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JEROME LECTURES 'Ihornas B.vhis wili, Mr. Sl'encer]eronteendowedthe lectureshipthat bearshis name. It is jointly administered by the Universityof Michigan and tie AmericanAcadenryin Rome,and the lecturesfor which it providesare deliveredat both institutions. They dealwith phasesof the iristory or culture of the Romansor of peoplesincludedin the Roman Empile. F. E,.Adcocl<,RomanPoliticalldeasand Practice G. W. Bowersocl<, Hellenismin LateAntiquity 'fhe Riseand Fall of StatesAccordingto Greek ]acquelinede Romilly, Authors and Poliicsin rheEarlyRoman Claude Nicolet,Space,Geography, Empire MassinroPallottino,A Historyof Earliestltaly Brunildc S.Ridgway,RomanCopiesof GreekSculpture:T'heProblem of the Originals Lily RossTaylor, Roman VotingAssemblies: From the Hannibalic War to theDictatorshipof Caesar Mario Torelli,7'ypologyand Structureof RomanHistoricalReliefs Paul Zanker,ThePowerof Imagesin theAgeof Augustus SIXTEENTH SERIES The Powerof Images in the Ag. of Augustus Paul Zanker Tlanslated by Alan Shapiro Ann Arbor THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS 17Z fhe Pouer of lmages in the Age of Augustus Homewards now I carry my trust that Jove and All the gods have heard rheseenrreaties:I am Phoebus'and Diana's instructed chorus. Hymning their praises. The poem's themes and imagery refer ro the rituals just enactedin the previous few days, and imagesof Apollo and Diana and of the astral divinities identified with them, Sol and Luna, could be seenby rhe participantsrn the festival all over the temple precinct. By this time the SybillineBooks had most likely already beenpurged by the collegium of the XV uiri and were in the cella of the temple. They were kept in rwo golden containersin the base of the cult statue group; on the basea kneeling Sibyl stood for the power of the propheciesas guarantors of the future (cf. fig. 185). But the stare'sreal hope for the future, its children, was vividly embodied in the moving image of the young singers.Each elementwas bound up with rhe others, forming a Gesamtkunstuerk at every level of meaning. This one example givesus some notion of many other, now lost festivalsand rituals. "tK The Imagery of Fertility and Abundance Over the next severalyears a new set of imagessymbolizing the blessingsof abundanceappearedon the most varied monuments.As in the rituals of the SecularFestival,the focus was on the promise of fertility in nature-and of coursein men and women too. If Roman societywas not preparedto accept the political program of moral renewal, either directly or as expressedin terms of the blessingsof children, it took up enrhusiasticallythe vision of the aurea aetas. The campaign to encouragethe procreation of children failed, but in the visual imagery it was maintained at a subliminal level.The processis here indicative of what the future would hold. Vhether a political act of Augustus was a successor failure was of secondaryimportance; the imagery of lasting happinesstranscendedany reality and eventually came to shapethe common perception of reality. The earliestand most elaborate composition of this type is the so-calledTellus relief on rhe Ara Pacis(figs. 1 3 5 ,1 3 5 ) . A matronly deity in classicizingdrapery sits in dignified posture on her rocky seat.She holds in her arms two babieswho reachfor her breast,while her lap is filled rvith fruit and her hair adorned with a wreath of grain and poppies. More corn, poppies, and other plants are prominently displayed growing behind her. The woman's physical presence,her posture and garment are evidently intended to invoke many different associationsin the viewer. But whether we wish to call this mother goddessVenus,becauseof Fig. 135. Rome, Ara Pacis.Pax, goddessof Peace.Detail of figure 135. ; ;lF ,n$ 174 The Power of lmages in the Age of Augustus Fig. 136. Ara Pacis.Paxwith symbolsof fertility.Paxis likenedboth to the earth goddess Tellusand to Venuswho dispenses fertility. the motif of the garment slipping off the shoulder,Ceres,on account of the veil and stalks of grain, or the earth goddessTellus,becauseof the landscape and rocky seat, it is immediately obvious that she is a divinity whose domain is growth and fertility. The many-sided and eclectic iconography of the figure realizesin visual terms the varied promise of similar divinities in Augustan poetry. Sheis also typical of the new personified deities of Augustan religion, who had no traditional mythology. ln the conventional iconography of the gods, a specific position (e.g., Demeter sitting on the ground), dress or attribute was sufficientto evoke in the viewer an entire myth. Thesenew gods, however, embodied powers and valuesthat could only be approximated in attributes. In the caseof our nature or mother goddessthe repertory of attriburesis especially rich. The composite figure is surrounded by a lush landscape which is meant to illustrate her powers. The artist has piaced beneaththe goddess'sseat, on a much smaller scale,a sheepgrazing and an ox at rest, symbols of the increaseof herds and flocks and of the blessingsof country life. tsut the figures on either side of he4 aurae, are drawn from Classical Greek iconography.They are twin embodimentsof the winds on land and sea. The former rides upon a goose over a stream, representedby an The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 175 upendedwater iar, its banks thick with reeds. The sea breeze,however, sits on a submissivesea monster, a symbol that even such wild creatures havebecometame and peace-lovingin the new age.The aurae, whichbring warmth and rain, are thus also tokens of increaseand fertility, henceclosely connectedwith the goddessto whom they respectfully turn. This artistic landscapeis not mere scenery,but rather a symbolic setting, whose various elementscould be read one by one, the scaleof any one of them altered by the artist to suit his purpose. The few plants, for example, are overly large in relation to the animals, the stalks of grain shooting up as if before the goddess'svery eyes. In this setting even the reeds could be seen as a symbol of life-giving moisture. The whole composition is like a kind of icon, or devotional image, in which each element would evoke manifold associationsin the viewer. The enumeration of the goddess'smany qualities was intended to lead to the veneration of her powers-and those of Augustus. Much has been written about the identification of this goddess.Tellus, Venus,Italia, and Pax can all be supported with appropriate passagesin Augustanpoetry. But since these same poets use the same motifs for a variety of mythological and allegoricalfigures,and sincethe scenedeliberately combinesvarious tokens of blessing and happiness,the image itself can offer no definitive proof for the correct identification. Perhapsthe best candidate is Pax Augusta, especially since the panel decoratesthe Ara Pacis and, as a pendant on the opposite side, Roma is depicted enthroned on a mound of armor. The viewer was meant to read the two images together and understandthe message,that the blessingsof peacehad been won and madesecureby the newly fortified uirtus of Roman arms. The sameassociation is made in more abstract terms on an altar in Carthage (cf. fig. 247).ln a different context, the goddesswith suckling babies and fruits can indeed representTellus, Italia, or Ceres.On the cuirassof the Augustus from Prima '1.37), Porta (fig. for example, the same figure is clearly marked as the earth mother by her reclining posture and the whole arrangementof the composition. But at the same time, of course, she also stands for the peace and prosperityof the new age as well. Only here the symbols of her power are collectedin a cornucopia, as also in the caseof the goddesson the Gemma Augustea(cf. fig. 182). The mother goddessof Augustan art, whatever we call her, always embodiesthe sameideas. The image of Pax (if that is who she is), though filled with symbolism and capableof conjuring up so many associations,was neverthelesseasyto read,thanks to the ciearly organized composition. Many of the individual elementswere already quite familiar to the contemporary Roman, while others had made a lasting impression in the recent Secular Festival. The happily grazing sheep and the prominently raised stalks of grain had al- The Mythical Foundations of the New Rome 175 'fhe 177 I'ower of Images in the Age of Augustus Tellus,with cornucopiaandchildren'wearrnga Fie. L37.The earthgoddess statue'figure148a' *L"ih of grain.Detiil of the cuirassed of the promised peace(cf' ready appearedon colns of 27126B'c' as symbols readslike a poetic paraphrase frg. 35c).One stanzaof the carmen scteculcue had planned it this way: oithe Pax relief, as if Horace and the sculptor May our Earth, abundant in fruits and cattle' Yield the headedgrain as a crown for Ceres; with wholesomerains and May our c.ops bt "t"tured JuPiter'sbreezes' of this vision originated in There can be no doubt that the key elements up with the program for the Aog,rrtur', inner circle and are closely bound SecularFestival. |nthecarmensaeculare,thepromiseoffertilityisadirectconsEquence (lines 17*20), and is tied of political policy; it calls fo, .on...,. realization of the Ara Pacis' sculptor The directly to Augustus's marital legislation' It is true that palatable' more however,was able to make the sameimagery composition' his of center the celebration of childbearing is brought to the of happiness'The prin' but it is incorporated into a Lott general vision image of affecting beauty to ceps'spoliticuf prog."* is translated into an which everYviewer could resPond' Thevarious.ok.n,,u,,oundingthemothergoddessillustratehowallol nature is a paradise blessedwith this same fertility. Their symbolism was evidentlyso familiar to the Romans that they could be used or simply alluded to in the most varied settings, pars pro toto. A good example are rhe three concave reliefs that once decorated a public fountain in Praeneste. Their high quality suggeststhat they originated in one of the leading workshopsin Rome (69. 138a-c). The theme here is the joy of motherhood and the blessingsof offspring in the animal kingdom. On each relief a mother sucklesher young, while besidethe group is a spring alluding to the fountain's purpose. As on the Pax relief, the symbolic meaning is emphasized by an original composition. Eachanimal group appearsself-contained,within a cave,and is pushedinto the foreground. But above the caves,significantly enlarged symbols allude to other messages:the princeps'soak leavestogether with reeds (a symbol of fertility) above the bristling wild sow (fig. 138a); the laurel, along with a rustic shrine richly decked out with offerings, an altar, and relief, above the lioness(fig. 138b). Above the mother sheep,a shepherd'spurse and a sheep penproclaim the simple and happy peasantlife (fig. 138c), though the artist has inadvertently betrayed how far from reality his bucolic idyll is by depicting the pen with layered marble slabs, as if it were one of the smaller templesin Rome. Thanks to their generalizedand universalcharacter,such peacefulscenes of animal life could always be used to invoke the myth of the new age. Thesesymbols of motherhood could be juxtaposed with tokens oi pietas, with a paean to the simple rustic life, or with allusions to Augustus-the combination was always right. Since these same and similar tokens were constantlyused in changing contexts, the programmatic themesthey representedmingled easily and freely with one another in the mind of the thoughtful observer.The sheaf of grain, for example, could stand for the fertility of the fields, for the Arval Brethren, for peace,or even for the princeps'sefforts to guaranteethe grain supply in Rome. The chief characteristicsof the Augustan pictorial vocabulary are its broad spectrum of associations and the genlral applicability of the individual symbols, but also a correspondinglack of specificity in any one particular case.Even a seemingly innocuous plant, as on the relief from Falerii (frg. 139a), takes on farreachingassociations,thanks to the didactic plan of the composition and rhe juxtaposition of various plants that never occur together this way in nature. The plants are arranged in mirror-image pairs, but each grows in isolation, so that the viewer is forced to consider each one as an individual. Againcorn stalks and poppies are renderedon an enlargedscale.The symbolismof the reed is here further emphasizedby the presenceof water birds: 178 'fbe Pouer of Images in tbe Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 779 *sri decorated.On the base of a statue that the magister of a sanctuary of the Laresin Rome dedicatedto Venus Augusta, the birds are clearly meant as tokensof the goddess(cf. fig. 112). But on the baseof an Apolline tripod, togetherwith the wreath of grain, they probably refer to the theme of fertility central to the SecularFestival (cf. frg.99a), while on a marble ash urn they might be generalizedsymbols of happiness,as we shall see presently (c{.fig. 220b). The Vines of Paradise ix.;r::-,i-.. Frg. 138. Threereliefsfrom a fountainin praeneste, Earlylmperial.Symbolicrmagesof fertilityand peacein nature.a) '0?ildsow &-r) Lionessand sheep. streamswarer rhe earrh, making the young shoots grow. ln the midst of all this, however, is a more playful allusion to fertility and procreation: three hungry young sparrows are fed by their prorecive parents (frg. l39b). Even the genre motif of the birds is by no meansa sponraneouscreation of tlre author of this relief, but an image akeady familiar from public monuments of the period. It was already known in Hellenistic but acquired "rt, the ideological baggagefirst in Augustan Rome. The precise meaningof the motif, however, varies according to the purpose o{ each monument that it The old decorativemotif of the vine now took on a more specificmeaning within the contex\tof the promulgation of a saeculumaureum. As a symbol of growth in nature the vine was among the most frequently repeatedelementsof the new pictorial vocabulary. Indeed, it is hard to find a building of the Early Empire, whether in or outside Rome, where it doesnot turn up. ln the carefully planned decorative program of the Ara Pacis, vines and gadandsoccupy more than half the surfaceof the altar enclosure(fig. 1a0). On the exterior walls the vines grow from broad acanthus calyxes into treelikeforms, which send out new shoots in all directions, leading the eye through an endlesspattern of infinite variety. Signs of fertility and abundanceare set directly into this framework, though the viewer only becomes awareof theseas he nearsthe monument. Jaggedleaves,flowers of all sorts, and fruits and plants both real and fantastic, even crawling little creatures, 180 The I'ower of lmages in tbe Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome Fig.139. a) Birdsand animalsin a wet patchof reeds.Throughthe isolationand enlargement of individualelements, thesymbolicsignificance of the imageis impressed uponthe viewer.EarlyImperialrelieffrom Falerii.b) Detail,with bird feedingher young(cf.fig. 112). W#4ry".{th ! *T$4fit\ei\$rt'$dsq* \r;. l8l ,r.. r ' ! lrlffil,Y-. all suggestnature's growth, so alive that it seemsto be real (fig. 141). But when one steps back again and takes in all the vines at once, one has the strong impressionof a strictly observedorder governingeverydetail. ln {act, allowing for minor variations) the vines do adhereto a preciselycalculated arrangement in mirror image. However wildly the plants and blossoms seemto burst forth and grow, every tendril, every bud and leaf has its prescribeciplace. To our eye it seemscurious and unexpectedthat thesesymbols of the unrestrainedgrowth of nature combine into a model of perfect ,!1 ,.;:}] ::l$ Fig.140. Ara PacisAugustae. Excerptfrom oneof the vineclusters.The abundanceof natureis renderedin strictlysymmetrical arrangemenr. order.Perhapsthis peculiar phenomenon reflectson the aestheticlevel the almostfanatical preoccupationof the Augustan Age with law and order. The symbolic use of the vine had a long tradition in art, probably rooted in the "nature" of the motif. On South ltalian vasesof the fourth cenrury s.c., for example, spiraling tendrils are combined with the head of Persephoneemerging from the earth. Even on the earliest Augustan buildings vinesare more than iust a favorite decorativemotif. C)n one of the friezes on the Templeof Caesarin the Forum, the goddessof victory risesfrom the vines,and on the door of the Temple of Apollo, as we have seen,the vines lre rooted in the bowls of the tripods (p. 86). But these early Augustan vines still have the abstract spiraling form of Classicalart. It is only in the context of the subsequentprogrammaric use of the {ertility theme that the branchesand leavesimitate Hellenistic models and are more realistically depicted to simuiate living plants. The overall impressionis shapedabove all by the tangible leavesand large, blossoming buds.In this way Augustan artists again tried to highlight a certain meaning through a purely formal change.Another innovation was the combining of real and imaginary plant species.Grapes, figs, and palmettes all growing out of acanthus branches; ivy and laurel spiraling between heavy volutes; garlandsbearing all manner of fruit; all this was meant to characterizethe new ageas a paradiseon earth (cf. Vergil'sFourth Eclogue). The function of the vine as svmbol of the saeculumaureum was made 182 'fbe Pouler of lmages in tbe Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 1g3 Tt t . rt Fig. 141. Detailwith miniatureanimals,includinga snakeslitheringovera bird's nest, clear to the Roman viewer through a variety of suggestivejuxtapositions. When, for example, on a relief in Naples (frg. 142), the vine grows behind a conquered people sitting dejectedly on the ground, one was inescapably reminded of the slogan "through just war to the blessingsof peace."The two centaurson a cuirassedstatuein Chercell (cf. fig. 178) expressthe same idea. A seacentaur holding a rudder recallsthe foundation myth of the new Rome, the Battle of Actium, while a normal cenraurholds a cornucopiaand his body ends in a tangle of vines. The Ara Pacisis of course also not without its own specificreferencesto the saeculum aureum. On a frieze between vine branches bearing new shoots sit Apollo's swans: iam regnat Apollo (Vergil Eclogues4.10). The vine by itself is celebratedand worshiped like a cult object on terra-corra plaquesof the period (fig. 1a3). For Augustan artists the vine was of course a most weicome motif. It could be used virtually anywhere, on a frieze, ceiling coffer, or door frame, and could be fitted into eventhe most awkward places.Down to the pattern work on the sandals of the gods and cuirassedgenerals,it proclaims the fertility and prosperity of the new age. But the vine also transcendedany other symbol as an inspiration for ever more imaginativeelaboration. Ir.rthe private sphere,the wall paintings and silvervesselsof the Augustan period give the impressionthat the inventivenessand playful wit of Augustan artists could only fully expressitself when they were not constrainedby /t\. l. /t ,\ tl t tI tI tl ' f trtl -l ,1 ll _. -/ -- 1Tr t, ,. 'r t)tr 1 Fig. 142. Reliefwirh two entablature supporrsin crassicalstyle.In the middle,thepersonification of .onque..d nation,with plantsgrowingup " modern). in the background(inscription EarlyImperial officialpropriety and decorum. An example are the vines on the great silver krater from rhe treasureat Hildesheim (frg. Ma). on the on. hand, they are thoroughly indebted ro the political symborism of the times. 'rhe vrnes themselvesgrow out of the wings of a heraldically arranged pair of griffins, and the putti (without wings) are inevitably connecredwith the theme of the blessingsof children in the aurea aetas. But other elements-the rransformation of the carefully and symmetrically arranged branches into abstractlinear design,the children riding on pencil-thin stalks and fishing for shrimp-replace the world of official iconographywith one of artistic fancy. To the modern efe, Augustan arr is ar its best in works like these,rather than in the academicperfecrion of the Ara pacis. HappinessBorn of Victory Augustus'svictory over the Parthianshad already taken place in the year 20 n.c' But sinceits role in Augustanideologyonly developedin the conrexr of the proclamation of the saeculum aureum, we have saved until now a discussionof the imagery it inspired. This event was endowed with an exrraordinarysignificance.As we have already seen,it was regardedas one of the prerequisites{or the opening of the Golden Age. But at the same rime, 192 The Powerof lmagesin the Age of Augustus sizesher associationwith Diana, who, quite uncharacteristically,holds onc alongside her quiver. The referenceis to a particular quality of the two goddesses,Luna/Diana, who in just theseyearscoalescedinto one: Sing, as is fitting for the son of Leto [Apollo], Sing of Luna, the brightnessof the night, with her torch. She who grants us fruit and guidesthe hastening Course of the months ltoward maturitv or birthl. Hora r, ,or*r, C,,e.Y-+O Another principal leitmotif of the SecularFestivalis thus also presentin the imagery of victory. The astral gods, with their perpetual rising and sinking, symbolizeeternity. Together with the sky god and the earth goddessthey emphasizethe cosmic character of spaceand time on the relief. The rwo sphinxessitting on the epauletsof the cuirassare the guardiansof this world (we shall hear more of them presently).The victory in Parthia is thus celebratedas both the prerequisiteand the consequenceof the saeculumaureutn. The uniquc historical event is turned into a paradigm of salvation, in which the gods and the heavensact as guarantors, but need not intervenedirectly.Interestingly, the only figure in the scenewho is not immobilized is the Parthian, looking up respectfullyat the Roman eagle. The princeps who wears this new image of victory on his breastplate becomesthe representativeof divine providence and the will of the gods.lt is not a question of heroic deeds;through his very existence,the offspring of the gods guaranteesthe world order. The harmony betweenthe stateand the gods is embodied in him by virtue of his divine ancestors.In spite of the glamorous appealof this statue,it is not incompatiblewith the many images of the togate Augustus with veiied head. He had no need to presenthimself as military victor in a seriesof new and spectacularexploits, for he possessedthis quality permanently by virtue of his close relationship to the gods. The later imagery of victory will show how quickly this new conception took root in the visual arts (cf. fig. 178). Mvrrr rN PAsr AND PRESENT The Rome of Augustus, the marble city filled with images of. the saeculum aurenm, was in itself impressiveenough, but there was also a glorious past. The princeps'sgreat act of 27 B.c. was one of "restoration," not innovation, and wherever possible he invoked Rome's forefathers.The new state and Augustus'sdominant role in it required a legitimacy drawn from the past. *Saeculum aureum = golden age The MythicalFoundarions of theNew Rome 193 The great aristocratic famiiies still defined rhemselvesin rerms of the old freedomof the Republic and might naturally have regardedthe Principate esan exceptional and temporary circumstanceof a sort with which Roman history was filled. For Augustus it was important to dispel this idea. The pasthad to be incorporated into the myth of the present new age, for the sakeof Rome'sfuture, ln the same year as the SecularFestival(I7 n.c.), Augustus'sdaughter Julia,the widow of Marcellus and now wife of Agrippa, had given birth to a secondson. The princeps adopted both this baby and his brother, older by three years, in the same year. The official namesof thesetwo were now Caius (and Lucius) Caesar, Augusti Caesaris filius, Diui Julii nepos. Once the new state had been established,it was of courseessentialto insure that it would last. Legitimizing the rule of a Julian dynasty was a principal elenent in the creation of the new official mythology. It is no accidentthat the imageof the deified Caesarwith the sidus Iulium reappearson coins for the first time in this same year, 1.7e.c. (cf. frg. L32b). Augustus'sFamily and Rome: Growth of a Myth When the diui flius first appearedto claim his inheritance, he had seized upon the mythical tradition of rhe Julian family, effectivelycapitalizing on his supposeddescentfrom Venus and Aeneas (cf. fig. 27b). Then, however, he cast himself as savior and as prot6g€ of Apollo, with no precedent in Romanhistory. It was only with the naming of his grandchildren as successorsthat the use of family mythology was revived,though not this time for personalself-glorification, as in the struggle with Marc Antony. In the interim, Vergil had written the Aeneid*ar the instance of Augustus (2919 n.c.)-and imbued the myth of Venus,the Fall of Tioy and the wanderingsof Aeneaswith a new meaning,in which not only the future rule of the Julianhouse, buq the whole history of Rome was porrrayed as one of predestinedtriumph and salvation. In the Aeneid the age of Augustusis adumbratedin visions and, in the mythological conrext, is celebratedas the ultimate realization of an all-encompassingworld order. By virtue of his powerfuland evocativeimagery,Vergil createda national epic that was perfcctlydesignedto bolster rhe Romans'self-confidence. Just as with the building of templesand Augustan publica magnificentia, rhepublic'sresponsen rheAeneid was largely conditioned by its perception of the cultural superiority of the Greeks. In 25 r.c., after hearing a recitation of severalbooks of the Aeneid, Propertius had writren that the poem would surpassHomer's lliad. The fame that Vergil enioyed during his lifetime illustratesthe readinessof his fellow Romans to identifu with the na- 194 'l'he The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome 195 Power of Imagesin the Age of Augustus 'lF "ii F \ ] 'lf lb\ i o qI r;i 'i\_o D J D ,:d "li .J .-L tr?t c Loll C D ry !€!q lv l; a) L) C l) C r'rqt D D :ii with other deedsof Augustus'sarmies and generals,was a convenientway of f<lrgettingthe associationwith the civil war. The temple was built by Augustus on his personal property (in priuato solo) and financed by the spoils of war. He was thus clearly responsiblefor this monument, as was not the casewith the Ara Pacisor the Prima Porta statue,and, as in the sanctuary of Apollo twenty-six years earlier, the program of the Forum of Augustus expresseshis own ideas. Borrowed from Vergil'simagery, myth and history are woven together into a vision of salvation. Only instead of looking toward the future, as in the epic, here we are directed from the present back into the past. Forum and temple were conceivedas emblematic of the new Rome, and their decorativeprograms wereintended to educateher people. ln keeping with his political style Augustusavoided any direct referencesto himself, though, conditioned by thirty years of praise for the ruler, people could hardly have failed to see hints and allusions everywhere. But even the most adamant opponent of Augustuswould have been hard pressedto find any signs o{ unseemlyselfpromotion. As we shall see,even in the Forum of Augustus it remained for the Senateto put the capstonein the arch of a new national mythology, one that focusedboth myth and history on Augustus himself. Venusand Mars oLPr?"1,, of the Fig. 149. Rome,Forumof Augustus.Groundplan,with reconstruction u.ilptr.rl program.The southernpart of the squareis still unexcavated' tional myth he had forged. Tacitus reports that "the people, when thev heard iris versesin the theater, all rose and cheeredthe poet, who happened t<; be present,as if he were Augustushimself" (Dialogus 1'3)' The monument which most fully expressesthe new mythology is the Forum of Augustus (frg. 11:9).Octavian had vowed a temple to Mars Ultor of Julius Caesarat Philippi (42 s.c.)' during the battle againstthe assassins but thc sanctuarywas finally dedicatedonly forty years later. By then Mars had prclved himself Rome's avenger a second time, against the Parthians. This is why the recapturedsigna werepermanently displayedin the cellaoi the new temple. ldentifying Mars Ultor with this later occasion' as well ar The mythological aspectof the Augustan program consistedof relatively few figuresand contained basically no new elements.The essentialelement was the combination of two myth cycles,the legendof Tioy and rhe story of Romulus. According ro the myth of Rome's foundation, in the versron employedby Vergil, Mars had seducedRhea Silvia, daughter of rhe king of Alba Longa, and had thus becomefather to the twins Romulus and Remus rnd ancestorof the Romans. But Rhea Silvia belongedto the'Irojan family of Aeneasand cquld therefore be incorporated into the family tree of Augustus(for this reason she is referred to by Augusran poers as llia, from llium [Tioyl). Venus and Mars were then both ancesrorsof the Romans, though by different partners-something Ovid would turn into an ironic comment on the marriage legislation. Together Mars and Venus would watch over and protect their own. Mars guaranteed the Romans uirtus, while Venusgranted fertility and prosperity.The myrh of the Julian family thus becamethe centerpieceof the new natioual myth. From now on the statueof the goddessof love would always stand besidethat of the war god, eventhough this inevitably recalled the story of their adulterous affair in Greekmythology. But under Augustus this issuewas skirted and the myth 196 The Power of lmages in the Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 197 Fig. 150. Pedimentof the Temple of Mars Ultor. Detail of the relief, figure 85. The strict ordering of the figuresmirrors the abstract characterof their message.The figuresrelate to each other only in their common associationwith Augustus. reinterpretedas prefiguring the destiny of the Julii as the chosenpeopleof Mars. Before the Battle of Actium Octavian had minted coins with his ancestress Venusholding the arms of Mars, a blatant referencero the erotic aspect o{ their relationship (cf. frg.27c). But in the pediment of rhe Templeof Mars Ultor (fig. 150), she reflectsher new role, dignified in a long garmenr and holding a scepter,standing besidethe war god. ln the temple cella her statu€was also besidethat of Mars (Ultori iuncta, saysOvid, Tiistia 2.295, adding that her husband [Vulcan] had to wait ourside the door). There indeed stood the statue of the fire god, in honor of Augustus for his establishment of the city fire department. This remark of Ovid's has been brought into associationwith a relief in .dlgiers showing three statues and interpreted as reflecting the cult statue group in the Temple of Mars (fiS. 151). Besidea figure of Mars, which is demonstrably the cult image, stand Venus and Eros, togerher with a figure whose garment is draped about the hips, like the statueof Divus Iulius that stood in his Forum. The litde Eros holds our Mars's sword to his morher.In this setting,the very pronounced gesturesuggeststhe possibility of an allegorical interpretation, which is supported by comparisonwith other monuments. The disarming of Mars refers ro the peacewhich follows a jusr war. As we shall see,the same idea is expressedin the cult statue of Mars Ultor. lf we are not reading too much into this modest relief, the Venus that it copieswas representedas a ClassicalAphrodite rype. Perhapsir was evena Fig.151. This reliefgivesan ideaof thecult statuegroupin the Templeof Mars Ultor:VenusGenetrix,Mars Ultor, and an Augustanprince.In the Templeof Mars,in placeof the latterprobablystoodthe deifiedCaesarin the samepnse' reusedGreek original, as was the case with the cult statue group on the Palatine(cf. 69. 185) and in the Templeof Jupiter Tonans. There is good evidencethat Augustan artists deliberately sought to enhancethe stature of the state gods by quoting from Classicalsculpture and evenadapting entire statuetypes. A striking example is the bronze statueof Venusin Brescia(fig. 152). The wings are a later addition, from a time when the statue was reinterpreted as Victoria. But it makes equally good sense that Venus,as ancestressof the Julian house,should record Roman victories on a shield. In the fourth century statueof Aphrodite that has beenadapted here,the goddesssaw her beautiful body reflectedin the shield of her lover (fig. 153). As we shall see,the age of Augustus attached a parricularly high moral value to the practice of quoting from Classical art. But in this instancethe propriety of the Classicalform had to be enhancedand made to suit the goddess'snew role. The nude torso is clothed, and the shield recording Roman victories is turned out toward the viewer. ln another statue group likewise "invented" by Augustan artists, the Classicalmodel dictated not Ares' shield but the figure of the god himself' 198 'fhe Power of lmages in the Age of Augustus Fig. 152. Bronze statue of Victoria with Early lmperial.The statuecopiesa "hield. Greek model, figure 153, which representedVenus Genetrix. She celebratesthe victories of her descendantsby recording them on the shield of Mars. The lvlythical Foundationsof rhe New Rome 199 Fig. 153. So-calledVenusof CaPua Roman copy of a Greek originalul the fourth century B.c. Venusls rrflectedin the shield of Mars. which is copied from a work of the fifth century n.c. (fig. 154)' In the useof two Classical prototypes in the same group' the symbolic meaning of the pair is rather blatantly expressed.The focus, however, is no longer on the mythological love affair, but on the deepermeaningwhich the new national mythology conferred on Venus and Mars. Significantly,later copiesof this group, like the one illustrated here, substitute the portrait featuresof the imperial couple, who thus embody the moral values associatedwith the image. For Ares, as ancestorof the Romans, appropriately impressivenew imageswould also have to be created.The cult statue in the temple' probably executedin gold and ivory, is reflectedin a colossalmarble copy (fig. 1554). As earlier on the Ara Pacis,the god was depictedas a dignified father figure' Nor many years before, in 20 n'c., in the round temple on the Capitol he Fig. 154. Statue group of Mars and Venus,after an original of Augustan dare. The bodiesare copies d Classicalsratuerypesof divinities. The embracemakes manrfestideologicalassociations.Later, the group was completed,as here, with portrait headsand thus servedto convey the self-imageof both imperial and private individuals.This group datesto the reign of the Emperor Commodus (n.o. 180-92). was sdll shown youthful and nude, in an archaistic striding pose (cf. 69. 145b).Now he wears a richly decoratedbreastplate,a splendid helmet and greaves, and holds spearand shield. While the breastplateis in the style of the period, the helmet imitates that of the Athena Parthenosof Phidias, with sphinxesand pegasoi.Beard and faceare also in High Classicalstyle, inspired by an Attic strategosportrait, But the breastplateand the shield are filled with images that allude to the 'l'he 200 of the New Rome 201 The MythicalFoundations I'ower of lruagesin the Age of Augustus 'i.i"3' ;]-. iil; a**; r&1 )ii,! 'ljJ ,,,.:jr W . 1! l'j iii ' tt,,li rli ol Fie. 155. a) Copy of the cult statue cuirass' the M"arsUltor. b) Detail of The associationo{ griffin and vegetal ornament has a symbolic character' t' phant gesture and held sword and spear (cf. fig. 152). The two different images-the fatherly protector and the mighty conqueror-have deliberately been juxtaposed in this one temple. The latter aspectreflectsAugustus'sperception of his responsibility as ruler to enlargethe Empire. It rs no wonder that later on the deified ruler himself was portrayed in the same statuetype. In fact, the Mars in the temple pediment is already connectedindirectiy with Augustus through the figures on either side of him. We have already mentionedVenus Genetrix and Eros; opposite her stood Fortuna holding rudder and cornucopia. The Senatehad erectedan altar to Fortuna Augusta in 19 r.c., after the princeps'sreturn to Rome. Then come the seatedfigures of Roma and Romulus as an augur, then the reclining Tiber and Mons Palatinus,on which Romulus had built the first city wall and where Augustus was now living. The composition of this pediment typifies the dignity and solemnity at which the new public art aimed, as well as the use of mythical figures and personificationsto convey a messagein terms of set slogans.The pediments of Classicaland Hellenistic temples had usually either narrated a myth or dramatizeda battle. Even in the Templeof Quirinus begun by Julius Caesar, severalmythological eventswere depicted, including Romulus'saugurium. Now, however, the figures are simply arranged besideone another in axial symmetryand representeither an abstractmeaning or indirect referencesto theprinceps. Aeneasand Romulus: Old Myths in a New Guise the shield (cf' fig' 151); that it present. A large corona ciuica gleamson would have been clear to anyone really belong.d to Aug,tstus as "savior" eaglesand standardswere ,r""ii"g in ihe temple cella, for the recaptured base of the cult statue group (Res lirpf"rJa like holy relics on the stepped by two heraldic-griffins'.These Gestae2g). The b..",tpi"tt was dominated a n d t h e G o r g o n e i o n , , f t " o t h e a r m s o f M a r s t h a t s p r e a d t e r r o r ( t oas the of Apollo, but of Nemesis Romans the griffin was the arrimal not only on the pteryges(leatherlappets)are well). The elephants' and rams' heads of might' Yet the griffins sit on a large also to bc understood as symbols grows a plant arrangementlike a palmette with Tines, and between them flaps appearcrossedcornucoprae: candelabrum(fig. 155b). On the shoulder of peace' the fatherly Mars has becomea guardian however, a more aggressiveMars pldirn.n,, ln the middle of the temple his foot on the globe in a triurn*^, ,.pr.r.rlted. Nude to the waist' he set Ihe sameprinciple is true of the few narrative subjectsthat were chosenfor representationfrom the repertoire of heroic myth. ln the Forum of Augustus, in the central niches of the two large exedrae,Aeneas and Romulus stood as counterFarts of Mars and Venus (cf. 69. L49). Venus'sgrandson was depicted fleeing from Tioy in flames, the son of Mars as triumphator. The juxtaposition was not intended to measurethe two heroesagainstone another,but to celebratetheir deedsas the embodiments of two complementaryvirtues, The statues themselvesdo not survive, but statuettes,reliefs, and wall paintingsgive us a good idea of their appearance.Aeneascarries his aged fatherAnchisesand leadshis little son Ascaniusby the hand (fig. 156a). He also rescuesthe precious household gods, or Penates,held by the old Anchises.These were worshiped, along with the Palladium, in the Temple of Vesta,as guarantors of Rome'ssafety.Julius Caesarhad also placed himself underthe protection of Aeneas:a coin of his shows the hero fleeingwith the 202 The I'ou"er of lmages in the Age of Augustus of the Fig. 155. Vall paintingsfrom a housefacadein Pompeii,with reflections father with his Aeneas a) Augustus. Forum of in the in both exedrae stitue groups n.tdth. little Ascanius.b) Romuluswith the armsof the enemychiefdeAnchises featedin singlecombat(spoliaopima). archaic idol in his hands (cf. fig. 27b).Bur in the statuegroup in the Forum of Augustus, as on the coin, the dramatic story is not what is most impor' tant. Within the context of the new official mythology, Aeneasis presented as a paradigm of pietastoward the gods and his own father in time of need. For this reason the artist has incorporated in the image a seriesof allusions that, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with the narrative. The young Tiojan hero, barely out of Tioy' is depicted as a future Roman, wearing not only Roman armor, but, as ancestorof the Juiian clan, evenpatrician footwear. By contrast, the little Ascanius is representedlike a Phrygian shepherd, in long-sleevedgarment and pointed cap' and' curiously,he carrtesa stick of the sort used in hunting rabbit. This is evidently an allusion to the tradition that the Tiojan yourh were shepherdson Mount lda, where the boy,s grandfather Anchiseshad his amorous encounterwith venus. ln this scene,however, Anchisesis the pious old man, his head veiled like that of Augustus and many other priests in Rome at this time. There is no room left for spontaneousartistic inspiration when every detail has a specificreferenceand a specificplace in the overall design.A comparison with a coin minted for the young Octavian in 42 s.c. shows to what extent the later The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome 203 relief conforms to the new interpretation of myth under Augustus. In the earlier scene(cf. fig. 27b), Aeneaswas shown nude, as in Greek iconography, carrying Anchises,who turns to look back apprehensivelyat his pursuers.The Penatesthemselveswere apparently not yet consideredso important and are omitted. In the center of the opposite exedra,Romulus was shown with a tropaion (fig. 156b). If Aeneas was the exetnplum pietatis, the image of protecrion from suffering and want, Romulus is the exemplum uirtutis. He is celebrated as Rome's first triumphator, in accordance with the official reckoning of the fasti, which the Senatehad recordedon long marble slabsand affixed to the triumphal arch of Augustus next to the Temple of Caesar.Happiln the beginningof theselists is preserved.The triumph of ,.King Romulus, the son of Mars" over King Akron of caenina is preciselydated and 6xed "in the first year of the stare." Romulus was said to have defeatedthis enemy chiefsingle-handedlyand dedicatedhis armor as spolia opima in the Temple of Jupiter Feretrius,which Augustuswould later rebuild before the Battle of Actium. This proud beginning under the "farher of the city and of uirtus', (Propertius4.10) reachedits culmination in the triple triumph of Augustus. Thesevictories were celebratedin the arch where the triumphal fasti were displayed. The juxtaposition of Aeneas and Romulus also occurs on the reliefs on the front side of the Ara Pacis.Thesescenesare different from those in the sanctuaryof Mars in that there is no action, and instead of showing exemplary deedsthey expressthe divine providencethat governedRoman history from the beginning.To the right of the entranceis depictedAeneas'sarrival in Latium (frg. 157), to the left, the she-wolf with the twins. The pious Aeneas,after much wandering, has finally found beneath an oak tree the sow with her young which had beenprophesied(Vergil,Aeneid 3.390; 8.84). Here, according to the oracle, he was to build a temple to the Penatesat the future site of Lavinium, and here the refugeesfrom Tioy would 6nd a new home. A simple stone altar has already been built in severalcoursesand decorated. wreathed attendants hold the sow ready for sacrifice,along with a largeplate of fruit, while Aeneashimself, his head veiled,pours the libation. But he seemsto be sunk deep in his own thoughts, and in fact the entire action looks curiously frozen. Even the attendantsseemto gazefar into the distance,as if they were experiencinga vision. The thoughts of the vrewer are likewise directed beyond the actual evenr portrayed. And the more deeplyhe immerseshimself in the detailsof rhe scene,the more associations it evokes. In order to endow the figure of Aeneaswith a special dignity, the arrist has renderedhis head and rorso in the manner of an Early Classicalstarue 204 The Pouter of lmages in the Age of Augustus Fig. 157. Rome, Ara PacisAugustae.Aeneassacrificesto the Penatesrescuedfrom Tron after the landing in Latium. The Penatesalready appear in the temple first vowed only now. In front of him, the sow from Lanuvium prophesiedby the oracle. and dressedhim in a mantle of "old Roman" style,which would have been familiar from the ancient statuesof the Roman kings on the Capitol (Pliny N.H. 34.23). Like these figures, Aeneasholds a spear as token of his rule. Far different from the young warrior and savior portrayed in the Forum of Augustus, he is here the pious pater Aeneaswho has endured a thousand trials. Ascanius,however,of whom only a small part is preserved,still wears Thojandressand carriesthe shepherd'sstaff, though he has now grown into a youth. Aeneas'sgazeis directed toward the handsomeyouths before him. These are idealizedversionsof the brave and pious youth Augustuswished for Rome'sfuture, dressedas contemporary sacrificialattendantsand holding the sameparaphernaliaone could seeat the nearly daily religiousrituals in Rome. Aeneasoffers the sacrifice not to Juno, as in Vergil, but to the Penates rescuedfrom Tioy (Dionysius of Halicarnassus1.57). Thus the connection is made both to the image of Aeneaswith the Penatesin the Forum of Augustus and to the family of the princeps. On the Ara Pacisrelief the little The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 20.5 Fig. 158. The shepherdFaustulus findsthe she-wolfwith the twins.Terracottarevetment plaque. marble temple, already built of fine ashlar blocks, appearson a height, the two enthroned Penateslooking down with favor on the sacrifice.This is of courseanother referenceto Rome'snew aureAtempla and to Augustus,who in fact is himself shown with his head veiled and attending a sacrificeelsewhereon the samemonument (cf. fig. 100a). The associationsmultiply. Augustan arrists created an utterly new narrative technique,in order to join rogerherpast and future in a single image. Even more powerfully than in the allegorical pax relief, the panel has the effectof an icon, and the "arrested" movement in itself would have induced in the viewer a contemplative mood. observing the countlessoak wreaths and branches,he could not fail to realize that the oak tree is central to the composition not only as a topographical indicator, but as a symbol of salvarion directed at the presenr: from the very beginning, fata and the gods werewatching over Augustus. The pendant to the Aeneas relief unfortunately survives only in fragments.Here roo a sacredtree occupiedthe middle of the composition. This time it is the fig tree (ficus rutninalis), beneathwhich the shepherdFaustulus discoversthe she-wolf with the rwins. In the branchesperchesMars's wood- 206 'fhe Powerof lmagesin the Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome pecker, which had also helped nourish the babies.This peacefulscenewas observedby Faustulusand Mars, standing calmly, almost reverentiallybefore the miracle, as on a terra-cotta relief (fig. 158). Again the picture is more an "icon" than a narrative scene.Mars's head conveysa good impression of the mood of the entire panel (fig. 159). Like the viewer himself,he and Faustulus marvel at the workings of providence,under whose protection Rome has always stood. Contemporaries were aware that Augustus had rebuilt the supposedsite of this miracle, the Lupercal at the foot of the Palatine,and every year they could experiencethe ancient ritual there discussedearlier. Once again the presentwas intimately linked to the mythical beginningsof Rome. It is remarkable how on Augustan monuments the two most important mythological cycleshave been reducedto so few images.By contrast, Pergamenesculptors had renderedmuch more colorfully and in greater detail the legendof the founding of Pergamum,which was likewise tailored to the needs of the ruling family. Even in the frieze of the Basilica Aemilia (34 r.c.?), stories of early Rome had been vividly narrated. Now, however,the didactic intentions took precedence,and the narrative content became wholly subsidiary.SignificantlS there are virtually no figural friezesin Augustan art. Mythological subjects are restricted to just a few individual scenes,whose form and composition are made to suit the needsof the offi- Fig. 159. Rome,Ara PacisAugustae.Head oi Mars. The artist has employed High Classical forms, as for the Aeneas (cf. figs. 157,204). 207 Fig. 150. Temple of Vesta,with oak tree with symbolic meaning. Marble relief, Early Imperial. cial mythology.In this imagery,Aeneas and Romulus no longer come across as living, breathing mythological figures, but as intellectualizedand idealized paradigms' And since,the campaign for moral renewar was built around only a few leitmotifs, the corresplonding mythological imagery fo_ cusedon two key concepts, pietas and ,irtur. ihr'r*.r.rfr"ry i.-iirnio, of the heroesis displayed as a model and wherever possible linked with the living exemplum of theprinceps.Augustus in turn modeled his own behavioron the mythical exempra,.i."tinforr.e again an associarionberweenthe reallife of the presentand the mythJogical iast. Another good example of this is evident in the particurar care that Au_ gnstuslavished on the cult of vesta. once he had hnally become pontir.* Maximus, after the death of Lepidus in 12 r.c., he built a ,".rctu"ry of th. goddessin his own house on the palatine (so that he wourd not have ro rlccupythe priest's headquartersin rhe Regia).Thus *h.r, n,rguriuq o, ,n. descendant of Aeneas,conducted a sacrifiJein front of the Templeof Vesta, wherethe Palladium was with good reason displayed,it *"s if the myth r:fthe Penatesand palladium beirrgrescued ", ,"... ....."r.d. Augustus bad rn frct rescuedthe imagesof the godi-from neglectand obrivion. No wonder rhatin one representarionof the Temple of veita an oak tree prorrudes quite neaningfullyfrom behind the temple (6g. 1d0). Particularlycharacteristicof Augustan mythological imagery is the emphasison rhe workings of predestl"don and providence. Thi, ,", ,,rp_ posedto induce in the viewer a meditative and quasi-rerigiousmood, which 208 The Powerof lmagesin the Age of Augustus The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome 20g sincethey usually came down to the same message:Aeneas, Vesta, Diomedes,or the emperor himself associatedwith the palladium; Venus or Aeneassymbolizing the divine ancesrryof the imperial house; or Apollo, the tripod, the sphinx, or the sibyl all alluding to divine providence. Vhat makes many modern, overly learned interpretations of Augustan iconographyso tedious reflectsan important characteristicof the works of art themselves:their unrelentingly didactic intenr, manifested in constanr repetition,similies, and equivalences. To the more percepriveobserver,even then, it all becametoo much. He tried to find respite in irony and humor. ovid's ambiguous and sometimes maliciousversesapparently found a responsiveaudience, and there were occasionallyeven caricatures of the sacrosanctmythological images.The ownerof a villa near Stabiae,for example,had painted on his wall a parody of the often copied Aeneasgroup in the Forum of Augustus,with the heroic ancestorsof the princepsdepictedas apeswith dogs'heads and huge phalloi (fr,. 162). And this is not a unique example, for Winckelmann mentions a bronzestatuetteof the same subiect. Yet thesewere still minority voices.ln generalthe new mythologicar im- Next to her,a globe Fig. 161. a) The MuseKlio (?)leaningon an elaboratevessel. Marblerelief,Earlylmperial.b) Detailof thevessel, cairiedby a wingedcrearure. carryingthe Palladium' with abductionof a womanand Diomedes would make him receptiveto otherwise rather vague intimations of divine salvation. On a relief preservedin two copies (fig. 167a, b), the Muse Klio appears in propria persona above a sceneof the destructionof Tioy, deepin contem' plarion. She leans thoughtfully over a large vessel,on which a sceneof rape (Ajax and cassandra?)is depicted. Again a finger is pointed to direct our attenrion, lest we missthe meaning.Diomedes,his back to the tumult, holds rhe large Palladium: Tioy must fall, so thar Rome may be founded and her present greatnessrealized. The figure of Diomedes is also important elsewhere in Augustan art, becauseof both the rape and the rescueof the Palladium. Just as once Diomedes (or Aeneas)had rescuedthe Palladium that was now worshiped in the Temple of Vesta, so had Augustus savedit, as varro would say (cf. p. 103) through his preservationof rhe Roman state. For this reason he and later emperors were sometimesrepresentedas Di r>medes.As in the scenesof Aeneas'sflight from Tioy, here too an imageo{ sufferingis incorporated into the story. lt seemsthat Vergil'sepic once agarn had an impact on the artistsor their patrons. But artistic imagery seldom required the viewer to be so learnedas in this instance. Most mythological sceneswere easy to understand, especiallV iig. 162. Caricarure of the Aeneasgroup from rhe lrurumof Augustus (cf. frg.1.56a),as dog-headed rpes.Wall painting from a villa near Stabiae. Fig. 153. Tombstone of Petronia Grata. The image was chosenby her daughter, to expresstheir close relationship. 210 -fhe Powerof lmagesin the Age of Augustus agery was widely spread through Roman cities, and not only in the public sphere.lt played an important part in private commissionsas well and penetrated into the consciousnessof a wide sPectrumof the population. We may perhaps wonder how many people,as they enjoyedan eveningt entertainment at home, sang,like Horace: Let us by ancient custom recall great men In song sustainedby Lydian flutes: let us Of Tioy and of Anchisessing, and Bountiful Venus'shigh descendants. Odes 4.15.29 The motif of Aeneasand his family was also widespreadon finger rings, lamps, and in terra-cotta statuettes,and undoubtedly servedas a token of loyalty. It was not long before this samegroup was employed in the private sphereas a symbol of pietas.Those who commissionedgrave reliefslike the one illustrated here (fig. 163) had apparently assimilatedthe moral content of this originally political image and used it to express the pietas of tbe deceasedor the bond between the dead and the living (cf. p.278)' Summi Viri: A RevisedVersion of Roman History In antiquity there was no clear distinction berween myth and history. The deedsof one's heroic ancestorswere consideredno less "historical" than those of more recent generations.On the contrary, the former were especially prized for their value as exe?npla.lt was thus no departure from tradition when Augustus set up sratuesof the worthiest men in his family beside the Aeneas group in the exedra and colonnade to the left of the Templeof Mars Ultor (cf. fr,g.149). Roman aristocratshad for yearscalled artention to the importance of their gens with statuesof their distinguished ancestors.But this had never been done on such a scale as in the unparalleled ,.gallery of worthies" of rhe Julian family in the Forum of Augustus, going from Aeneasand Ascaniusand the other kings of Alba Longa, to the important membersof the clan in the Early Republic and down to the presenr. Even the father of Julius caesar, a man of no consequence,was honored here with a statue.Naturally certain gapshad to be filled with secondor third-rate individuals, in order to create the impression that the family had continually distinguished itself throughout all of Roman history' But the most original and suggestiveaspectof the whole Program was that the counrerparr to this Julian family portrait gallery to the right of the temple, was a row of carefully selectedgreat men of Rome (summi uiri: Historia The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome Zll Augusta Alexander Severus28.5). These stood beside Romulus and the liings of Rorne in the opposite colonnacle.The .luxtapositionof the twcr portrait galleries thus iustified the position of the princeps'sfamily in the new Rome by proclaiming its unique historical imporrance. The reality of competitionbetween Rome's leading families stretching back for centuries, all the ups and downs, and the relative insignificanceof the Julii from the iburth to second centuries B.c. were all thereby umerly obscured. In this version,the Julii had always been Rome's most imporrant family, for this iamily would produce her savior. A similar interpretation was already to be found in the poetry of Vergil. The criteria used in selectingthe greatesrfiguresof Roman history made it possibleto eliminate certain periods better forgotten, especiallythose of internalconflict, and to presenra consistentlyharmonious picture. Individualssingled out for inclusion were above all those "who had brought the Roman people from its modest beginningsto its present position of greatnessand world rule" (SuetoniusAugustus 3l). By this criterion, the greatestRomanswere the imperialists,generals,and triumphators.The display of sraruesin the sanctuary of Mars suggesteda coherentoverall view of Roman history. onetime enemiesstood united in this national Hall of Fame: Marius beside sulla, Lucullus besidepompey. The youngestof the "empire builders" was Augustus'sstepsonDrusus, who fell in 9 s.c. while on campaign in Germany.only the dictatorJulius caesar himself was missing from the gallery of Julian worthies, for as a god he couldnot be included among the mortals. Instead,a place within the temple wasreservedfor the Divus Julius. Beneatheach statue was a brief titulus giving the name and cursus honarum of the honorand, as well as a longer elogium recounting his greatest servicesto the state (fig. 1,6q. Among thesewere also recordedthe nonmilitary achievementsof the summi airi. Appius claudius Caecus,for example, is celebratedfor his victories over rhe Samnitesand sabines, for building the Via Appia, the aqueduct bearing his name, and the Temple of Bellona, snd for having iuccessfullypreventedthe Romans from making peacewith King Pyrrhus of Epirus! This cataloglike inscription would have reinforced the impressionthat those honored with statueshere were truly the greatest. The preservedfragmentsin marble include severalfigures in cuirassor roga (figs.165-55). Most likely the type was chosenin each caseto reflect the individual's principal accomplishments.older srarues also seem to have beenincorporated into this gallery.The fragmentary foot of a figure wearing the calcei patricil testifiesro rhe extraordinarily high quality of the new marblestarues. Theseportrait galleriesthus offered a revisedversion of history suited to the purposesof Augustan Rome, conveyedequally in image and texr. Ro- ZIZ 'lhe Power of lmal;es in the Age of Augustus Fig. 155. Fragmenrfrom the foor of a portrait starue in the Forunl of Augustus.The sculptor has carefully depicted the double laced "Senatorial shoes,"a significant sign of high social status. Each loop is decoratedwith a stylizedclassicalpalmette. Fig.164. Rome, Forum of Augustus,Statue from the galleryof summi uiri, wirh titulus and elogizz. Reconstruction. rnan history was reduced to a single, continuous processof the growrh oi empire up to the present.This impressionresultednecessarilyfrom the ahbreviatedaccountsof each individual'sgreatestachievements. There can be no doubt that Augustus parricipated directly in designing this program and in the selection of the summi uiri. Lccording to Pliny (N.H.22.6.13), he was evenrhoughrto havecomposedthe elogiainscibed below the statueshimself. We need not take this literallS for he surelyha.J rnany advisers,and the arrangementof the placesof honor will certainly have engenderedlong and lively discussion.There is good reasonto believe. for example,that C. Julius Hyginus, a freedmanof Augustuswho ran rhf library in the Temple of Apollo, played an importanr part in designingrhe program. He would have been consideredan experr in such matters,for hr had written a book De Familiis Troianis, as well as a commentary on !crgtl's Aeneid. But the basic idea no doubt originated in the great sceneirl The Myrhical Foundationsof rhe New Rome r*:,er.".,yi.:r ,1",: .: 213 \ls(_| Drrairof moder.rhe starueniches for thesummt tr''rre :,T,j.:r;,,[i:"::lj::::,:,: visible ontherearside ofthe *r"""ri", ," ilili:l?ii lri,iJl; lrcok 6 of the Aeneid when Anchisesin the un<Jerworrd shows Aeneasthe great Romans of the future, down to caesar Augustus: ..He brings rhe goldenage back to Latiu-m, Saturn,son.tirn. ,."trn ,, (Aeneid 6.792). The Romans would later wimess ;;;l;1. panorama of this Roman Valhallaonce again after Augustus,sdeath, in hi, fun.r"l procession. His burial now followed. The bier was made of gold and ivory, adorned with a purple shroud. The body lrr.ii*iJrriaden from view, in a sarcophagus.But one could ser , .,'u* l_"g. lf f,,_ in the garb of the trrumphator' This was brought from his il;r;;; the paratine by the consurs designatedfor the fotowing v."t ,, the head of the procession' A second statue,-of goid, ";J;;;;; .".. i*ntrn. curia, and a third was -;l'*'a q u g"' d;; tr'."i* "g.J;i';;; "' "d'i '_i:tT:',*ff Iff :i,p;ff ;?,n ",,,, ancesrors"ndd.,.","I:'.r,:1,1.:f ::ltru,fj,.:i:l: whowasincludedamor-rg the heroes.fe", ifril .-.:r:n his starueprobably the Tempteof Mars Utto.; cf. ng. Irl.l ff,.r. thenfo'owed the ::::0," et.onesof all thoseRomans who had ristinguishedrhemselves in-uny !vay,ar the headof rheprocession Romulushimself.Evenpompey was rlnongthem, and all the .onqul..d by A"g;;r, .".t.i, n,, ifinres nativedress.(Dio Cassrus 55.34) The MythicalFoundations of rheNew Rome Zls 214 The Powerof Inagesin the Ageof Augustus But long before this mute tableau with masks,it was clear that the gallery of heroesin the Forum of Augustus was directly linked to Augustushimself. He had explained the significanceof the visual program in an edict on the *lt occasionof rhe Forumt dedication, to make everythingperfectly clear: had been his thought that the Roman people should iudge him, so long as he was alive, and then furure principesby the standardsof thesemen" (suetonius Arzgastus3l). This was very much in keeping with Augustus'spractice of using argumenrs grounded in the laws and the very words of earlier generations.The ,rrponi" ro rhis challengefrom Augustuswas immediate:the Senateerected an imposing honorary monumenr in the form of a triumphal quadriga, whose inscription proclaimed the new honorific title PaterPatriaewhich he had been granted in the same year his Forum and the Temple of Mars were which must have accompaniedtruly important occasions,such as triumphs or the receptionof foreign royalty. ln the future, victorious generalswere to be honored with a bronze srarue rn triumphal garb in rhe Forum, and arms and insignia caprured from the defeatedenemy would be displayedhere. This much was raid down by Augustus,and indeed we know the namesof severalmen who did receivethis honor by order of the emperor. But Augustus'szeal in trying to inspire imitation of the great men of rhe past by honoring each in accordancewith his serviceto Rome was largely disregarded.The statuesof worthy generalsof the presentwere relegatedto spacesbetween the columns or on the edgeof the square, while for the imperial princes Germanicus and Drusus Minor Tiberiuserecteda triumphal arch besidethe Templeof Mars in n.n. 19, in directimitation of the archesof Augusrusbesidethe Templeof caesar. dedicated. ln my thirteenth consulship, the Senate,equites,and the entire Roman people conferred on me the title "Father of the Nation" and determined to place an appropriate inscription in the entrance to my house, in the curia lulia, and beneath the quadriga which the senate had erectedto me in the Forum (ResGestae35) The inscription aiso recorded all of Augustus'svictories (VelleiusPaterculus 2.39), and theseclearly showed him to be the greatestof the great' 'Ihe comparison berweenpast and presentgreatnessinvited by Augustus was not merely for rhetorical effect.The ceremoniesof state which Augustus initiated in connection with the new Forum and Templeof Mars insured that in the future the glory of the present would be enacted against the background of the Roman past, now so neatly reorganized.Here young ,rr.n *h.r, they came of age would pur on the toga and were inscribedin thc military lists. ln the Temple of Mars the Senateofficially prociaimed war, peace,or triumphs. From here provincial governorsdepartedon campaign, and here rerurning victorious generalslaid down the insignia of victory. Here barbarian princes swofe their friendship and allegianceto Rome, The Gmple of Mars thus took over certain distinctions thar had previously been reservedfor the capitoline Temple of Jupiter. ln short, the new Forum of Augustus becamethe showplaceof Rome's "foreign policy," for everything associatedwith uirtus and military glory' \fi/henwe hear how Caligula explicitly directedthose bringing his letteis from Gallia to carry them first through the Forum Romanum, dismounting at the Curia, then finally presentthem to the assembledSenatein the Temple of Mars (Suetoniuscaligula 44), we can imagine the elaborate ceremonv Tse AssrMrLATroN oF Aucusrus's Succrssons INTO THE NATIONAL MYTTTOTOCY The fusion of myth and history was realized in the crearion of a timeless present.A concept of the future, in the senseof a further development,did not exist in this system.The saeculutnaureutn had dawned, and it was only a question of maintaining and repearing it. After a period of rapid and drasticchange, Rome had arrived ar a srate of equilibrium, a rimelessand mythically definedpresent.Inrernal harmony and external srrength,fertility and prosperity, would all continue unabated, at least so long as the Julii ruled and both princeps and people made sure to worship the gods as was proper and live accordingro the ways of their forefathers. Gaius and Lucius Caesaras Descendants of Venus He never cdmmendedhis sons to the people without adding '.if they are worthy." He always lamenred binerly that whenever these youths appeared, the whole people stood up and applauded. (SuetoniusAugustus 5.6) Promoting his successorseffectivelywas one of Augustus'schief concerns as he got older. In so doing he had to maintain his image as primus inter paresbut at the same time make ir clear rhat rhe successorcould onlv be a memberof the "chosenpeople,' the Julian family.wirh the apporrioningof roles now widely accepted,Augustus's two grandsons Gaius and Lucius 216 The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome of Imagesin tbe Age af Augustus T-he Ptti.uer 217 *Tw*.i' Dlui F(ilius). Fig.167. fwo denariiof c. Marius.Rome,13 s.c. a-b\ Augustus Diana{uliarvith quiver of c) head caesar. Lucius and Gaius sons her with Juha and Augustancoiffure. --.,i coulci be groolned for successionyears in advance. while the Senate, equitc$,end people applaudedand awardedthem honors and high public office whel they were under.age, the princeps kept his distance,consented only reluctantly-but all tire same carefully selectedthe boys' public app.r.on.*u. rhe older of the two, Gaius, was presentedto the public for the first rime at age seven,in 13 n"c., when he took part in the Tioian Games' of ln rire sameyear the tresuir mo/tetdlisC. Malius struck a coin with busts (fig. b)' L57a' ilre twerboyewith their mother Julia .AboveJulia's head hovers the corona ciuica as a dynastic symbol and proof of eJirectdescentfrom Augusrus.on the reverseof a secondcoin tht ,o*. lruut appearsalone,here linked with Diana'squiver (frg' 1'57c)'The irnpiication is that the goddessherself had attended the binh of the two boys. we are reminded here of the opening versesof the carmen saectlare, Tl.reservicesof the boys' real father Agrippa are aiso celebratedin the samt seriesof coins more prominently than ever before, especiailyin references 1 Fig. 168. Two denariiof C. SulpicirrsPlatorinus'Rome, 13 s'c' a) Agrippa' as gJner"l a'd :rdrniral, wears the "crown" with battlementsand ships' beaks (&islwarded lrim by Augustus.b) Agrippa next to Augustus on the chair of office ellinwrl. The podiul is decoratedwith rhe ships' beaks,probably one of the two platformsin the Forurn Romanum. speakers" "*F' -J'*'-' [ 3 fig. 159. Rome,Ara PacisAugustae.Deurilof the processionon the south enclosurewall. The linle Gaius Caesarclings to rherogao{ his father Agrippa (cf. fig. li|{i). -,d Fig. 170. Detail from the processionon the south enclosurewall: LuciusCaesar wirh family members,preciselyopposite his brother. The two boys are perhaps depicted as little Trojans by their dressand neck-rirrg(torques). to the Battle of Actium. Agrippa sits besideAugustus on rhe rostra and his likenessbearsthe corona rostrata (fig. 158). The Senatealso honored the young princes in this same year, on rhe Ara Pacis.They occupy a prominent position, though depicted in an unusual form, as fittle tojans or "Tiojan riders" (frgs.1,69,170).Just ar rhar poinr wherethe rwo p.f,cessionsioin, those of members of the imperial famity *nd of the various priesthoods, rwo boys, one older than the orher, are representedon either side of the altar enclosure.Unlike the other children on the frieze, who wear the toga, these two wear a short tunica and have long hair (the older, Gaius, with a headband).Both are cleariy marked out by the torques, a braided ring abour the neck. The "Tioy Game" was an ancientreligious competition on horseback favored by the yourhs of rhe Romannobility. In the Augusran period it was integraredinro thc myth of Tioy and particulariy encouragedby Augustus as a way of promoting military training among the youth. Vergil describesthe game in the Aeneid and cvenspecificallymentions the torques (5.555). Once Augustus awarded a 21tt The P<twer<tflmagesin the Age of Augustus golden torque to a boy who had been injured in the contest, which was rather dangerous.Probably the Senate,as sponsorof the Ara Pacis,choseto have the young princes depicted in a costume familiar to the Romansfrom the Tioy Games,perhapseven from the historical processionitself. This interpretation is sdll controversial. Some scholars obiect that the boys on the frieze are too small to representGaius and Lucius, who werc sevenand four when the Ara Paciswas dedicated,and suggestinsteadthar they are barbarian princes raised at the court of Augustus. As so often absolute certainty is impossible, but severalpoints argue in favor of calling them Gaius and Lucius. They occupy a prominent position in a processron which is otherwise, as far as we can tell, composedsolely of membersof the imperial house arrangedaccording to the order of dynastic succession. The way that the older boy clutches the toga of Agrippa is especiallystriking. Furthermore, the two boys are the only ones whose lively, childlike expressions bring some variety to the solemn proiession and thus call attentionto themselves.As on other occasions,the winning charm of the outgoing little princes is exploited to gain support for the ruling familg and in this context it is perfectly understandablethat they should be representeda linle younger than they really were. A few years later Gaius was presentedto the legionson the Rhine. Here again the young prince, now twelve yearsold, had to display his couragein a similar kind of equestriangame. The event was subsidizedby a donation from Augustus, and the mint at Lugdunum recorded it for posterity (fiC. 171). The great impressionthat the boys made on the troops is illustrated, for example, by a scabbardornament depicting the two princes as officers, wearing the cuirass,flanking their mother (fig. 1,72). Not long after this their public careersofficially began.ln 5 n.c., Augustus had himself electedconsul for the first time in seventeenyears,so that he could personally escort the fifteen-year-oldGaius, who had alreadyreceivedthe toga uirilis, to the Forum and into the Senate.It must have been an impressiveand memorable scene.At the same time Gaius himself was named consul-designatefor the year A.D. 1, and the equites electedhim princeps iuuentutis,which had no concretepolitical significancebut quickly becamea kind of official title for the successorto the throne. The previous year Augustus had rejecteda resoludon of the peopleto elect Gaius consul, but now this too was accomplished,accompaniedby great ceremony.Th€re was a distribution of money (sixty denarii per person), and official delegations came to Rome from distant parts of the Empire. From now on, whenever possible the two princes accompaniedthe princeps at all his public (cf. fig. 109). appearances On a coin minted at Lugdunum between 2 s.c. and A.D. 11 (frg. 173), the two principes iuuentutis are shown with the honorary tokens conferred The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome fig. 171. Aureus,Lugdunum/Lyon,8 n.c. Caiusparticipatesin equestriangames.He wearsthe bulla around hisneck and hnlds in his left hand shield and sword,A battle srandard indicatesthe camp. Zl9 Fig.172. Decoration of an Augustan scabbard.Julia betweenher sons Gaius and Lucius, both representedas generalsin cuirass. on them by the equites, a silver shield and silver lance. Above their heads are tokens of the priesthoods to which they belonged, Gaius as ponrifex, Luciusas augur. The messageof these routine symbols is the same as that of the many honorary monumenrs and decreesissuedthroughout the Empire after the tragic and premature deathsof both yourhs (Lucius in e.o. 2, Gaiusin e.n. 4): rhe samevirtues thar marked their father also marked the two princes. Augustushad taken a greatinterestin theseboys from the time they were infants and even made sure rhat they learned to imitate his handwriting {suetoniusAugustus 54). As they grew up, official porrrairs were created, Fig. 173. Denarii and Aurei, Lugdunum, 2 e.c. Gaius and Lucius caesar in togas rvith honorific shield and spear.The legendcalls them "sons of Augustus,consuls designate,and principes iuuentutis." 2?-O The Power of lmages in tbe Age af Augustus The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 221 Fig.175. Bust of Agrippa Postulnus.In contrastto the portraits of his brothers,who were admitted to the gens 1alla, his physrognomyis not idealizedin classicizingstyle, bur is likened to rhe ponrait of Agrippa. Figs.174 (lefr)and 175(righr). Porrraitsof Gaiusor LuciusCaesar,mostlikely posthumous, The facialfearuresand rheirhairstyles imitateportraitsof Augustus, The headsbelongto nude"hero"'-statues in Classical style. which could then be used as models by the workshops commissionedto produce honorary staruesand busts.Thesedepict boys whose facesseemro come from the samemold as Augustust (frgs.174,175). They are classicizing, somewhat artificial facesfilled with a grave dignity, no lessstylizedthan the portrait of Augustus. The two are differentiated only by the different arrangementsof forks and tonguesin the hair acrossthe brow. The portrairs of tireir brother Agrippa Postumus,by contrast, who was not at Erst admitred into the Julian family, resemblethose of his real farher (fig. 176). By now rhe holy aura that had grown up about rhe Juiian famiiy for nearly half a cenrury had created a certain atmosphere.Alongside venus and Aeneas,Julius Caesarnow receivedrenewed honors. A coin minted in 12 e.c. recallsthe beginning of Octavian! career,when he laid a star on the statue of Caesar after the appearanceof the sidus lulium (cf. fig. 2Sa).But significantly,the mint masrer now has the princeps,holding his clipeusuirtutis" representedlarger than the newest member of the Roman pantheon. E'en imagesof Caesar'sapotheosiswere now openly displayed.An altar o{ the Laresof about 7 n.c. preservesa modestcopy of suchan image,joining the young princes with the Divus Julius and their ancestorVenus(fig. 177). i t $ I I The deified Caesar ascendsto heaven in a chariot drawn by winged horses.Venus Genetrix greets him with one hand and wirh the other emhracesa small togate figure, while a second, even smaller, clings to her. 'I'hese are the two princes, shown under the protecrion of their ancestor. i'fheir own mother, Julia, receivedat this time honorary statuesin the guise uf Aphrodite in the Greek East.) A third togare figure stands behind the chariot with right hand raised in prayer, most likely Augustus. The reason iar his modest role here may be that he himself dedicatedthe original of this reliefto rhe Divus Iulius. The two prirrce's,in whom Augustus placed so rnuch hope, were thus elevatedeven while stiil alive to extraordinary heights,and after their early deathswere incorporated permanently into the new narional myth. They were honored throughout the whole Empire as new heroes.They received triumphal arches, public buildings, altars, and even temples, such as the irmous Maison Carr6e in Nimes (cf. fig. 201). In Rome the voring precincs werenamed for them and their nameswere added to the sacredsongsof the dancingpriestsknown as Salii.Augustusalso gavetheir namesto the Basilica lulia in the Forum and to the large park near the Naumachia in Tiastevere(NemusGai et Luci Caesaris).ln front of rhe BasilicaAemiiia arosea new and lavishly decoratedportico bearing the namesof the rwo brothers, and the Senatealso erecteda major honorary monumenr in the Forum. A 222 -l'be I'auer of Images in tbe Age of Augustus of the Divuslulius.In hig. 177. Augustanaltarof the Lares,ca.7 n.c. Apotheosis Behindthe the foreground,VenusGenetrixwith the two princesC. and L. Caesar. chariot,Augustusbeforea templestructure(column).The missingheadswere originallyinset. huge inscription belongs to this monument (CIL, Vl, 36908), but, aside from recording that the boys belonged to the imperial family, it contains only the information that Lucius was already designatedconsul at agefourteen. The princes did not live to celebratea triumph over a conqueredforeign people, the crucial act by which imperial rule was legitimized, but at ieasr Gaius could be celebratedposthumously as new victor over the Parthians and Armenians. Augustus had sent him, at age twenty, to resolvea conflict over the throne of Armenia and put down uprisings in Parthia (1 s.c"). Among his staff were the finest expertson Easternaffairs, and all was carefully planned in advance.Augustus'sprayers for his son were virtually programmatic: the wisdom of Pompey,the bravery of Alexander, and his own Fortuna (Plutarch Moralia 2.98.10). No wonder poetry and epigramson Greek statue basescelebratedhim as a new Ares as he made his way to the East. Like Alexander and Augustus before him, he would march to the East and earn his title princepsdesignatus(CIL, XI, 1420). The undertakingwas only a partial success.At the siegeof Artagira, which he did eventuallytake, Gaius was mortally wounded and died on the journey home. The MythicalFbundations of the New Rome 223 Among the posthumousmonumentshonoring Gaius is probably the over li{e-sizecuirassedstatuefound in the theater of Jol-caesarea(modern chercel,in Algeria), capital city of the kings of Mauretania. It may have beenser up by King Juba II, who grew up at the court in Rome together with Gaius. Since,however, the decorativeprogram of the cuirass is closely related to that of the Augustus from Prima Porta (cf. frg. I4Bb), we may suspectthat the chercel statue is one of severalcopiesof a major monument createdin Rome. On both statues,the reliefson the cuirasscelebratea military victory. On the statue of Gaius (frg. 1.78), a heroized member of the imperial house handsover to Venus Victrix a figure of victoria wirh tropaion The youthful hero is representedin the same statuary pose as the Divus lulius in his templein the Forum Romanum (cf. fig. 26). Later this pose will be used frequentlyto representheroizedemperorsand princesafter their death, suggestingthat the figure on the cuirass is also deceased(cf. frg. 19a).ln addiIion, sincethe decorationsof the shoulder flaps appear to be stylized heads o{ orientals,it is tempting to associatethe victory alluded to herewith Gaius Caesar's victories in Armenia and Parthia. The young scion of the Julian housepiously hands over the tokens of his victoriesto the family's ancestress.Sinceshe is depictedarmed, we may call her Venusvictrix. The god of war himself appearsabove the scenein the form of a large bust, which is clearly derived from the cuh srarueof Mars ultor dedicated in 2 s.c. (cf. fig. 155). Eros with the bow stands behind venus,and a Victory holds the corona ciuica overthe head of the prince and designatedsuccessor.This is analogousto honorary inscriptions that refer to the iam designatus . . . princeps (CIL, XI, 14Zl). what makes this ostensibleimage of Gaius as victor so interesting for our discussion,however, is not so much the way it is taken for granted that the young prince assumesthe role of Augustus, but the allusions to the victory at Actium and the Golden Age, in the form of sea cenraursholding ruddersand regular centaurs whose tails end as vines (frg. 1,75).ln other words, the new victory of Gaius assuresthe continuity of the well-being first createdby Augustus at Actium. The old slogansof the early Augustan Age have coalescedinto an ideology of victory, and the princeps's early victoriesare treared like heroic deedsof the mythological past. Tiberius and Drusus as Commandersof the Imperial Army At the time Augustus adopted his rwo grandsons,Tiberius and Drusus, his rwo stepsons,were twenty-five and twenty-one years old. They were never consideredprimary candidates as successorsto the throne, but insread playedan important role as military commanders.As such they contributed 'i*.i l; The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 225 es++e#qgg ffi-ru w-\ ffi'K' itt .tt;t {t' ".': .r.,: +11.:'i: iifi. -l + .s ' "1" -ry ff* d ffiww 'At I tt,: %*# *R, t ,SF *$ Fig.179.Coin series,Lugdunum(Lyon),15 t.c. a) Tiberiusand Drusushand overtheirpalmsof victoryto Augustus.b) The bull assymbolof Mars Ultor. r-d) ApolloActiusand DianaSicilia,recallingthe earliervictoriesof Augustusat Naulochoiand Actium.e-l) Qurnarius.AugustusandVictoriasittingon the globe. {;"**.$ .s * f" _+,"SS.sl tr l, .. e. ,\,..J Fig. 17u. Posthumouscuirassedstatueof Gaius Caesar(?).As on the cuirassof Augustus (fig. 148a), the victory is placed in a cosmic serting.The prince vicrorious in thc East extends his Victoria to his ancestressVenus.Below,a seacentaur and a ]arrd centaur ernbody the happy fruits of victory. The beardedheadsof barbarians on the learherlappets allude to rhe conqueredParthians.Above, Mars Ultor. to the glory of the dynasty,as well as their own, long before Augustusreluctantly made Tiberius his successorafter the deaths of his two grandsons. Like other commanders,Tiberius and Drusus were legati of Augustus, but as "princes" they of courseheld a specialrank. This quickly evoived into a kind of official position as "acting" emperor and becamea permanent part of the ideology of rule. When the princeps was not able to take the field himself,the printes fought in his place. Their victories were his victories, for he alone possessedthe power of commander-in-chief,imperiwn maius. This luridical situation took on a mythical dimension through the medium of artistic imagery. The first occasionrequiring the new imagery was the wars of expansion carried on by Drusus and Tiberius against the Alpine tribes. The mint at Lugdunum, which was governed by the princeps himself, commemorated the first successes againstthe Vindelici with a very revealingseriesof denarii and aurei. The principal motifs show either Drusus alone or Drusus and Tiberius, both dressed as generals, handing over to Augustus the palm branchesof victory (frg. 779a). He wears the toga and sits on the official seat(sellacurulis). Though this is set on a high podium, he is nonetheless 226 T-hePouer of lmagesin the Age of Augustus still depicted as a magistrate,in accordancewith the "constitution" of the Principate. But the four remaining types in this serieselevaterhe sameoccasion into a universal statemenrof divinely sanctionedAugustan rule (fig. 779b*e). The figuresof Diana and Apollo, with the inscriptions SICIL. and ACT.. recall the victories that started it all, at Naulochoi and Actium. The charging bull, an image once carried by Caesar'slegionson rheir flags,symbolizes the unstoppablepower of the Roman Mars. Victoria, however,doesnot fly as on earlier coins, but rarher sirs calmly on the globe, her hands folded in her lap. Roman rule is secureand will remain so. The portrait of the princeps,now age frfq, appearsas usual on the obverse,bur he looks unusually youthfui, and for the first time in yearshis ritulature includes "Divi Filius." Under pressurefrom Augustus (cf. Suetonius Vita Horatii 31f..),Horacc also commemorated the deedsof the two stepsons,in two long odes.The Drusus ode (4.4) celebratesprimarily the glory of the Claudian family and the perseveranceof their forefathersin times of hardship, while Augustusis the focus of the Tiberius ode, "the greatestof all rulers (principes)as far as the sun'srays reach" A.l4.5f\: The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome 227 of the victorious generals, but for the commander-in-chief, "quod eius ductu auspiciisquegentes Alpinae omnes quae a mari supero ad inferum pertinebantsub imperium populi Romani sunt redactae. . ." becauseunder his leadershipand his auspicesall the peoplesof the Alps down to the sea werebrought under Roman rule (PlinyN.H. 3.135; AL,V,781,7). If we compare the official image of Augustus'ssrepsonswith that of his grandsons,especiallyGaius, the hierarchy is very clear. While the principes iuuentutisreceived constant honors as the designatedsuccessors,even as young boys, and, both in official imagery and in realitS stood besideAugusfts, the commandersDrusus and Tiberius, who had truly earnedsuch honors, are blatantly portrayed as subservientto the commander-in-chief.The consistencyof honorific formulas illustrates how the princeps, while remaining in the background, was able to set the proper tone. A comparison with the reaction to the earlier Parthian victory of Augustus shows that thosewho might have been expectedto take the lead in celebrationof rhe ruler now much more cautiously waited to follow signalsfrom above.Their unanimity is impressive-the prime example is the changein his posirion to which Tiberius had to adapt. 'With forcesyou had furnished, advisedby you, With gods of yours presiding; for sincethe day When Alexandria surrendered Harbor and tenandessroyal palace Fortuna has consistentlyprosperedyou And granted happy ourcome to all your wars, Conferring glory and a hoped-for Honor upon your achieveddominion. The hitherto unmasteredCantabrian. The Mede, the Hindu, even the nomad Scyth. Defers to you, O shielding presence Over our Rome and the land ltalian: The Nile, of sourceshidden in mystery The Danube, and the Tigris of rapid flow, The monster-teemingwaves of Ocean Bursting in thunder to far-off Britons Odes 4.I4.33-48 The poet and the coins issuedat Lugdunum make use of the samelopoi. The Senatetoo erectedthe great Tiopaeum Alpinum near Nice, not in honor Tiberius as Successorto the Throne Augustus'spleasure in his young imperial commanders was short lived. Drususdied in Germany,while Tiberius had been estrangedfrom Augustus since7 n.c, and remainedso for elevenyears.Offendedat the way Augustus allowed his adolescentgrandsons to be celebratedas successors,he wenr into voluntary exile on Rhodes and lived there as a Greek, wearing chlamys and sandalsand gathering a circle of poets and philosophers around him. (For him, too, Greek culture was a meansof escapefrom the "real" wor[d.) Only after "grim Fortuna" had *deprived" Augustus of his sons (thus the beginningof ths Res Gestae)was he forced to sertlefor this new successor. Tiberius was thus adopted and, for his part, had to adopt Drusus's son Germanicusand Agrippa Postumus,born after his father Agrippa's death. Unlike the deceasedgrandsons,Tiberius, as a member of the proud Claudiangens,could not be assimilatedinto the family mythology of the Julians. Instead,his qualities as a military commander would have to be the focus. As early as 7 B.c. he had celebrateda triumph over the Germans,and after hisadoptionhe won victoriesin Pannoniaand Dahnatia,receivinga triumph i n a . o .1 2 . Unfortunately there is no direct evidenceto be found in the form of monumentalpublic art of the later yearsof Augustus'srule. But two silver cups found in a small villa at Boscoreale,near Pompeii, reflect in four related 228 The Pawer of lmages in the Age of Augustus ca' A.D.12.On oneside,Augustus Fig.iB0. a-tr) Silvercup from Boscoreale, seated,asruler of the world; on the otherside,he displaysclementiatoward norfherilbarbarians. scenesa pictorial cycle that must have decorateda maior public monument .t (figs. 80, 181). tt may have been,for example,a victory monumentcommissioned by the Senate on the occasion of Tiberius's second triumph ( a . o .1 2 ) . On rire one cup, devoted to Tiberius, we seethe official sacrificeat his depa;:tureon campaignand his triumph (cf' figs' 93, 181). In both scenes particular emphasisis placed on the depiction of the sacrificialanimals and the sacrifice irself. The enemy, however, are not even re{erred to, though normally theseforrn an important part of the triumphal procession.Perhaps The Mythical Foundationsof the New Rome 229 |'ig.18i. Tiberiuscup,pendantto figure180.Triumphalprocession of Tiberius. On thebackside(cf.fig. 93) wasdepictedthe departureand sacrificebeforethe tmple of Jupiter. what was apparentiy excerpted from the original scene{or the silver cup was concernedlesswith the specificoccasionthan with the qualities of the honorand, his pietas and uirtus. Two figures of Victory in the triumphal chariot hold a shield, similar to Augustus'sshield of uirtus. This may be taken as a clue to the dating of these images,which is still controversial, sincethe manner in which Tiberius is celebratedpresumesthat he had alreadybeen designatedas the successor. Augustus himself appearson the secondcup (fig. 180a, b), twice in fact, his superior rank indicated by the throne he occupies. ln one scene,surrounded by soldiers and lictors, he receivesthe submission of barbarian chiefs.The referenceis apparently to one of his visits to the northern frontier, in 15 or 8 n.c., for the suppliants wear animal hides. But here too the principal messageis something fundamental, setting an example. The barbarian princes, who approach on their kneesand lead their children to Augustus,look up toward him as to an epiphany. He reachesout his hands and mercifully acceptstheir submission.The image recalls Augustus'searlier appearanceon the field o{ batde and celebrateshis clementia.As in the imagery of the saeculum aureum, we see a vision of a happy and blessed world. On the other side of this cup, however, Augustus'sworld empire is celebratedin mythical terms. He is enthroned and literally elevated,alone in the center of the scene.He occupies the sella curulis and wears a roga, iust as on rhe coin of 15 e.c. (cf. fig. 779a). These are inrended to underscorehis "constitutional" role as princeps.But at the sametime he is shown as diui f/izs, surrounded by gods and personiGcations,as in Horace\ en- 23A The Powerof Imagesin the Age of Augustus comiastic poetry. The most important figure is Venus,to whom Augustus turns as she places a Victory on the globe that he already holds. Thus his ancestressconfers on him power and the assuranceof victory. Behind him come the Genius Populi Romani, with cornucopia, and Roma, who setsher foot on a pile of enemy arms, a symbol thar all is well with the state.From the other side Mars leadsthe personificadonsof subjectand pacifiedprovinces before the "throne." The gods of the new Rome are representeddistinctly smaller than the ruler, as if they were in his service.Many elements alluded to, or hinted at through juxtaposition, in the decorativeschemeof the Forum of Augustus are here transformed into an all-out panegyricof the ruler. But in both the messageis essentiallythe same. It is characteristicof the deliberatetimelessnessof the new imagerythat the narrative scenesare not presentedas onetime occurrences,but rather as excmplary and endlesslyrepeating actions or events.As in the quiet, contemplative mythological scenes,the didactic purpose here comesto rhe fore and suppressesnarrative specificity in favor of emphasizingthe suggesrive and emblematic. The great men of the Late Republic had always stressedwhat was unique or specialin their achievements,but emperorsand princes had aboveall to play their well-definedrespectiveroles. As princeps-to-be,Tiberius still had to demonstratehis uirtus in specificdeeds,to play the heroic man of action. But as ruler Augustus acts as the contemplativecounterpart, the personification and guarantor of a just and unperturbed order. He overseesand guides everything; everything centersaround him. The presentationof his successoras victor and triumphdtol necessarilyplacesthe ruier himself in a transcendentposition. Augustusin the Guiseof Jupiter Ever sinceAlexander the Great, the Hellenisticworld had renderedits rulers in the guiseof Zeus, and, as we shall see,Augustuswas no exception.It is even morc significant,however, that in Rome too this image found a place within the newly created mythology. But then, how better could Augustus's supremeand all-encompassingrule be expressedin immediate, visual terms? On the Gemma Augusteaof about 10 s.c. (fig. 182), Augusrusin the guise of Jupiter is enthroned besideRoma, but insteadof the thunderbolt he holds the augur's staff. His gaze is directed toward Tiberius as he descends from a chariot driven by Victoria. The lituus in Augustus'shand thus indicates that Tiberius's victory was won under the auspicesof Augustus.The young Germanicus stands armed next to Roma, ready for the next cam- The Mythical Firundariorrsof the New Rome 231 Fig.182. GemmaAugustea. Augusrusenthroned,likeJupiter,besideRoma.He holdsthe lituusasrokenof militaryhigh command,for the princesbeforehim wagewarsunderhis orders.Behindthe throne,personifications of the peaceful andioyousearth.Below,Romansoldiersand personifications of auxiliarieswith subiugated barbarians. Ca.e.o. 10. paign.The two princes are emissariesof the universalruler; his invincibility is transferredro rhem like a discreerentiry. 'rhis is why Roma looks admiringly at Augustus and not ar rhe actual victors. victory is as predictabreas rhemovementof the stars through the heavens.Above Augustus'shead, the Capricornshinesagainsta disk (the sun?) and a srar in the background, all threesymbols of mythic and cosmic predesdnation.From behind Augustus'sthrone repres€ntarives of this blessedworld look up toward him. Italia, wearingaround her neck the bulla (actually the token of a freeborn youth!), sitson the ground, surrounded by children and holding a cornucopia. Behind are oceanus and oikoumene, rhe latter crowning Augustus with the corona ciuica. The personificadon of rhe inhabired world wears a mural crown,thus representingthe flourishing cities of rhe Empire (cf. 69. 18a). Jt,2 Tltc l'ower tif lrna4esitt the Age of Augustus The Mythical Foundarionsof rhe New Rome 233 fl ',*.,, $ ,1,] $. Fig.183. So-called Swordof Tiberius,after15 n.c.a) In thecenter,medallion with portraitof Augustus.Six coronaeciuicaeperhapsreferto militarydistinctiont of the owner.Below,a sanctuaryof the Laresand an Amazonassymbolof barbar'Iiberius, ian enemies. b) Dctail: enthroned,receives a prince,probablyGermanr cus,who handsoverhis Victoriato him. Besidehim areMars Ultor andVictoria. On the shieldof Tiberius:FELICITASTIBERI. Below this specfacularpanegyric,a specificeventis referred to, by which once again the power of Roman arms has upheld the divinely ordained world order. ln the left half of the scene,Roman soldierserect a tropaion, and the scorpion,Tiberius'szodiacsign,is visibleon one of the shields.The re{ercnceis probably to the victory over the lllyrians, following which Tlberius returned to Rome-not long after the annihilation of Varus'slegions iir the Teutoburg Forest. From the right two personificationsdrag recalcirrant, perhapsGermanicbarbariansto the victory monument.The woman carrying spears probably syinbolizes Spanish troops, the man in broadbrimmed petasos,Thlacian. This scenewould then allude to future viciories 'fiberius of in the North. As in the sceneson the silver cups from Boscoreale(cf. figs. 180, 181), the specificis overshadowedby the paradigmatic. The stability of the Empirc has been achieved,but there will always be revolts to be suppressed on one or another of the borders. This princeps will be followed by another wirh the samequalities,and at his sidewill standyet anotheryoungpnnce. It is worth taking a closer look at those figuresthat are new on the Gemma Augustea,Oikournene and the personificationsof the Roman legionsin the costumesof their native provinces. With the iatter, for the 6rst time the perspectiveof political imagery in the visual arts is extendedbeyond Romc itself to the Empire. [n the Forum of Augustus, the iconographic program was still purely a product of the ciry of Rome and its traditions, and the Empire treated as an object of repeatedconquest.On the Gemma Auguster, by contrast, the new personifiedprovinces have an active share in the vrctory and in honoring the ruler. Scholarshave had difiicuity coming to grips with the notion of Augustus in thc guise of Jupitel, becauseit is such a flagrant contradiction of his $ "Republican" style. But it cannot be easily explained away by either of the argumentsusually adduced,viz. thar the Gemma Augusteashould be dated posthumously,and thus represenrsthe deified emperor, or thar it was a luxury item intended to be seenonly by an "inner circle," a playfulpiece of court art not ro be taken seriously as a political statement. But after the death and deification of Augustus, Tiberius also took on the role of Jupiter-again while still alive-as evidencednot only on the famous Grand Cam6ede France, but also on a scabbard found in Roman Germany (fig. 183). On the latter, Tiberius is enthroned in the manner of Jupiter and holds in his left hand a shield with the inscription Felicitas Tiberii. He welcomes backa young priirce standing before him, either Germanicusor the younger Drusus.The emperor is flanked by Mars Ultor and the Victoria of the Augustus.The patron gods of the Emperor had stood by the prince in battle, rvho now returns Victoria-it is again that of the Augustus. The equation with Jupiter musr, accordingly,have beenmore than a rhetorical flourish occasionallyemployed by court poets and arrists.Soon porrrait staruesin the guise of Jupiter wouid be dedicatedin remples,shrines, and statuegalleries,not only in the East or for the army, but in the cities of Italy as well. And thesedepict not only deified prirrcipes,but rhosestili very muchalive and in power. In a few insrancesthis was rrue evenfor Augustus (cf. p.318), though he apparentlymade sure rhar rhis did not happen in Rome. The Mythical Foundarionsof the New Rome 234 Tbe k;wer of Imagesin the Age of Augustus This does not mean, of course, that Augustus's admirers genuinely took equatedhim with Jupiter or rhar he felt himself to be a new Jupiter. It pater the the d.ranged mind of a Caligula to go that far' Even in old age, patriae relained true to his conceptionof the Principate,and up to the end to the people as pontifex maximus and to the Senateas a duly h. "pp.ur.d .lect"i magistrate. The comparison with Jupiter is rather an allegorical that symbol of his rule, celebratingit as iust, final, and ail-embracing,like The on earth. gods' representative the of the supreme god. Augustus was other any than better and image itself had a long and distinguishedtradition a bor.oniey.d the dazzling religious aura of the ruler' It was, however, Rome, of ,o*.i image, and, like so many that came with the Hellenization its meaning in the Roman context was not quite compatiblewith its original connotarion. In Rome it did not connote the physical presenceof divine rulers' 'power, as in the depiction of Hellenistic be understoodwithin the context of must The image of Jupiter/Augustus new mythologS alongsidesuch the comprised that rhe interwoven patterns images Presentthe ruler as Both uelato. other rypes ^s the togatusc,pite his rule is equally suited gods, and the whether of th. stat. or of "*irr^in Augusteaalludes Gemma on the to this dual role. The lituus that he hoids in official inEven to his role as intermediary between heaven and earth. and ptaeses 6lstos scriptions toward the end of his reign he is referred to as t<>tiusorbis (ClL 1'0.1'421)' The irnageof Augustus as Jupiter is hardly a unique instancewithin the new mode of glorifying the ruler. Female members of the imperial house were also likened to all manner of divinities. This was true even on coins (cf. fig. minted in Rome itself, as we have seen in the caseof Diana{ulia through to exPress much so not was 767c).The purpose of this, however' the comparison specificqualities atributed to the subject (as in the Greek ,o ,rr.r, the associationof the various goddesseswith the impeworld), ", godrial family. on a well-known cameo (fig. 184), Livia, enthroned like a priestess, dessand holding a bust of the deified Augustus as if she were his muis simultaneouslylikened to rhree different, though related,deities.The grain of sheaf the Mater, cybele/Magna to her link tympanon ral crown and to Ceres,and the garment slipping from her shoulder to Venus'At the same the time she also wears rhe stola of the proper Roman matron. Even if exaggerthe reflects and is rare here multiplication of divine attributes seen p*n.gyric of the court style in carved gems' the same basic phenome"t.d guise non is evidenr in statues of women of the imperial house in divine stood throughout the Empire. ln the theater at Leptis Magna, for example, of a figure of ceres Augusta in mural crown, with the clear portrait features Livia (fig. 185). \ilhether the goddesswas Venus,Diana, Ceres,Concordia' pietas, or Fortuna Augusta, she could always be intimately linked to the 235 Fig. 184. Sardonyxin modern sefting,after e.o. 14. Livia enthroned, as both priestessand goddess.She holds the bust of the deilied Augustus.Stalks of wheat, tympanon, and diadem with banlementsliken her to the goddesses Ceresand Magna Mater. imperial house through the hairstyle or facial featuresof one ..princess,, or another (cf. frg.196). The ruler had beenchosenby the gods for his rore and enjoyedsuccessin it thanks to his own qualities and those of his famiry; his power was thus tnseparablefrom political custom and moral virrue. The Romans repeatedly witnessedthe ceremony of rulers and princes performing sacrifice,deparring on campaign, and returning victorious. But on theseoccasionsthey did not masqueradeas gods, as the Hellenistic kings and later Antony and cleopatra had done. This would have flouted Roman tradition and the style of the Principate,and when later caligula, Nero, and Domitian tried it on even a modestscale,it contributed direcdy to their downfall. The political style of the Principaterrequiredthe emperor and his family to appear as Roman citizens,in toga and stola. The strict separationberweenth. iiu. appearance and self-imageon rhe one hand, and the rhetorical, artistic compa.isons with divinities on the orher, gave these myrhological images ,"th., .ool " and absrract quality, unlike the emorionar image of the godtike Hellenistic ruler. For the Romans, the gods were used like poeric epithets, an intelrectualizedformulation of virtues, not, as in Hellenistic art, as the direct realizationof the divinely inspired ruler. This concept was of course not limited to words and pictures, but extendedto cult as well- Even in Augustus'slifetime .u.ry .iry had temples and shrines where his genius andnumen, his virtues and his patron gods, rndeedhis very person were worshiped, usually rogerher with Roma. The The MythicalFoundations of the New Rome 237 236 The I'ower of lmagesin the Age of Augustus institutionalized ruler cult was the ritual equivalentof the visual likening of ruler and god. A vignette from the last days of Augustus'slife illustrateshow fully accepted the ruier cult was by this time, for many expressingsimply a feeling of gratitude: As he sailed by the Bay of Puteoli, the passengersand crew of an Alexandrian ship that had iust pur in garheredon deck, wreathed and dressed : :ti ,,llt l, it$ iN i)ir:,l. iirl* rll {' Fig. 185. CeresAugusta, trcm the theater at Leptis Magna' The mural crown againrecall: the Mother of the Gods' The facial featuresand hairstYle match the iconographyof Livia (cf. frg. 196). in white, made offerings of incense,and called out to him their praises and beseechedhis blessing:thanks to him alone were they alive to sail the seaand enjoy freedomand prosperity.(SuetoniusAz gustus9S) The imagery of the new imperial myth, like the revived Roman religion, dependedfor its effectiveness to a large degreeon ritual. The various rituals intendedto celebrateand memorialize for eternity civic or military achievements,whether modest or magnificent, offered only a few, clearly defined roles.The emperor need not be a hero in order to meet the requirementsof his role. By the end of Augustus'sreign a singleintegratedsystemof images had evolved which took in victory celebrations,the ruler cult, presentation and glorification of the emperor, and honorific monuments. Subsequentexpansionor simplification of individual elementsdid not changethe fundamental system.Through the regular repetition of prescribedrituals and festivals and the unchanging visual formulas, the mythology of the Empire took on a reality of its own, removedfrom the ups and downs of the historical process.The imagery of military glory, of the divinely sanctionedworld order,or of civic peaceand prosperity transcendedeverydayreality, filtered out the undesirable,and createda certain level of expectation,so that even setbackswould be acceptedautomatically and on faith as the prelude to a turn for the better. 'We must never lose sight of the fact that, in a world without compering news agenciesand the like, the general perception of historical eventswas largely dependenton the official version propagated by the state. Most of what makes up our news nowadays-disasters, crises-was never mentioned. Major catastrophes,like that of Varus's legions in Germany, of course became known, but no one dwelled on them. The constantly renewed imagery of new triumphs quickly swept away such dark shadows. The languageof political imagery never even made use of the reversalsas warning or admonition. It only took note of the successes and usedthem to reiterateits civic, political, and ethical leitmotifs. The imperial mythology and the visual expressionit found were a contributing factor to the stability of the state that should not be underestimated.They reflectedevery aspect of the new order and showed how it was anchoredin the divine order of the cosmos. The later years of Augustus's reign were clouded by a whole seriesof seriousproblems, disasters,and unpopular measures.The protracted wars of conquestin the Balkans and in the North had an adverseeconomic irnpact on Rome, where there were shortagesand catastrophicfires, as well as a declinein public building.Tl.rernajorrevolt in Pannoniaand Dalmatiawas a direct result of the exorbitant tribute recluiledby Rome. In b<lthEast ancl West the borderswere unstable.anclin Darticularthe Parthiansand Arrne- 238 The Powerof Imagesin tbe Age of Augustus nians, instead of bowing to the will of the world ruler, withdrew entirely from his influence. Bur apparently none of these facts impinged upon the of the Romans themselves.To them' an imagewas more powconsciousness erful than the reality, and norhing could shaketheir faith in the new era. Chapter 6 Form and Meaning of the New Mythology In the introduction to his treatise "On the Ancient Orarors,,' Dionysius of Halicarnassusspeakswith great admiration for his own age, for the art of oratory had just experienceda tremendous revival. A new literary culture had arisen, so he believed,through imitation of the finest Attic authors of the classical Age in Greece,which was worthy to stand besidethe best of the past. The unwavering devotion ro the classical or Atticizing model is balancedby vehementattacks on the baroque Asiatic taste, which had distorted the entire cuiture with its shamelesstheatricality aimed only at stirring up the basest instincts. Its ostentation and glittering vulgarity, he writes, had even turned the once refined Athens into a bordello. Like many other Greek writers and artists, Dionysius had come to Rome in 30 n.c., just after the decisive Battle at Actium. His somewhat crude polemic is characterisricof the volatile mood that governed Rome at the time of the SecularGames (17 n.c.). For Dionysius,more is at srakethan iust stylesof rhetoric. The Atticizing style is for him both an elemenrin and the expressionof a whole new kind of education. of a new moral standard. He himself acknowledgesthat the cultural turnaround is directly linked to the political situation. He seesthe causeof the miraculous "turn" (metabole) in Rome'sworldwide empire and in the moral and cultural standards set by the rulers at Rome. It is only thanks ro rhem that this turn for the betterhas been achievedso rapidly and so far afield. only in a few remote citiesof Mysia, Phrygia, and Caria are vestigesof the old, wicked ways ro be found. And that is surely no surprise,since the Orient had always been the sourceof all ef il. A sudden change in political imagery,as abrupt as that in artistic style, canalso be observed.we needonly recall how the new portrait of Augustus, composedof quotations from Classicalsculpture, replaced the more emotional portrait of his youth (cf. fig. 83), how honorary statuesshowing off the glories of the male nude were replaced by the togate figure with veiled head, or how images of the carefree Aphrodite in Asiatic splendor were replacedby icons heavy with symbolism. The intention was to createa kind of "superculture," which would combine the best traditions of both Greek and Roman culrure, Greek aesthetics 239