Comitium

The comitium was an area of the Ancient Roman Forum, chiefly during the time of the Republic. The space was considered to be the customary place for all political activity. It lay within the open space between the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Curia, in which the Senate typically worked.

The appearance of the Comitium changed considerably at various times. Originally it was an open square, but later it had a rounded shape, like an amphitheater. At the edge of the Comitium was the Rostra, from which speakers made speeches. As the population grew and not all Romans could fit in the Comitium, speakers in the later Republic spoke from the Rostra to the Forum in general. Because of reconfigurations, little of the Comitium can be seen today.

Plutarch says in the life of Gaius Gracchus that up until the time of Gaius Gracchus, orators would face the Comitium while speaking. According to Plutarch, the senate was located in the direction of the Comitium (to the right of the orator) while the people where located in the opposite direction (to the left).

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