Download How effectively did Augustus use patronage to promote and uphold

Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
How effectively did Augustus use patronage to promote and uphold his power
over the Roman world?
This essay will consider the effectiveness of Caesar Augustus’ use of patronage, and
how it aided him in terms of upholding his power. It will also explore the extent to which
his patronage shaded into propaganda, making his motives more questionable. By
investigating the different methods used by Augustus to promote his power, this essay
will conclude that his techniques (deceitful or not) were indeed effective in preserving
his rule. Preceding the conclusion, Augustus’ various methods will be discussed and
studied, including his use of coinage, architecture and literature. Patronage played a
significant role in the Roman era, with it being a particular relationship between a patron
and a client. In short, patronage was a mutual relationship between people who had
something to gain from and something to offer to any other party. Throughout his rule,
Augustus consistently used patronage to aid his efforts and did so in many varying
forms. By looking closely and inferring all different possibilities, it is clear that Augustus
was certainly not as democratic as he seemed. However, in spite of this, it is undeniable
that whatever he did in order to stay in power, he did it effectively.
It seems Augustus used patronage often, and when he did, he made sure it would be
advantageous. He used various methods in order to reach certain people or give a
certain message and this idea is supported through coinage from that era. Coins were
an apt way to promote the Romans and Augustus himself due to the fact that they
constantly circulated the globe through trade. People in distant countries would see the
images on the coins depicting victory and strength, and they would gain a very specific
idea on who the Romans were. Already, these foreign people knew Augustus as
powerful, strong and not one to go to war with. As a result of this, Augustus’ power
would remain secure, as very few people would want to challenge such a formidable
victor.
Even an illiterate person would have the ability to understand the meaning of the coin
and that was one of the reasons why coinage was such an effective method of
promoting Augustus’ power -- everyone had access to them and both literate and
illiterate people would be able to comprehend the message that the coin was trying to
convey. In order to have an effect, one must reach all manners of people, and in this
case that is what has been achieved.
Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
This coin has an image of a crocodile, which is a creature that was not native to Rome,
but to Egypt. The writing is latin, saying AEGYPTO and CAPTA which translates to the
words “Egypt” and “captured”. The meaning of this particular coin could arguably mean
several things, depending on who it was targeted towards. For a citizen of Rome, it
could reflect victory over Egypt and their capture, whereas for areas not under
Augustus’ rule, it could act as a warning or show of strength. Either way, this coin
represents Egypt’s defeat and Augustus’ success, thus portraying Augustus as a
conquering hero and the opposition as vanquished. If anything, this would persuade
people to view Augustus as a worthy leader in addition to being skilled in war. The mere
knowledge that their emperor was qualified to protect his people would lead them to
support his cause, which thereby helped him stay in his position of power -- the citizens
of Rome wanted to see a leader who knew how to defeat their rivals.
Another coin with a different connotation:
On this coin, the latin word PAX, meaning “peace”, is on one side, accompanied by a
figure some believe to be the goddess of peace. On the other side, some of the words
surrounding the head translate to “liberty” and “champion”. This, again portrays
Augustus as a worthy leader, for he is shown here as the bringer of peace. Through this
coin, he is conveying the message of security, of which he was the provider. Both these
coins hold a different meaning, but ultimately, they present Augustus as a faultless
emperor without whom the Roman Empire never would have found peace. Although the
information upon the coins is not untrue, it could be read as particularly biased or even
Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
misleading, which links into propaganda, a method not uncommon to rulers throughout
history.
When it comes to coinage, I would have to agree with Ronnie Watt in The Numismatic
Propaganda of Augustus [1] when he states that Augustus’ coinage and their images
and texts “celebrated the events and features which distinguished his rule and
eminence.” The coins were Augustus’ method of promoting himself and his
accomplishments; meanwhile anyone who opposed his rule was painted in an
unflattering light. Watt also says that Augustus would “not have been blind to the
opportunities that his coinage presented, if not for the purpose of propaganda, then at
least for the intent of creating publicity for himself or his causes.”[1]. So, it is very likely
that Augustus was using coinage as propaganda, but even if this was not the case, he
still used it to promote his political achievements and ideals. This had a large effect on
the people, for not only did the coins circulate continuously, but they also shared a very
clear, bold message of Augustus’ success which reached all levels of society, proving
far more effective than a simple statue.
The use of coinage to promote and uphold his power was effective to say the least, as it
publicised Augustus’ achievements and strength while influencing all manners of people
across Rome. However, coinage was not the only effective method of patronage that he
utilised; architecture was a popular form of conveying a message. One example of this
would be the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace).
Pictured above is an artist’s reconstruction of what the Ara Pacis would have looked like
in Augustus’ time. Today, it lacks the colours and many of the figures have long since
eroded. However, when it was built, it was the ultimate representation of Augustus’
vision of peace. It was built in 13BC to honour his return from military campaigns in
Gaul and Spain and the overall message it is conveying is one of peace and prosperity.
The sculptures on the sides unite images and scenes from Rome’s victories, myths and
Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
religious rituals [2]. Encompassing the Altar, are images of a procession, in which
Augustus himself can be recognised, although he is regarded as not unlike every other
person on there; he is depicted as a citizen just like any other. This can be linked back
to Augustus’ decision to be known as “The First Citizen” rather than hold the title of
“Dictator”. Through these acts, Augustus got the people to believe he was indeed one of
them and not merely a dictatorial leader, for he is both known and shown as one of the
people. Nevertheless, actions speak louder than words, and despite Augustus insisting
he was more democratic than his predecessors, he still attempted to associate himself
with the divine and the powerful. On the altar, many figures are recognised to be
influential people, such as Agrippa, Augustus’ most important minister. Augustus has
always tried to associate himself with powerful people, with his most direct being that he
was Julius Caesar’s nephew and adopted son. Julius Caesar was officially deified,
meaning he was made divine, thus making Augustus the son of a God. He used this title
to gain popularity and to reinforce his legitimacy to rule Rome. The Ara Pacis supported
his claim, as he is said to be standing amongst his ancestors, or rather, Julius Caesar’s
ancestors. For example, Rome’s founder, Aeneas, said to be Augustus’ ancestor, would
promote and help uphold his power, because he was directly linked to the family
responsible for the founding of Rome. Augustus used his acquired lineage to strengthen
his claim to power and through several methods, architecture and the Altar of Peace
included, he made his links to power known.
Moreover, the Ara Pacis was certainly very effective in promoting Augustus, because
not only did it affiliate Augustus to the peace and prosperity brought to Rome, but it also
linked him with many divine, influential people and, in some cases, Gods. This would,
without a doubt, secure his position in power, for if he was the one responsible for the
ends of several wars, then he was, in the people’s eyes, worthy of that position. Again,
just as with the coins, the Altar of Peace was a way for Augustus to promote his
accomplishments in a very one-sided manner, which can come across as biased, even
misleading. The altar communicates peace, but what it fails to show is that the peace
was a result of countless wars. It was a brand of propaganda, only telling one side of
the story, and that side belonging to the victor, Augustus.
Finally, a third method of patronage used effectively by Augustus was literature. As
opposed to the aforementioned, this use of patronage targeted a specific class of
people. Only the educated, higher levels of society were literate and possessed the
ability to read. This hereby meant only they had access to literary works such as the
Aeneid, a poem written by Virgil during the reign of Augustus. Literature was a very
effective method of promoting Augustus’ rule, as the people who were able to read it
were of a higher class and therefore were most likely quite influential figures. If
Augustus was able to persuade powerful people to support his cause, as a result, their
Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
power would add to his own. The poem written by Virgil was an epic one, telling a
legendary story of Aeneas, who became the ancestor of the Romans. “The Aeneid
presents the hero Aeneas as a strong and powerful leader.”[3]. Aeneas is represented
favourably and it “parallels Augustus in that it portrays his reign in a progressive and
admirable light, and allows Augustus to be positively associated with the portrayal of
Aeneas.”[4]. Throughout the poem, Aeneas is described as a victorious leader with
continuous successes, so for Augustus to be compared to him would have been very
good for publicity and promotion. The poem does shade into propaganda, given its
biased, one sided representation of both Augustus and the characters, by only including
their positive features. An extract from the Aeneid reads,
“this is the man, this one,
Of whom so often you have heard the promise,
Caesar Augustus, son of the deified,
Who shall bring once again an Age of Gold”[5]
Here, Augustus is characterised as the son of a divine person (Julius Caesar) and the
one who will bring Rome to its glory. “Virgil is using a form of literary propaganda to
demonstrate the Augustan regime's destiny to bring glory and peace to Rome.”[3]. This
would prove to have a vast effect on the people of Rome, for their leader was being
compared to a legendary character who was ultimately responsible for their existence.
Through the association with such an influential figure in both legend and story,
Augustus would have been able to uphold his power, because people believed he could
do more for the empire.
So, to conclude my views as to the effectiveness of Augustus’ use of patronage, I
believe that given the end result, he was certainly successful in upholding his power. He
continued to rule for 41 years until his death in AD 14, so one must infer that during that
time, he acted to ensure his fate would not be that of his adopted father’s. It is evident
that Augustus did all he could to promote himself and his rule all over the globe; through
his use of coins, literature and architecture, Augustus proved his influence and
brandished his wealth to everyone, whether it was an illiterate commoner or an
educated consul. From the evidence gathered, and my analysis of several examples, I
have come to the conclusion that Augustus did indeed use patronage effectively, for
how else would he have kept his position for such a lengthy period of time, especially
considering Julius Caesar’s reign before him? The only reasonable explanation would
be that whatever Augustus attempted to do in order to stay on top, he did it well. And
while some might argue that he was completely pure in his methods and was in fact
truly the “First Citizen”, some of the evidence he left behind suggests otherwise.
Common knowledge states that “actions speak louder than words” and this too can be
said for Augustus’ methods -- while he said he was for the people, his acts of patronage
and propaganda insinuate he was for himself. However, regardless of his motives, the
Nina Z
Ormiston Six Villages Academy
fact remains that Augustus successfully ruled over the Roman empire for over 40 years
and also managed to restore peace to the majority of the world. While his methods may
not have been the cleanest all the time, they were effective and that much is clear.
Bibliography:
[1] Ronnie Watt, short essay, “The Numismatic Propaganda of Augustus”, 2014, (pg
66-67 Scholars Programme coursebook)
[2] The Scholars Programme coursebook, “Emperor Augustus: Power, Patronage and
Propaganda in the Roman World”, Key Stage 4 programme -- Summer 2016, (pg 34)
[3] “Aeneid” from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid#Propaganda, [accessed 1st and 2nd August 2016]
[4] Fitzgerald, Robert, translator and postscript. "Virgil's The Aeneid". New York:
Vintage Books (1990). 412–414.
[5]
Virgil, The Aeneid, book 6, written between 29 and 19 BC
Fitzgerald 1983, 6.1058–1067.