Porticus Argonautarum Explained

The Porticus Argonautarum (Latin for the "Portico of the Argonauts"; Italian: Portico degli Argonauti), also known as the Portico of Agrippa^[1] (Latin: Porticus Agrippae or Latin: Agrippiana) was a portico in ancient Rome.^[2]

The building was located in the Saepta Julia,^{[3] [4]} a large square in the Campus Martius used for public comitia (assemblies). The square, a large free space surrounded by porticoes, was finished by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa,^[5] admiral and friend of emperor Augustus, in 27 BC. The portico of the Argonauts was added in 25 BC, to commemorate Agrippa's naval victories in 31 BC: it took its name from its decorations, which depicted the mythological expedition of Jason.^[6]

Studies of the Forma Urbis (an ancient detailed plan of Rome) have located the portico in what is now Via della Minerva, near the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.^[7]

A brickwork wall preserved along the eastern side of the Pantheon has been assigned to the Porticus Argonautarum.

External links

• Page at ciceronline

Notes and References

1. Book: Draycott . Jane . Roman Domestic Medical Practice in Central Italy: From the Middle Republic to the Early Empire . 2019 . Routledge . 9781472433961 . 18 February 2020.
2. Book: L. Richardson, jr. A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. registration. 1 October 1992. JHU Press. 978-0-8018-4300-6. 315–.
3. Book: Laurence . Ray . Rome, Ostia, Pompeii: Movement and Space. . Newsome . David J. . 2011-11-24 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-958312-6 . 85 . en.
4. Bloch . Herbert . 1961 . A New Edition of the Marble Plan of Ancient Rome . The Journal of Roman Studies . en . 51 . 1–2 . 143–152 . 10.2307/298847 . 298847 . 162365584 . 1753-528X.
5. Book: Shipley, Frederick W. . Agrippa's Building Activities in Rome . 2008-11-06 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 978-1-7252-2370-7 . 13 . en.
6. Book: Shopping in Ancient Rome: The Retail Trade in the Late Republic and the Principate. 26 April 2012. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-969821-9. 249–.
7. http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/pagina35.html A visual reconstruction of the Saepta Julia