dedicated to the Roman goddess Venus Genetrix, the founding goddess of the Julian gens. It was dedicated to the goddess on September 26, 46 BCE by Julius Caesar
The forum and temple were perhaps planned as early as 54 BC, and construction began shortly thereafter.
On the eve of the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar vowed the temple to Venus Victrix. He eventually decided to dedicate the temple to Venus Genetrix, the mother of Aeneas, and thus the mythical ancestress of the Julian family. The Temple was dedicated on 26 September 46 BC, the last day of Caesar’s triumph. The forum and temple were eventually completed by Octavian.
The area was damaged by the fire in 80 AD. Later the temple was rebuilt by Domitian and was restored and rededicated by Trajan on 12 May 113 AD. It was then burned again in 283 AD, and again restored, this time by Diocletian. The three columns now visible belong to this later reconstruction. If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
