FORUM

among the Romans, any open place where the markets and courts of justice were held. There were a number of such places in Rome, by far the most celebrated being the great Roman forum (Forum Romanum) between Mount Palatine and the Capitoline Hill. This place, once adorned with the most beautiful statues and buildings, had become almost a waste known as the Campo Vaccino, or cattle-field, but since the end of last century the Government has made clearances and excavations and taken charge of the valuable relics which are still left.—In legal phrase forwm signifies the court or place where an action is instituted.— The Forum is the name of an influential review published in New York.— BIBLIOGRAPHY: Middle ton, The Remains of Ancient Rome; Platner, The Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome; Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.