Most Recent Visit: July 2023
Beneventum was located at the confluence of the Calor (modern Irpino Calore) and Sabatus (modern Sabato) rivers, now the location of the modern city of Benevento, which clearly derives its modern name from the ancient. Prior to the arrival of Roman hegemony, the name of the settlement here seems to have been Maloenton, a name derived from the Oscan language with unclear origins that may have something to do with rocks, wolves, or birds. To the Romans, however, it would be known as Maleventum, the place of bad air or just generally a place of inauspicious things. After the nearby victory over Pyrrhus of Epirus in 274 BCE and the arrival of a Roman colony, it was renamed to Beneventum, the place of good air or auspicious things. The original inhabitants of the settlement are somewhat unclear and were a source of some debate even in antiquity. Several writers attribute the city to the Samnites, while others to the Hirpini, a related but distinct and autonomous subgroup of the Samnites. It is, of course, possible that the claims of Samnite ownership were just failing to distinguish the main population of Samnites from the Hirpini.
According to one legend, the city was originally founded by the Greek hero Diomedes. Procopius claims the inhabitants of Beneventum would wear boar’s tusks in celebration of their founder’s armor which was adorned with images of a boar. An alternate foundation is proposed by Festus, who claims it was Auson, the son of Odysseus and Circe. This would imply that the area was inhabited by the Greek Ausonian peoples prior to conquest by the Samnites/Hirpini around the 5th century BCE. Beneventum goes mostly unmentioned in the narrative of Rome’s three wars against the Samnites in the 4th and 3rd century BCE. It is only briefly discussed as a place to where the survivors of a battle with the Romans retreated during the Second Samnite War. By the conclusion of the Third Samnite War in 290 BCE, it seems that Beneventum was likely under Roman hegemony. Around this time, the Via Appia was extended to Beneventum.
Not long after the conclusion of the Third Samnite War, Rome’s expansion southward would lead to conflict with Pyrrhus of Epirus, who ostensibly waged war against Rome on behalf of the cities and people of Southern Italy (including the recently defeated Samnites) starting in 280 BCE. The final battle of this conflict would occur near Beneventum in 275 BCE. The Roman consul Manius Curius Dentatus was encamped near the city when he was attacked by Pyrrhus, who had made a reckless night march to intercept the army before Dentatus was joined by the army of the other consul for the year, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus. Ill prepared for the battle and without the support of the Samnites, Pyrrhus initially drove the Romans back into their camp, but a counterattack spooked Pyrrhus’ elephants and sent them charging back into their own troops, routing the Epirote army. A few years later in 268 BCE, a colony with Latin rights was established and the name was changed from Maleventum to Beneventum.
Beneventum seems to have immediately become an important Roman settlement in the area. During the Second Punic War, it was frequently used as a base of operations for the Romans in actions against Hannibal and the Carthaginians in Southern Italy. The territory of Beneventum was pillaged by Hannibal around 217 BCE. A few years later in 214 BCE, an army under the command of Hanno (son of Bomilcar) was intercepted at Beneventum as they attempted to move north and reinforce Hannibal in Campania. Commanding an army of mostly slaves, the proconsul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (great uncle of the Gracchi brothers) promised his slave soldiers freedom if they won the battle and returned with the head of an enemy. That motivation almost cost the Romans the battle as the slave soldiers stopped to decapitate Cathaginian bodies mid-battle, leading to an early edge for Hanno’s army. The Romans rebounded, though, and aided by Roman prisoners in the Carthaginian camp that had freed themselves and gathered weapons during the battle, routed the Carthaginian army, nearly completely destroying it.
Hanno was once again bested in the vicinity of Beneventum a few years later in 212 BCE, when while most of his army was out foraging, the Roman consul Quintus Fulvius Flaccus attacked the camp and destroyed his stores. The victorious general of the Battle of Beneventum, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus also seems to have met his end during an ambush near Beneventum that same year. In 209 BCE, Beneventum is mentioned as one of eighteen Latin colonies that was able to continue supplying their quota of manpower for the war effort. It remained an important city following the war; the Latin grammarian Lucius Orbilius Pupillus, who would go on to tutor Horace, was born there in 114 BCE.
Beneventum is not at all mentioned in the narrative of the Social War from 91 to 87 BCE as it had presumably remained loyal to Rome and escaped any serious damage. Perhaps as reward for loyalty, though, the city was given municipium sometime around 90 BCE. By the waning years of the Republic, Beneventum was described as one of the wealthiest and most renowned cities in Italy. It was one of the cities offered up as a colony in potential reward to the veterans of the Second Triumvirate’s campaign against the assassins of Julius Caesar, and indeed, it received a colony of Octavian’s veterans around 42 BCE. The territory of Benevetum was increased significantly around this time as well as it absorbed the territory of Caudium. During the reign of Nero, another colony was established at the city and it was bestowed the title of Concordia. Tacitus records Nero stopping to take in gladiatorial fights at Beneventum. By the end of the 1st century CE, Beneventum was a flourishing city, probably the chief city of Samnium/Hirpini and perhaps the most important city in Southern Italy behind Capua.
About 109 CE, the Via Traiana was constructed by Trajan between Beneventum and Brundisium. The route of the Via Traiana, sometimes called the Via Appia Traiana, along the Adriatic coast of Italy effectively replaced the original route of the Via Appia that ran more southerly through Venusia and Tarentum. The new route cut at least a day of travel from the journey between Beneventum and Brundisium; though the route was technically longer, the terrain was more forgiving for travel. The Arch of Trajan marked the start of the Via Traiana. By the time of Septimus Severus, inscriptions note an official title of the city to be Colonia Julia Augusta Concordia Felix Beneventum. The settlement remained prosperous through most of the remainder of the Roman imperial period. In the 2nd century CE, Athenaeus describes a notable smoky wine that is produced in Beneventum. In 452 CE, however, Beneventum was partially destroyed by Attila the Hun and again circa 542 CE, it was captured by the Ostrogoth king Totila, who destroyed the city’s walls.
Getting There: The modern city of Benevento is a reasonably significant population center. There are several direct trains a day from Rome to Benevento taking around 2 hours, give or take 15 minutes depending on the train. Those trains cost between 16 and 22 Euros, typically. There are even more departures a day with changes, but those take significantly longer and are more expensive. There are a few direct daily departures from Naples as well, costing as low as 6.50 Euro and also taking about two hours. Again, there are also a number of other departures with changes that actually take a little less than two hours, but are more expensive, costing 10 to 20 Euros. If traveling by personal vehicle, free parking is hard to come by in Benevento, but I did find some near the train station and in the vicinity of the Liceo Classico Pietro Giannone, to the east of the historical center. It’s a little bit of a walk from the train station, but pretty much everything in the historic center is within walking distance once you get there.
I’ve visited Benevento twice; the first time in 2015 and again in 2023. The vestiges of ancient Beneventum are scattered all over the historical center of the modern city, and there isn’t really any neat and tidy route for seeing everything. I’ve endeavored to try and put together a somewhat sensible route. The easiest place to start is in the Ponticelli neighborhood, about 2 kilometers from the train station, but about 10 minutes from other parking areas near the historical center. In the middle of a roundabout along Via Vittime di Nassiriya, one of the main streets that runs along the south bank of the Irpino Calore, is a small bridge dating to the Roman period. The single arched bridge, which spanned the still flowing San Nicola Torrent, a small tributary of the Calore, is best visible from the north side of the roundabout. It can also be traversed through the middle of the roundabout. The presence of the bridge itself gave rise to the name of the neighborhood, meaning ‘small bridge’ in Italian. The Via Appia Traiana exited out of Beneventum across this bridge, providing a likely construction date of the 2nd century CE.
One of the streets that radiates out from the roundabout, Via San Pasquale, runs south more or less along the route of the ancient Via Appia Traiana. About half a kilometer down this road is the Complesso Monumentale di Sant’Ilario a Port’Aurea. This small archaeological area is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00 and is closed on Mondays. Admission is 2 Euros, but it is also part of a combination ticket for 6 Euros that includes entrance to the Museo del Sannio and the Egyptian section Museo ArCoS, as well as a few other sites in Benevento. Most of the archaeological remains here belong to a church and convent dating to the 6th to 8th centuries CE that were later incorporated into the medieval walls of the city. The remains of the convent around the restored church are not really accessible, but inside the church are some visible remains below the floor level from a previous Roman building on the site dating to the 1st-2nd century CE. Inside the church is also a multimedia presentation on the nearby Arch of Trajan. Spolia from the Roman era used in the exterior walls of the church are also present.
Just 50 meters to the south is the crown jewel of the ancient remains of Beneventum, the Arch of Trajan. The arch is more or less open access in a public area, though the base of the monument is roped off. It doesn’t really prevent access under the arch, but it’s clearly meant to discourage it. As the name would suggest, the arch was dedicated to Trajan, sometime between 114 and 117 CE; started during his reign but finished after his death. It marked the starting point of the Via Appia Traiana and celebrated the construction of the road. It was constructed of limestone to a height of 15.6 meters and faced with Parian marble. In the Lombard period, it was incorporated into the city walls.
The city facing side (the south/west side) of the arch features a dedicatory inscription centered in the attic and flanked by two large reliefs featuring the Capitoline gods receiving the emperor on the left and Trajan and Hadrian being received by Rome on the right. Below this is a triumphal procession, which runs all the way around the arch. On the left pier on this side, the two large reliefs are the concession of lands to veterans in the Danube and below that the entry of Trajan into Rome in 99 CE. Between the two are victories sacrificing bulls. On the right side are at top, providences of trade, and on the bottom a continuation of the entry of Trajan into Rome. Above the entry of the arch are the genius of spring (left) and summer (right) below victories and a female figure as the keystone.
On the countryside facing side (the north/east side), the attic again features the same dedicatory inscription flanked by two reliefs depicting Ceres, Diana, and Silvanus receiving Trajan (on the left) and the submission of Mesopotamia, kneeling between the personification of the Tigris and Euphrates, to Trajan (on the right). Above the arch, a female figure is flanked by the personification of the Tisia (modern Tisza River) on the left and the Danubius (modern Danube River) on the right. The rivers are flanked by the genius of autumn (left) and genius of winter (right).On the left pier of the arch are Mars presenting a recruit to Trajan at top and Trajan accompanied by Jupiter receiving a pledge of loyalty from the Germans. On the right pier are the celebration of the alimenta at top and Trajan meeting Hercules on the bottom. At the interior of the arch, Trajan is being crowned by victory at the pinnacle of the arch. The relief on the west side of the interior of the arch depicts the inauguration of the Via Traiana with a sacrifice. Opposite this is another relief depicting the alimenta.
Continued In Beneventum, Samnium – Part II
Sources:
Appian. Bella Civilia, 4.1.3.
Athenaeus. Deipnosophistae, 1.57.
Bragantini, Irene. “A Note on the Temple of Isis at Beneventum.” The Iseum Campense From The Roman Empire To The Modern Age. Rome: Edizioni Quasar di Severino Tognon, 2018.
Grant, Michael. A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.
Livy. Ab Urbe Condita, 9.27, 22.13, 24.14-20, 25.13-17, 27.10.
Pagano, Mario. “Qualche Osservazione Sull’Urbanistica di Benevento.” Antiqva Beneventana, Benevento: La Provincia Sannita, 2013.
Pliny the Elder. Historia Naturalis, 3.16.4.
Plutarch. Pyrrhus, 25.
Prada, Luigi. “To Isis the Great, Lady of Benevento: Privately Dedicated Egyptian Obelisks in Imperial Rome and the Twin Obelisks of Benevento Reedited.” Egypt and the Classical World: Cross-Cultural Encounters in Antiquity, by Jeffrey Spier and Sara E. Cole. J. Paul Getty Museum, 2022.
Procopius. De Bellis, 7.6.1, 7.25.1.
Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Walton & Murray, 1870.
Stillwell, Richard, William L. MacDonald, and Marian Holland. McAllister. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U Press, 1976.
Strabo. Geographika, 6.3.7.
Suetonius. De Illustribus Grammaticis, 9.
Tacitus. Annals, 15.34.