Saepta Julia

The Saepta Julia was an important building in the Campus Martius area of Rome. It was a place where citizens would come together to vote. The idea for this building began with Julius Caesar, and later it was officially opened by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in the year 26 BC.

Before the Saepta Julia, there was an older structure called the Ovile. That place was also used for voting by groups known as the comitia tributa. The Saepta Julia replaced this older building and became a key part of Roman public life.

Today, we know about the Saepta Julia because it appears on the Forma Urbis Romae, a big map of Rome from the early 3rd century AD. Even now, a piece of the original wall from the Saepta Julia can still be seen near the famous Pantheon building.

History

The Saepta Julia, also called Saepta or Porticus Saeptorum, was started during the time of Julius Caesar. It was a special four-sided open space, called a quadriporticus, that Caesar helped make popular.

After Caesar died in 44 BC, others finished his projects. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and later Octavian helped continue building it. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa finally finished and opened the Saepta Julia in 26 BC, decorating it with beautiful marble tablets and Greek paintings.

Unfortunately, a big fire in Rome destroyed the building in AD 80, but it was rebuilt again before the time of Domitian. More work was done under the rule of Hadrian. The Saepta Julia can still be seen on the Forma Urbis Romae, a map of Rome from the early 3rd century AD. You can even see part of its original wall next to the famous Pantheon today.

Plan

Because not much of the building is left, most ideas about what it looked like come from old maps and writings. The Saepta Julia was in a place called Campus Martius, between the Baths of Agrippa and the Serapeum. It was a big, rectangle-shaped building made of travertine marble, stretching 310 meters long and 120 meters wide. It had walkways on both the east and west sides. The north end was like an entry area, and the south side connected to another building called the Diribitorium through a wide, open space. The only known entrances were small doors on the south end.

Digs under the Palazzo Doria found strong stone supports. Most of these supports were 1.7 meters square, but some were different sizes. This makes some experts think there might have been a second floor.

The Saepta Julia got its water from a river called Aqua Virgo, which also supplied many other buildings in that area.

Porticus Argonautarum

The Porticus Argonautarum was along the west side of the Saepta Julia. It was finished by a leader named Agrippa around 25 BC and was named for pictures it had of Jason and the Argonauts. Part of its western wall still exists next to the Pantheon. It was made of brick-covered concrete and had marble on top. After a big fire in AD 80, another leader named Domitian fixed it up, and later, a leader named Hadrian helped rebuild the whole Saepta Julia.

Porticus Meleagri

The Porticus Meleagri was on the east side of the Saepta Julia. Not much of it is left today, so ideas about what it looked like come mostly from old maps. It was probably built in the last part of the first century BC, around the same time the Saepta Julia was finished.

Use

The Saepta was first planned by Caesar to replace an older voting place called the Ovile. It was finished by Agrippa in 26 BC. The building was made of marble and had a tall portico and a roof.

It was meant for voting, but later it was used for different events. Gladiators fought there, and leaders like Tiberius, Augustus, and Caligula held special shows inside. The space was also used for games and sometimes as a market for special items.