AUGUSTUS: IMAGES OF POWER

Part 1: The Mausoleum (1-7)

1. The Campus Martius was a large low-lying area north of the Capitolium, lying outside the pomerium. Here the Roman people met under arms and practiced military training. Towards the end of the Republic the southern part became built up, and Augustus and his assistant, Agrippa, added many buildings and complexes for the use and benefit of the People. These included the Pantheon (rebuilt more than a century later by Hadrian) and the public Baths of Agrippa. The Mausoleum of Augustus, the Ustrinum (crematorium), and the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) were built in the northern part, beside the main road to the north, the Via Flaminia.

2. The Mausoleum of Augustus, seen here in a reconstruction, was begun in 28 BCE, the year of Octavian's triumphs for his victories over Cleopatra and other foreign enemies, and the year before he was given the title of Augustus. It consisted of a series of rising concentric circles of concrete with stone or marble facing. Between the upper circles evergreen trees were planted. The circular burial chamber was in the center, and from it rose a column on which was set a bronze statue of Augustus. Two Egyptian obelisks stood at the entrance, near which (exactly where is unknown) were placed two bronze tablets inscribed with Augustus' Res Gestae. The diameter of the Mausoleum was about 88 meters and its height (excluding the statue) about 44 m. Around the Mausoleum was a public park containing trees and paths.

3. In name, size and purpose the Mausoleum was like the tomb of Mausolus, at Halicarnassus in Caria (SW Asia Minor), one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, erected in 353 BCE. While it has been destroyed, this reconstruction is based on ancient descriptions.

4. Mausolus' tomb stood slightly higher than that of Augustus as can be seen from this comparison of the two.

5. This aerial view shows the entrance of Augustus' Mausoleum and the remains of the lower circles. In the center is the base of the colossal statue of Augustus.

6. A system of vaults and piers distributed the weight of the structure.

7. (Repeat #2). The first member of Augustus' family to be buried in the Mausoleum was his nephew, Marcellus, whose death in 23 BCE is referred to by Vergil at the end of Book 6 of the Aeneid.

Part 2: The Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace: 8-12)

8. The Ara Pacis was decreed by the Senate on Augustus' return from Spain and Gaul in 13 BCE. It was dedicated in 9 BCE. It stood in the open air beside the Via Flaminia and its entrance was on the western side. In the 1930s it was recovered from its original position, on which a renaissance palace had been built, and moved to a site near the Tiber. It is encased in a modern roofed structure ana in its present orientation it is entered from the south. The altar itself is surrounded by a marble screen, on the long sides of which are reliefs probably depicting the procession at the inaugural sacrifice in 13. On the short sides are four allegorical panels. The lower zone of the exterior of the screen contains reliefs of acanthus scrolls. among which are birds, small animals and insects. On the interior of the screen were sculptures of garlands and bucrania (ox-skulls) and sacrificial implements. The surface of the altar itself, approached by interior steps, was flanked by raised panels or "wings," on the exterior of which were carved reliefs of a sacrificial procession, perhaps that for the dedication in 9 BCE.

9. On the south side (formerly the west) is a panel showing Aeneas sacrificing the sow to the Penates.

10. On the east side of the screen (formerly the south) is a procession showing Augustus (the fragmentary figure fourth from the left), with his lictors and religious officials (note the headwear of the flamines), and followed by the imperial family.

11. In this part of the procession of the imperial family the tall veiled figure on the left is Agrippa, beside whom is the young Gaius (the future emperor Caligula), next to whom is Julia, daughter of Augustus. On the west side of the screen (formerly the north) is a procession of senators, dignitaries of state, and their families, not shown here.

12. On the north side (formerly the east, facing the Via Flaminia) is a panel showing Earth (Terra Mater) or Peace, with two babies. A figure to the left rides on a swan and symbolizes the air, while to the right, riding on a sea- monster, a figure symbolizes the breezes of the sea. Below are a sheep and a cow in the center, and a river (symbolized by an urn and reeds) to the left, and, to the right, the waves or the sea. The allegory depicts the fertility of Italy renewed by the Pax Augusta.

Part 3: The Statue of Augustus at Prima Porta (13-16)

13. The statue of Augustus from Livia's villa at Prima Porta is a marble copy of a bronze statue that celebrates the return in 20 BCE of the military standards captured by the Parthians in 53 after the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae. It was probably set up in 15 CE, the year after Augustus' death. It is 7 ft. (2.08 m.) tall (Augustus was 1.70 m., about 5'7") and shows him as a young man (perhaps on the model of Alexander the Great, who died when he was 33), in military uniform. He is barefoot (a sign of divine status) and Cupid (riding on a dolphin beside his right foot) reminds the viewer of Venus, the divine ancestress of the family of Augustus, the gens Iulia. Augustus holds a spear in his left hand, and his right hand is extended as he addresses his armies. His stance is that of the Doryphoros (spear-bearer) by the fifth century Greek sculptor, Polyclitus.

14. The arrangement of the locks of Augustus' hair is another sign of divine status. The shoulder-clasps of the cuirass (breastplate) are in the form of sphinxes: the Sphinx was the image on Augustus' seal (later he used an image of Alexander, and finally his own portrait).

15. The reliefs on the cuirass focus on the return of the standards. In the center the Parthian king hands over a standard with the eagle on its end and embellished by military decorations, coronae (garlands) and phalerae (disks). The Roman receiving the standard may represent Romulus or Tiberius, Livia's son and the commander of the Roman expedition in 20 BCE. Beside him is a canine, perhaps the wolf of Romulus. To the right and left of the central figures are women representing conquered Roman provinces, perhaps Gaul (with a boar and a trumpet in the form of a dragon) on the viewer's right and Spain on the left (this figure may also represent client tribes in Germany and the east). At the top of the cuirass the Sky (Caelus) unfolds the canopy of the heavens: to the left Apollo drives the chariot of the Sun, and to the right Aurora (the Dawn) holds her urn, and above her is Luna (the Moon) holding a torch. At the bottom, in the center, reclines Mother Earth (Terra Mater) holding a cornucopia: to her right Diana rides a stag and to her left Apollo rides a griffin.

16. The return of the standards was also celebrated by a triple arch erected in 19 BCE at the SW entrance to the Forum, in front of the single arch erected in 29 to commemorate the battle of Actium. The inscription reads SPQR and IMP(erator) CAES(ar). On top of each arch rides Augustus in a triumphal chariot.

Part 4: the Gemma Augustea (17)

17. The Gemma Augustea, made in about 10-20 CE, is a cameo 71/2"(15 cm.) by 9" (23 cm.) of onyx with a white and a bluish-brown layer. On the upper level Augustus is enthroned as Jupiter, with Jupiter's eagle below him, a spear in his left hand and a lituus (the augur's staff) in his right. Beside him (to the viewer's left) sits Roma, with spear and helmet, and beneath their feet are arms of defeated enemies. Between them is a disk with the zodiacal sign of Capricorn (the sign of the month of Augustus' conception!) The figure of the inhabited world (Oikoumene) holds a wreath (the corona civica) above Augustus' head, and in front of her is Oceanus. To the right of the throne sits the figure of the Earth (or Italia), holding a cornucopia and accompanied by two children. On the left Tiberius, dressed in a triumphal robe, descends from his chariot. Behind him is the figure of Victory, and the young man in military dress between him and Roma is his nephew, Germanicus, son of his brother, Drusus.

In the lower zone Roman soldiers on the left erect a trophy, with armor of the defeated enemy, including a shield with a scorpion device, the zodiacal sign of Tiberius. A man and a woman will be tied to the trophy. on the right non-Roman allies ("auxiliaries") drag another pair of prisoners to be tied to the trophy: the male auxiliary wears a petasos (broad-brimmed hat), and the female holds a pair of spears.

The cameo refers to military victories won by Tiberius over the peoples of the Alpine and Danube areas (the Roman provinces of Rhaetia and Pannonia) but the triumphs belong to Augustus, on whom Roma gazes with admiration.