Origins of the Temple · Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus · Piranesi in Rome

On September 13, 509 BC, the temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill was dedicated. From the article:

"Origins of the Temple · Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus · Piranesi in Rome
Origins of the Temple
Foundations of Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
Remains of the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, now in the Capitoline Museum.

The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter Best and Greatest) honored the Capitoline Triad of Roman deities: Jupiter, Juno Regina (Juno the Queen), and Minerva.1 Its alternate title, the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus (Capitoline Jupiter) references its significant location on the Capitoline Hill of Rome.2 According to the Roman historian Livy, Tarquinius Priscus, an Etruscan king of Rome in the pre-Republican period, decided to build the Temple.3 Tarquinius Superbus, his son or grandson, completed the project.4 The consul Horatius Pulvillus dedicated the Temple in 509 BCE, the traditional date for the first year of the Roman Republic.5 A colossal structure that towered over the city, its importance as a cultural, religious and civic centre of Rome cannot be overstated.6 The Temple of Jupiter symbolized the "sovereignty and immortality" of Roman civilization, in an effort to distinguish itself from neighboring peoples when establishing the new Roman Republic.7 The Temple remained a iconic power symbol throughout the Roman Republic and early Empire.8 The fourth-century emperor Constantius II articulates its grandeur well: “beside [the Temple of Jupiter] everything else is like earth compared to heaven.”9