After studying a few epigraphic funerary poems taken from Virgil, we briefly returned to the question of the meridian in Piazza del Parlamento, Rome, to note that, despite renewed interest in the matter over the past few years [1], there is nothing to confirm the links between this meridian and its obelisk and the "imperial cult", based on the solar reference and the shadow of the solar "dial" falling on the Ara Pacis on the day of the autumn solstice. If we take the trouble to read the inscription on the obelisk, which is identical to the one on the Circus maximus obelisk, we realize that it is a dedication recalling the submission of Egypt [2], twenty years earlier, which put an end to the civil war. What's more, in 10/9 B.C., we were at the time of the correction of the Julian calendar, and nothing could better demonstrate the perfect correspondence between the solar year and the civil calendar than a meridian, which allowed us to see that the equinoxes and solstices actually fell on the correct calendar dates. It seems to me that this was sufficient reason to dedicate this obelisk in the park surrounding the Mausoleum.
14:00 - 15:00
Lecture
A look back at religious walks in ancient Rome and mythology
John Scheid
14:00 - 15:00
