Roman literature states that it was first vowed by Marcus Furius Camillus in 367 BC to commemorate the Leges Liciniae Sextiae of Lucius Sextius Lateranus and the resulting reconciliation between the patricians and plebeians after the Aventine Secession.
It was a frequent focus for fostering harmony in the Roman state, both through its first rebuilding in 121 BC (after the murder of Gaius Gracchus), and through its occasional use for meetings of the Senate, especially in times of civil disturbance (Cicero delivered his fourth Catilinarian oration here).