Republican Forum

During the Roman Republic the Forum was the center of civic life in Rome. The Curia, or senate house, and the Comitium, or assembly place, were both located in the Forum. The Senate and various comitia were responsible for the legislation that governed the city of Rome. Other aspects of life that took place were business transactions which were negotiated in one of the many public meeting rooms in the basilicae of the forum. Important temples were in the forum and making sacrifices or performing rites was a frequent obligation of the Roman citizen. More than that, the buildings that made up the Forum during the Republic acted as a sort of historical record. For instance, a family that wanted to call attention to their power and commitment to their civic duty might build a basilica for public use, such as the Basilica Aemilia. In this way, building in the Republican forum were used as tools to curry favor, but they also served to indicate which families or persons were in power and when1.

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1. Diane Favro, The Roman Forum and Roman Memory," Places, 5.1 (1988): 17.