imperial image scholarship Flashcards
divi filius
“Octavian arrived to accept the name and inheritance of Caesar and to carry out the terms of his will,thus keeping alive his memory when it was being threatened anew.” – Sumi
“He also minted money for the pay, utilising the coin types to portray Caesar’s empty throne … it waspart of his calculated propaganda plan.” - Huzar
“The story of the comet formed a myth of politics and public ideology that celebrated not only the deification of Caesar but also an act of filial piety the transfer of imperial authority and power, and anoutcome of divine providence.” – Huzar
“Antony’s derisive comment of ‘boy, you owe everything to Caesar’s name’ holds some weight” – Galinsky
imperator
“…accusations sank to new depths: Antony had become totally corrupt, godless, and soft, and was
bewitched by Cleopatra … Antony was no longer a Roman, thus this would be no civil war.” – Zanker
“The battle of Actium was a shabby affair” – Syme
“The title of imperator is a name of power, precise yet mystical, a monopolisation of the glory of the
triumphator.” – Syme
“Octavian’s power was based on the exercise of a predominant military power and the ultimate
sanction of his authority was force, however much the fact was disguised.” – Scullard
“Peace and war were intrinsically linked in Augustan thinking.” – Galinksy
Augustus
“The loyal citizen might gaze upon Augustus in the shape of … the priest with veiled head, aged,
austere and remote.” – Syme
“Each and every festival was an occasion for sharpening the loyalty of the people and inculcating a
suitable lesson.” - Syme
“The misdeeds of the civil wars were to be redeemed through sacrifice and religious piety.” - Zanker
Culture hero - golden age - peace/ war
“The imagery of lasting happiness transcended any reality.” – Zanker
“The Golden Age is a notion that needs to be used with care … the new saeculum was characterised not by a return to a utopian paradise but to specific Roman virtues that Horace highlights in the Carmen Saeculare.” – Gallinsky
“Peace and war were intrinsically linked in Augustan thinking.” – Galinksy
“A vast workforce was set to emptying and scrubbing clean the sewers – after which, in a triumphant demonstration of how practical were the benefits to be had from the new regime, Agrippa had himself rowed along the central drain.” - Holland
Pater patriae
“By building such a massive tomb for himself at Rome, the young Caesar was eager to highlight the contrast between himself and Antony.” – Cooley
“He was not only Pater Patriae but father of the world, pater orbis.” – Gallinksy
“Promoting his successors effectively was one of Augustus’s chief concerns as he got older.” – Zanker
“Opposites do not have to be mutually exclusive … he was devious, untrustworthy, and bloodthirsty. But once he had established his authority, he governed efficiently and justly.” – Everitt
“He was, in effect, ‘a universal parent’. Like the model of a father, he had chided, guided and loved the Roman people. License had been tamed. Effeminacy and adultery had been reined in.” – Holland
