A detail of fierce duck-fishes from the Basilica of Neptune




Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (64/63-12 BCE) was a close friend of the emperor Augustus, who ruled Rome between 27 BCE and 14 CE. In 33, the two men started a large building project to improve the quality of life in the city of Rome. It was probably financed with the spoils of the Dalmatian war (35-34) and it was supervised by Agrippa, who occupied the office of aedile. The project received a new boost when Agrippa occupied the consulship in 27 and was finished in 25. One of the main buildings was the Pantheon, which is not identical to the current building with that name, because this is a later building phase from the age of the emperor Hadrian (117-138).

South of to the Pantheon was a rectangular hall that measured about 46 x 19 meters; on the first photo, you see the northern wall, which is attached to the southern wall of the Pantheon.



The brickwork shows that it dates back to the time of Hadrian, but its depth -2½ meters below street level- proves that this brickwork goes back to the age of Agrippa. It is the Basilica of Neptune, called after the god of the sea. His statue must have stood in the central apse.



Basilica of Neptune remains (against the Pantheon rear wall)





The great outside basin of the Baths of Agrippa was built towards the Pantheon.