To mark the difference between the order of the government that had been and that which was to come, Julius Cæsar planned many changes in the Forum. One of the chief of these was the removal of the Rostra from the Comitium to the middle of the Forum at its upper end. There it was still the platform of the orators and the magistrates, but before long it became the throne on which the emperors appeared before the people.

The old statues that had stood near the Rostra on the Comitium were now placed beside it in its new position. To these were added others, among which were two statues of Cæsar himself, and one of the young Octavius, who became Rome's first emperor and received the name of Augustus, the Exalted.

The treacherous murder of the great dictator left his affairs in the hands of his adopted son, and thus it was Augustus that carried out Julius Cæsar's plans, and that finished the new Curia. To this was now added a chalcidium, or sort of portico, and the building was made larger and more beautiful than ever before. Within, Augustus ornamented the walls with two paintings by famous Greek artists; and in the centre of the Curia he placed a bronze statue of Victory, the goddess of Success, whose shining wings bear her above all difficulties, whose uplifted head is crowned with the wreath of triumph, and whose hands hold, not only the palm branch of the conqueror, but also the magic wand of Mercury. For Mercury, the messenger of the gods, had received this wand from Apollo, the protector of nations, and by its virtues all disputes were settled and the bitterest of enemies reconciled. And thus, as a herald of good news, Victory announces peace as well as triumph. At the base of this beautiful figure, erected in memory of his great victory at Actium, the emperor placed some of the spoils brought from Egypt, and in this manner constantly reminded the Senate that he had conquered, not only her enemies, but Rome herself.

Before this statue an altar was made in the Curia, where for centuries this goddess was worshipped by the Roman people. The fire in the time of the Emperor Nero greatly injured the Senate-house, but the Victory was saved from the flames, and was replaced in this building when restored by the Emperor Domitian. Many years later, the Curia again suffered from a fire that occurred during the reign of the Emperor Carinus. But it was rebuilt by the Emperor Diocletian, and within this last Senate-house the ancient statue still guarded the weal of Rome.

Now when the emperors became Christians, some of the nobles adopted the new religion, although many remained steadfast in the worship of the ancient gods of Rome. But little by little the Christian party grew to be the stronger, and slowly the gods began to be forgotten. During the reign of Emperor Valentian, however, there arose a strong champion of the old faith, for the offices of pontiff and augur were held by Symmachus, a noble senator. He came before Valentian to ask for the restoration of the altar of Victory in the Curia; for Gratian, the last emperor, had forbidden the rites, and had had the statue removed. Symmachus, a man of eloquence, pleaded for freedom to worship the goddess of Rome's government, and he would have persuaded Valentian to grant his request had it not been for Ambrose, the archbishop of Milan, one of Italy's most important cities. This Ambrose was not only a Christian, but a great scholar, and so firm a defender of his religion that he became known as one of the "Fathers of the Church." And now, with words of deep wisdom, he showed Valentian that Symmachus was eloquent but unwise, and that old things must pass away and new ones take their places. So he convinced the emperor, and from that time the statue of Victory was no longer worshipped. A few years later, the doors of all the temples were shut by the Emperor Theodosius, who drove through the city in triumph, while at his chariot-wheels the gods of ancient Rome were dragged through the dust.

So the Christian religion won the victory, and in after years the Curia itself was changed into a church. And to-day in S. Adriano in Rome may be seen some parts of the old Senate-house of Diocletianæa fragment of the glories of the Empire, and a faint reminder of the strength of the Republic.

The importance of the Comitium became less from the time that the Rostra was moved away; trials were carried on elsewhere, famous men were honoured in the new forums, the Senate met in other places, and its renown was gone forever. And even from the days of the Emperor Severus, men spoke of the ancient centre of the government as of something belonging only to the past. For Rome's law, given to her conquered lands, left its birthplace to go out into all the civilized world, and although called Roman law, it was no longer known as the law of Rome.