The Lacus Curtius is a mysterious hole in the ground in the Roman Forum, now small, more or less filled in and paved over with ancient stone, but once said to have been a widening chasm. Its nature and significance in Rome's early history is unknown, and this was already the case by the late Republican period. Anyway the name of the place seems to be connected with the Curtia Gens, a very old Roman Family with Sabine origins. The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum, although the Romans referred to it more often as the Forum Magnum or just the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. ... The Curtia Gens was a very ancient Roman family, whose roots came from the Sabine race. ...

It was, however, regarded with some veneration by the ancient Romans, and the story most often repeated is that told by Livy (vii.6): Rome, facing a peril which an oracle had stated would be overcome only when the City threw into the chasm what she held to be most dear, was saved by a young horseman named Marcus Curtius (a member of the Curtia Gens), who understood that it was the life of a brave Roman youth that the Romans held most dear, and who therefore plunged into it in full armour on his horse, whereupon the earth closed over him and Rome was saved. A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... Curtius is a Roman nomen shared by several notables. ... The Curtia Gens was a very ancient Roman family, whose roots came from the Sabine race. ...

Alternatively, Titus Livius tells that the Lacus Curtius was named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine horseman who rode into or fell into it while fighting against Romulus, during the war begun after the Rape of the Sabine Women. The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... Romulus and Remus, (c771 BC¹- July 5, c717 BC Romulus) (c771 BC- April 21, c753 BC Remus), the traditional founders of Rome, appeared in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war Mars. ...

Still another version, told by historian Marcus Terentius Varro had it that Gaius Curtius Philon, a consul of 445 BC, consecrated the site after a lightning strike opened it. Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ... For modern, semi-diplomatic or colonial consuls, see Consul (representative). ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC - 445 BC - 444 BC 443 BC...

Related links

• Curtia Gens

The Curtia Gens was a very ancient Roman family, whose roots came from the Sabine race. ...

External links

• Article by Samuel Ball Platner, with photographs
• Lacus Curtius article on livius.org