The 7 Hills of Rome
Can Queen Victoria Eat
Cold Apple Pie?
Focus
At the end of this
presentation you will be
able to name the 7 hills
of Rome as well as
some of the features or
important sites for each
hill. You will also be
able to name the 3
major time periods in
Roman history.
Rome
•Rome was founded in 753 BC on
the banks of the Tiber River as
a collection of villages on hills.
•The city limits were indicated
by the pomerium (white stones
spaced consistently to
represent the line drawn by
Romulus with a plough) but,
the land outside of it for a 1000
mile radius also
belonged to the city.
•One of the most distinguishing
features of Rome are its 7 hills.
•The Palatine Hill seems to be
the first one inhabited.
•The hills provided an
advantage in terms of
defending the city.
Capitoline
• Home to temples and the peak called Arx, which
housed the citadel of Rome
• The Temple of Asylaeus was a place where
refuge or safety was given to those seeking it
• The most important temple, the Temple of
Jupiter Capitolinus Optimus Maximus (Capitoline
Jupiter , the Best and Greatest)
• The Temple of Juno, the wife of Jupiter
• The auguraculum, or the place where priests
looked for heaven sent signs
• The Tarpeian Rock from which criminals and
traitors were flung to their death
• The Tabularium, the Record Office of the State
including the minutes of the Senate
• Is on one side of the Roman Forum with the
Palatine Hill on the other.
Quirinal
• Residents are generally the
upper middle class
• Originally settled by the Sabines
• To the south is the Roman Forum
• To the West is the Campus
Martius
• On the North side are the
Gardens of Sallust
• Domitian built the temple gentis
Flaviae on the site of the home
of the family of his father,
Vespasian
Viminal
• Housing is cheaper than on the Quirinal, but
there are a few nice homes of the wealthy
• Next to the Quirinal
• Named from vimina (a tree whose branches
are used in basket making, like willows)
• The Viminal gate leads to the barracks if the
Praetorian Guard (they protected the
emperor)
Esquiline
 Residents were a mix: the
upper slopes were for the
wealthy and the lower
slopes were part of the
“slums” called the Subura
•Is large enough to be
sub-divided
•Nero built his palace here
•Hadrian built the temple of Venus and Rome
•King Tullus Hostilius lived here
Caelian
• Residents were some of the most wealthy
• Agrippina built a temple to honor her late
husband, the emperor Claudius
• Home to the equites singulares ( the emperor’s
cavalry)
Aventine
• Residents were the plebeians (the common people)
• The southernmost hill
• To the north is the Forum Boarium (cattle market) to the west is the
Tiber River and to the east is the Palatine
• Contains the Mons Testaceus (a moutain of pottery shards)
• Much of it is public land
• Many temples to foreign deities and an ancient one to Ceres due to it
being outside the pomerium
Palatine
• The oldest and most
prestigious hill, & likely the one
on which Rome was founded.
• Contains a replica of the home
of Romulus
• Augustus, the first emperor, made his home here as well as turned it into the
administrative head of the city
• Inhabited by the wealthy including some emperors.
• Augustus built the Temple of Apollo at the top and Romulus built the Temple
of Jupiter Stator at the bottom
• Most of the structures still here were built by Domitian
• Was also the home of Cicero, Pompey, and Marc Antony
• Is on one side of the Roman
Forum with the Capitoline on the
other side.
From a vantage point...
With the defensive advantage provided by the hills and the
easy access to the sea provided by the Tiber River and the
Roman port city of Ostia, the Romans were able to eventually
rule much of what is now Europe, part of Asia and the northern
part of Africa.
Rome ruled the world
Romulus founded Rome as a
monarchy serving as her first
king. In 509 BC Rome became a
republic and was ruled by
consuls. Lastly, Rome became
an empire with Augustus
serving as the very first
emperor (not Julius Caesar!).
For nearly 1000 years Rome was
the wealthiest, largest and the
most political city and as such
served as the capitol of the
Western World .
Map of Rome at Its Greatest Extent
Assignment and Assessment
• Can Queen Victoria Eat Cold Apple Pie, is a mnemonic device to
remember the names of 7 hills of Rome.
• Create your own way of remembering the names of the hills. It can
be a simple phrase such as above or it can be a poem, song, rap, etc.
• For the short “quiz” you need to know:
– When and where Rome was founded.
– The Tiber River flows through Rome with
Ostia serving as the port city.
– Rome has 7 hills; the forum is between the Capitoline
and Palatine hills
– Rome was first a monarchy (kings), then a republic
(consuls) and last an empire (emperors)
– Romulus was the first king and Augustus was the first
emperor