Lacus Curtius

• The Lacus Curtius meant ‘the Lake of Curtius’, which was originally a lake, pit or chasm in the Forum Romanum in Rome.
• It held a Mythical status for Romans and by the Empire had just become a small hole in the ground.

Livy

• Livy described it as a sacrificial chasm that an Oracle had once said would save Rome during a crisis.
• A young horseman called Lacus Curtius, dressed in full armour then charged straight into the chasm, which closed up afterwards, and Rome was saved.

Lacus Curtius, Forum Romanum, Rome