Inscription
Inscription on the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, 141 A.D.
The temple’s original inscription is still visible on the entablature. The second line, DIVAE FAVSTINAE EX S.C. (for the deified Faustina, by decree of the Senate) came before the first line, which reads DIVO ANTONINO ET (for deified Antoninus and). [1] The second line was inscribed upon the temple after the death of Faustina, when the monument was dedicated solely to her. The first line was added later by Marcus Aurelius, after the death of Emperor Antoninus Pius. [2] It is thought that the dedication to Faustina was initially located on the frieze, as inscriptions were not typically located on architraves. After the death of her husband, the first inscription was removed in order to make room for the text that would honor Antoninus. Thus, a new dedication to Faustina was executed in smaller letters, and moved below her husband’s dedicatory inscription.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Amanda Claridge, Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998): 111.
2. Marta Chiara Guerrieri, “The Roman Forum,” in Archaeological Guide to Rome, ed. Adriano La Regina (Milan: Mondadori Electa S.p.a., 2004): 33.