Aricia
Aricia is a historic town located in the Lazio region of Italy, situated on a spur near the volcanic craters of Lakes Albano and Nemi. Founded in ancient times, it is believed to have been established by settlers from the nearby town of Alba Longa or by a Sicilian named Archilochus. Aricia played a significant role in the early history of Rome, influencing the region's legends and participating in conflicts with the Roman state, including resistance against King Tarquinius Superbus and involvement in the battle of Lake Regillus. After its subjugation during the Latin War in 338 BC, Aricia was granted second-class citizenship under Roman rule.
The town was notable for its religious sites, particularly the Temple of Diana Nemorensis, known for its unique priestly tradition and connections to mythological figures like Egeria and Virbius. This temple and the Grove of Ferentina served as important cultural and spiritual centers for the Latin League. Aricia’s rich archaeological remains include traces of fortifications and the terraced temple, reflecting its historical significance and influence in the region. The town is also recognized as the birthplace of notable figures such as the political agitator Publius Clodius Pulcher and Augustus' mother, Atia.
Subject Terms
Aricia
(Ariccia)
A town in Latium (Lazio), on a spur at the edge of fertile volcanic depression at the foot of Mons Albanus, where the outer slopes of the craters of Lakes Albanus (Albano) and Nemorensis (Nemi) meet. Aricia was said to have been founded in mythical times, allegedly by settlers from Alba Longa (Castel Gandolfo, a short distance to the north) or by a Sicilian named Archilochus; at all events, from about the seventh century BC onward the leadership of the Latin communities began to pass to it from Alba Longa. Aricia was one of the places which exerted the largest influence on the legends of Rome (sixteen miles to the northwest), recounted by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Toward the end of the sixth century the Aricians were said to have organized resistance to the last Roman king, Tarquinius Superbus, and to have helped Aristodemus the Effeminate, the Greek ruler of Cumae (Cuma) in Campania, to repel attacks by the Etruscans (c 505). Aricia was also, by tradition, assigned a role in the myth-encrusted battle of Lake Regillus between the Romans and the Latins (c 496), although the latter were stated to have been under the leadership of Tusculum, which may, by this time, have succeeded Aricia as the head of the Latin confederation opposed to Rome.
In 446 the rulers of Aricia and Ardea were locked in a quarrel regarding boundaries, in which the Romans mediated to their own advantage. Aricia was finally subdued by Rome in the Latin War (338), after which it was apparently granted second-class citizenship (civitas sine suffragio); the chief officials (magistrates) of the town, and of the municipium into which it was subsequently converted, retained the ancient title of dictator. In the civil wars of the early first century BC, Aricia was sacked by Gaius Marius (87) and reconstructed by the victorious Sulla. It was the birthplace of the Roman political agitator Publius Clodius Pulcher (d. 52) and of Augustus' mother Atia. Horace describes the place as the first stopping-point on a journey to Brundusium (Brindisi).
In the days of Aricia's headship of the Latin League one of its leading shrines, the Grove of Ferentina, served as the meeting place of the confederacy. Even more famous, however, was the nearby Temple of Diana Nemorensis (imitated from the shrine of Artemis Tauropolos in Tauris [Crimea]), in the woods surrounding the lake; its priest, the rex nemorensis, was, by custom, a runaway slave who gained this `royal’ office by murdering his predecessor. Egeria, the legendary consort and adviser of the Roman king Numa Pompilius (in origin probably a water-goddess) was worshipped in association with Diana, and so was the Italian god Virbius, identified with the mythical Greek huntsman Hippolytus—loved by Diana—who was raised from the dead by Aesculapius (Asclepius). Remains of the massively terraced temple are still to be seen; and surviving traces of the fortifications of Aricia itself include three successive periods of construction.