The Vicus Jugarius, or the Street of the Yoke-Makers, was an ancient street leading into the Roman Forum

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...

. The Vicus Jugarius was very old—perhaps even older than Rome itself. The Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 word jugarius can mean either "yoke" or "ridge".

The Vicus Jugarius entered the Forum from the southwest, along the shoulder of the Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill

The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...

 and between the Temple of Saturn

Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Saturn is a monument to the agricultural deity. The Temple of Saturn stands at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in the western end of the Forum Romanum in Rome, Italy.-Archaeology:...

 and the Basilica Julia

Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia , is a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the early Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated...

 near Servilius’ Pool. The Arch of Tiberius

Arch of Tiberius

The Arch of Tiberius was built in the Forum Romanum to celebrate the recovery of the eagle standards that had been lost to Germanic tribes by Varus in 9 CE. The Roman general Germanicus had recovered the standards in 15 or 16 CE.The Arch spanned the Vicus Jugarius between the Temple of Saturn and...

 (now vanished) was built for the street to pass through here. Its other end, in the southern Campus Martius

Campus Martius

The Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome...

, was near the Forum Holitorium

Forum Holitorium

The Forum Holitorium was the market for vegetables, herbs and oil forum venalium of early ancient Rome, by the Tiber at the foot of the Capitoline and Palatine hills...

. This was the extent of the street in late Republican and Imperial times, but in former days, it was much longer, extending as far as the Quirinal Hill

Quirinal Hill

The Quirinal Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian Head of State, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has come to stand for the Italian President.- History :It was...

 and representing a part of the original trade route to the Tiber River. It’s ancient name may actually have originally signified a “high-road’, rather than the later sense of “yoke”; something like "the Road along the [Capitoline] Ridge".

Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 words associated with jugarius include jugalis ("yoked together") and jugo ("to marry" or "join"). Some words deriving from this Latin root are (in English): "yoke", "join", "juncture", "conjugal" and even "yoga" (from the Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 root yuj, meaning "to yoke" or "to unite"). Juga, or Jugalis, is an epithet of the goddess Juno

Juno

- Astronomy and space exploration :* 3 Juno, an asteroid** Juno clump, a probable asteroid family in the vicinity of 3 Juno* Juno , a NASA mission to Jupiter* Juno I, a satellite launch vehicle* Project Juno, a private British space programme...

in her aspect as marriage goddess (she was believed to join a couple in matrimony). As Juno Juga—Juno of the Yoke of Holy Matrimony—she had an altar on the Vicus Jugarius (exact location unknown). Although it was believed by the ancients that this gave its name to the street, in reality it was probably the other way around.