Chapters
Concordia was the Roman goddess of harmony and harmony, who ruled over the order in the state and internal relations as well as consent in marriage. Its Greek counterpart was Harmonia. Often the goddess was associated with the personification of peace – Pax, which together formed a stable society. She was also sometimes accompanied by Salus, Securitas or Fortuna.
Depicted as a woman holding a cornucopia in one hand and an olive branch (or pomegranate – a symbol of the fertility of marriage) in the other. It was also shown with a plate in hand and a caduceus on the shoulder. She was often found between two figures – members of the imperial family, who exchanged hugs.
Holidays in honour of Concordia were held on January 16 and March 30. In the context of imperial worship, the goddess was worshipped as Concordia Augusta. Inscriptions on behalf of the emperor and his family were dedicated to her.
Temples
The temple of Concordia was built on the Forum Romanum in 367 BCE and was often the seat of the Senate. It was the oldest temple of this goddess. Its construction was aimed at ending the battles between patricians and plebeians.
In 304 BCE a bronze temple was erected at the behest of the aedile Gnaeus by Flavius. He promised to build a sanctuary in the hope of winning over the nobles who were outraged by the publication of the calendar (festi). The Senate did not agree to finance the construction, and therefore the money was obtained from fines from convicted moneylenders. The temple was destroyed in 121 BCE when Opimius decided to enlarge the main temple.
For the goddess of Concordia also was built a temple on arx – also called Arx Capitolina, the northern part of the Capitol – (possibly on the eastern side, opposite the main Concord temple). It was built probably in 218 BCE, at the request of the praetor Lucius Manlius, after suppressing a revolt among his soldiers in Pre-Alpine Gaul.
In 44 BCE the Senate honoured the temple for Concordia Nova, emphasizing the death of the dictator and ringleader of the civil war – Julius Caesar. Ultimately, the sanctuary was never built at all.
Another temple for this goddess was commissioned by Livia, and in Pompeii Eumachia – a priestess of Venus – commissioned the construction of a sanctuary dedicated to Concordia Augusta.
