TELLUS, AEDES
(templum, Serv., Not.;
νεώς, Dionys.;
τέενος, Cass. Dio;
ἱερον́ν, Plut. App.):
a temple vowed by P. Sempronius Sophus during
an earthquake which occurred during a battle with the Picentes in 268
B.C. (
Flor. i. 14).
Rosch. v. 338 remarks that the vow is a natural one
enough in the circumstances. It was doubtless built at once, although
its erection is ascribed to the city or senate in two sources (Val.
Max.
vi. 3. ;
Dionys. viii. 79). It was on the Esquiline, in Carinis (Suet.
de gramm. 15; Dionys. loc. cit.; Serv.
Aen. viii. 361), on the site formerly
occupied by the house of
SP. CASSIUS (q.v.), which was said to have been
pulled down in 495 B.C. (Cic. de domo II ;
Liv. ii. 41. II; Val. Max.
loc. cit.; cf. Plin.
NH. xxxiv. 15, 30), near the house of Antonius (App.
B.C. ii. 126) and that of
Q. CICERO (q.v.). The latter restored the temple
about 54 B.C. (Cic. ad Q. fr. iii. I. 4; de har. resp. 31), and apparently
gained possession of some of the land hitherto belonging to the temple.
The day of dedication was 13th December (Fast. Ant. ad Id. Dec., CIL
is. p. 249, 336), when Ceres was associated with Tellus as on other occasions
(WR 192-195). The fact that the worship of Tellus was very ancient
makes it probable that there was a much earlier cult centre on the site
afterwards occupied by the temple.
The temple was sometimes used for meetings of the senate (Cic.
Phil. i. 31; ad
Att. xvi. 14. 1; App.
BC ii. 126; Plut. Brut. 19; Cass.
Dio
xliv. 22. 3), and on its walls was a map of Italy (Varro,
RR i. 2. ; Urlichs,
Malerei in Rom, p. 8). It was standing in the fourth century (Not.
Reg. IV), but nothing is known of its later history. Its site was very
probably between the present Vie del Colosseo and dei Serpenti (
Gilb.
i. 193-195; HJ 323-326), but Ligorio's account of the discovery of remains
belonging to it is open to suspicion (
BC 1892, 32-37;
LS iii. 5-6;
Mitt.
1893, 301-302; HJ loc. cit.). Cf. HCh 444, 445, 522, 523 for the (apo-
cryphal) church of S. Salvator in Tellumine (in Tellude), and for a frieze
representing a gigantomachy, which perhaps came from this temple,
see
Mitt. 1905, 121-130; HF 138, 1013, 1014, 1211 ; iBocconi, Mus. Cap.
282. I, 4.