Temple of Hercules Musarum

The Temple of Hercules Musarum was a Roman temple dedicated to Hercules Musarum located near the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius in ancient Rome.

History

The temple was built by the consul Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who conquered the Macedonian city of Ambracia in It was probably completed and dedicated during his triumph in Having earned scorn for enriching himself by raiding Greek temples, Fulvius Nobilior supposedly erected a portico around an earlier temple of Hercules in the Campus Martius, most likely that of Hercules Magnus Custos. He donated the copies of the fasti and statues he had taken from Ambracia, including a statue group of the Muses, after which the temple became known as Hercules Musarum, a calque of the [ancient ancient Greek language|Greek language|Greek] Hercules Musagetes, Hercules as leader of the Muses. The temple later became the home of the Roman poets' guild.
The Portico of Octavius was later built around the temple. Around Octavian and his stepbrother L. Marcius Philippus refurbished the portico and temple, after which the area was known as the Portico of Philippus.
The temple has not survived but part of its floorplan is known from Fragment 33 of the 3rd century Forma Urbis Romae.