The Rostra: The Speakers' Platform
Origin and Name
The name Rostra — "beaks", "rams" — derives from the rams of ships captured at the naval battle of Antium (338 BC), when Rome defeated the Volsci and affixed the prows of enemy vessels to the speakers' platform at the comitia, which was thereafter called the rostra. It was a way of turning speech into a continuation of war: the place of political persuasion was literally decorated with military trophies.
The original platform stood in the northwestern corner of the Forum, in front of the Curia. Julius Caesar moved it to its current position — about 15 metres further west, in front of the Temple of Saturn and adjacent to the Arch of Septimius Severus — as part of his radical reorganisation of the Forum between 44 BC and the year of his death. Augustus completed the project.
The Structure
The Caesarian-Augustan Rostra was a rectangular platform raised about 3–4 metres above the Forum level. The front face (Forum side) was decorated with rostra — the characteristic bronze or iron beaks of naval ramming. Visitors approaching from the Forum saw a row of metallic projections along the lower edge of the platform.
The platform was approximately 24 metres wide and accessible via steps at the rear. The upper surface was the space where the orator stood, visible to the entire crowd gathered in the Forum below.
In the imperial period an additional element was added: a curved platform (Rostra Augusti or Rostra Vandalica) at the opposite end of the Forum, near the Arch of Titus. This was used for reading imperial edicta.
Historical Speeches
The Rostra was the stage for the most dramatic moments in Roman Republican history:
44 BC: after the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, his head and hands were displayed on the Rostra — a posthumous act of revenge by the conspirators, then transformed into the catalyst for Mark Antony's funeral oration ("Friends, Romans, countrymen..."). According to Plutarch, the crowd that heard Antony's speech turned into a rioting mob.
43 BC: Cicero was assassinated on the orders of Mark Antony. His head and hands — the same hands with which he had written the Philippics, the orations attacking Antony — were displayed on the Rostra. It is said that Fulvia, Antony's wife, drove hairpins through the great orator's tongue. The gesture was symbolic: it was a reply to the power of speech.
29 BC: Augustus celebrated his triple triumph. The triumphal procession passed in front of the Rostra, the nodal point of the new visual axis of the Forum.
The Rostra Today
The Rostra platform is today one of the most legible elements of the Roman Forum. The rectangular podium in brick and opus incertum survives to a height of several metres. The circular holes visible on the façade mark the attachment points of the naval rams — now lost, but their presence is clearly documented in ancient sources.
The Curia Iulia: The Roman Senate
The Senate in Roman History
The Roman Senate was not an elected assembly — its 600 members were appointed for life by the censors from among former magistrates. It controlled foreign policy, public finance, the liturgical calendar, and the distribution of provinces. It did not vote laws (that was the role of the comitia), but its auctoritas — moral authority — was so binding that opposing it was political suicide.
The Senate's physical seat was the Curia — a functional rather than monumental building that was destroyed and rebuilt several times during the Republic. The building we see today is not the original Curia but the third version, begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus in 29 BC.
The Curia Iulia: Architecture
The building is exceptionally well preserved for a precise reason: it was converted into a church in the seventh century AD (San Adriano al Foro), which prevented demolition for salvage of materials. Only in 1937, under Mussolini, were the medieval and Baroque alterations removed to restore the building's Roman appearance.
Dimensions: approximately 27 × 18 metres on plan, with a height of about 21 metres.
Exterior: the current façade is a modern reconstruction (the original bricks were covered with marble slabs). The bronze door visible is a copy — the original is in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.
Interior: the interior is the aspect that comes closest to the original. The three steps on each long side were the senators' seating — there were no chairs; senators sat on these raised podi (presumably with cushions brought from home). The floor is the most notable feature: an opus sectile in polychrome marbles — green Carystos, red Numidian, yellow Numidian, Egyptian porphyry — still almost entirely preserved. It is one of the finest examples of Roman floor paving surviving in situ.
The apse: the Curia Iulia had an apse at the far end housing a statue of Victory on a globe, donated by Octavian after his victory at Actium (31 BC). This statue became the centre of one of the last great religious battles of antiquity: in 384 AD, the pagan prefect Symmachus and the Christian bishop Ambrose clashed over its removal. Ambrose won — the statue was permanently removed by Emperor Theodosius.
Senate Procedure
The Curia was the building, but the Senate also met in other places — Roman law required the Senate to meet in a locus inauguratus, a consecrated space. Temples were regular venues.
Sessions began before noon and had to end before sunset. The presiding officer (consul, or in the imperial period the emperor himself) presented a relatio — the matter for deliberation. Senators voted physically by moving to opposite sides of the chamber (pedibus in sententiam ire — "walking with one's feet towards one's opinion").
Every senator could speak in order of his dignity: first the consulares (ex-consuls), then the praetorii, then the quaestorii, then the pedarii (the youngest, who usually did not speak but simply voted). Filibustering was physically possible: Cato the Younger was famous for speeches of extraordinary length intended to run out the clock.
The Curia and the Statue of Victory
On 31 BC, the Battle of Actium ended the Roman civil wars. Octavian — who from that moment on would call himself Augustus — donated to the Curia a statue of Victory standing on a globe looted from Egypt. Two relief panels depicting Victory sacrificing at an altar were placed on the walls as permanent decoration. These reliefs — the so-called Plutei Traiani, today in the Capitoline Museums — show Forum scenes of the imperial period, with an emperor conducting sacrifice and cancelling citizens' debts.
The Curia Today
The interior of the Curia Iulia is open to visitors and is one of the most immersive spaces in the Roman Forum. The opus sectile floor, the side steps, and the high windows create an extraordinarily evocative atmosphere. On the east side a copy of the Victory statue is displayed (the original is lost); on the walls are visible casts of the Plutei Traiani.
Rostra and Curia in the Forum System
The Rostra and Curia were not isolated buildings — they were the two poles of a precise spatial system. The Curia faced directly onto the Forum; opposite it, the Rostra was the platform from which one spoke to the people. Between these two buildings the political life of Rome was conducted: inside the Curia, debate among the elite; outside, on the Rostra, communication to the people.
The Comitia — the open space in front of the Curia where citizens gathered to vote — was the third component of this system. With the end of the Republic and the advent of Empire, this assembly ceased to be genuinely deliberative, but its physical space remained.
How to Visit the Rostra and Curia Today
The Curia Iulia: entered from within the Roman Forum circuit. It is one of the few Forum buildings where access to the interior is permitted. Allow 20–30 minutes for an adequate visit. The opus sectile floor deserves particular attention.
The Rostra: the podium is visible from outside the path, but you can descend close to it following the main route. The rear side (towards the Capitoline) is the most accessible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Rostra? The Rostra was the speakers' platform of the Roman Forum, built in its current position by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus. The name derives from the rams (rostri) of enemy ships attached to the structure after the victory at Antium in 338 BC.
What can you see inside the Curia Iulia? The interior of the Curia Iulia is one of the best-preserved spaces in the Roman Forum. You can see the original polychrome opus sectile floor, the side steps where senators sat, casts of the Plutei Traiani, and a copy of the Victory statue.
Is the Curia Iulia the original building? The current building is the third version of the Curia, begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus in 29 BC. It was preserved from demolition because it was converted into a church (San Adriano al Foro) in the seventh century. In 1937 it was partly restored to recover its Roman appearance.
How many senators sat in the Curia? In the imperial period the Senate had approximately 600 members. The three steps on each long side of the Curia could accommodate this number, with senators seated in rows.
Where was the original Rostra? The earliest Rostra stood in the northwestern corner of the Forum, in front of the Curia. Julius Caesar moved it to its current position (in front of the Temple of Saturn) as part of his reorganisation of the Forum.
Article no. 53 — TIER S — MON-03 Roman Forum + Palatine Type: HISTORY Words: ~2,400