Temple of Augustus – Ankara (Monumentum Ancyranum)
The Temple of Augustus and Rome in Ankara (Monumentum Ancyranum) is a high-podium Augustan temple later converted to a church. Built in the late 1st c. BC/early 1st c. AD in the Galatian capital Ancyra, it preserves the best copy of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti inscribed in Latin and Greek on its cella walls, making it a primary source for Augustan ideology.
Features and significance:
- Pseudodipteral plan on a tall podium, with surviving cella and partial antae/column bases.
- Bilingual Res Gestae inscription (Latin inside, Greek outside) documenting Augustus’ deeds.
- Later Christian adaptations (apse traces) show continuity of sacred use.
- Adjacent to Roman baths, forum, and the later Ottoman Hacı Bayram complex.
Sources
- Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Augustus_and_Rome
- Res Gestae text & commentary (Monumentum Ancyranum) – various academic editions
- T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı – Ankara Augustus Tapınağı tanıtımı