DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44944#0104
66
AVENTINUS MONS
rises· another elevation which gradually sloped off to the Almo beyond
the line of the Aurelian wall. This part of the hill, on which stand the
churches of S. Saba and S. Balbina, is sometimes called the pseudo-
Aventine (see below), but is usually included under the Aventine. The
line of the ‘ Servian ’1 wall crossed this eastern elevation south of S. Saba
and west of S. Balbina, and thus included a section that was considerably
smaller than the trapezoidal hill to the north-west.
Whether Aventinus originally included both these parts of the hill
has been the subject of much discussion and cannot be regarded as
settled. Ennius (ap. Cic. de Div. i. 107) seems to distinguish sharply
between them, while later, in the last century of the republic and early
empire, it is clear that the name was ordinarily applied to both (Varro,
LL v. 163 ; Suet, reliq. (Roth) 291 ; Fest. 276 ; Plut. Rom. 9). The
probability is that the original name of the western section by the Tiber,
following the analogy of other similar names, was gradually extended to
the part of the eastern hill included within the Servian wall. This inclusion
is strengthened by the statements of Dionysius who, in his description
of the Aventine, gives its circumference once (iii. 43) as eighteen stadia,
and elsewhere (x. 31) as twelve. The latter figure is too small even for
the western part, and must be considered as an error ; the former corre-
sponds quite closely to that area enclosed within the line of the Servian
wall on both hills, and evidently refers to that. In strictly official
language Aventinus may always have remained the designation of the
western half only. A fragment of the Acta Arvalia recently found
(NS 1914, 473; BC 1914, 37; DAP 2. xii. 37; BCr 1915, 66: in clivo
capsar(io) in Aventino maior(i) ), of 240 a.d., indicates clearly that then
at any rate Aventinus maior, the main part of the hill, was distinguished
from Aventinus minor, the part now called the pseudo-Aventine.
When names were given to the Augustan divisions of the city, the
thirteenth was called Aventinus ; while the twelfth, comprising the
eastern part of the hill, was the Piscina Publica (for a full discussion
of this question, see Merlin, L’Aventin dans l’Antiquite, Paris 1906,
5-14, and literature there cited ; HJ 149-157).
According to the traditional view (Gilbert ii. 144-257) the Aventine,
although it was surrounded by the wall of Servius Tullius, remained
outside the pomerium until the time of Claudius, and this exclusion
was due to religious scruples connected with the founding of the city
(Gell. xiii. 14). Another explanation of this exclusion is that the hill
was not included within any wall until the Servian wall was rebuilt in
the fourth century, and therefore was outside the pomerium (CP Ι9θ9>
420-432 ; AJA 1918, 175 ; TF 117-120) ; for still other theories, and a
resume of the whole discussion, see Merlin, op. cit. 53'^θ); Beloch, Rom.
Gesch. 205-208
1 There are, however, no traces in this section of any construction earlier than 390 b.c.
(see Mures Servii Tullii).
AVENTINUS MONS
rises· another elevation which gradually sloped off to the Almo beyond
the line of the Aurelian wall. This part of the hill, on which stand the
churches of S. Saba and S. Balbina, is sometimes called the pseudo-
Aventine (see below), but is usually included under the Aventine. The
line of the ‘ Servian ’1 wall crossed this eastern elevation south of S. Saba
and west of S. Balbina, and thus included a section that was considerably
smaller than the trapezoidal hill to the north-west.
Whether Aventinus originally included both these parts of the hill
has been the subject of much discussion and cannot be regarded as
settled. Ennius (ap. Cic. de Div. i. 107) seems to distinguish sharply
between them, while later, in the last century of the republic and early
empire, it is clear that the name was ordinarily applied to both (Varro,
LL v. 163 ; Suet, reliq. (Roth) 291 ; Fest. 276 ; Plut. Rom. 9). The
probability is that the original name of the western section by the Tiber,
following the analogy of other similar names, was gradually extended to
the part of the eastern hill included within the Servian wall. This inclusion
is strengthened by the statements of Dionysius who, in his description
of the Aventine, gives its circumference once (iii. 43) as eighteen stadia,
and elsewhere (x. 31) as twelve. The latter figure is too small even for
the western part, and must be considered as an error ; the former corre-
sponds quite closely to that area enclosed within the line of the Servian
wall on both hills, and evidently refers to that. In strictly official
language Aventinus may always have remained the designation of the
western half only. A fragment of the Acta Arvalia recently found
(NS 1914, 473; BC 1914, 37; DAP 2. xii. 37; BCr 1915, 66: in clivo
capsar(io) in Aventino maior(i) ), of 240 a.d., indicates clearly that then
at any rate Aventinus maior, the main part of the hill, was distinguished
from Aventinus minor, the part now called the pseudo-Aventine.
When names were given to the Augustan divisions of the city, the
thirteenth was called Aventinus ; while the twelfth, comprising the
eastern part of the hill, was the Piscina Publica (for a full discussion
of this question, see Merlin, L’Aventin dans l’Antiquite, Paris 1906,
5-14, and literature there cited ; HJ 149-157).
According to the traditional view (Gilbert ii. 144-257) the Aventine,
although it was surrounded by the wall of Servius Tullius, remained
outside the pomerium until the time of Claudius, and this exclusion
was due to religious scruples connected with the founding of the city
(Gell. xiii. 14). Another explanation of this exclusion is that the hill
was not included within any wall until the Servian wall was rebuilt in
the fourth century, and therefore was outside the pomerium (CP Ι9θ9>
420-432 ; AJA 1918, 175 ; TF 117-120) ; for still other theories, and a
resume of the whole discussion, see Merlin, op. cit. 53'^θ); Beloch, Rom.
Gesch. 205-208
1 There are, however, no traces in this section of any construction earlier than 390 b.c.
(see Mures Servii Tullii).