Analysis: A Tour of Ancient Rome

Date: 75 CE

Geographic Region: Rome

Author: Pliny the Elder

Translator: John Bostock; H. T. Riley

Summary Overview

Rome began as a village ruled by Etruscan kings in the middle of the eighth century BCE. From there, it rose to become the capital of the Roman Republic in 509 BCE and then of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. Rome remained the heart of the Roman Empire, and then the Western Roman Empire, until its fall to Germanic invaders in the fifth century CE. Over the course of the centuries, each new wave of leaders and citizens left their marks on the city, some of which Pliny the Elder describes in this document, which was written during the reign of Emperor Vespasian (69–79 CE). Pliny relates some of the feats of engineering and architecture in Rome before and during Vespasian's rule. His “tour” provides a glimpse into an ancient city and gives insight into the economic and cultural life of the day.

Defining Moment

Pliny the Elder lived and wrote during a period known as the Pax Romana, Latin for “Roman peace.” Beginning more or less with the reign of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, in 27 BCE and ending with the reign of Marcus Aurelius in 180 CE, the period was considered one of relative tranquility, when the military campaigns of the preceding decades had subsided (though not completely ended). During the time, Roman civilization experienced a sustained wave of growth under its new imperial rulers and their vast bureaucracy and military. By the time of the Pax Romana, the empire had conquered the Mediterranean region, and its rule extended into North Africa, southwest Asia, and southern and western Europe. It even reached as far north as Britannia (modern-day Great Britain).

Several emperors—Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian—ruled during Pliny's lifetime, and by then, Rome was already home to many architectural and civil-engineering accomplishments. Augustus had invested in a massive wave of building projects. Likewise, Vespasian undertook large building projects and public works. In his studies on geography, Pliny records not only contributions by Augustus and Vespasian, but also many great works that came long before them.

Author Biography and Document Information

Born in 23 CE, Pliny the Elder served in the empire's military campaigns in Germany before returning to Rome to serve in official government posts. He is best known for his written works, only one of which—Naturalis historia (77 CE; The Historie of the World, 1601; better known as Natural History)—survives in complete form. This encyclopedic text comprises thirty-seven books on topics ranging from astronomy to botany, geography, metallurgy, and zoology. The excerpt in this document derives from the section on geography, in which he explores much of the existing Roman Empire. Though many of his facts and propositions are questioned, Pliny the Elder has won acclaim for assembling such a diverse compendium of knowledge and for recording the sources of much of his information. After completing Natural History, he embarked on his final service to Rome as commander of the Roman fleet in the Bay of Naples. There, he observed the aftereffects of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried and preserved the Roman city of Pompeii. On trying to reach the city, he reportedly was overwhelmed by the fumes from the eruption and died in 79 CE.

Document Analysis

Ancient Romans were known for the precision of their urban planning as well as for their skill in architecture and civil engineering. Thus, Pliny's document begins by claiming that “the rest of the world has been outdone by us Romans.” He then offers evidence in support of his praise.

In the first section, Pliny touches on several features that would have defined not only the geographic, but also the political, religious, economic, and cultural heart of the city. Romans constructed their cities in grid patterns around city centers designed to provide public services, conveniences, and entertainment. Great feats of architecture intended to serve the public arose on what had once been but a town square and market. Over time, basilicas, temples, triumphal arches, and other works combined to form the heart of the city, known as the Roman Forum, where citizens gathered for speeches, debates, trials, processions, and other public events. Later rulers added smaller forums, comprising temples and public squares, to serve as alternative centers of political, religious, and economic activity. Among these later rulers was Julius Caesar, who built his forum with a temple to the goddess Venus, as an extension of the Roman Forum. Next to the Forum of Caesar, as it was known, Emperor Augustus had his own forum built, with a temple to the god Mars and numerous statues honoring figures in Roman history. It is this forum that Pliny references as the Forum of Augustus. Pliny then calls attention to the Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian, which would have been erected during his lifetime. The Temple of Peace overlooked the Colosseum, home to Roman gladiator events, and was built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem. Each of these forums and their temples reflect not only Roman investment in architecture but also Roman interest in civic and religious affairs.

Near the Forum and the Colosseum stood the Circus Maximus, an ancient elongated stadium that would have hosted the city's chariot races, an important athletic competition that often spilled into the political and social life of the city. Pliny records that the stadium covered about two acres and seated 160,000 people, an impressive feat. Pliny concludes the section by noting that he has not covered all that Rome has to offer.

The next two sections deal with Rome's sewer system and water supply, critical functions of a city of several million inhabitants. Rome itself was situated on the Tiber River, a natural resource for carrying fresh water into and sewage out of the city. However, as Rome grew, the river proved insufficient to meet citizens' needs. In addition to sewers, Romans built aqueducts, or pipes, above and below ground to carry water and sewage. Pliny describes this construction as “seven ‘rivers’ made to flow, by artificial channels, beneath the city.” Pliny credits the building of this stonework, to Tarquinius Priscus, a Roman king who ruled from 616 to 579 BCE, before the time of the republic. The fact that the sewage system beneath Rome lasted six hundred years, surviving earthquakes and other destruction, is a testament to Roman engineering skill.

Similarly, Pliny praises two other Roman leaders—Quintus Marcius Rex (praetor between 144–140 BCE) and Agrippa (c. 63–12 BCE)—with building and maintaining aqueducts, wells, fountains, reservoirs, and public baths to supply the citizens of Rome with fresh water. The aqueduct built by Quintus Marcus Rex—the Aqua Marcia—was the longest of eleven aqueducts to feed the city of Rome. Its length spanned about fifty-five miles, bringing fresh water from the Aniene River. Pliny also notes that the works erected under the leadership of Agrippa were “magnificently adorned” with “300 statues of marble or bronze, and 400 marble columns.” Marble and bronze were chiefly used in Roman statuary and decorative features of Roman architecture. The aqueducts rank among the Romans' most accomplished feats, as Pliny concludes in his final paragraph. Here, he references the New Anio, or Anio Novus, an aqueduct begun by Emperor Caligula in 38 CE and completed by Emperor Claudius in 52 CE. Though not as long as Aqua Marcia, it was the highest aqueduct, reaching 159 feet above the level of the Tiber River. Pliny also neatly summarizes the expansive uses of the Roman aqueduct systems—“for baths, ponds, canals, household purposes, gardens, places in the suburbs and country houses”—and denotes the wealth and hefty amount of work that went into their making—“the distances that are traversed from the sources on the hills, the arches that have been constructed, the mountains pierced, the valleys leveled.” As Pliny concludes, all of this work, taken together, is “worthy of our admiration.”

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Carcopino, Jerome. Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Heart of an Empire. New Haven: Yale UP, 2003. Print.

Claridge, Amanda, Judith Toms, & Tony Cubberley. Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Rome: From Romulus to Justinian. New Haven: Yale UP, 2013. Print.

Scarre, Chris. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome. London: Penguin, 1995. Print.