Forum
an open space in Roman cities, generally surrounded by a covered colonnade, that fronted an ambulatory, and buildings of various kinds, such as temples, courts of law, prisons, granaries, etc. In the later period of the empire, when Rome had attained the summit of its glory, there were 19 fora within its limits, which were divided into two classes, some being especially set apart for public meetings and the proceedings of the law courts, while others were devoted to business purposes and the requirements of trade. The Forum Romanum, the first that was erected in Rome, served equally for the purposes of trade and all public meetings, as well as for the administration of justice by the consuls, decemvirs, and other magistrates of Rome. This forum was subsequently distinguished for its magnificence; the shops were removed, and many temples of the heathen gods, the senate-house, and the comitium, were erected in its immediate vicinity, and in communication with it. It was also adorned with arches, statues, and pulpits, from which public meetings were addressed, and which were called rostra, from being surrounded with the brazen beaks (rostra), or ornaments of the prows of the ships of war that had been FOSSA captured by the Roman triremes. Exhibitions of gladiators were often shown in the forum. The Roman forum corresponded to the agora of the Greeks, and no Roman city or colony was without this important center for the transaction of business and public affairs. Plans of the forum at Pompeii and the principal forum of Rome are given in "Pompeii," a work published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
See ROME.