Capitōlium

Capitōlium or mons Capitōlīnus, the Capitoline hill, one of the hills of Rome; it had two peaks, the south-west summit known as the Capitol and the northern one known as the arx (‘citadel’). However, these two last terms are used indiscriminately by ancient as well as modern writers to signify the whole hill as well as one or other of the summits. From earliest times the hill was used not so much for habitation as for a citadel and a religious centre. The Capitol was the site of the temple to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus, ‘Jupiter best and greatest’, and his companions, the goddesses Juno and Minerva; it was therefore the most sacred part of Rome. According to tradition it was begun by the king Tarquin and dedicated in the first year of the republic, 509 BC. Here sacrifice was offered by magistrates on taking office, and by victorious generals in a triumph. It was burnt in 83 BC but subsequently rebuilt. On the Capitol also stood the ancient temple of Jupiter Feretrius, associated with an oak-tree, and reputedly founded by Romulus. The Tarpeian Rock lay close to the Capitol. For the legend of the saving of the Capitol from the Gauls by the sacred geese see MANLIUS CAPITOLINUS.