In part one of this series, I wrote about the funeral of Julius Caesar. I told how that traumatic event set the stage for the end of the Roman Republic and helped to give rise to Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus. 

Augustus promised the people of Rome that he would build a temple for his deified adoptive father, which he did in 29 BCE. However, Augustus would use this temple not just to glorify Julius Caesar but to further his ambitions. During Augustus’s reign, the Temple of Divus Julius was one of the most impressive temples in the Roman Forum, but today, it’s difficult to find its ruins. 

With this article, the last in my Julius Caesar series, I’ll present what made this temple so remarkable, what happened to it throughout the ages, and most of all, how to find where it is when you visit the Roman Forum.

And lastly, I’ll end my search for Caesar’s grave, which I hope you’ll find very interesting. 

The article was updated on March 8, 2024

The Monuments to Caesar and the Rise of Augustus

Shortly after the funeral, those loyal to Julius Caesar erected two monuments at the site of his cremation. One was a twenty-foot tall column of Numidian marble, with the inscription, “To the father of his country.” What’s interesting and somewhat ironic about this inscription is that according to the historian Appian of Alexandra, this is also what Caesar’s assassins had referred to him as before they murdered him. Next to the column was placed an altar. This alter would be the focus of cult-like worship of the fallen leader, which upset Caesar’s enemies.

Even though most of the assassins had fled Rome, there was still a large faction of anti-Caesar members in the Senate. These men were able to remove the column and altar from the Forum. Their removal caused the citizens of Rome to again rise up and along with the veterans of Caesar’s legions, demanded that the monuments be returned to the Forum.

The political maneuvering for the leadership of Rome brought about the formation of a Second Triumvirate in 42 BCE. This Second Triumvirate consisted of Marc Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Gaius Octavius. Using the outrage caused by the monument’s removal, the Triumvirate persuaded the Roman Senate to deify Julius Caesar, making him the first Roman ruler to be declared a god. They also pressured the Senate to authorize a temple to be built for the divine Caesar on the site of his cremation. However, the construction of this temple would have to wait, as the leadership of Rome was decided in a civil war.

Of the three members of the Second Triumvirate, Octavius became the strongest. Gaius Octavius, originally Caesar’s nephew, had been adopted by Julius Caesar.  In his will, Caesar had named Octavius his son and heir, and due to the popularity of Julius Caesar, this gave him a step up over Antony and Lepidus. Over time, historians began referring to Octavius as Octavian to avoid confusing him with his great-uncle. But this is just one of the names that would be associated with this man, which I’ll cover later in this post.

Octavius soon eliminated his two Triumvirate rivals. In 36 BCE, he exiled Lepidus to Circeii (today’s San Felice Circeo), and in 31 BCE, he defeated the forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium. Now, with Antony and Lepidus out of the way, Octavius became the undisputed ruler of Rome. Octavius finished building the temple to Caesar, and on August 18th, 29 BCE, he inaugurated the Temple of Divus Julius on the site of Caesar’s cremation. 

However, finishing the temple wasn’t as much about honoring his adoptive father, but as a means of promoting himself. During the early construction of the Temple of Caesar, Octavius did everything he could to attach himself to the popular Julius Caesar. He took the name of his adoptive father, becoming Gaius Julius Caesar. Later he would add the title of “divi filius” or “son of the divine,” to his name.

But by the time the temple was finished, Gaius didn’t need the connection to Julius Caesar any longer and used the temple as a monument to his military accomplishments and to perpetuate his political claim to power over Rome. Gaius’s ego culminated on January 16, 27 BCE, when he insisted that the Senate bestow on him yet another name. This was “Augustus,” which means “majestic” or “great.” This addition would make his official name “Imperator Caesar divi filius Augustus.”

Today, we know him as Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire.

The Temple of Divus Julius

The Temple of Divus Julius, also known as the Temple of Caesar, was built on the site where Julius Caesar’s body was cremated in 44 BCE. This location was at the far eastern end of the Forum’s main square. The Temple was surrounded by the Regia, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and the Basilica Aemilia. This site gave the temple’s architects problems because there wasn’t much room for them to work with.

It’s estimated that the Temple of Caesar was around eighty-eight and a half feet wide, by ninety-eight feet in length. When compared with other temples, it was considered to be of moderate size. But what made the Temple of Caesar very interesting wasn’t the ground area it covered, but rather its height. Without room to build out, the designers became very creative and built up instead.

To help create their desired effect, its architects designed the Temple of Caesar with two levels. The top level supported the temple building and stood at around eighteen feet above the ground. The second lower level would serve as a speaker’s podium. This lower platform protruded out from the temple’s higher level and stretched from side to side across the front of the main temple building. The lower podium level was thought to be around eleven and a half feet above the Forum Square.

Besides the height of its platforms, its architects used another visual trick to give this temple more grandeur, and that was with its columns. From the writings of the ancient Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and the images found on Roman coins, it’s believed that the Temple of Caesar had six closely spaced columns across the front of the temple building and two columns on each side of the temple’s porch. It’s estimated that these columns were between thirty-eight to forty feet tall. With the height of its platforms, along with the height and closeness of its columns, the Temple of Divus Julius would have been a towering structure on the Roman Forum. One of the often debated questions is the style of the columns used in the Temple of Caesar. All that we know about its columns are from those Roman coins and the few fragments found around its ruins. From this, it’s believed they could have been either Ionic or perhaps Corinthian.

Another question is the placement of the temple’s stairs. Some say the stairs going up to the podium were on the front of the temple, while others have them on the sides. Both may be correct. Historians accept that the Temple of Caesar had undergone a few alterations throughout its history. So, the stairs could have been relocated to accommodate its new design.

There were two other unique and distinctive features of the Temple of Caesar. First, across the front of its podium were mounted the rostra from the ships of the battle of Actium. The Temple of Divus Julius is the only temple in the Forum to have rostra on it. So, it seems that although Augustus supposedly dedicated this temple to his adoptive father, it didn’t stop him from using it to celebrate his victory over Marc Antony and Cleopatra. It was from these ship’s rams that the Temple of Caesar’s rostrum became known as the Rostra ad Divi Juli. At times, the Rostra ad Divi Juli has been confused with the Rostra Augusti, which is at the opposite or western end of the Forum’s main square. For clarification, it was on the Rostra Augusti that Marc Antony delivered his famous funeral eulogy to Caesar. Throughout the temple’s existence, the Rostra ad Divi Juli was used by Roman emperors, statesmen, and citizens alike as an alternative to the Rostra Augusti. Later, a third rostrum was built on the Forum, the Rostra of Diocletian. The Rostra of Diocletian was located on the eastern end of the Forum and directly across from the Temple of Caesar. The Rostra of Diocletian and the Rostra ad divi luli actually faced each other.

The other unique feature of the 29 BCE Temple of Caesar was a semicircle niche. This niche was located at the front center of the temple’s podium. Most historians agree that this niche contained the altar removed by the Senate after Caesar’s cremation in 44 BCE. This was to stop the cult worship of the dead Caesar.  At some point in the temple’s history, the niche was walled up with blocks of volcanic tuff. It’s historically unclear why this was done, but there’s plenty of speculation and theories on the subject.

One theory has it being walled up late in Emperor Augustus’s reign. This is based on the belief that after Augustus had solidified his control over Rome, he no longer needed to legitimize his connection with his deified adoptive father. Along with this, Augustus had already started to use the temple to celebrate his accomplishments and wanted to play down Caesar’s cult worship.

Another theory has the niche being walled during the Christian purging of pagan cults. But one of the most logical theories is that it was walled up and covered over to make the Rostrum larger. For speakers, the most powerful position on a stage is at its center, and that’s where the niche is located. Also, covering the niche helped to optimize the rostrum’s usage. Also, this theory of expanding the speakers’ area fits with what is found at the ruins of the temple today. I’ll cover that later in this article.

Historical accounts and images on Roman coins suggest that a giant statue of Julius Caesar stood inside the temple. The statue was so large that it could be seen from the Forum when the temple’s doors were open. The image depicted on the Roman coins shows the statue holding an augural staff in its right hand and a star on its head. What this star represents is an interesting story in itself.  

As the story goes, shortly after Caesar’s assassination a comet was seen in the sky over Rome. The common belief was that this comet was the spirit of Caesar, rising into the heavens to join the other gods. This belief created a duel cult worship for both the defied Caesar and the “comet star.”

As I mentioned earlier, the Temple of Divus Julius became more of a monument to Caesar Augustus’s victories than to the deified Julius Caesar. Augustus placed the spoils from his conquests in the temple. One of these was the painting “Venus Anadyomene” by the famous Greek painter Apelles of Kos. Sadly, by the time of Nero’s reign, this painting had deteriorated to the point that it couldn’t be saved.

The Temple of Caesar stood as a constant reminder of not only Julius Caesar’s popularity but also the powerful ruling dynasty of the Julii family into the first century CE. But after that dynasty ended with Nero’s suicide in 68 CE, it’s unclear how the temple was used other than continuing to be a speakers’ rostrum. 

At one point, the temple was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt by Emperor Septimius Severus. There, it remained mostly intact well into the 15th century. After that, it suffered the same fate as the other temples and buildings of the Forum, being stripped of its marble and stone, which was used for other projects.

So when you visit the Forum today, it’s easy to overlook the ruins of this once magnificent Roman temple, because all that remains of it are a few of its caementicium (Roman cement) walls.

So, let’s go find the Temple of Divus Julius in the Roman Forum!

Finding the Temple of Caesar in the Roman Forum

To find the Temple of Caesar, we’ll enter the Roman Forum at its eastern end, by the Arch of Titus. From there, you’ll follow the path toward the center of the ancient Roman Forum. This path will take you down through the centuries, down to the very level of the Forum during Julius Caesar’s time.

Once you’ve reached that level you’ll now be walking on what was the Forum’s ancient main street, the Via Sacra. Notice that amongst the modern paving are worn flagstones; these are part of the original street. If you’ve read part one of this series, you’ll know that you’re now passing the area where Julius Caesar lived and worked. It was along here where the Domus Publica (Caesar’s residence), the Temple of the Vesta, and the Regia building (Caesar’s public office) had once stood.

When you reach the Temple of Antonius and Faustina, which will be on your right, look to the left. There, behind the Temple of Vesta and in front of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, you’ll see a group of brown monolithic stones.  As I stated earlier, these are all that remain of the Temple of Caesar, its foundation of caementivium walls that supported the temple’s building.

Now, as you walk around to what was the front of the Temple of Caesar, you’ll see a large rectangular stone structure. This was the lower platform that supported the temple’s rostrum. Still at its center is the semicircle niche from the 29 BCE temple. As I wrote earlier in this article, later in the temple’s history, this niche was walled up with blocks of volcanic tuff. You can still see a few fragments of that tuff wall in front of the niche. In addition there’s a modern roof that now covers the niche’s area. It’s what this roof covers that’s truly amazing.

The Altar to the Divine Caesar

When you go under the roof and behind the remnants of the tuff wall, you’ll see what looks like a big pile of old gray dirt. Among the dirt are flowers, coins, and other personal items left by visitors. They believe these were offerings placed on the ruined altar to Caesar.

As I presented earlier, most historians agree that Augustus and the Roman Senate installed an altar in the temple’s niche in 29 BCE. Most historians also agree that this alter was most likely the same one that had been removed from the Forum in 44 BCE. But is this unrecognizable pile of gray stone that same altar?

My sources don’t fully address what became of the temple’s altar after the niche was walled up. One source wrote, “…the altar was probably relocated to the podium.” The word “probably” doesn’t give much credence to that statement. There’s no written record to date as to what became of the temple’s altar.

As I wrote in this article, there are three possible reasons why the niche was walled up. All three center on the fact that they were trying to distance themselves from Julius Caesar’s worship. Could the altar have been left in the niche when they walled and covered it up to avoid an uproar from the people? I could not find a definitive answer to what became of the altar. So, for all it’s worth, I believe that the gray stone artifact that’s covered with flowers, coins, and such is the original altar to Caesar.

This brings up another very controversial question; is the Temple of Caesar, and it’s ruined altar, also be the grave of Julius Caesar? 

Is the Temple of Divus Julius Caesar’s Grave?

Many articles refer to the Temple of Caesar as his gravesite. They state that Caesar’s ashes were entombed inside the temple’s altar. However, these websites fail to state their source for this claim. To be fair, these websites are more travel-oriented and not trustworthy historical reference sources.

What we know is that most historically based articles make no mention whatsoever that Caesar’s ashes were ever interred in the altar of the Temple of Caesar. So, without supportive evidence, it’s safe to say that Caesar’s ashes were never placed in the Temple’s altar. So, what happened to Caesar’s remains?

Historians will say that the closer the accounts are to events, the more reliable they are. So, was there a Roman historian who wrote about Caesar’s funeral and cremation? Yes, there was.

One of the most highly regarded ancient Roman statesmen and historian was Lucius Cassius Dio (155-235 AD). Dio gave a detailed account of Caesar’s funeral and its aftermath in his Book XLIV. Here’s what he wrote concerning Caesar’s remains;

“… consuls forbade anyone except the soldiers to carry arms, they refrained from bloodshed, but set up an altar on the site of the pyre (for the freedmen of Caesar had previously taken up his bones and deposited them in the family tomb)…”

Locius Cassius Dio, Roman History Book XLIV

According to this respected Roman historian, after Caesar’s cremation, his bones and ashes were gathered from the Forum and interred in the tomb of his daughter Julia at Campus Martius. Although no one knows where that tomb was located, some believe it was in the area of the Piazza Colonna.

Closing Thoughts

Is it appropriate for visitors to leave offerings of remembrance on the altar at the Temple of Divus Julius? The answer is yes. Even though the Temple of Caesar may not be Julius Caesar’s actual grave, it is very much his cenotaph.

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