Rostra

For the construction system, see Rastra. For other uses, see Rostrum.

41°53′33.5″N 12°29′04.6″E / 41.892639°N 12.484611°E / 41.892639; 12.484611

Rostra, Rostra Vetera
The Rostra of the early Republican era, as depicted on a Roman coin
Lapis Niger
Comitium
Julius Caesar
Roman GovernmentPolitical institutions
Social classesPatrician, Senatorial class, equestrian class, plebeian, freedman
The Rostra was a specific platform for oration in ancient Rome.

The Rostra (Italian: Rostri) was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods.[1] Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the Comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between. It is often referred to as a suggestus or tribunal,[2] the first form of which dates back to the Roman Kingdom, the Vulcanal.[3][4]

It derives its name from the six rostra (plural of rostrum, a warship's ram) which were captured following the victory which ended the Latin War in the Battle of Antium in 338 BC and mounted to its side.[5] Originally, the term meant a single structure located within the Comitium space near the Roman Forum and usually associated with the Senate Curia. It began to be referred to as the Rostra Vetera ("Elder Rostra") in the imperial age to distinguish it from other later platforms designed for similar purposes which took the name "Rostra" along with its builder's name or the person it honored.

  1. ^ Nichols, Francis Morgan (1877). The Roman Forum. London. Longmans and Co. pp. 196. ISBN 978-1-4373-2096-1.
  2. ^ Richardson, Lawrence (1992). A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 400. ISBN 978-0-8018-4300-6.
  3. ^ Lanciani, Rodolfo Amedeo (1900). The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome. Bell Publishing Company (1979). p. 278. ISBN 0-517-28945-8.
  4. ^ O'Connor, Charles James (1904). The Graecostasis of the Roman forum and its vicinity. University of Wisconsin. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-104-39141-6.
  5. ^ Murray, Michaēl, William Michael, Phōtios (1989). Octavian's campsite memorial for the Actian War. DIANE Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-87169-794-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)