AUGUSTUS: Res Gestae Flashcards
When was it written?
13BC
What is the significance?
Autobiographical account of Augustus’ life and achievements
Who does the Res Gestae seem to be written for?
- To the people of Rome, rather than the people of the Empire more generally.
- When he mentions public works or gifts made to the common people, he exclusively mentions those that took place in Rome.
- However, the Res Gestae was reproduced and displayed throughout the Empire after Augustus’ death
‘During the consulship of Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius’
Who are they?
- The consuls who both died during or around the Battle of Mutina
‘The Republic, which was being tyrannised by a faction’
Who is this faction?
Mark Antony and his supporters
On my own…
On my own initiative and at my own expense
People appointed…
People appointed me as consul
The republic, which…
The republic, which was being tyrannised by a faction
I drove into…
I drove into exile those men who had murdered my father, avenging their deed by legal means
They waged…
They waged war against the state
When the Senate…
When the Senate voted to me further triumphs, I declined them
The successes achieved…
The successes achieved by me… on land and sea
‘When they waged war against the state, I conquered them twice in battle’
Who is this referring to and what event?
Refers to the assassins of JC, led by Brutus and Cassius
They were defeated at Philippi in 42BCE
‘Under my auspices’
What is an auspice?
A divine or prophetic token
When the dictatorship…
When the dictatorship was offered to me by the Senate and people… I refused it
I did not…
I did not refuse, at the height of the grain scarcity
Within a few…
Within a few days, I freed the whole population from fear… at my own cost and effort
I received no…
I received no magistracies that were not in keeping with the customs of our ancestors
What the Senate…
What the Senate wished me to do, I carried out
The citizens unanimously…
The citizens unanimously and continuously prayed for my health
I refused to…
I refused to be made pontifex maximus, in the place of my colleague who was still alive
‘I refused to be made pontifex maximus, in the place of my colleague who was still alive’
Who is this colleague?
- Lepidus
- He held the lifelong position until 12BCE when he died, still under house arrest
My name was…
My name was included in the Salian hymn
‘I should hold Tribunician power as long as I should live’
What is tribunician power?
- Refers to the powers of the tribunes of the plebs
- In the earliest days of the Republic, the plebeians protested that their interests weren’t protected in government since only patricians could be senators.
- The tribunate of the plebs was then established, a position which only members of the plebeian class could hold.
- Julius Caesar, Augustus, and all following emperors were patricians, but they didn’t hold the office of tribune, only the powers of one.
‘The senate consecrated the altar of Fortuna Redux before the temples of Honour and Virtue at the Porta Capena’
- What is the Fortuna Redux and the Porta Capena?
Fortuna Redux- a form of the Goddess Fortuna who oversaw a return, as from a long or perilous journey
Porta Capena- a gate in Rome
To each of…
To each of the Roman plebeians, I paid out from my father’s will… and in my own name, four hundred sesterces
‘The portico at the Flaminian circus’
Why was the Flaminian circus important?
- It was important to Augustus’ public image since the rumours that his mother had fallen pregnant by Apollo stated that it had happened in the small Temple of Apollo in the circus
I restored 82…
I restored 82 temples… missing out none
I completed… works…
I completed… works started and almost completed by my father
Events in the Res Gestae that show Augustus sticking to Roman traditions:
- He received no magistracies that weren’t in keeping with traditional Roman customs
- He brought back ancestral practices that were becoming obsolete
- It was traditional that Janus Quirinus would be closed when there was peace- during Augustus’ reign it was closed three times
- He didn’t accept a golden crown
- He removed statues of himself in eighty cities
- He could have Greater Armenia a Roman province, but he chose to follow the examples of his ancestors and give the Kingdom over
Events in the Res Gestae that show Augustus’ dedication to Rome:
- He took control of Rome during the grain scarcity and remedied the situation within a few days at his own expense
- He rebuilt the capitol and the theatre of Pompey, but didn’t inscribe his name on them, despite the personal investment this would have been.
- He rebuilt aqueducts, improved Rome’s water condition a lot.
- Built the temple of Mars the Avenger and the Forum of Augustus from war booty- generous, not keeping it all from himself
Augustus’ dedication and similarity to JC?
- He drove Brutus and Cassius into exile, and defeated them in battle- dedication to his father.
- Was offered the same priesthood that his father had held
- He paid money from JC’s will out to Plebeians, and then did similar things of his own accord later
- He finished buildings such as the Forum of Julius and the Basilica, which JC had started but never finished
Augustus showing he’s different from JC?
- He refused the dictatorship when it was offered to him by the senate and the people
- He didn’t accept a golden crown- avoiding anything associating him with a monarchy
- He visited the borders of Cimbri, which no Roman had been to before- doing his own thing, not limited by JC’s achievements
Augustus showing his dedication to the Gods:
- The senate decreed 55 times to offer prayers to the gods on account of Augustus’ successes- his achievements increasing piety
- He was Pontifex Maximus, Augur and one of the fifteen commissioners for performing priestly duties
- his name was included in the Salian hymn
- He built the temple of Apollo and the temple of Divine Julius
- He restored 82 temples in his sixth consulship
- He removed statues of himself from cities and used them to fund gifts he gave to the temple of Apollo
Augustus showing his military skill:
- He freed the sea from pirates
- He added Egypt to the Roman Empire
- He recovered the military standards
- He raised an army at the age of 19- young age to have such strength
Examples of peace-related prosperity in the Res Gestae?
- Games were celebrated frequently during Augustus’ lifetime
- The Albanians, Iberians and the Medes sought Rome’s friendship
- The king of Parthia sought Rome’s friendship
Examples of peace brought by Augustus’ military success?
- When he could pardon foreign people, he preferred that over killing them
- Ara Pacis constructed
- Janus Quirinus closed 3 times
- Freed the sea from pirates
- Returned 30,000 slaves to their masters for punishment when they plotted an uprising
- He pacified Gaul, Spain and Germany
- Extinguished civil wars
- Name included in the Salian hymn- a hymn that guarantees the safety of Rome
Examples of Augustus being a good leader by protecting Rome:
- He raised an army to liberate the republic when it was threatened by Antony
- When war was waged against the state by Brutus and Cassius, he conquered them twice in battle
- Took control of Rome during the grain scarcity and saved them in a few days
Examples of Augustus being a good leader by being generous and nice?
- Paid out money to soldiers when their service was done
- Cimbri, Charades, Semnones and other Germans sought his friendship
- Many people experienced the faith of the roman people through trade dealings or friendship, which had never happened before
Examples of Augustus being a good leader through his own self-sacrifices?
- Paid out 300 sesterces from JC’s will, and in his own name, 400 from war booty to the Plebs
-He personally brought grain and distributed it to each man
- Four times he helped the treasury with his own money
Augustus being a good leader through prosperity:
- he carried out a lustrum- the increasing number of people in the lustrum suggests how under Augustus there was increasing prosperity as the population increased
- He organised hunts of African beasts- indicates increasing prosperity under Augustus’ rule through the entertainment that was now available to enjoy
Examples of Augustus being a fair leader through being elected:
- ‘People appointed me as consul’
- ‘By order of the people and the senate’
- ‘The whole of Italy of its own volition swore allegiance to me’
- ‘After by universal consent, I was in control of all affairs’
- ‘my sons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar… for my honour designated as consuls by the Senate and people of Rome’
Augustus being a fair ruler through declining power:
- When the Senate voted to me further triumphs, I declined them
- I refused to be made Pontifex Maximus, in the place of my colleague who was still alive
- Silver statues of me erected… which I myself removed
- Five times I asked myself for, and accepted, from the senate a colleague in that power- he’s willing to share power
Augustus being a fair ruler through acting in a fair way:
- I recieved no magistracies that were not in keeping with the customs of our ancestors
- What the Senate wished me to do, I carried out
- I pacified the Alps… with no unjust war against any people
- Although I had no more power than those who were my colleagues
In the Res Gestae…
‘In the Res Gestae, generally Augustus treats his adoptive father with an anonymity that smacks of denigration’
- E. Ramage
The Res Gestae glosses…
‘The Res Gestae glosses over and entirely ignores the illegality of Augustus’ early career’
- M. Beard
Who are the two scholars you can use for the Res Gestae and what are their general ideas?
E. Ramage
- Augustus treats Caesar with anonymity which could defame him
Beard
- Augustus completely ignores the illegality of his early entry into the Cursus Honorum and how he wasn’t supposed to hold the positions he did
E. Ramage:
In the Res Gestae generally, Augustus treats his adoptive father with an anonymity that smacks of denigration
M. Beard:
The Res Gestae glosses over and entirely ignores the illegality of Augustus’ early career
