in Roman antiquity, a public standing Forum, place within the city of Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people.

Forum was also used for a place of traffic, adverting to our market-place. These were generally called fora venalia; in contradistinction to the former, which were called fora civilia.

The fora civilia were public courts of justice, very magnificent in themselves, and surrounded with porticoes and stately edifices; of these there were six very remarkable: 1. Forum Romanum. 2. Julianum. 3. Augustum. 4. Palladium. 5. Forum Traiani. 6. Forum Salustii. The Forum Romanum was the most noted, and is often called simply Forum, by way of eminence. Here was the pleading place called Rostra, the Comitium, the sanctuary of Saturn, temple of Caius, &c. See Rostra, Comitium, &c.

The fora venalia, or market-places, were very numerous. The chief of them were the forum boarium for oxen or beef; suarium for swine; pilfornium for bread; cupendarium for dainties; olitorium for garden stuff.

The Grecian Agora exactly correspond with the Roman fora, being places where courts and markets were held. At Athens they had many fora, but the chief of them were the old and the new.

Forum Indicere, was the act of the praetor appointing the place in Rome where causes were to be tried. Agere forum denoted the bringing on causes out of Rome, in a Roman province (Cicero, Suetonius); the same with agere consentium (Florus).

The term forum added to a proper name, denoted some market town or borough; as,

Forum Allieni, a place mentioned only by Tacitus; and, from what he says of it, thought to be Ferrara, capital of the duchy of that name in Italy. E. Long. 12. 5. N. Lat. 44. 46.

Forum Appii (Cicero, Luke); a town of the Valisci, in Latium, on the Via Appia, a little beyond the Tres Tabernae; set down in the Jerusalem Itinerary as situated near the river Nymphæus: now entirely extinct.

Forum Cornelii, a town of the Cispadana, built by Sylla: Now Imola, a city in Romagna, and territory of the Pope. E. Long. 12. 12. N. Lat. 44. 30.

Forum Domitii, a town of Gallia Narbonensis; probably built by Domitius Ahenobarbus, who commanded in those parts: Now Frontignan, or Frontignac, in Languedoc, near the Mediterranean. E. Long. 3. 30. N. Lat. 43. 30.

Forum Fulvi, a town of Liguria, surnamed Valentium: from which it is conjectured that it is now Valenza, in the duchy of Milan; which is confirmed by Peutinger's distances. E. Long. 9. N. Lat. 45.

Forum Gallorum, a small town of the Cispadana, on the Via Emilia, eight miles from Mutina, beyond the river Scultenna. Here Antony defeated Pania, and was in his turn defeated by Hirtius: Now Castelfranco, in the territory of Bologna.—Another Forum Gallorum, a town of the Vafcones in the Hither Spain: Now Gurrea, a small town of Arragon.

Forum Julium. There are several towns of this name; as a Forum Julium of Gallia Narbonensis; or Forojulium: Now Frejus, or Frejules, in Provence, at Forum Julium Carnorum, to the north of Aquileia, in the Transpadana: Now Cividal di Friuli, formerly Cividal d'Austria, in the territory of Venice.

Forum Juliotorum, a town of the Insubres, in the Transpadana: Now Crema, capital of the Cremalco, in the territory of Venice. E. Long. 10° 15', N. Lat. 45° 20'.

Forum Livii, a town of the Semnones, in the Cispadana: Now Forli, in Romagna. E. Long. 12° 45', N. Lat. 44° 25'.

Forum Segusianorum, situated on the east side of the Liger, in Gallia Celtica: now Feurs, on the Loire, in the Lyonnaise, capital of the territory of Forez. E. Long. 4° 15', N. Lat. 45° 44'.

Forum Tiberii, a town of the Pagus Tigurinus, in Belgica, on the left or south side of the Rhine: Now Kayserfuhl; literally the tribunal of Tiberius, which he held there when commander in the Rhetian war.

Forum Vokani (Strabo); the Campi Phlegrei of Pliny: a place in Campania encompassed by rocky eminences, near Puteoli, and distant from it two miles towards Naples, emitting smoke, and in some places flame, like a large extensive furnace, and yielding sulphur: Now called Solfatara, in the Terra di Lavoro.

Forum is also used, among causuits, &c. for jurisdiction; thus they say, In fora legis, &c.