Temple of Castor and Pollux
These columns are the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda and the twins in the Gemini constellation. The temple was built in 484 B.C., and legend has it that it was built to commemorate the battle between the last King of Rome and the nascent Roman Republic (led by the dictator Aulus Postumius Albinus). Legend has it that the twins Castor and Pollux (conveniently disguised as anonymous horsemen) appeared on the battlefield near Lake Regillus to help turn the tide of the battle in favour of the Roman Republic. Immediately afterwards, they were supposed to have been seen in the Roman Forum, watering their horses at a spring. Aulus Albinus had the temple constructed in their honour.
The temple was enlarged and rebuilt several times between 117 B.C. and 6 A.D.. During the time of the Republic, it was a meeting place for the Senate and its podium was used as a speaker's platform. It was used as an office for weights and measures in Imperial Rome. The temple was still standing in the 4th century A.D., but by the 15th century the three columns and the podium were all that was left of it.
Temple of Castor and Pollux
These columns are the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda and the twins in the Gemini constellation. The temple was built in 484 B.C., and legend has it that it was built to commemorate the battle between the last King of Rome and the nascent Roman Republic (led by the dictator Aulus Postumius Albinus). Legend has it that the twins Castor and Pollux (conveniently disguised as anonymous horsemen) appeared on the battlefield near Lake Regillus to help turn the tide of the battle in favour of the Roman Republic. Immediately afterwards, they were supposed to have been seen in the Roman Forum, watering their horses at a spring. Aulus Albinus had the temple constructed in their honour.
The temple was enlarged and rebuilt several times between 117 B.C. and 6 A.D.. During the time of the Republic, it was a meeting place for the Senate and its podium was used as a speaker's platform. It was used as an office for weights and measures in Imperial Rome. The temple was still standing in the 4th century A.D., but by the 15th century the three columns and the podium were all that was left of it.