 TheArch of Gallienus, the ancient Porta Esquilina | |
   Porta Esquilina Shown within Augustan Rome | |
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| Coordinates | 41°53′45″N12°30′05″E / 41.89583°N 12.50139°E /41.89583; 12.50139 |
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ThePorta Esquilina (orEsquiline Gate) was a gate in theServian Wall,[1] of which theArch of Gallienus is extant today. Tradition dates it back to the 6th century BC, when the Servian Wall was said to have been built by the Roman kingServius Tullius. However modern scholarship and evidence from archaeology indicate a date in the fourth century BC.[2] The archway of the gate was rededicated in 262 as the Arch of Gallienus.
The Porta Esquilina allowed passage between Rome and theEsquiline Hill at the city’s east before Rome expanded with the laterAurelian Wall. The Esquiline Hill served as Rome’s graveyard during theRepublic and later as an area for thehorti and the emperor’s most beautiful gardens such as theGardens of Maecenas.[3] Connecting northward to the Esquiline Gate was theagger, the heavily fortified section of the Servian Wall.[4] Just southwest of the Esquiline Gate were notable locations such as Nero’s Golden House, theBaths of Titus, andTrajan’s Baths.[5] Two major roads, thevia Labicana and the via Praenestina, originate at the Porta Esquilina[6] but lead out of Rome as a single road until they separate near Rome's outer,Aurelian Wall.[1]
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Following from the concept of thepomerium, there seems to be an unofficial Roman “tradition” that certain killings were to be done “outside” the city and thus several ancient authors include the Esquiline Gate in their descriptions of such deeds. For example, in Cic. Pro. Clu. 37 the murder of Asinus of Larinum was done outside the Esquiline Gate,[7] and in Tac. Ann. ii. 32, the astrologer Publius Marcius was executed by consuls outside the Esquiline Gate.[8]
The Esquiline gate is also mentioned in ancient literature as an important way of entering and exiting Rome. Livy writes about the consulValerius’ strategic plan to lure out Etruscan pillagers that had been preying on Roman fields. Valerius ordered cattle, which had been previously brought to safety within the city walls, to be sent outside through the Esquiline Gate so that when theEtruscans came down south to seize the cattle, the Romans could ambush the Etruscans from all sides.[9]Cicero, in a speech deemphasizing the greatness of triumphal processions, mentions how he trampled his own Macedonian laurels underfoot while entering Rome through the Esquiline Gate and this suggests that the Esquiline Gate was used for triumphal processions.[10] Another example of the Esquiline gate in ancient literature comes fromPlutarch’s description ofSulla’s first march on Rome.[11] Sulla ordered the Esquiline Gate secured and sent some of his forces to go through it. However, bricks and stones were hurled upon them by citizens that Marius had recruited to defend the city.[12]
Initially, the site of the Porta Esquilina was marked by a single arch that was built in the 1st century AD, but it later became a triple arch structure in the 3rd century AD[13] that had a peak height of 8.8 m.[1] The conversion to a triple arch was sponsored by the equite M. Aurelius Victor in 262 AD to honor the Roman emperorGallienus.[14] Although archaeological evidence shows signs of extra pillar foundations, Aurelius Victor’s additional arches did not survive and today only the original, single arch remains.[13]
Media related toArch of Gallienus (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Arch of Gallienus | Landmarks of Rome Porta Esquilina | Succeeded by Lateran Obelisk |