HONOS ET VIRTUS, AEDES
(templum Cic.;
ναὸς δόξης καὶ ᾿Αρετῆς Plut.),
a double temple, of which the original part was built by Q. Fabius Maximus
Verrucosus in 234 B.C. after his war with the Ligurians, and dedicated
to Honos (Cic. de nat. deor. ii. 61) on 17th July (Fast. Ant. ap.
NS 1921,
102). In 222 B.C., after the battle of Clastidium, M. Claudius Marcellus
vowed a temple to Honos et Virtus, a vow which he renewed after the
capture of Syracuse, and which he attempted to discharge by re-dedicating
the existing temple of Honos to both gods in 208. This was forbidden
by the pontiffs, and therefore Marcellus restored the temple of Honos,
and built a new part for Virtus, making a double shrine (Sym.
Ep. i. 20:
gemella facie). This was dedicated by his son in 205 (
Liv. xxv. 40. I-3;
xxvii. 25. 7-9; xxix. II. 13; Val. Max. i. I. 8; Plut. Marcell. 28). It
contained many treasures brought by Marcellus from Syracuse (Cic. de
rep. i. 21;
Verr. iv. 121;
Liv. xxvi. 32. 4; Asc. in Pison. 44), a large
part of which had disappeared in Livy's time (
Liv. xxv. 40. 3 :
quorum
perexigua pars comparet). It also contained the ancient bronze shrine,
supposed to date from the time of Numa, the aedicula Camenarum, which
was afterwards placed in the temple of Hercules and the Muses (Serv.
Aen.'i. 8).
This temple was restored by Vespasian and decorated by two Roman
artists, Cornelius Pinus and Attius Priscus (Plin.
NH xxxv. 120).
1 It is
last mentioned in the fourth century (Not. Reg. I). It stood ad portam
Capenam (
Liv. xxv. 40. 3; xxix. II. 13; Mon. Anc. 2. 29), evidently
outside the gate but very near to it (Not. Reg. I;
Liv. xxvi. 32. 4:
Hiero... cum ingrediens Romam in vestibule urbis prope in porta
spolia patriae suae visurus), and probably on the north side of the via
Appia; cf. supra, 19.
The statement that Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus, censor in 304 B.C.
when he established the transvectio equitum, caused the procession
of equites to start at the temple of Honos et Virtus (de vir. ill. 32), is
certainly incorrect in assuming the existence of this temple at that date;
nor can its proximity to the temple of
MARS EXTRA PORTAM CAPENAM (q.v.)
be inferred from the statement of Dionysius (vi. 13. 4) that this review
of the equites was established in 496 B.C. and began at the temple of
Mars (Momms.
Staatsr. iii. 493;
RE vi. 1806; for the temple and
literature, see HJ 202-203; WR 149-151;
RE viii. 2292-2293;
Rosch.
i. 2707-2708;
DE iii. 964).
