Stage 6 – Roman Forum Viewpoint: The Seal of the Gaze

Info

This entry is part of the city game "The Mystery of the Nine Seals", which takes place entirely in Rome. The game is an addition to the basic tourist guide to Rome - [click] and is a story expansion designed to make the traditional tour of the city more enjoyable.
If you got here, for example, directly from a search engine and want to start the game from the beginning, go to game start page - [click]. If you are looking for just a guide to Rome with practical information about sightseeing, you can go to traditional guide to Rome - [click]

Viewpoint on the Roman Forum

The viewpoint from which the most spectacular view of the Roman Forum is available is marked on the map number 6.

GPS coordinates

GPS: 41.892406,12.483641 - click and plot the route to your destination

Narration

From the Capitol, the Forum looks like a chessboard of antiquity. Can you tell which of these buildings has survived fire, pillage, and time?
Many looked – few really saw.

Puzzle

How many visible temples or ruins can you identify?

(You'll find the correct answer at the bottom of this page, but don't look there right away. Try to answer the riddle yourself first. That's the fun of it!)

Prize

The reward for solving the puzzle is the sixth seal: The Seal of the Eye of the Past – a symbol of memory. Keep it as proof of solving the sixth task!

Interesting facts visible from the point

You stand on the edge of time. Under your feet, the cobblestones of the modern Capitol. In front of you, a stone valley of shadows, where each stone has witnessed a decision, a betrayal, or a sacrifice. The Roman Forum seen from this point does not resemble ruins. It resembles… a silent memory.

The Arch of Septimius Severus – the hidden seal of violence

From here, you can clearly see the monumental arch that commemorates the emperor's victory over the Parthians. But there's more carved into the stone. The names of his brothers, only one of whom survived the power struggle. Caracalla had the name of his brother Geta erased from the inscription after he murdered him in the arms of his mother. Traces of the erased letters are still visible.

Column of Phocas – a Byzantine alien in the heart of Rome

At first glance, an inconspicuous column. But it was the last element placed in the Forum in the 7th century, when the Byzantine emperors were still trying to maintain power over the shadow of the empire. Phocas was a usurper. His name was carved in stone… and two years later he was burned alive in Constantinople. The column remained. No one removed it.

Temple of Vesta – a circle that hid fire and mystery

Just by the valley of ruins you see a columned circle – this is the place where the sacred fire of Vesta burned. The priestesses (Vestals) had to guard it day and night. When the fire went out it was considered a bad omen for the entire empire.
Once it went out. And shortly thereafter the emperor was assassinated.

Curia Julia

In the middle of the Forum you see a simple block – the former seat of the Senate. It was there that Caesar sat for the last time as consul.

***

“From this place, the past is not a ruin – it is a question. And though Rome no longer speaks as loudly as it once did, it still watches… and waits for someone to understand it again.”

***

Answer to the riddle

Click to reveal the answer to the riddle

This time there is no answer. It was simply a matter of spending some time observing the Roman Forum

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