United States or Svalbard and Jan Mayen ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Now after having brought together all the usages of the word aedes in its application to the temple of Praeneste, it seems that Delbrueck has very small foundation for his argument which assumes as settled the exact meaning and location of the aedes Fortunae. From the temple itself we turn now to a brief discussion of a space on the tufa wall which helps to face the cave on the west.
And it was fifty years later than the date Delbrueck wishes to assign to this mosaic, before marble began to be used in any great profusion in Rome, and at this time Praeneste was not in advance of Rome. The mosaic, therefore, undoubtedly dates from about the time of Hadrian, and was probably a gift to the city when he built himself a villa below the town.
The splendid publication of Delbrueck with maps and plans and bibliography of the lower temple and the work which has been done on it, makes unnecessary any remarks except on some few points which have escaped him.
The place where this phenomenon occurred was thus proved divine, the cult of Fortuna Primigenia was established beyond peradventure, and her oracular replies to those who sought her shrine were transmitted by means of these lettered blocks. But there are two caves. The reason why there are two has never been shown, nor does Delbrueck have proof enough to settle which is the older cave.
When it was completely proved that, in order to start the war of 1870, Bismarck had committed forgery. Professor Hans Delbrueck exclaimed, "Blessed is the hand that forged the Ems despatch." Who, except the specialist in mental diseases, can deal with this proclamation of the Kaiser to his Army of the East?: "Remember that you are the chosen people!
This is a smoothed surface which shows a narrow cornice ledge above it, and a narrow base below. In it are a number of irregularly driven holes. Delbrueck calls it a votive niche, and says that the "viele regellos verstreute Nagelloecher" are due to nails upon which votive offerings were suspended. This seems quite impossible. The holes are much too irregular to have served such a purpose.
Germany blamed the United States for her food situation without explaining to the people that one of the reasons the pork supply was exhausted and there was no sugar was because Minister of the Interior Delbrueck ordered the farmers to feed sugar to the pigs and then to slaughter them in order to save the fodder.
Marucchi puts it at the end of the second century A.D., while Delbrueck makes it the early part of the first century B.C., and thinks the mosaics were the gift of Sulla. Delbrueck does not make his point at all, and Marucchi is carried too far by a desire to establish a connection at Praeneste between Fortuna and Isis.
It certainly proves that both caves were connected with the rites having to do with the proper obtaining of lots from Fortuna, and that this communication between the caves was unknown to any but the temple servants. There are some other inscriptions not noticed by Delbrueck which mention the aedes, and bear on the question in hand.
The cave to the west is made by Delbrueck the shrine of Iuppiter puer, and the temple with its cave at the east, the aedes Fortunae. This he does on the authority of his understanding of the passage from Cicero which gives nearly all the written information we have on the subject of the temple. Delbrueck bases his entire argument on this passage and two other references to a building called aedes.
Word Of The Day