The earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, Italy, the Pons Sublicius, spanned the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium ("cattle forum") downstream from the Tiber island, near the foot of the Aventine Hill. According to tradition, its construction was ordered by Ancus Martius around 642 BC, but this date is approximate because there is no ancient record of its construction. Martius wished to connect the newly fortified Janiculum Hill on the Etruscan side to the rest of Rome, augmenting the ferry that was there. The bridge was part of public works projects that included building a port at Ostia, the then location of worked salt deposits. For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third longest river in Italy (disputed — see talk page) at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through the Campagna and Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in... The Forum Boarium was the cattle market of ancient Rome. ... The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills that ancient Rome was built on. ... Ancus Marcius (640 BC-616 BC.), fourth of the Kings of Rome, and possibly legendary. ... Janiculum (Gianicolo in Italian) is a hill in western Rome. ... See: Etruscan civilization Etruscan language Etruscan alphabet Etruscan mythology See also: Tyrrhenian, Lemnian, Pelasgian. ... Scale model of Portus, near Ostia The Temple of the goddess Roma on the Forum of Ostia. ...

Construction

Drawing of the site of the Pons Sublicius (falsely shown as a pier), by Friedrich Polack

Legend tells us that the bridge was made entirely of wood. The name comes from Latin pons, bridge, and an adjective, "sublicius", formed from some unattested stem of sublices, pilings. As a sublica was a pick, sublices implies pointed sticks; that is, the bridge was supported by pilings driven into the riverbed. Julius Caesar’s engineers used this construction to bridge the Rhine. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (853x652, 191 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Pons Sublicius ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (853x652, 191 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Pons Sublicius ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Gaius Julius Caesar (IPA: Classical Latin: IMP•C•IVLIVS•CAESAR•DIVVS1) (July 12, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader. ... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ...

The bridge was rebuilt repeatedly. The date of its final disappearance is not known, but it is not in classical times. The via Latina went over the bridge and connected to the via Cassia, a road built over an old Etruscan road that led to Veii. The bridge was a favorite resort for beggars, who used to sit upon it and demand alms, hence the Latin expression "aliquis de ponte" for a beggar. The Via Latina, or the Latin Way, was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 km. ... The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii traversed Etruria. ... Veii - or Veius - was in ancient times, an important Etrurian city 18 km NNW of Rome, Italy. ...

The bridge was downstream from the Pons Aemilius, a good stone bridge with which it is sometimes confused. Between the two, the Cloaca Maxima, or great sewer, was effluent into the Tiber. The Cloaca Maxima was one of the worlds earliest sewage systems. ...

In the drawing by Friedrich Polack (published 1896) included with this article the pile bridge is falsely shown as a pile pier. Presumably some structure still existed prior to 1896, which was incorrectly identified. Otherwise the drawing appears to be accurate in the major details.

The observer is standing on the Via Ostiensis at the foot of the Aventine, which is at his back. The river flows toward him. The stone bridge in evidence is the Pons Aemilius. The Servian Wall goes along the bank of the river, is pierced by the Porta Trigemina (you can see the three openings) and starts up the Palatine. Beyond the gate is the Forum Boarium. In the immediate foreground are the docks, or Navalia. The Servian Wall now next to the railway station of Termini. ... The Porta Trigemina was one of the main gates in the ancient 4th century Servian Wall of Rome, Italy. ... See Palatine Hill for geography of Rome. ... The Forum Boarium was the cattle market of ancient Rome. ...

The pier is highly unlikely, as any ship tied up at is as shown would be unstable in the full force of the current. Moreover, the masts would have to be shipped for passage under the bridges. One can readily see how unsuitable the river was for sea-going traffic and how necessary the port of Ostia would have been to Rome.

The opening of the Cloaca Maxima is between the docks and the stone bridge. Beyond the bridge you can just see the Aesculapium on Tiber Island. Looming over the whole scene is the Capitoline, with the temple of Juppiter Capitolinus upon it. The rising ground on the opposite side of the stone bridge is the Janiculum. The Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus Mons), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the famous seven hills of Rome, the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad: the gods Jupiter, his wife Juno and their daughter Minerva. ... Janiculum (Gianicolo in Italian) is a hill in western Rome. ...

Horatius Cocles at the bridge

The legend of Horatius at the bridge appears in many classical authors, most notably in Livy. Already immortal in literature, Horatius was augmented in modern fame by Thomas Babington Macaulay’s poem, Horatius at the Bridge. The Romans revolted against the Etruscan domination of Rome and threw off the rule of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the last king, in favor of a republic. Lars Porsenna, king of Clusium, taking offense at this move, led a force on Rome. The senators decided to hew down the bridge. Horatius Cocles, a member of the gens of the Horatii, with two others bought some time by defending the opposite end of the bridge: A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... Quotes His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. ... Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was the legendary fifth King of Rome, said to have reigned from 616 BC to 579 BC. Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruscan city of Tarquinii and was actually named Lucumo. ... Lars Porsena (sometimes spelled Lars Porsenna) was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. ... Ancient Clusium was a Roman city, one of a succession found at the site. ... In Roman mythology, Horatius Cocles (cocles: Latin for the one-eyed man) was a hero who defended alone the bridge that led to Rome against the Etruscans. ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... In Roman mythology, the Horatii were a set of male triplets from Rome. ...

Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may!

I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play.

In yon strait path, a thousand may well be stopped by three:

Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?

Then out spake Spurius Lartius; a Ramnes|Ramnian proud was he:

"Lo, I will stand at thy right hand and keep the bridge with thee."

And out spake strong Herminius; of Titian blood was he:

"I will abide on thy left side, and keep the bridge with thee."

Macalulay lacks nothing at all of Livy’s sentiment and spirit. Finally the bridge came down:

But with a crash like thunder fell every loosened beam,

And, like a dam, the mighty wreck lay right athwart the stream:

And a loud shout of triumph rose from the walls of Rome,

As to the highest turret-tops was splashed the yellow foam.

On the wrong side of the river, Horatius prayed to the Tiber and jumped in:

"Oh Tiber, father Tiber, to whom the Romans pray,

A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, take thou in charge this day!"

So he spake and, speaking, sheathed the good sword by his side,

And, with his harness on his back, plunged headlong in the tide.

He made the swim, of course, was given a land grant and a statue at Rome, which other writers actually saw. Some say that he fought alone and died there, but this is the lesser legend. After the difficulty in breaking the bridge down, it was reconstructed without nails, so that each beam could be removed and replaced at will, by the pontifices. They were officials of early Rome who were responsible for bridges. Afterwards the bridge was considered so sacred that no repairs could be made without previous sacrifice conducted by the pontifex maximus. In ancient Rome, the College of Pontiffs or Collegium Pontificum was a body whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the polytheistic state religion. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ...

Gaius Gracchus at the bridge

The Pons Sublicius is also the bridge over which Gaius Gracchus directed his flight when he was overtaken by his opponents (Plutarch, Life of Gaius Gracchus). Two of his friends attempted to stop them at the bridge, but were themselves killed. Gracchus died violently shortly after in a grove nearby. Roman citizens cheered on the flight of Gracchus but would not assist him. Gracchus’choice of an escape route was probably intended to make use of the magical powers attributed to the bridge, but it failed. Gaius Gracchus (Latin: C·SEMPRONIVS·TI·F·P·N·GRACCVS) (154 BC-121 BC) was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC. He was the younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus and, like him, pursued a popular political agenda that eventually got him killed by the conservative faction of the... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ...

Etruscan ritual

On the Ides of March, a procession, called the sacella Argeorum, Argea, or Argei, went from the temples of Servius Tullius to the pons Sublicius. The pontiffs and the magistrates were carrying effigies, or dolls, of bound men, which the Vestals threw into the Tiber. The Flaminica Dialis was dressed in mourning. Vincenzo Camuccini, Mort de César, 1798. ... Servius Tullius was the sixth legendary king of ancient Rome, and the second king of the Etruscan dynasty. ... Vestal can refer to: Pertaining to Vesta (mythology), a Roman goddess, the Sacred fire of Vesta, or the Temple of Vesta Vestal Virgin Vestal, New York Albert Henry Vestal, American politician USS Vestal (AR-4), ship See also Vesta This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with...

The ceremony was probably an Etruscan magical military tactic, comparable to another in which a Gallic man and woman were buried alive in the Forum Boarium. The Greeks and the Gauls were being ritually buried or drowned, which the superstitious Romans believed had a real effect on their Greek or Gallic enemies. They carried out this type of sacrifice also after major defeats. See: Etruscan civilization Etruscan language Etruscan alphabet Etruscan mythology See also: Tyrrhenian, Lemnian, Pelasgian. ...

New developments

The Papers of the British School at Rome, Volume 72, 2004, contain an article by Pier Luigi Tucci, EIGHT FRAGMENTS OF THE MARBLE PLAN OF ROME SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON THE TRANSTIBERIM. In it he claims that fragments 138a–f and 574a–b of the Forma Urbis, a marble plan of Rome from the time of Septimius Severus, show the right bank of the Tiber, opposite the Aventine. A road appears there, formerly thought to cross the Pons Aemilius, but shown on the forma crossing another bridge, the last remains of which were removed in the late nineteenth century. It is thought to have been the pons Sublicius. Lucius Septimius Severus, (April 11, 146-February 4, 211) was Roman emperor from April 9, 193 to 211. ... The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills that ancient Rome was built on. ...

External links

• Tiber River Bridges
• A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
• Pons article by Anthony Rich
• Monte Aventino e Vestigi del Ponte Sublicio (English)