...Do as the tourists do

Yesterday we travelled to the ancient centre of Rome, the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Palatine. First we caught a bus to the Colosseum, arriving at 8:45. That early, there were no queues, and it wasn't until midday, when tour busses vomited up tides of selfie stick wielding tourists that it became busy. It was freezing cold, and sprinkling lightly. It was great seeing the imposing structure , but also slightly underwhelming, after hearing all the hype it was a shock to see just how much was reconstructed, fake, or missing. The audio guide tour was only about 10 minutes long, and not particularly engaging.

As the rain grew heavier we decided to visit the Basilica San Clemente, a 12th century church built over a 4th century church built over a 1st century roman house that served as a church, and earlier as a Mithraeum, a temple for the pagan God Mithras. My favourite part was the creepy Mithraeum, deep below the ground. Mithras was a cult God from the East, followed by much of the Roman legions. We know little about him, all that we do know comes from carvings and reliefs on Mithraeums, like the one we saw. Photographs were not allowed, unfortunately

Finally we saw the Roman Forum. The amount of ruins was slightly overwhelming, but I found it fascinating. My favourite part of the forum was the temple of Saturn, the god of time and plenty. There, I learnt about Saturnalia, the feast of Saturn, celebrated in the midwinter. Over a week slaves were served by their masters, grudges were forgotten, gifts were given, and no-one could be arrested. A slave or criminal was chosen to be a mock king, and they would be served and do what they wanted, but would usually be killed at the end of the week. The feast was meant to be a reminder of the mythical, perfect days when Saturn ruled Italy, but quickly collapsed into a riot of bloodshed, debauchery and crime. Many of the customs of today's Christmas customs were based on Saturnalia, including gift-giving and festive spirit.

Temple of Saturn