Imperial Image scholarly views

Question 1

General:

Adrian Goldsworthy on Augustus (Caesar)

Answer 1

‘Caesar wanted to appear a reluctant servant of the state’

Question 2

David Shotter on the republic

Answer 2

‘The Roman republic came to an end with Augustus’ victory at the battle of Actium’

Question 3

Diane Favro on pater patriae

Answer 3

“By his death in A.D. 14, Augustus had indeed earned the epithet of pater patriae”

Question 4

Paul Zanker on Augustus’ rule

Answer 4

“Poetry and art are filled with imagery of a blessed world, an empire at peace under the sway of a great ruler.”

Question 5

Colin Wells on Octavian/Augustus’ leadership

Answer 5

“Octavian had shown himself, as he was to show himself again, ruthless and tenacious in pursuit of his aims”

Question 6

Karl Galinsky on the res gestae

Answer 6

“The Res gestae is the most important historical document of the period”

Question 7

Alison Cooley on the Res Gestae

Answer 7

“World conquest was the main message of the Res Gestae.”

Question 8

Anthony Everitt on the Res Gestae

Answer 8

“In the Res Gestae, Augustus tells no lies, but sometimes fails to tell the truth.”

Question 9

A.D Nock on the restoration of religion

Answer 9

“Something like the Augustan restoration [of religion] would probably have been undertaken by any responsible Roman ruler. It would have seemed to him an integral part of any bringing back of public order”

Question 10

Paul Zanker on Pietas

Answer 10

“Pietas was to become one of the most important leitmotifs (themes) of the Augustan era”

Question 11

Paul Zanker on Augustus’ piety

Answer 11

“Augustus considered the performance of his religious duties his greatest responsibility and highest honour”

Question 12

David Shotter on Augustus attitude towards religion

Answer 12

“Augustus paid great attention to religious detail”

Question 13

David Shotter on the forum and pietas

Answer 13

“the most complete architectural expression of his pietas was his own forum”

Question 14

Matthew Nicholls on the radical forum

Answer 14

“The forum is a prime case for matching continuity with the Republican past with quite radical dynastic overtones”

Question 15

Henry Thompson Rowell on the forum and Roman virtue

Answer 15

“The forum is evidence that Roman virtue had not been broken - rather that it was reaching its culmination in the emperor Augustus”

Question 16

Paul Zanker on the new mythology created by the forum

Answer 16

“the monument which most fully expresses the new mythology is the Forum of Augustus”

Question 17

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill on glory and the forum

Answer 17

“In the forum, Augustus sought to identify his own glory with the past glories of Rome.”

Question 18

Paul Zanker on the procession on the Ara Pacis

Answer 18

“The procession is an idealised reflection of the renewed Republic, and of the aristocrats within in”

Question 19

Jahnige on the Priests on the Ara Pacis

Answer 19

“Their presence on the wall helps centralize the idea of the old religion.”

Question 20

Werner Eck on Augustus as an Imperator

Answer 20

“The use of imperator as a name suggested a permanent link with the Roman tradition of victory… his claims to political supremacy rested on his success in ending the civil wars”

Question 21

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill on the Romans and peace

Answer 21

“The central concern of all Romans was to achieve a stable and ordered society free from the destructive chaos of civil war”

Question 22

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill on Augustus the saviour

Answer 22

“Augustus needed to show that Rome and her empire were forever in need of a saviour and that it needed someone to save it from the curse of civil strife”

Question 23

Paul Zanker on Augustus’ divinity

Answer 23

“A priest may enjoy a special closeness to the gods, but at least he stands on the human side of the dividing line. But in a variety of ways it was suggested that Augustus at least stood with one foot on either side of the line.”