Sources Flashcards
Aureus
Ob. Bare head of Octavian
Rev. Head of Julius Caesar with laurel wreath
Inscription
Ob. Gaius Caesar, consul, pontifex, augur
Rev. Gaius Caesar, dictator in perpetuity, pontifex maximus
43 BC - Struck by unknown mint
Significance
One of Octavian’s earliest attempts at linking himself with Julius Caesar – appealed to the illiterate and plebians who had supported Julius Caesar and it was in JC’s will that every plebian would get 75 denarii and Octavian fulfilled it
Values it reflects
Divi Filius – relation with Julius Caesar - placed him on par with legendary heroes like Aeneas
Augustus – links to the gods – duty of Mos Maiorum
Imperator – links to Julius Caesar’s military power and the link to Julius Caesar’s making improved conditions though land distribution
Portrait of Livia
Livia extra – Younger Seneca – on her exemplarily behaviour on Drusus’ death vs Octavia’s rage at the loss of Marcellus
31 BC - Egyptian Basanite - The Louvre, Paris
Depicts Livia as a typical Roman Matrona, implying traditional values - shows the contrast between her and Cleopatra – shows the Romaness of Octavian though his wife
Livia comes from the Claudii – political marriage
Lacks any strong emotions
Classical style – not unrealistic or idealised
Higher degree of realism
Quintessential Roman woman – popular hairstyle
Pater Patriae – reflects well on Augustus to have a wife who reflects typical Roman values – exemplarily moral behaviour
Denarius
Ob. Bare head of Octavian
Rev. Pax standing holding olive branch and a cornucopia
Inscription
Ob. N/A
Rev. Ceasar, son of a god (Divi Filius)
32 – 29 BC - Struck by unknown mint
Commissioned to pay his armies and to convey his promise, though war there will be peace. Comarketing with Pax = peace
Imperator – shows peace through war – core value – olive branch was a sign of peace showed his army he was doing this for a worthy cause
Culture hero – he is restoring peace to the republic
Divi Filius – inscription
Epode 9 –A Toast to Actium
Scholarship
Eleni Giusti – subversive poem – Horace intentionally blurred his personalities and his meanings to emphasis the confusion of the times between friends and enemies, inherent in civil war
Steele Commager – once Horace dealt with Cleopatra’s defeat does she become formidable and then she achieves a Roman nobility.
30BC Horace
Does not name Cleopatra or Antony – focuses on the scandal so reminds the reader why battle is necessary and forget that it is a civil war
Celebrates Octavian’s victory at Actium –Francis Cairns – In such Augustan ‘Actium’ poems the contemporary enemy is Cleopatra – Antony is ignored or receives scant explicit mention – a reflection of official Augustan propaganda, in which Actium was not a civil war, but a foreign war against Cleopatra.
Imperator – Horace shows Octavian’s triumph, soon to be celebrate in Rome and creates a festive atmosphere – desertion of Antony’s forces – references past Roman victories in comparison with Actium
Augustus relief, Kalabsha Gate
30 BC - Limestone - Bab al-Kalabsha (then) Egyptian Museum, Berlin (now)
Depicts Augustus presenting the Egyptian goddess Isis with an offering of 3 fields hieroglyphs
The cartouches above and to the right of him say ‘The Roman’ and ‘Caesar the son of a god’ - depicted in the style of pharaohs
An example of Augustus’ diverse presentation throughout the Empire
Divi Filius – other reliefs show Egyptian deities crowing Augustus showing approval/ giving gifts – piety
Augustus - he shifted certain aspects of his public image to fit other cultures to make him seem a more universal ruler
Aureus
Ob. Head of Octavian
Rev. Octavian seated on a bench holding a scroll
Inscription
Ob. Imperator Ceasar, son of a god, consul for a 6th time
Rev. He restored to the Roman people their laws and rights
28 BC - Struck by unknown mint
Introduces the idea that Octavian was a saviour of the Republic
Divi filius – it shows he is doing what his uncle could not and give back the laws and rights to the people of Rome while still being in functionally a kingly position - the inscription
Imperator – Laurel wreath was awarded to him as part of his triple triumph in the previous year
The Mausoleum of Augustus
Brick walls, clad in white marble, large earth mound, 2 pink granite obelisks and surrounded by parkland
27 BC (opened to the public)
23 BC (construction complete)
Located in Rome, Campus Martius by the Tiber
Prof. Matthew Nicholls – extremely prominent –Augustus is not shy of kingly ambitions – transmits an everlasting image of Augustus
Augustus’ monumental final resting place. Strabo mentioned it
Pater Patriae – Alison Cooley - By building such a massive tomb for himself at Rome, it highlights a contrast between himself and Antony.
Whereas he was demonstrating his commitment to the city, Antony’s will revealed that he wished to be buried at Alexandria with Cleopatra. Rumours suggested that he was even contemplating shifting the capital away from Rome to Alexandria/Egypt
Odes 1.37 – Cleopatra
23 BC - Horace
He demonises Cleopatra and emphasises the danger she posed to Rome and her lack of dignified self-control
Later, he shows her to be stoic and in control as she killed herself
Focuses on Cleopatra’s role in and after the battle of Actium – demonises her then goes to show she was formidable and praises Augustus for being able to beat her at Actium
Culture Hero -
Imperator - shows his victory over the formidable enemy of Cleopatra and the foreign might of Egypt and how Rome still triumphed over them
Elegies 3.11 – Woman’s Power
23bc - Propertius
Sympathise with Antony as he enslaved by Cleopatra in the same way so he can relate to Antony. Also, Propertius reduces his status by referring to him as Cleopatras “obscene husband” implying her was under her control.
Conveys the power of Cleopatra over Antony and the threat she posed to Rome
Significant as Propertius, Elegies, 3.11 published same year as Horace, Odes, 1.37 as they both fail to name Antony
Culture hero
Imperator – Cleopatra appears as powerful as she is referred to alongside Jupiter. Jupiter is strongest of the gods, mentioning him shows the danger of Cleopatra. Shows Augustus’ military power
Odes 3.14 – Augustus Returns
23 BC - Horace
It’s good news for all families and a good day for Horace since he can live without fear of war. Horace wants to celebrate, and have a party with wine and women, although he notes he is not as passionate as in his youth.
Celebrates Augustus’ return from foreign campaigns. Mentions Livia and Octavia, women of the Imperial household
Pater Patriae – Horace announces that Augustus is home, and that his pious wife will be happy, and appear with Augustus’ sister
Culture hero
Imperator
Augustus
Odes 3.6 - Moral Decadence
Prof. Llewellyn Morgan
23BC - Horace
Deals with the issue of moral laxity in Rome and links this with the misfortunes that had befallen Rome in recent years
Prof. Llewlyn Morgan – It made sense to them to say that somehow, they had broken the covenant with the gods – the pax decorum – something had gone wrong, and the gods had abandoned Rome. There is a lot of emphasis on how Augustus goes about re-establishing the relationship with the gods: lots of images of him as a priest; lots of temple restoration.
Imperator
Augustus – There’s a temptation to see all this emphasis on re-securing the gods’ good will as a fantastically cynical thing – to say Augustus didn’t believe this, he just knew what the Roman people wanted him to appear to be doing and that what he did. WRONG - P.LM
Pater Patriae
Prima Porta Augustus Statue
Robin Osbourne – If Cupid gives Augustus a place in divine history, the breastplate gives him a place in the history of the universe.
20 BC - Marble - The Vatican Museums, Rome - found at Livia’s villa at Prima Porta - Copy of the original statue commissioned to celebrate Augustus’ campaign in Parthia – vowed by the Senate
In the age of Augustan reforms, this system of aesthetic ranking, which had been developed by and for art critics, was borrowed and applied to the selection of specific works for use in an artistic program defined primarily by moral and political objectives
Divi Filius – Cupid is here to draw attention to Augustus’ lineage: through his adoption into the family of the Julii by Julius Caesar he could boast a line that went back to the goddess Venus.
Imperator – The king of the Parthians hands back the eagle standard, captured from the Roman legion defeated at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 B.C., to a Roman soldier who has the she-wolf at his feet. This commemorates the recovery of the eagle in 20 B.C., an achievement reversing Rome’s moment of shame.
Pater Patriae
Culture hero – Augustan Romans viewed the Classical period as one of superior moral behaviour and, by ensuring that the art of his regime looked like Classical masterpieces, Augustus encouraged the idea that his reign was similarly one of moral superiority
The Forum of Augustus
Andrew Wallace Hadrill – In the Forum Augustus, his formula is the same; to identify his own glory with the past glories of Rome. If, in the old Forum he and his family formed a ring of protection, so to speak, around the memory core of the Roman people, in the new Forum it was the figures of the past who formed a ring around him.
20 BC - Construction began in 2BC
Found in Rome – adjacent to the Forum of Julius Caesar
Temple of Mars Ultor – His statue, as pater patriae, stood in the centre in a chariot, while the great Romans of the past stood in the porticoes on either side. Romulus and the kings on one side, and Aeneas and lulus on the other. The temple embodied the favour of heaven towards this descendant of the gods. Mars, the cult god… was flanked by Venus, mother of Aeneas and the Julii, and the God Julius himself. The gods and heroes of the past all stood in silent witness to Augustus’ embodiment of the virtues and values of Rome – Andrew Wallace Hadrill
Imperator
Divi Filius
Pater Patriae
Augustus
Elegies 3.12 Chaste and faithful Galla
20 BC - Propertius
Shames Postumus for leaving Galla alone in Rome to go and fight. Praises Galla for remaining faithful to her husband and waiting for him to return. Shows that war is not a glorious deed. References to the gods controlling fate - ‘if it’s permitted’. Suggests that while people may have and desire distinct levels of wealth, a rich man dies the same death as someone with less.
Provides a dissenting voice which stressed the negative impact of Augustus’ foreign campaigning
Imperator – Shows that war is not a glorious deed. Believes men should stay at home and be good husbands to their wives rather than gallivanting off in war
Denarius
Ob. Portrait of Augustus with oak wreath
Rev. Eight rayed comet with tail pointing upward
Inscription
Ob. Ceasar Augustus
Rev. Divus Iulius (the Divine Julius)
19 – 18 BC - Struck by unknown mint
As a man Julius Caesar had done many terrible things and the association could have been a liability for Augustus. As a god, Julius Caesar was beyond reproach. Augustus stopped depicting Julius Caesar as a man. Instead, he was a god.
Imperator
Divi Filius
