The cult of Hercules Victor

The temple, of which today still remains the long sides of the perimeter, was developed on a high podium and for entering was possible by staircase. The cell was surrounded on three sides by a colonnade with eight pillars on the main prospect. At the end of it, an exedra framed the Hercules statue; tutelary deity of the ancient city Tibur which corresponded in many aspects with the Roman god "Mars", such as having a college of Salii priests.

Piranesi - the Sanctuary

They presided at the "ide" celebrations in August, especially on the 12th and 13th in devotion to Hercules Victor ("Ercole Vincitore"). During the Aeneid Virgil remembers that the Salii were dressed especially for the occasion with skins. They were crowned with leafy poplar branches, then armed and with torches they sang in honour of the god.

They were also separated in two groups: that of the young and the other of the elderly. In 1925 the temple was filled in with cement and only the long sides of the lower platform are visible today.
In the temple axis there was a theatre (mentioned beforehand) equipped with a stage and a back-porch.