PORTA TRIGEMINA
an important gate, and one frequently mentioned in
ancient literature, in the Servian wall between the Aventine and the
Tiber, in
Region XI (Not.;
Frontinus i. 5;
Solin. i. 8;
Dionys. i. 32. 2,
39. 4; de vir. ill. 65;
Liv. xli. 27. 8). The exact site is a matter of
dispute, since the line of the wall has not yet been determined in this
quarter. Some place it below the present church of S. Sabina (LF 34;
Jord. i. I. 235;
Gilb. ii. 296); others about 40 metres south of S. Maria
in Cosmedin, where an arch of tufa, 3.30 metres wide, over a paved road,
was found in 1886 (
NS 1886, 274;
BC 1888, 20-22;
Mel. 1909, 129-132;
AJA 1918, 175-176; TF 95, 96); and others still at the north corner of
the Aventine, near S. Anna dei Calzettari, about halfway between the
other two points (KH i.;
Mitt. 1889, 260; for a presentation of all the
different views and their literature, see Merlin, 96-97, 125-126, and cf.
MURUS SERVII TULLII). The last of these theories is the most probable.
The name is best explained by supposing that the gate had three
openings, to accommodate the heavy traffic of this district and of the
VIA OSTIENSIS (q.v.) (cf., however, Richter 46). Just outside it was a
favourite resort for beggars (Plaut. Capt. 90), and a statue of L. Minucius
(
Liv. iv. 16. 2; vid. s.v.), which has led some to identify porta Trigemina
with
PORTA MINUCIA (q.v.); see also
porticus extra portam Trigeminam.
A few inscriptions, on which the name of this gate occurs, have been found
(
CIL vi. 9488, 9515,
1 9618; for forged lamps with similar inscriptions,
see
Mitt. 1892, 144).
