The Temple of Caesar

Closing off the political area of the Roman forum is the temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. The dictator was assassinated on March 15th 44 BC in the Theater of Pompey „Ÿ the Senate was meeting there during the reconstruction of the Curia „Ÿ and his body was then taken to the Roman Forum and cremated.

In 29 AD, the Emperor Augustus introduced to Rome the Eastern custom of deifying dead heroes and he consequently had a temple erected to Caesar, now a God, on the spot where he was cremated.
One entered the Temple by 2 sets of steps on both sides of the podium where the statue of Julius Caesar stood, his head crowned by a star in memory of the comet that appeared after his death to announce his deification. The circular altar placed in the center of the podium probably marks the exact spot where Caesar's cremation took place.