The Servian Walls.The expansion of the city under the Tarquins is shown, in the first place, by the construction of the new and larger walls which are ascribed to Servius Tullius, and which received his name. Previous to this time the principal city wall was on the Palatine. Some of the other hills were partly fortified. But now a single fortification was made to encircle all the seven hills, by joining the old walls and by erecting new defenses. The walls were generally built of large, rectangular blocks of stone, and so durable were they that they remained the only defenses of the city for many hundreds of years; and parts of them may be seen at the present day.
The New Temples.Under the Tarquins, the temples of the city assumed a more imposing architectural appearance. Before this the places of worship were generally altars, set up on consecrated places, and perhaps covered with a simple roof. The Etruscan kings gave a new dignity to the sacred buildings. The most imposing example of the new structures was the temple dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the Capitoline hill, which contained shrines set apart for the worship of Juno and Minerva. Other new temples were the one dedicated to Saturn at the foot of the Capitoline near the Forum, and one dedicated to Diana on the Aventine.
The Cloaca Maxima.Among the most remarkable works of the Tarquins were the sewers which were constructed to drain the city. The most important of these was the famous Cloaca Maxima, or great drain, which ran under the Forum and emptied into the Tiber. It was said to be large enough to admit a hay-cart, and one could sail down it in a boat. It was strongly built of stone, in the form of a semicircular arch, such as the Etruscans had used, and its mouth is still visible on the shore of the Tiber.
The Circus Maximus.For the amusement of the people, games were introduced from Etruria, and a great circus, called the Circus Maximus, was laid out between the Aventine and the Palatine hill. Here the people assembled once every year, to witness chariot races and boxing and other sports, which were celebrated in honor of the gods who were worshiped on the Capitoline.
SELECTIONS FOR READING
Merivale, Gen. Hist., Ch. 4, “The Three Later Kings” (1).1
Liddell, Ch. 3, “Tarquinius Priscus and Servius Tullius” (1).
Parker, Arch. Hist., Ch. 5, “The City on the Seven Hills” (9).
Abbott, Ch. 2, “Monarchical Institutions” (13).
Livy, Bk. I., Chs. 34-39, Stories of Tarquinius Priscus (4).
SPECIAL STUDY
THE CITY UNDER THE KINGS.Dyer, pp. 1-61 (9); Parker, Chs. 2-5 (9); Liddell, pp. 52-55 (1); Arnold. Chs. 3, 5 (2) ; Merivale, Gen. Hist., Ch. 78 (1).
1 The figure in parenthesis refers to the number of the topic in the Appendix, where a fuller title of the book will be found.