Receiving as evidence the story of Sta. Domitilla, this catacomb must be looked upon as the oldest Christian cemetery in existence. Its galleries were widened and strengthened by John I. (523--526). A chamber near the entrance is pointed out as the burial-place of Sta. Petronilla.

"The sepulchre of SS. Nereus and Achilles was in all probability in that chapel to which we descend by so magnificent a staircase, and which is illuminated by so fine a _luminare_; for that this is the central point of attraction in the cemetery is clear, both from the staircase and the luminare just mentioned, as also from the greater width of the adjacent galleries and other similar tokens." Here then St. Gregory the Great delivered his twenty-eighth homily (which Baronius erroneously supposes to have been delivered in the Church of SS. Nereo ed Achilleo, to which the bodies of the saints were not yet removed), in which he says--"These saints, before whose tomb we are assembled, despised the world and trampled it under their feet, when peace, plenty, riches, and health gave it charms."

" ... There is a higher and more ancient _piano_, in which coins and medals of the first two centuries, and inscriptions of great value, have been recently discovered. Some of these inscriptions may still be seen in one of the chambers near the bottom of the staircase; they are both Latin and Greek; sometimes both languages are mixed; and in one or two instances Latin words are written in Greek characters. Many of these monuments are of the deepest importance both in an antiquarian and religious point of view; in archaeology, as showing the practice of private Christians in the first ages to make the subterranean chambers at their own expense and for their own use, _e. g._--'M. Aurelius Restutus made this subterranean for himself, and those of his family who believed in the Lord,'--where, both the triple names and the limitation introduced at the end (which shows that many of his family were still pagan), are unquestionably proofs of very high antiquity."--_Northcote's Roman Catacombs_, p. 103, &c.

Among the most remarkable paintings in this catacomb are, Orpheus with his lyre, surrounded by birds and beasts who are charmed with his music; Elijah ascending to heaven in a chariot drawn by four horses; and the portrait of Our Lord.

"The head and bust of our Lord form a medallion, occupying the centre of the roof in the same _cubiculum_ where Orpheus is represented. This painting, in consequence of the description given of it by Kugler (who misnamed the catacomb St. Calixtus), is often eagerly sought after by strangers visiting the catacombs. It is only just, however, to add, that they are generally disappointed. Kugler supposed it to be the oldest portrait of Our Blessed Saviour in existence, but we doubt if there is sufficient authority for such a statement. He describes it in these words:--'The face is oval, with a straight nose, arched eyebrows, a smooth and rather high forehead, the expression serious and mild; the hair, parted on the forehead, flows in long curls down the shoulders; the beard is not thick, but short and divided; the age between thirty and forty.' But this description is too minute and precise, too artistic, for the original, as it is now to be seen. A lively imagination may, perhaps, supply the details described by our author, but the eye certainly fails to distinguish them."--_Roma Sotterranea_, p. 253.

Approached by a separate entrance on the slope of the hill-side is a sepulchral chamber, which De Rossi considers to have been the _Burial-place of Sta. Domitilla_.

"It is certainly one of the most ancient and remarkable Christian monuments yet discovered. Its position, close to the highway; its front of fine brickwork, with a cornice of terra-cotta, with the usual space for an inscription (which has now, alas, perished); the spaciousness of its gallery, with its four or five separate niches prepared for as many sarcophagi; the fine stucco on the wall; the eminently classical character of its decorations; all these things make it perfectly clear that it was the monument of a Christian family of distinction, excavated at great cost, and without the slightest attempt at concealment. In passing from the vestibule into the catacomb, we recognise the transition from the use of the sarcophagus to that of the common _loculus_; for the first two or three graves on either side, though really mere shelves in the wall, are so disguised by painting on the outside as to present to passers-by the complete outward appearance of a sarcophagus. Some few of these graves are marked with the names of the dead, written in black on the largest tiles, and the inscriptions on the other graves are all of the simplest and oldest form. Lastly, the whole of the vaulted roof is covered with the most exquisitely graceful designs, of branches of the vine (with birds and winged genii among them) trailing with all the freedom of nature over the whole walls, not fearing any interruption by graves, nor confined by any of those lines of geometrical symmetry which characterise similar productions in the next century. Traces also of landscapes may be seen here and there, which are of rare occurrence in the catacombs, though they may be seen in the chambers assigned by De Rossi to SS.

Nereus and Achilles. The Good Shepherd, an _agape_, or the heavenly feast, a man fishing, and Daniel in the lions' den, are the chief historical or allegorical representations of Christian mysteries which are painted here. Unfortunately they have been almost destroyed by persons attempting to detach them from the wall."--_Roma Sotterranea_, p. 70.

A road to the left now leads to the Via Appia Nuova, passing about a quarter of a mile hence, a turn on the left to the ruin generally known as the _Temple of Bacchus_, from an altar dedicated to Bacchus which was found there, but considered by modern antiquaries as a temple of Ceres and Proserpine. This building has been comparatively saved from the destruction which has befallen its neighbours by having been consecrated as a church in A.D. 820 by Pope Pascal I., in honour of his sainted predecessor Urban I., A.D. 226--whose pontificate was chiefly passed in refuge in the neighbouring Catacomb of St. Calixtus--because of a belief that he was wont to resort hither.

A chapel at a great depth below the church, is shown as that in which St. Urban baptized and celebrated mass. A curious fresco here represents the Virgin between St. Urban and St. John.

Around the upper part of the interior are a much injured series of frescoes, comprising--the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the descent into Hades,--and the life of St. Cecilia and her husband Valerian, ending in the burial of Cecilia by Pope Urban in the Catacombs of Calixtus, and the story of the martyred Urban I. In the picture of the Crucifixion, the thieves have their names, "Calpurnius and Longinus." The frescoes were altered in the seventeenth century to suit the views of the Roman Church, keys being placed in the hand of Peter, &c. Sets of drawings taken _before_ and _after_ the alterations, are preserved in the Barberini Library, and curiously show the difference.

A winding path leads from S. Urbano into the valley. Here, beside the Almo rivulet, is a ruined Nymphaeum containing a mutilated statue of a river-god, which was called "the Grotto of Egeria," till a few years ago, when the discovery of the true site of the Porta Capena fixed that of the grotto within the walls. The fine grove of old ilex-trees on the hillside, was at the same time pointed out as the sacred grove of Egeria.

"Egeria! sweet creation of some heart Which found no mortal resting-place so fair As thine ideal breast; whate'er thou art Or wert,--a young Aurora of the air, The nympholepsy of some fond despair; Or, it might be, a beauty of the earth, Who found a more than common votary there Too much adoring; whatsoe'er thy birth, Thou wert a beautiful thought, and softly bodied forth.

"The mosses of thy fountain still are sprinkled With thine Elysian water-drops; the face Of thy cave-guarded spring, with years unwrinkled, Reflects the meek-eyed genius of the place, Whose green, wild margin now no more erase Art's works; nor must the delicate waters sleep, Prisoned in marble, bubbling from the base Of the cleft statue, with a gentle leap The rill runs o'er, and round, fern, flowers, and ivy, creep,

"Fantastically tangled; the green hills Are clothed with early blossoms, through the grass The quick-eyed lizard rustles, and the bills Of summer-birds sing welcome as ye pass; Flowers fresh in hue, and many in their class, Implore the pausing step, and with their dyes Dance in the soft breeze in a fairy mass; The sweetness of the violet's deep blue eyes, Kiss'd by the breath of heaven, seems coloured by its skies."

_Byron, Childe Harold._

It is now known that this nymphaeum and the valley in which it stands belonged to the suburban villa called Triopio, of Herodes Atticus, whose romantic story is handed down to us through two Greek inscriptions in the possession of the Borghese family, and is further illustrated by the writings of Filostratus and Pausanias.

A wealthy Greek named Ipparchus offended his government and lost all his wealth by confiscation, but the family fortunes were redeemed, through the discovery by his son Atticus of a vast treasure, concealed in a small piece of ground which remained to them, close to the rock of the Acropolis. Dreading the avarice of his fellow-citizens, Atticus sent at once to Nerva, the then emperor, telling him of the discovery, and requesting his orders as to what he was to do with the treasure. Nerva replied, that he was welcome to keep it, and use it as he pleased. Not yet satisfied or feeling sufficiently sure of the protection of the emperor, Atticus again applied to him, saying that the treasure was far too vast for the use of a person in a private station of life, and asking how he was to use it. The emperor again replied that the treasure was his own and due to his own good fortune, and that "what he could not use he might abuse." Atticus then entered securely into possession of his wealth, which he bequeathed to his son Herodes, who used his fortune magnificently in his bountiful charities, in the encouragement of literature and art throughout both Greece and Italy, and (best appreciated of all by the Greeks) in the splendour of the public games which he gave.

Early in the reign of Antoninus Pius, Herodes Atticus removed to Rome, where he was appointed professor of rhetoric to Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the two adopted sons of the emperor, and where he attained the consulship in A.D. 143. Soon after his arrival he fell in love with Annia Regilla, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, and in spite of the violent opposition of her brother, Annius Attilius Braduas, who, belonging to the Julian family, and claiming an imaginary descent from Venus and Anchises, looked upon the marriage as a mesalliance, he succeeded in obtaining her hand.

Part of the wealth which Annia Regilla brought to her husband was the Valle Caffarelli and its nymphaeum.

For some years Herodes Atticus and Annia Regilla enjoyed the perfection of married happiness in this beautiful valley; but shortly before the expected birth of her fifth child, she died very suddenly, leaving her husband almost frantic with grief and refusing every consolation. He was roused, however, from his first anguish by his brother-in-law Annius Braduas, who had never laid aside his resentment at the marriage, and who now accused him of having poisoned his wife. Herodes demanded a public trial, and was acquitted. Filostratus records that the intense grief he showed and the depth of the mourning he wore, were taken as signs of his innocence. Further to clear himself from imputation, Herodes offered all the jewels of Annia Regilla upon the altar of the Eleusinian deities, Ceres and Proserpine, at the same time calling down the vengeance of the outraged gods if he were guilty of sacrilege.

The beloved Regilla was buried in a tomb surrounded by "a sepulchral field" within the precincts of the villa, dedicated to Minerva and Nemesis, and (as recorded in one of the Greek inscriptions) it was made an act of the highest sacrilege, for any but her own descendants to be laid within those sacred limits. A statue was also erected to Regilla in the Triopian temple of Ceres and Proserpine, which is now supposed to be the same with that usually called the temple of Bacchus. Not only did Herodes hang his house with black in his affliction, but all gaily coloured marbles were stripped from the walls, and replaced with the dark grey marble known as "bardiglio,"--and his depth of woe made him so conspicuous, that a satirical person seeing his cook prepare white beans for dinner, wondered that he could dare to do so in a house so entirely black.

The inscriptions in which this story is related (one of them containing thirty-nine Greek verses) are engraved on slabs of Pentelic marble--and Philostratus and Pausanias narrate that the quarries of this marble were the property of Herodes, and that in his magnificent buildings he almost exhausted them.[222]

The field path from hence leads back to the Church of Domine Quo Vadis, passing on the right a beautifully-finished tomb (of the time of Septimius Severus) known as the _Temple of Divus Rediculus_, and formerly described as having been built to commemorate the retreat of Hannibal, who came thus far in his intended attack upon Rome. The temple erected in memory of this event was really on the right of the Via Appia. It was dedicated to Rediculus, the god of Return. The folly of ciceroni often cites this name as "Ridiculous."

The neighbourhood of the Divus Rediculus (which he however places on the _right_ of the Via Appia) is described by Pliny in connection with a curious story of imperial times. There was a cobbler who had his stall in the Roman Forum, and who possessed a tame raven, which was a great favourite with the young Romans, to whom he would bid good day as he sate perched upon the rostra. At length he became quite a public character, and the indignation was so great when his master killed him with his hammer in a fit of rage at his spoiling some new leather, that they slew the cobbler and decreed a public funeral to the bird; who was carried to the grave on a bier adorned with honorary crowns, preceded by a piper, and supported by two negroes in honour of his colour,--and buried--"ad rogum usque, qui constructus dextra Viae Appiae ad secundum lapidem in campo Rediculo appellate fuit."--_Pliny, Nat.

Hist._ lib. x. c. 60.

Returning to the Via Appia, we reach, on the right, the _Basilica of S.

Sebastiano_, rebuilt in 1611 by Flaminio Ponzio for Cardinal Scipio Borghese on the site of a church which had been founded by Constantine, where once existed the house and garden of the matron Lucina, in which she had buried the body of Sebastian, after his (second) martyrdom under Diocletian. The basilica contains nothing ancient, but the six granite columns in the portico. The altar covers the relics of the saint (a Gaul, a native of Narbonne, a Christian soldier under Diocletian) and the chapel of St. Sebastian has a statue of him in his youth, designed by Bernini and executed by Antonio Giorgetti.

"The almost colossal form lies dead, the head resting on his helmet and armour. It is evidently modelled from nature, and is perhaps the finest thing ever designed by Bernini.... It is probably from the association of arrows with his form and story that St.

Sebastian has been regarded from the first ages of Christianity as the protecting saint against plague and pestilence; Apollo was the deity who inflicted plague, and therefore was invoked with prayer and sacrifice against it; and to the honour of Apollo, in this particular character, St. Sebastian has succeeded."--_Jameson's Sacred Art_, p. 414.

The original of the footprint in the Domine Quo Vadis is said to be preserved here.

On the left of the entrance is the descent into the catacombs, with the inscription:

"In hoc sacrosancto loco qui dicitur ad Catacumbas, ubi sepulta fuerunt sanctorum martyrum corpora 174,000 ac 46 summorum pontificium pariterque martyrum. In altare in quo corpus divi Sebastiani Christi athletae jacet celebrans summus Pontifex S.

Gregorius Magnus vidit angelum Dei candidiorem nive, sibi in tremendo sacrificio ministrantem ac dicentem, 'Hic est locus sacratissimus in quo est divina promissio et omnium peccatorum remissio, splendor et lux perpetua, sine fine laetitia, quam Christi martyr Sebastianus habere promeruit.' Prout Severanus Tom. P.

pagina 450, ac etiam antiquissimae lapideae testantur tabulae.

"Ideo in hoc insigne privilegiato altari, tam missae cantatae quam privatae, dum celebrante, animae quae sunt in purgatorio pro quibus sacrificium offertur plenariam indulgentiam, et omnium suorum peccatorum remissionem consequuntur prout ab angelo dictum fuit et summi pontifices confirmarunt."

These are the catacombs which are most frequently visited by strangers, because they can always be seen on application to the monks attached to the church,--though they are of greatly inferior interest to those of St Calixtus.

"Though future excavations may bring to light much that is interesting in this cemetery, the small portion now accessible is, as a specimen of the Catacombs, utterly without value. Its only interest consists in its religious associations: here St. Bridget was wont to kneel, rapt in contemplation; here St. Charles Borromeo spent whole nights in prayer; and here the heart of St. Philip Neri was so inflamed with divine love as to cause his very bodily frame to be changed."--_Northcote's Roman Catacombs._

"Philip, on thee the glowing ray Of heaven came down upon thy prayer, To melt thy heart, and burn away All that of earthly dross was there.

"And so, on Philip when we gaze, We see the image of his Lord; The saint dissolves amid the blaze Which circles round the Living Word.

"The meek, the wise, none else is here, Dispensing light to men below; His awful accents fill the ear, Now keen as fire, now soft as snow."

_J. H. Newman_, 1850.

Owing to the desire in the early Christian Church of saving the graves of their first confessors and martyrs from desecration, almost all the catacombs were gradually blocked up, and by lapse of time their very entrances were forgotten. In the fourteenth century very few were still open. In the fifteenth century none remained except this of St.

Sebastian, which continued to be frequented by pilgrims, and was called in all ancient documents "cmeterium ad catacumbas."

At the back of the high-altar is an interesting half-subterranean building, attributed to Pope Liberius (352--355), and afterwards adorned by Pope Damasus, who briefly tells its history in one of his inscriptions, which may still be seen here:

"Hinc habitasse prius sanctos cognoscere debes, Nomina quisque Petri pariter Paulique requiris.

Discipulos Oriens misit, quod sponte fatemur, Sanguinis ob meritum Christumque per astra sequuti, Aetherios petiere sinus et regna piorum.

Roma suos potius meruit defendere cives.

Haec Damasus vestras referat sidera laudes."

"Here you should know that saints dwelt. Their names, if you ask them, were Peter and Paul. The East sent disciples, which we freely acknowledge. For the merit of their blood they followed Christ to the stars, and sought the heavenly home and the kingdom of the blest. Rome however deserved to defend her own citizens. May Damasus record these things for your praise, O new stars."

"The two Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, were originally buried, the one at the Vatican, the other on the Ostian Way, at the spot where their respective basilicas now stand; but, as soon as the Oriental Christians had heard of their death, they sent some of their brethren to remove their bodies, and bring them back to the East, where they considered that they had a right to claim them as their fellow-citizens and countrymen. These so far prospered in their mission as to gain a momentary possession of the sacred relics, which they carried off, along the Appian Way, as far as the spot where the church of St. Sebastian was afterwards built. Here they rested for a while, to make all things ready for their journey, or, according to another account, were detained by a thunderstorm of extraordinary violence, which delay, however occasioned, was sufficient to enable the Christians of Rome to overtake them and recover their lost treasure. These Roman Christians then buried the bodies, with the utmost secrecy, in a deep pit, which they dug on the very spot where they were. Soon, indeed, they were restored to their original places of sepulture, as we know from contemporary authorities, and there seems reason to believe the old ecclesiastical tradition to be correct, which states them to have only remained in this temporary abode for a year and seven months. The body of St. Peter, however, was destined to revisit it a second time, and for a longer period; for when, at the beginning of the third century, Heliogabalus made his circus at the Vatican, Calixtus, who was then pope, removed the relics of the Apostle to their former temporary resting-place, the pit on the Appian Way. But in A.D. 257, St. Stephen, the pope, having been discovered in this very cemetery and having suffered martyrdom there, the body of St. Peter was once more removed, and restored to its original tomb in the Vatican."--_Northcote's Roman Catacombs._

In the passages of this catacomb are misguiding inscriptions placed here in 1409 by William, Archbishop of Bourges, calling upon the faithful to venerate _here_ the tombs of Sta. Cecilia and of many of the martyred popes, who are buried elsewhere. The martyr St. Cyrinus is known to have been buried here from very early itineraries, but his grave has not been discovered.

"When I was a boy, being educated at Rome, I used every Sunday, in company with other boys of my own age and tastes, to visit the tombs of the apostles and martyrs, and to go into the crypts excavated there in the bowels of the earth. The walls on either side as you enter are full of the bodies of the dead, and the whole place is so dark, that one seems almost to see the fulfilment of those words of the prophet, 'Let them go down alive into Hades.'

Here and there a little light, admitted from above, suffices to give a momentary relief to the horror of the darkness; but as you go forwards, and find yourself again immersed in the utter blackness of night, the words of the poet come spontaneously to your mind: 'The very silence fills the soul with dread.'"--_St.

Jerome_ (A.D. 354), _In Ezek._ ch. lx.