The Temple of Apollo Palatinus was a temple to the god Apollo in Rome, constructed on the Palatine Hill on the initiative of Augustus between 36 and 28 BCE. It was associated with Augustus's victories at the battles of Naulochus and Actium; the latter was extensively memorialised through its decoration. The temple represented the restoration of Rome's golden age and Augustus's devotion to religious and political duty. Its precinct was used for diplomatic functions and meetings of the Roman Senate. Augustan poets frequently praised the temple and its lavish artistic decoration and statuary. The temple was destroyed in a fire in 363 CE, which was rumoured to be an act of arson committed by Christians. The incomplete remains of the temple have been excavated and partially restored since the nineteenth century. Modern assessments of the temple have variously treated it as a Hellenising break with Roman tradition and as a conservative attempt to reassert the values of the Roman Republic.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Apollo_Palatinus

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1836:

The Toledo War, a mostly bloodless territorial dispute between Ohio and the Michigan Territory, was unofficially ended with a resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten Convention". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

1913:

Haruna, the fourth and last Japanese battlecruiser of the Kongō class, was launched and went on to serve in both world wars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong%C5%8D-class_battlecruiser

1918:

Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Schicchi

2008:

During a press conference in Baghdad, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at U.S. president George W. Bush and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, yelling "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_shoeing_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

rub elbows: (idiomatic, intransitive, chiefly US) Usually followed by with: to associate closely; to consort, mingle, or socialize. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rub_elbows

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I was grounded While you filled the skies I was dumbfounded by truth You cut through lies I saw the lone empty valley You saw Brigadoon I saw the crescent You saw the whole of the moon.   --Mike Scott https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Scott_%28Scottish_musician%29