Temple of Piety

The creation of the temple was solemnly vowed by the plebeian consul and new man Manius Acilius Glabrio at the Battle of Thermopylae in 191 BC, where his legion defeated the Seleucid emperor Antiochus III during the Roman–Seleucid war.

[1] The reason for the dedication is unclear in surviving sources, although some modern scholars have suggested he was inspired by an act of filial piety during the battle,[2] possibly by his own son.

[3] Acilius Glabrio began construction but became dishonored during a contentious censorial election—he withdrew from the election after his competition Marcus Porcius Cato convincingly alleged he had embezzled plunder from his Greek campaign[4]—and never again held high office.

[12] When Julius Caesar became dictator for life, he planned to erect a theater larger than Pompey's in the area and demolished the neighborhood northwest of the Forum Olitorium—including the Temple of Piety—to create room in 44 BC.

The temple was moved or fully rebuilt, however, as its observances in the Forum Olitorium continued to be noted well into the imperial period,[13] when it was part of the city's IX Region.