DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.44944#0408
348
MURCIA—MURI AURELIANI
in the forum in the lapis niger, which was not merely an altar of the gods
of the underworld, but a record of the place on which the city was founded ;
and he thus explains Plutarch’s statement that it was situated in the
Comitium, and localises here (and not on the Palatine) the distribution of
suffimenta ad Romam quadratam in 204 a.d.
The identification or juxtaposition of the mundus and Roma quadrata,
and the placing of the latter here, will not square with any of the possible
theories in regard to the site of the temple of Apollo (Fest. 258), and
it may be a late antiquarian invention.
For an attempt to parallel with the Palatine mundus certain under-
ground tholoi (at Piperno, Circeii, etc.), see AJA 1914, 302-320.
See JRS 1912, 25-33 J I9M, 225, 226 ; DAP 2. xi. 192-194.
Murcia : the shrine of an early Roman divinity in the valley between the
Palatine and Aventine. As the circus Maximus gradually occupied all
this space, the shrine was preserved and kept its place within the circus
at the south-east end of the course on the Aventine side (Varro v. 154 ;
Fest. 148, 344 ; CIL i2. p. 189, elog. v. ; Liv. i. 33. 5). This end of the
course and spina was called the metae Murciae (Apul. Met. vi. 8 ; Tert,
de spect. 8). For a theory that this shrine was at the other, north-east,
end of the circus, near the carceres, see BC 1908, 251 ; Mel. 1908, 279.
The shrine itself is called ara vetus (Plin. NH xv. 121), sacellum (Varro,
Fest.), fanum (Serv. Aen. viii. 636), aedes (Tert.), but it was probably
originally only an altar, afterwards surrounded by a puteal. It seems to
be indicated on the Foligno relief (Ann. d. Inst. 1870, pl. LM\ but this
may be the shrine of Sol rather than Murcia (Diss. d. Accad. Pont. ser. 2,
vi. 266-267). This point is often referred to as ad Murciae (Varro, Livy,
Elog. locc. citt.), and at a later period the'valley of the circus was called
the vallis Murcia (Serv. Aen. viii. 636 ; Symmach. Relat. ix. 6 ; Claudian.
de cons. Stilich. ii. 404 ; Cassiod. Var. iii. 51 ; Pol. Silv. 545). Of the
real character of this divinity all knowledge was lost, and the Roman
antiquarians gave several explanations of the name. The most popular
was that of Varro, who derived Murcia from myrtea, on the theory that
this low ground was originally grown up with myrtle. As the myrtle
was sacred to Venus, Murcia herself was identified with the goddess of
love (Tert.), who then became known as Venus Murtea or Murcia
(Varro, Pliny, Plut. q. Rom. 20). (HJ 113-114; Rosch. ii. 3231-3233;
Gilb. i. 70-71, 79; BC 1914, 343.)
Murcus Mons : see Aventinus Mons.
Muri Aureliani : * the walls begun by Aurelian after the war against the
Marcomanni and before that against Zenobia in 272 (Hist. Aug. Aurel.
21, 39; Aur. Victor. Caes. 35; Chron. 148; Eutrop. ix. 15; Oros.
vii. 23 ; Hier. a. Abr. 2290) and finished by Probus (Zosim. i. 49)·1
1 See also Ioh. Malal. Chron. xii. p. 299, Dindorf. ήρξατο τα τείχη 'Ρώμτ/s κτίζειν γενναία'
ην γαρ τιρ χρόνιρ φθάρεντα. αυτοί δε έφέστηκε τιρ έργιρ, καί ηνάγκαζε τα συνέργεια 'Ρώμης ΰπουργειν
τιρ κτίσματι (repeated in Chron. Pasch. i. 229 ; cf. also Chron. Min. ii. 148).
MURCIA—MURI AURELIANI
in the forum in the lapis niger, which was not merely an altar of the gods
of the underworld, but a record of the place on which the city was founded ;
and he thus explains Plutarch’s statement that it was situated in the
Comitium, and localises here (and not on the Palatine) the distribution of
suffimenta ad Romam quadratam in 204 a.d.
The identification or juxtaposition of the mundus and Roma quadrata,
and the placing of the latter here, will not square with any of the possible
theories in regard to the site of the temple of Apollo (Fest. 258), and
it may be a late antiquarian invention.
For an attempt to parallel with the Palatine mundus certain under-
ground tholoi (at Piperno, Circeii, etc.), see AJA 1914, 302-320.
See JRS 1912, 25-33 J I9M, 225, 226 ; DAP 2. xi. 192-194.
Murcia : the shrine of an early Roman divinity in the valley between the
Palatine and Aventine. As the circus Maximus gradually occupied all
this space, the shrine was preserved and kept its place within the circus
at the south-east end of the course on the Aventine side (Varro v. 154 ;
Fest. 148, 344 ; CIL i2. p. 189, elog. v. ; Liv. i. 33. 5). This end of the
course and spina was called the metae Murciae (Apul. Met. vi. 8 ; Tert,
de spect. 8). For a theory that this shrine was at the other, north-east,
end of the circus, near the carceres, see BC 1908, 251 ; Mel. 1908, 279.
The shrine itself is called ara vetus (Plin. NH xv. 121), sacellum (Varro,
Fest.), fanum (Serv. Aen. viii. 636), aedes (Tert.), but it was probably
originally only an altar, afterwards surrounded by a puteal. It seems to
be indicated on the Foligno relief (Ann. d. Inst. 1870, pl. LM\ but this
may be the shrine of Sol rather than Murcia (Diss. d. Accad. Pont. ser. 2,
vi. 266-267). This point is often referred to as ad Murciae (Varro, Livy,
Elog. locc. citt.), and at a later period the'valley of the circus was called
the vallis Murcia (Serv. Aen. viii. 636 ; Symmach. Relat. ix. 6 ; Claudian.
de cons. Stilich. ii. 404 ; Cassiod. Var. iii. 51 ; Pol. Silv. 545). Of the
real character of this divinity all knowledge was lost, and the Roman
antiquarians gave several explanations of the name. The most popular
was that of Varro, who derived Murcia from myrtea, on the theory that
this low ground was originally grown up with myrtle. As the myrtle
was sacred to Venus, Murcia herself was identified with the goddess of
love (Tert.), who then became known as Venus Murtea or Murcia
(Varro, Pliny, Plut. q. Rom. 20). (HJ 113-114; Rosch. ii. 3231-3233;
Gilb. i. 70-71, 79; BC 1914, 343.)
Murcus Mons : see Aventinus Mons.
Muri Aureliani : * the walls begun by Aurelian after the war against the
Marcomanni and before that against Zenobia in 272 (Hist. Aug. Aurel.
21, 39; Aur. Victor. Caes. 35; Chron. 148; Eutrop. ix. 15; Oros.
vii. 23 ; Hier. a. Abr. 2290) and finished by Probus (Zosim. i. 49)·1
1 See also Ioh. Malal. Chron. xii. p. 299, Dindorf. ήρξατο τα τείχη 'Ρώμτ/s κτίζειν γενναία'
ην γαρ τιρ χρόνιρ φθάρεντα. αυτοί δε έφέστηκε τιρ έργιρ, καί ηνάγκαζε τα συνέργεια 'Ρώμης ΰπουργειν
τιρ κτίσματι (repeated in Chron. Pasch. i. 229 ; cf. also Chron. Min. ii. 148).