's plan of the temples beside the
Forum Olitorium based on the
Severan Forma Urbis Romae, placing the Temple of Piety between the
Temples of Spes and
Juno Sospita in the early 3rd century The creation of the temple was
solemnly vowed by the
plebeian consul and
new man Manius Acilius Glabrio at the
Battle of Thermopylae in , where his legion defeated the
Seleucid emperor Antiochus III during the
Roman–Seleucid war. The reason for the dedication is unclear in surviving sources, although some modern scholars have suggested he was inspired by an act of
filial piety during the battle, possibly by his own son. Acilius Glabrio began construction but became dishonored during a contentious
censorial electionhe withdrew from the election after his competition
Marcus Porcius Cato convincingly alleged he had
embezzled plunder from his Greek campaignand never again held high office. It was completed and consecrated by
his son of the same name in , who was named a
duumvir for that purpose. The temple was located near the northwestern end of the
Forum Olitorium, the Roman vegetable market near the
Carmental Gate west of the
Capitoline Hill. The temple included a
golden statue of the consul, the first gold statue of a
Roman citizen in the city. The temple became associated with
Roman Charity, the Greek legend of a daughter who
breastfed her imprisoned father or mother, probably through the presence of the
Columna Lactaria in the forum. When
Julius Caesar became
dictator for life, he planned to erect a theater larger than
Pompey's in the area and demolished the neighborhood northwest of the Forum Olitoriumincluding the Temple of Pietyto create room in when it was part of the city's
IX Region. The detailed early 3rd-century
Severan Forma Urbis Romae and
Lanciani's modern revision of it place this reconstructed temple on the west side of the forum between the
Temples of Hope and
Juno Sospita. Other scholarsignoring the temple's continued existencemake the large central temple Juno Sospita's, move Hope's temple to its south, and make the northern temple
Janus's. ==See also==