The first house of worship in the area of modern Magliana Vecchia is a temple founded in 293 BC by the consul Carvilius with part of the spoils from the victorious war against the Etruscans and Samnites. This temple was dedicated to Fors Fortuna (Good Luck), whose festival was celebrated...

From the beginning of the 4th century for about 80 years, the pagan worship of the goddess Dia and the Christian one of the Portuensian Martyrs coexisted, with the temple of the goddess Dia at a very short distance from the Catacomb of Generosa. Possibly the latter prevailed over the...

The Tetrastylum (building with 4 pillars in Greek language) was one of the buildings forming the complex of the Arval sanctuary, today located at Magliana Vecchia, at the foot of the sacred grove of the goddess Dia. Unfortunately, it was not identified during the excavation campaigns held by the École...

The Caesareum or aedes Divum (Temple of the Divine Caesars) was part of the complex of the Arval sanctuary  today located at Magliana Vecchia, at the foot of the sacred grove of the goddess Dia. It was a minor temple where deceased and deified emperors (Divi) were worshipped: the Arvals...

The Fratres Arvales, or Arval Brothers or Brethren, in the Roman world were the priests who supervised the worship of the goddess Dia, the “luminous” goddess who protected the final maturation of cereals (fruges) with her beneficial light. The goddess Dia was later also identified with the Ceres. The Arval...

The acta Arvalium or acta fratrum Arvalium are the records of the rites performed by the Arval priests. These documents are the only known evidence to date of how the worship practices of Roman priests functioned. The members of the priestly college of the Arvals drafted the acta first on...