The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Praeneste was noted by Polybius as
the largest temple complex in Italy. In this model I have
tried to reconstruct the upper terraces, adapting the sanctuary plan to
the requirements of Lego bricks.
Fortuna Primigenia, or "Firstborn", was thought to determine the destiny of a child at its birth. If the use of these small plastic bricks has in some way determined your destiny, then you may enter here.
Praeneste was an old city built on a mountain spur, and the Sanctuary rises up the hillside in a series of terraces.
The large rectangular area resembles a Roman Forum, having collonades on three sides, a major temple, and minor monuments. The Forum was the center of a Roman town, where commercial, political, and religious activities all took place. Indeed, Fortuna once functioned as Praeneste's forum. The collonades may have sheltered merchant stalls, and civic debates could have occurred in the semicircular theatre cut into the hillside.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, on campaign in the East, consulted a seeress who prophesied that he would die at the height of good fortune. Having come from an aristocratic house at the end of its money, Sulla's fortuitous rise to prominence in mid-life made the goddess Fortuna dear to him. He later adopted the title of Felix or "Lucky". In 82 BC, when Praeneste sided with Gaius Marius in the civil war, Sulla had to lay siege and sack the town. Some think that he afterward rededicated and rebuilt the sanctuary of Praenestine Fortuna. At the summit of his meteoric political career, in which he became Dictator and rewrote Rome's constitution, Sulla retired to private life and died of a longstanding disease in 79 BC.
| Like other temples to Fortuna, Praeneste would have housed an image of Fortuna herself. In some manifestations she is covered by a double toga, making her features obscure. On Roman coinage, she is depicted holding a cornucopia in one hand and a rudder in the other. Many Fortuna cults were patronized by men such as Augustus Caesar, as they climbed to power. |
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This coin is a later depiction of Fortuna. Silver denarius of Hadrian (117-138 AD) (reverse)
(inscription reads FORTRED, probably for FORTuna REDux, or Safe Return From Battle) I purchased this "bargain bin" coin through the Time Machine Company |
In their theatre structure, the Romans copied the Greeks. In fact,
nearly everything about this Sanctuary was copied from the Greeks,
though the Romans had a way of connecting an imposing structure where
the Greeks left random buildings.
The early Greek theatre consisted of circular stone benches in tiers cut
into a hillside. The central area was the orchestra, where the chorus
declaimed tragedy. Later a stage, or skena, was constructed to raise the
action. Obviously Fortuna has no skena, but it, too, was cut into a mountainside.
Mathew Stephen, who sold me 4000 white bricks, fast
Erik Wilson (the Acropolis Project), whose contest kept me motivated and on track
Graig Donini, who charged through the left wall logjam when he came over one afternoon.
David Bornstein, for the use of his Olympus L-200 digital camera
iRez Corporation who make the Kritter cam, which I used for daily updates
The fine folks who make BBEdit, and the engineers of the truly portable PowerBook 2400
The LEGO Group who are not connected with this page in any way, have an official homepage
AUCZILLA (Todd Lehman & Suzanne Rich) where I bought 1000 white bricks before I had any idea how I would use them,
And finally, Deanna Goerl, my girlfriend, who wondered when I was coming to bed, and who otherwise put up with it.