Name and Other Names For the Comitium & Rostra

• The Latin word Comitium means a meeting place or a place of assembly.

• The names comes from the Latin word rostra, meaning prows or’beaks’ of ships.

Purpose

• In the Republican times, the Comitium was the main area in the forum for assemblies of the people to meet for political purposes.

• The rostra was the speaker’s platform from which the leaders of the city addressed the Romans who were assembled in the Comitium.

Secondary Purposes

• The Comitium continued to serve in this way as a political center of the city until well into the second century B.C.

• The rostra was like a stage in the centre of the forum were it grabs peoples attention when important notices need to be said.

Comitium - Design• The comitium was an open area. Troops were able to march here.• It was a paved area of approximately 75 sq. metres in size.• The comitium was surrounded by the Curia Hostilia, the Curia Julia and the Republican

Rostra.• Excavation has revealed many different layers of pavement and several different

configurations of the comitium.

• The first level which is dated from approx. 600 BC shows the comitium as originally a templum – a large rectangular area aligned to the points of the compass.

•Between 300 and 250 BC the Comitium was reconstructed and had it’s shape modified. It was modelled on the Greek design – circular in shape, with a lowered, central circular floor space. Steps were used as seats.

•In the 1st Century BC, the numbers of the Senate were increased and hence the Curia had to be enlarged to accommodate them. The comitium was demolished and the area sealed over with black marble.

Surrounding Buildings

• They were located in approximately the centre of the forum and some of the surrounding buildings were:

o The Curia Corneliao The Curia Hostiliao The Curia Juliao The Republican Rostra

Rostra - Design• The rostra was a large flat-topped platform decorated with the prows of six

enemy ships.• It was ideally placed on the south side of the comitium and in front of the

Curia Hostilia.• Sulla is believed to have added a curved front to the platform in 85 BC.

Representation of the rostra on a coin of Marcus Lollius Palicanus

Rome in the time of the late republic

• At the centre of most Roman cities was a big open space called the Forum. People met there to do business, to sell things and buy things, to see their friends, to find out about the news, and even to go to school. Usually the Forum had stone pavement, and around the edges there were fancy buildings: temples, and basilicas, and sometimes stores (shops). In some cities the Forum had a platform in it that people could stand on to make speeches. This platform was called the Rostra.

• The Comitium and Rostra were of great significance to the Roman Republic because this is where people could make public announcements, have parades and generally make something known.

Modern equivalent

• A modern equivalent of the Rostra and Comitium would be the Morley Center in the school. A similar design has been kept in mind throughout history because most assembly areas usually have an open area and a speaking platform.

The rostra is in the background

• Comitium• http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/resources/Richardson/Comitium• http://www.ancientlibrary.com/wcd/Comitium• textbook• http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/158_Comitium.html• http://www.dartmouth.edu/~classics/rome2003/updates/week3_4/1015paes21Web.JPG • http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/P

LATOP*/Comitium.html

• THE ROSTRA• http://www.vroma.org/~forum/rostra.html• http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/160_Rostra.html http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/8260,s160f.html• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/romanforum/rostra.html

Hurley T., Medcalf P, Murray C, Rolph (2008) Antiquity 1 p.255