1.

Augustus: Short biography

Augustus (latin name IMPERATOR CÆSAR DIVI FILIVS AVGVSTVS) was born in the 23rd of

September in 63 B.C and died in the 19th of August in the

year 19 A.D. Born with the name Gaius Octavian Turin

also known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus after his

adoption, he was the first emperor of the Roman Empire,

which he ruled from the year 27 B.C until his death in the

year 14 A.D. Young Octavian was adopted by his uncle

the great politician and general Julius Caesar and was

acknowledged as his heir after the latter’s assassination

in the year 44 B.C. The following year Octavian united

his force with those of Marcus Antonius and Marcus

Aemilius Lepi in a martial dictatorship also known as the

Second Triad. As its member Octavian ruled over Rome Augustus of Prima Porta, marble c. 20
B.C, Vatican Museum
and most of the provinces under it claiming the authority

of consul a station he was elected consecutively. The Triad was eventually brought down by

ambitions of its own members: Lepi was exiled while Antony committed suicide after his defeat in

the naval battle of Actium by Octavian’s troops in the year 31 B.C. [Alföldy, 1984].

After the disbanding of the Second Triad Octavian seemingly revived the Roman Republic (Res

Publica) giving back the command to the Roman Senate, although in reality he kept his status as

absolute monarch.

It took many years for the institutional cadre to change from a democracy to a monarchy, in the end

the result was the birth of the Roman Empire. Octavian acquired a number of titles given to him for

life by the Senate, like that of mayor and censor. He was also conul until the year 23 B.C [Dio

Cassius, 1987]. His force was financially backed up by the wars and conquests he participated, the

patronage relationships he established through the Empire, the fealty of his troops and veterans,

through the many authorities given to him by the Senate and the respect of the common folk the

plebs.
The hegemony of Augustus was the starting point of a relatively peaceful period also known as Pax

Romana, which means Roman Peace. Augustus expanded the Empires lands, secured the borders

and made peace with Parthia using diplomatic means. He reformed the tax system, forged a

permanent battle troop and a small navy force, he also founded the Praetorian Guard as well as fire-

fighting corps for Rome, a part of which was rebuild during his rein. Finally he wrote his own

autobiography, know as “Res Gestae Divi Augusti” which survives even today.

After his death in the year 14 A.D the Senate bestowed upon him divine status and decreed that he

should be worshipped by the Romans. The names Augustus and Caesar were adopted by all

consecutive emperors, while the month Sextilis was officially renamed as August, in honor of the

emperor, a name still in use today. Appointed as his heir was his step-son Tiberius.

2. Roman Art in the Augustus' Era:

It is inaccuracy to acknowledge that the Roman art was just a bad copy of the Grecian art. It is plain

to see that Roman art was already influenced by the time of the 3rd century B.C by the Etrusksian

traditions as well as the works that reached Rome from Magna Grecia, Greece and Asia Minor.

Romans knew of Greek art and were influenced by it before becoming world dominators. In the 1rst

century B.C Rome was already established as a cultural focal point in the Mediterranean. The

subjects of the roman art praised victorious generals, and admirable citizens and the roman style

was already diversified from the Greek version of

baroque, though the revival of the atticizing style.

Augustus in his era tried to legitimize his status quo not

only by restoring order through the Civil wars, but also

through his personal superiority in the means of

patronizing and benefaction. Through his charity to the

people August created a state were the base of virtue of

mutuality was in power for all the Romans, and since

Forum of August. Rome
they could not be charitable to the emperor they were

bound to respect and lawfully obey him [Garnsey, 1987]. So the main bulk of art committed at the

time were public pieces. In the cities of the Empire aqueducts temples theatres and galleries were
built. The most important pieces of course were made in Rome “not only to adorn the marbles“ as

stated in the famous line imputed to Augustus by Roman historian Dio Cassius, but also to high-

light the emperors’ contribution and his divine image to the people. The goal of roman art was then

nothing else but propaganda. In order to save the power of the people and through them, the

worship of the Emperor [Ramage, 1991].

Exactly as in the peak of the Athenian Hegemony, in the 5th century B.C, Pericles adorned Athens

with works of art that brought out its rule over all other cities, following him Augustus did the same

with Rome. The style that was used at the time was Neo-Attica which is based on the revival of

classic Athenian .The basic elements were copying classic works and styles, idealizing the features

of the person with a fair skin and oblique angles in the area of the nose and eyebrows. The Neo-

Attica style already seemed to work as a counter weight to the baroque aesthetics of the Hellenistic

era that reached boundaries of exaggeration.

In the opposite side the Romans influenced by the stoic philosophy, adapted the standards of Greek

art in the image of themselves. Thus the style that influenced the first era of the empire was born

with Augustus of course favoring it, not only because of its majestic style but also because with it

the imperial idea grows and with it the logic of idealization of the divine, the flawless, which is the

basic trait of the Neo-Attica style. At the same time we cannot ignore the influence that the

Corinthian rhythm had in the Neo-Attica style, since it was dominant during that time in Greek art.

Important works of Augustus worth mentioning are: the Forum, built right next to his step-fathers’,

the temple of Mars Ultor, the Mausoleum built inside the

Campus Martius, in order to honor the imperial line and

show his respect to the burial traditions of the Etruscan

monuments. Although one work of art stands above all

others and shows the greatest form of the Neo-Attica

style in the era of Augustus the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis)

3. The Ara Pacis:

The most famous example of Augustan art that has come

Ara Pacis. Rome
down to us is the Ara Pacis, or the Altar of Peace.
Founded on July 4, 13 BCE and completed on January 30, 9 BCE was designed as a permanent

monument to the most important accomplishment of Augustus: the bringing of an era of peace. This

was particularly important to the Romans who had witnessed the instability of the Civil Wars that

marked the end of the Republican period. The theme of peace is intertwined on the altar with

themes of the dynastic claims of the family of Augustus, his social policy, and the importance of

religion as a civilizing force.

The form of the altar is a large precinct wall that encloses the altar itself. Doors in the middle of the

east and west sides provide access to the altar. Attempts to identify the source for the form of the

altar have suggested close parallels to the fifth century B.C Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Agora in

Athens.

Rectangular figurative panels flank the doorways at either end of the exterior wall. The scenes on

either side of the west end show the legendary founders of Rome. The left hand panel is poorly

preserved. It represents Mars and the twin Romulus and Remus. Mars as the war god articulates the

role war plays in the establishing of peace. Mars was understood to be the father of Romulus, the

founder of Rome. As stated in the prophesy of the Aeneid, Romulus was understood to be an

ancestor of Augustus.

The relief on the southwestern side represents another

important ancestor of Augustus with the image

of Aeneas Sacrificing. He is shown making an offering

to the penates, or the household gods. Aeneas is

accompanied by his son Julus-Ascanius. The

implications of this panel for Augustus are very clear.

Augustus would have wanted to be linked to his

legendary ancestor Aeneas, the father of the Julian

family and the Roman tradition. Aeneas' piety testifies to

his respect for his family traditions just as the altar

testifies to the piety of Augustus. The illustrated

Ara Pacis: The Tellus Panel. Rome
tombstone exemplifies this subject. Aeneas is shown as
the "sandwich generation" supporting his father, Anchises, by his left arm and holding his son's

hand by his right hand. The group illustrates Aeneas rescuing his father and son from burning Troy.

The tombstone relief shows Aeneas wearing a cuirass like Augustus wears in the Augustus of

Primaporta. Anchises is shown holding a box containing probably the penates. It is to

these penates that Aeneas is shown offering the sacrifice of the sow in the Ara Pacis relief. The sow

is a reference to a prophesy in Virgil's Aeneid that the hero would find a sow under an oak tree

when he arrived in Latium. The two panels on the west side of the altar, seen together, allude to two

dominant functions of Augustus: as Imperator (leader of army equals to god Mars) and Pontifex

Maximus (chief priest equals to Aeneas).

The reliefs on the east end of the building are allegorical figures. On the southeast side is the so-

called Tellus panel. This is the personification of Earth. The figure is sometimes identified as Italy.

The two children in her lap along with the animals and plants allude to the bounty of earth,

especially in an era of peace. She is flanked by female figures with billowing mantles that can be

identified as sea and land breezes.

The panel on the northeast side is very fragmentary. Its subject was the seated figure of Roma with

arms at her feet and accompanied by two figures who have been identified as the personifications

of Honor and Virtue. It is significant to note the links between the two north panels on the east and

west ends as focusing on military and war while the southern panels reflect more peaceful pursuits.

The most famous reliefs included on the altar are the two

processional reliefs that appear in the upper register of

the north and south sides of the altar. The south frieze

shows Augustus, attendants, and members of the family

of Augustus. Although the lower part of the figure is

poorly preserved, enough of the head is intact to enable

Ara Pacis: North Side relief. Rome
an identification of the figure of Augustus. He is shown

in the toga with mantle over the head associated with a priest in a sacrifice. His outstretched right

arm suggests that he might have been holding a patera. The figure echoes the representation of

Augustus as Pontifex Maximus and the figure of Aeneas sacrificing from the west end. In about the
center of the south frieze appears the son-in-law of Augustus, Marcus Agrippa, and the likely

successor of Augustus. The inclusion of Agrippa in the frieze has enabled scholars to date the events

shown. Since Agrippa died in 12 BCE, this must be the foundation ceremony that took place on July

4, 13 BCE. The figures on the north frieze have been identified as prominent members of the Senate

and families.

Scholars have long noted the parallels between the processional scenes from the Ara Pacis and the

Ionic frieze from the Parthenonshowing the Panathenaic Procession. The use of a continuous frieze

showing a religious procession as well as the strong

classicism of the Ara Pacis relief indicates some of the

similarities between the two. But significant difference

exists as well. Most notably is the approach to the subject

matter. In the case of the Panathenaic frieze no individual

Ara Pacis: South Side relief. Rome
procession can be identified. None of the mortals

represented can be connected to known historical figures. While the Ara Pacis frieze, with its

identifiable portraits can be identified as the foundation procession of July 4, 13 BCE. There is thus

the contrast between the archetypal approach of Greek and what can be identified as the factual

approach of the Roman work.

A striking difference between the two can be seen in the choice of types of figures included. In the

Parthenon frieze, except for the group of maidens shown in a section of eastern frieze, there are no

other mortal women included in the Parthenon frieze. Likewise there are no children included in the

earlier frieze. In contrast, the Ara Pacis friezes intermingle male and female as well as children and

adults. This intermingling of figures suggests the theme of family. The emphasis on family in the

Ara Pacis relief echoes the important role families played in the social and political life of Rome.

Ones identity was determined in significant ways by the identity of your family. The inclusion of

members of the imperial family in particular can be related to Augustus's dynastic claim for his

family. The family of Augustus which was understood to descend from the founders of the Roman

tradition Aeneas and Romulus could claim the rightful position as the first family of Rome and

rulers of Rome.
 4. Summary – Conclusions:

Rome had in the era of Augustus taken another turn. From the Res Publca we have the first steps to

a universal Empire. In his person Augustus will combine all the elements of public life. He will

become father of the people, and give the city of Rome the visage fitting for the city that governs

over a thousand others. Public pieces will cover the entire empire, and Art itself will change from

the media of honored men will become the tool for the propaganda of the state and the Imperial

Idea. It is clear that the economic, political, and cultural superiority of the Roman Empire and the

Imperial Idea need an even way in order to imprint. Thus the strive of classicism in the Arts and the

choosing of the Neo-Attica style which simulates the greatness of Athens during the 5th Century

B.C. During the rein of Augustus the roman art reached a new level of brightness and delicacy,

although it maintained the traits of stiffness and cold severity which settle in the psychology of the

Emperor and the change In the roman political state. Typical sample of the artistic likings of the era

of Augustus are the Ara Pacis, where the structural elements of Roman and Greek influences coexist

and bring out the four major themes of Augustan ideology: Piety and respect for traditional custom,

War, Victory and Peace.

Bibliography:

• Alföldy Geza, Römische Sozialgeschichte, Wiesbaden, Fr. Steirner Verlag GmbH, 1984

• Cassius Dio, The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, London, Penguin Books, 1987

• Garnsey P. & R. Saller, Roman Empire: Economy, Society, Culture, Chicago, G. Duckworth

& Co, 1987

• Gruen Erich S., Augustus and the Making of the Principate. The Cambridge Companion to

the Age of Augustus (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World), New York, Cambridge

University Press, 2005

• Ramage Nancy & Andrew Ramage, Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine, Cambridge

University Press, 1991