It is my purpose in this article to discuss the interpretation of the relief from the Ara Pacis, now in the Uffizi Gallery, which is traditionally known as the “Tellus relief” (plate IV).
The most recent detailed discussion of the, Ara Pacis is the monograph of F. Studniczka, which marks a considerable advance on previous work. Studniczka shows that the west door was flanked by two reliefs having to do with legendary figures of Italic or Roman history; to the south, Aeneas sacrificing, and to the north, Mars gazing on the wolf and twins; while the east door was flanked to the south by the so-called “Tellus,” facing right, and to the north by a relief representing Roma and secondary figures, facing left. That the west end was the front of the structure is made clear by the fact that the figures of the north and south sides are facing in that direction.