octavia, Agrippina and Nero also were descended, the former
as a daughter of Germanicus, Claudius’s brother, and the latter
through his father Gnaeus Domitius, who was a son of the older
daughter of Octavia, also called Antonia. This thought was
suggested by the grouping of Octavia and Marcellus with Agrip-
pina and Nero : Octavia’s descendants are now on the throne, as
Augustus intended that they should be; and Nero is the pride
99
untimely death was lamented by Virgil in those touching verses
in the sixth book of the Aeneid. An arm with a globe was also
found, doubtless belonging to the statue of an emperor that stood
on the pedestal at the rear. The chapel contains no altar; sacri-
fice was probably offered on a portable bronze coal pan in the
form of a tripod. Several beautiful examples of these movable
altars have been found, and there are numerous representations
of them in reliefs and in wall paintings.
The Macellum in its present form was at the time of the
eruption by no means an ancient building. While finished and
no doubt in use at the time of the earthquake of 63, it had
been built not many years before, in the reign of Claudius or of
Nero, in the place of an older structure which dated from the
pre-Roman period. The earlier Macellum, of which scanty but
indubitable traces remain, could not have contained a chapel for
the worship of the emperors; this was probably introduced into
the plan of the structure at the time of the rebuilding. The
most reasonable supposition is that the chapel was built in
honor of Claudius, and that his statue with the globe as a
symbol of world sovereignty stood on the pedestal at the rear,
while in the niches at the left were his wife Agrippina and
adopted sbn Nero.
We can hardly doubt that Claudius was worshipped in Pom-
peii during his lifetime; it is known from inscriptions that
even before the death of Claudius Nero was honored with the
services of a special priest. That Octavia and Marcellus,
another mother with a son who was heir to the throne, should
be placed opposite Agrippina and Nero, was quite natural.
Claudius, who through his mother Antonia was the grandson of
Octavia, had great pride in this relationship, through which
alone he was connected with the family of Augustus ; and from
Octavia, Agrippina and Nero also were descended, the former
as a daughter of Germanicus, Claudius’s brother, and the latter
through his father Gnaeus Domitius, who was a son of the older
daughter of Octavia, also called Antonia. This thought was
suggested by the grouping of Octavia and Marcellus with Agrip-
pina and Nero : Octavia’s descendants are now on the throne, as
Augustus intended that they should be; and Nero is the pride