Ancient Rome Sidequest Mapping
here's a post of something interesting I've found ages back, and posted on (X)Twitter, concerning the Ancient Rome Sidequest. needed to save this because I am nuking/closing my accounts there.
this is following Sasha and Grizzop's path step by step, and how, back then, the GM mastery made my jaw drop.
when describing the room (or more like a hall) in RQG126, it's mentioned being lit by braziers, and that Zop and Sasha fall down onto a mosaic floor, the same one which is broken in present time. the closest imagined restoration of the Ancient Rome including intricate mosaic? Domus Transitoria. It was Nero's first palace, which, according to Seutonius, spanned all the way from the Palatine to the Esquiline, and according to historians had floor and wall mosaics, and in these times mosaics were restricted to only being on walls and floors. when the palace was replaced by Domus Aurea, mosaics were instead placed onto the vaulted ceilings, changing the art of future and partially influencing future mosaic art. there is also a 'gardened avenue' towards temples, which fits the path Sasha and Grizzop take. not to mention that Templo di Apollo lies *very close* to Domus Transitoria (the previous statements are backed up by following articles, in Italian, because I couldn't find English ones that didn't butcher the things I wanted to show)
romanoimpero.com/2020/05/domus-transitoria-di-nerone.html https://romanoimpero.com/2010/09/tempio
they get into a temple district (temple of Diana and then down the Palatium towards Aventinus, with actual real life temples somewhat applicable to the ones we hear about in the podcast), and that's how they figure out that there are still corresponding gods in Rome. the distance between the temples described? that they 'don’t have any sort of distance between them, next to each other on the streets', unlike the modern ones; which makes sense as Palatine Hill is very... compact in the building placement, even in ancient times.
there isn't much left from the actual temples except from preserved ruins by Italian archelogists, but there are skilful, artful depictions of how temples could've looked like in ancient times, for example temples of Apollo and Cybele in Palatine:
then we get to see the untouched Servian wall, which is then magicked by whoever is in charge (I don't think we get to know if that's just the Mars people, or several sources, or something else) to protect the city.
(Servian wall is in black here)
Servian wall is the first defence of the city of Rome, constructed around it in the early 4th century BCE. later on it would be succeeded by superior Aurelian walls; but by that moment in history (late 3rd century AD) in RQG that city did NOT exist as a bastion anymore. then, after they visit the temples of 'Pluto' (meet Cicero) and Mars, all three of them through the districts with human population, which corresponds to the parts close to Forum Romanum, also where, coincidentally, real life Cicero resided for some time!
and then, Cicero takes Grizzop and Sasha down into the sewers, which makes perfect sense because that district is where the Cloaca Maxima goes through!! there are several historical suggestions about how the system was formed, from an open air canal into underground sewers. BUT! that isn't what is interesting to us! what is interesting is that the passage partially connects the temples, which makes sense, because in this case temples are also in need of water system for the non-godly treatment of their residents and patients.
and then the three of them move towards the underground part/inner workings of temple of Jupiter, which, in fact, completely corresponds with position of the temple of Jupiter Stator!
depicted here in yellow, information of it referenced per this article
per "Rambles in Rome", the temple of Jupiter Stator, vowed by Romulus when his army was fleeing before the Sabines, if Jupiter would stay their flight; hence the name. "Romulus built a temple to Jupiter near the Porta Mugonia" (Dionysius, ii. 30). It was restored by Scipio, A.U.C. 459 (Livy, x. 37). It was in this temple that Cicero made his first oration against Catiline (Plutarch). Cicero says that here the goods of Pompey were offered for sale.
Rambles in Rome, as referenced
and the temple of Jupiter Stator like a light walk away from where the Colosseum would stand. only there is no Colosseum. there is the domed hall in which the big Mars vs Jupiter battle happens, the other part of which they can't even see, being underground and so far away. then, as dragons escape and Sasha and Ciciero are free to go, they trace their steps back out the Cloaca Maxima until they reach dead end and have to reach outside to gatehouse near Pons Subilicus (the temporary bridge dated ~1AD), just outside Forum Boarium
and that's why when they get out of the sewers they can 1) see the destruction of the walls 2) see the destruction of the palace in which Grizzop and Sasha were dropped 3) be only steps away from going away from inner city, while also technically being on Rome territory.
they have also, in my opinion, crossed Tiber afterwards and started going Northwest, because after some time it's mentioned that people flocking to necropolis, which, at that point, were on Trans Tiberim/more North and closer to Vatican/Campus Vaticanus, ergo, on the other side of Tiber.
"The Vaticanum, or Campus Vaticanus was originally a level area between the Vaticanus Mons and the Tiber. During the Republican era, it was an unwholesome site frequented by the destitute. Caligula and Nero used the area for chariot exercises, and renewal was encouraged by the building of the Circus of Nero, also known as the Circus Vaticanus or simply the Vaticanum. The location of tombs near the Circus Vaticanus is mentioned in a few late sources."
I am not in any way shape or form the One and True source on this, and will gladly take critique from people more versed in the topic than I am; this was made originally for my personal use, and then I figured out hey, this is really interesting! and also I wanted to save this for everyone else who used this for their musings/fics.
