A Companion Roman Religion - Spiritual Minds

of water in the temple precinct; it had to be fetched from the running well built

into the “Arch of Caligula” (6) at the nearby intersection.

According to the representative marble inscription, the founder of the temple,

M. Tullius, was the holder of multiple important municipal and religious offices.

A politically active member of the municipality seeking to increase his prestige by

honoring the emperor with the donation of a temple was the norm: the founding

of cult sites associated with the imperial family was not, as a rule, initiated by the

central government. Instead, the city council or distinguished citizens did it to

raise their own status. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that in spite of the limited

Roman Cult Sites 219

Figure 15.2 Sacred precinct of Fortuna Augusta in the urban context of Pompeii (based
on Eschebach 1993: detail of the city-map).

1

G

6

3

B

A

F 4 2 1 2 3

4, 5

6

7

Temple of Fortuna Augusta

Porticus Tulliana

Staff building

Private houses of the gens Tullia

“Arch of Caligula”

Public baths of the Forum

A B C D E F G

Workshop

Kitchen/latrine

Niche of the cult statue

Passageway/corridor

Living room

Dining room

Altar

7

5

E

C D