Download Sect. H, pp. 180-189, H1-H27

SECTION H
FROM TRIUMVIRATE TO PRINCIPATE
This section contains sources relating to the establishment of the principate, the term used to describe
Augustus' position asprinceps. Full consideration of the period of the triumvirate, November 43 BC to 33/32
BC,lies outside the scope of this book. Nonetheless, since putting 'Octavian' behind him was a crucial part
of the 'Settlement of 28/27 BC' some sources dating to the triumviral period are included. The sources are
arranged by the chronology of the events described.
Triumvir (HI-HS)
H1 Augustus' signet ring
Initially the deified Augustus used a signet ring engraved with a sphinx. He had found
two such rings in his mother's collection, so alike as to be indistinguishable. During
the civil wars, when he was away from Rome, his friends used one of them to sign
letters and decrees which the exigencies of the moment required to be issued in his
name. His correspondents used to make a nice little quip to the effect that "the sphinx
is riddling again." Later Augustus sought to avoid the sphinx's unpleasant associations
by signing documents with an image of Alexander the Great.
[Pliny. Natural Hisrory 37.101
Sphinx: the mythical riddler appears also on coins from Pergamum under the legend 'AUGUSTUS'.
Suetonius(Augustus 50) adds that later still, the seal with Alexander the Great was replaced by one with his
own head. Augustus deliberately associated himself with Alexander the Great: see Index 'Alexander'.
H2
Caesar's heir, aureus, 43 BC
Obv.:
Bare head of Octavian right, bearded.
C CAESAR COS PONT AVG (Gaius Caesar, consul, pontifex, augur)
Rev.:
Head of Julius Caesar, wearing laurel wreath, right.
C CAESAR DICT PERP PONT MAX (Gaius Caesar, perpetual dictator,
pontifex maximus)
[RRC49012, BMCRR Gaul 741
This coin is dated to late 43 BC, when at the age of nineteen Octavian became consul for the first time on 19
August, after his march on Rome in July. It is one of his earliest portraits. ' h e twin busts of Octavian and
Julius Caesar and the shared name emphasise the close connection between them on which Octavian was
trying to capitalise. He wears a beard as a sign of mouming for his adoptive father. His name on the obverse
reveals the important point that in the 40s he styled himself Gaius Caesar. He was well aware of the talismanic
value of this adopted name in securing the support he needed to succeed to Julius Caesar's inheritance.
I33 Octavian's delight at a comet appearingafter Julius Caesar's asassination
His own words are evidence of his delight: "Coincident with the very days in which I was
celebrating my games," he wrote,"a comet shone for a whole week in the northern sky.
181
Triumvirate to Principate
It rose about an hour before sunset, shining brightly and clearly visible in all lands. The
common people believed it was a sign that Caesar's spirit had been received into the
conclave of the immortal gods, and as a symbol of that event the likeness of a star was
added to the bust of Caesar, which we shortly after dedicated in the Forum". So much for
his public sentiments. Privately, however, he had a different interpretation and rejoiced
to think that the birth of the comet referred to himself and that he had been born under its
protection. Certainly, to tell the truth, it did appear to have a salutary effect everywhere.
[Pliny, Natural History, 2.941
Presumably Pliny quotes here from Augustus' (lost) autobiography. The games (between 20 and 30 July,
44 BC)were in honour of Venus Genetrir (Venus the Ancestress, that is the claimed ancestress of the Julian
family). After Julius Caesar's official deification in 42 BC Octavian used 'Divi filius' (son of the Deified),
as part of his official title (see e.g H I 8 and note on Section B -31 BC).
H4
The battle of Mutina in Ovid, Fasti
On the next day, the fourteenth, mariner, head for the harbour
And safety. Storms from the west are coming, mixed with hail.
Yet come what may, this is the self-same day that Caesar struck
The armies of Mutina with a hail-storm of his own -his soldiery.
625
[Ovid, Fasti 4.6254281
This passage and (H5) from Ovid's poem on the Roman calendar mark the anniversary on 14 April of the
battle of Mutina (43 BC),the occasion when the 19-year old future.Augustus won his first military victory
(see also Propertius' poem G1527), and the official proclamation two days later of his title of imperator,
'Commander'. Both dates are marked on the Augustan calendar at Cumae (C40).
H5
Octavian hailed as imperator in Ovid, Fasti
This fifteenth day is that which Cytherean Venus once commanded
To speed more quickly, hurrying her horses on a looser rein downhill
To sunset, that the more quickly should the next day dawn and bring
To young Augustus victory and the accolade of imperator.
675
[Ovid, Fasti 4.6734761
H6 Law and morality during the Civil Wars
Gnaeus Pompeius was then elected consul for the third time with a programme for the
reform of public morality, but the remedies proved worse than the disease they were
designed to eliminate. He turned out to be both author and subverter of his own
legislation, losing by force of arms what by force of arms he had sought to impose.
This was immediately followed by twenty years of constant civil war with the total
breakdown of law and order. The most abominable crimes went unpunished; the most
admirable deeds proved a recipe for disaster. At long last, in his sixth consulship 128
BC], Caesar Augustus felt his position to be sufficiently secure to revoke the laws he
had introduced as Triumvir and to introduce the new constitution which we now enjoy
in peace under the principate.
But the result was that our slavery intensified. We lived under constant surveillance
by informers, for whom the rewards available under the legislation of Papius and
Poppaeus proved a great incentive. As a result, anyone who failed to win the privileges
of parenthood found his property deemed vacant and forfeit to the state in its capacity
as the parent of all its citizens. The corrosive effects of this evil and its disastrous
consequences for so many estates came to afflict the life of the whole community,
whether in Rome, Italy, or elsewhere.
[Tacitus,Annals 3.281
182
Triumvirate to Principate
Tacitus is led to digress on law and morality in relating a proposal to amend legislation on family matters,
Annals 3.25: see S9.
Gnaeus Pompey: Pompey the Great was consul for the third time in 52 Bc: he legislated against bribery and
violence and regulated judicial procedure and rules on the election and tenure of officials. The legislation
was severe, but for his friends' benefit he ignored these resbaints.
Force of arms: civil war broke out at the beginning of 49 BC, when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and
invaded Italy, and ended with the capture of Alexandria in August 30 BC.
Revoke the laws: see Dio 53.2.5: the revocation probably consisted in his proclaiming that laws might be
challenged in the courts: outright blanket revocation would have meant invalidating acts on which the careers
and fortunes of survivors depended.
Triumvir: see RG 1.4 and 7.1 with notes (Section A).
New constitution: the settlement of 28-27 BC:see H18-H25.
Informers: they both supplied information to prosecutors and brought their own prosecutions.
H7 The change in Augustus
The deified Augustus was a mildprinceps, as long as you judge him from the beginning
of his principate. When, as Triumvir, he shared the state with others, he could kill with
the best of them. When he was eighteen years old, the same age as you are now, he
had already buried his dagger in his friends' hearts; he had already plotted to assassinate
Mark Antony, the consul; he had already been party to the proscriptions.
[Younger Seneca, Concerning Clemency 1.9.11
H7 and H8 introduce and conclude Seneca's explanation of the clemency shown by Augustus towards a wouldbe assassin, Cinna (see P11). Seneca seeks to furnish a good example to his addressee and former pupil, the
emperor Nero, but also to flatter him by insisting that Nero's behaviour has already surpassed that of the young
AugustudOctavian.He is inaccurate about Nero, who is portrayed as innocent of bloodshed when he had already
murdered Britannicus early in AD 55, and also about Augustus, who at 18 (Sept 45 to Sept 44 BC)had not yet
betrayed friends, not plotted to assassinate Antony, nor taken part in the proscriptions of 4 3 4 2 BC. Seneca has
backdated Octavian's crimes to show that Nero has already shown himself superior to Augustus in clemency.
H8 The change in Augustus (continued)
That was Augustus in his old age, or rather as he stood upon the threshold of old age.
As a young man he was hot-blooded, quick tempered, guilty of many deeds which he
was reluctant to remember. No one will dare to compare your own mild nature with
that of the deified Augustus, even if a competition between the years of youth and of
advanced old age were appropriate. So his conduct was restrained and merciful? Of
course it was! But only after the seas of Actium had been stained with Roman blood,
after his own fleet as well as that of his enemies had been wrecked off Sicily, after the
bloody sacrifices at Perusia and all those proscriptions.
[Younger Seneca, Concerning Clemency 1.1 1.11
Seas ofActium stained with Roman blood: Seneca, writing almost a century after the event, clearly presents
Actium as a battle between Romans, rather than the war against foreigners which Octavian and the poets
presented (see below H9-Hll).
Sicily: Sextus Pompey had established a power base in Sicily from 44 BC and posed a real threat to Octavian.
Octavian was twice defeated by him in naval battles in 38 BC, but Agrippa's campaign of 36 BC defeated Sextus
Pompey and he was killed. Augustus presented Sicily as a war against slaves and pirates (RG 25.1,27.3).
Perusia: this town in Umbria (modem Perugia) was besieged, captured and plundered by Octavian in 4 1 BC.
See Appian Civil Wars 5.3249 and Propertius' poems in this selection, G13 and 614.
Actium and aftermath (W-H17)
W
Battle of Actiurn (31 BC): dedication to Apollo of Actium
Here, too, near the mouth (of the Ambracian Gulf) is the sacred site of the temple of
Apollo of Actium. There is a ridge of high ground, at the summit of which is set the
Triumvirate to Principate
183
temple itself; below it a plain with a sacred grove, and a dockyard where Caesar
dedicated as the first fruits of his naval victory an offering of ten ships, a representative
sample of each type from those with a single bank of oars right up to a ten-banker.
[Strabo, Geography 7.7.61
HI0 Victory monument celebrating Actium, 29 BC, Nikopolis in Epirus
(NW Greece)
[Imperator] Caesar, son of the deified [Julius, having won] a naval victory in the war
which he waged on behalf of the state in this region, [dedicated] to Neptune [and] Mars
the camp, decorated with spoils, [from] which he set out to pursue [the enemy], as
consul for the fifth time and hailed imperator seven times, once peace had been
achieved by land [and sea].
PJ 12, updated AE 1977.7781
In order to celebrate his victory at Actium, Octavian created a new city, Nikopolis ('Victory City'), near the
site of the battle, one of two towns of this name (the other near Alexandria) which he founded in memory
of his victories over Antony and Cleopatra,in emulation of similar city-foundations by Alexander the Great.
He also established the prestigious quadrennial Actian games and enlarged the temple of Apollo, which
stood where Antony's camp had been. This inscription, engraved on the frieze of a portico, commemorates
his victory monument, decorated with the prows of ships captured from Antony, set up on the hill where his
own camp had been. It illustrates the common theme of universal peace by land and sea, and represents the
victory as being won on behalf of the state (cf RG 25.2-3).
HI1 Ambracia and other cities re-founded as Nikopolis: the Actian Games
In antiquity Ambracia enjoyed a quite exceptional prosperity and was chosen as his
royal residence by Pyrrhus, who did much to grace the city architecturally. But more
recently, thanks to their record of constant insurrection and the endless warfare
between the Macedonians and the Romans, Ambracia and all the other cities of the
region have suffered general devastation. As a result, Augustus recognised in the end
that these cities had no future, so he brought the remaining inhabitants into a single
new foundation situated on the Gulf of Ambracia. He named it Nikopolis in honour of
his victory in the naval battle fought at the mouth of the gulf against Mark Antony and
Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen, who personally took part in the battle.
Nikopolis now enjoys a flourishing population which is increasing daily; it has
extensive territory and is splendidly adorned with the spoils of the Actian campaign.
In addition, the sacred precinct of Actian Apollo which stands in its suburbs is lavishly
equipped, with a gymnasium and stadium for the quadrennial games in its sacred grove,
and the sacred hill of Apollo rising above. The Actian games, dedicated to Apollo of
Actium, have been given Olympic status and are managed by the Spartans. The other
settlements in the area are satellites of Nikopolis. In days gone by the Actian games
were celebrated in honour of the god by the people of the locality and the prize for
each contest was a wreath. But Caesar's patronage has greatly enhanced their prestige.
[Seabo, Geography 7.7.61
Strabo is interested in the creation and destruction of cities, which alters the landscape of the empire. Here the
city is highly symbolicas a reminder of the victory over Antony, and thus it has an importanthistory attached.
endless warfare: Rome and Macedonia fought three major wars in 214-205 Bc; 200-188 B c ; 171-167 B c
and forcibly made Macedonia a province in 146 BC after further violence.
H12 Augustus returns works of art plundered by Antony
Then there is the city of Rhoeteium standing upon a hill, and contiguous with it a lowlying shoreline on which stand the tomb and temple of Ajax together with a statue of
184
Triumvirate to Principate
him, which Antony seized and carried off to Egypt, though it was returned to the people
of Rhoeteium by Caesar Augustus together with a number of other works of art. In fact,
where Antony canied off the finest of dedicated offerings from the most famous of
temples to give to his Egyptian woman, Augustus gave them all back again to the gods.
[Strabo, Geography, 13.1.301
Augustus RG 24.1 boasts of his return of works of
plundered by Antony.
H13 Statues restored to the Temple of Hera at Samos
The temple of Hera is open to the sky and also full of the finest statues, among them
three colossal works of Myron set on one base, which Antony took away. Augustus
Caesar put two of them back on the same base, Athene and Heracles, but moved the
Zeus to the Capitol, having built a shrine for it there.
[Strabo, Geography, 14.1.141
Myron: famous Greek sculptor, active 4 7 M BC. Originals and copies of his work were very popular with
Romans. Augustus also returned to Ephesus a statue of Apollo by Myron, taken by Antony (Pliny, NH 34.58).
H14 Octavian awarded the siege crown (30 BC)
During the consulship of Marcus Cicero's son, on 13 September, the senate made a
presentation to Augustus himself of the siege crown, since the civic crown was deemed
so very inadequate.
[Pliny,Natural History 22.131
I 3 September: Octavian captured Alexandria on 1August 30 BC, Cleopatra committed suicide on 10 August.
Despite what Pliny implies, the crown must have been voted rather than presented on this date as Octavian
did not return to Rome until the following year. Dio 5 1.19 gives details of this and other honours voted to
Octavian at around this time.
siege crown, civic crown: Pliny explains (Natural History 22.6-8) 'there is no greater honour than the
grass crown, only awarded by a whole army to a singleperson who has rescued them from a desperate situation.
The same crown is called a siege crown when a whole camp is'relieved and saved from dreadful destruction.
The civic crown (of oak leaves) was awarded for saving the life of a citizen in war.' Pliny's roll of honour
culminates with Scipio Africanus (K24)and Augustus, RG 34.2 mentions the civic, but not the siege crown.
H15 Backing a winner - a talking raven
Returning in high spirits from the Actium campaign, Caesar was greeted among the
cheering crowds by a man with a raven which he had taught to say: "Hail, Caesar, o w
victorious commander-in-chief." Caesar was delighted by the bird's punctilious
courtesy and bought it for twenty thousand sesterces. The owner's colleague, who had
not been allowed a share of the emperor's generosity, told Caesar that the man had
another raven and suggested that he be asked to demonstrate its talents also. The bird
was duly brought out and spoke the words which it had been taught: "Hail, Antony,
o w victorious commander-in-chief." Caesar was not at all put out, and contented
himself with telling the owner to share the reward with his colleague.
wacmbius, Satunurlia 2.4.291
This amusing anecdote shows clearly that what mattered in the war between Antony and Octavian was
backing the winner, and that Octavian might, at least after his victory, be prepared tacitly to admit it.
H16 Octavian's triple triumph
He returned to Rome and celebrated three triumphs - the first for his campaign in
Illyricum, the second for his victory at Actium, and the third for his defeat of Cleopatra.
Thus after twenty years he brought the civil wars to an end.
[Summary of Livy book 1351
185
Triumvirate to Principate
Octavian celebrated three triumphs on three successive days. 13,14,15 August 29 BC.Various sources name
the triumphs: the official record (see N2c) actually omits the middle triumph. Virgil (638, line 714) has
Octavian's triple triumph depicted amongst scenes from Roman history on Aeneas' m w c a l shield. RG 4.1
mentions the triple triumph and the refusal of further triumphs. Suetonius describes the triumphs as being
for Dalmatia, Actium, Alexandria (Augustus 22.1). Twenry years: Livy counts from January 49 BC when
Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon to Octavian's capture of Alexandria in August 30 BC.
H17 Triumphal arch?, 29 BC,Rome, Roman Forum
The Senate and People of Rome (set this up) in honour of Imperator Caesar, son of the
Deified, consul five times, designated consul for a sixth time, imperator seven times,
to commemorate the preservation of the state.
17=ILS81]
This large inscription (9 ft long, 2 ft high, and 3 ft deep, found in the 1 6 century
~
near the temple of Castor,
but subsequently lost) may come from the'triple arch to the south of the temple of the Deified Julius (See
K14). This probably celebrated Octavian's triple triumph (see H16) but was perhaps subsequently modified
to commemorate his recovery of the legionary standards from the Parthians too.
The settlement of 28-27
BC (H18-H25)
This has been widely discussed, both in terms of what exact powers Augustus relinquished and assumed,
and in terms of what he wished to present as taking place. See for example, Syme, Roman Revolution
313-330; Brunt & Moore, Res Gesrae Divi Augusri 8-10,75-77; CAH X2 76-79, 113-1 17. The most
important source is, of course, what Augustus himself wrote at Res Gesrae 34. Dio 53.1-20 gives a narrative
account, but one inevitably influenced by over 200 years of hindsight. His conclusions are more or less the
opposite to the picture presented by Augustus of giving back power. 'In this way all the power of the people
and senate passed to Augustus and from then was established what, to speak accurately, is monarchy.' Two
main points should be noted. F i t l y that Augustus was in reality no less 'master of everything' after 27 BC
than before. Secondly, that despite this reality, Augustus felt that presentation mattered: the wish to draw a
line under the triumvirate, civil war, and Octavian is clear; but equally the fate of Julius Caesar, who had
seemed not even to think the f a ~ a d of
e traditional government worth preserving (see, for example, Suetonius
Julius 76-79) must have made Augustus realise that a republican spin was worthwhile, not least perhaps in
allowing members of the governing class to feel they could continue to serve theprinceps with honour (see,
for example, H42).
Obv.:
Head of Octavian right, wearing laurel wreath.
IMP CAESAR DIVI F COS VI (CommanderCaesar, Son of the Deified, consul
for the sixth time)
Rev.:
Octavian, seated left on magistrate's chair (sella cumlis) wearing toga, holding out scroll in right
hand; magistrate's document container (scrinium) on ground to left.
LEGES ET IVRA P R RESTITVIT (He has restored to the Roman People their
laws and rights)
[BM CM 1995.4-1.11
186
Triumvirate to Principate
This unique coin is one of the most important new pieces of evidence relating to Octavian's rise to supreme
power. Probably made in the province of Asia, it shows Octavian wearing the laurel wreath awarded to him
for his triple triumph of 29 BC.The reverse legend proclaims his restoration of the laws and the constitutional
rights of the Roman People. He is depicted as consul, handing over a document scroll to an unseen recipient,
perhaps in the very act of restoration. This coin reveals that the constitutional settlement was already being
proclaimed as complete in 28 ec.
HI9 Division of Empire into two
This passage is continued in M2.
For when his country entrusted.him with the pre-eminent position in its governance
and he became supreme ruler for life in war and in peace, he divided the whole empire
into two parts. One he assigned to himself, the other to the people of Rome. For himself
he took all those areas that still needed a military ganison.
[Strabo, Geography, 17.3.251
H20 The civic crown (27 BC)
(In civil wars) The Senate has made no grant of a laurel wreath to anyone, nor indeed
has anyone desired it when a section of the state was in mourning. But the grant
of the civic crown of oak-leaves is a different matter. Then hands are eagerly
stretched out to receive an honour which is awarded for saving the lives of fellowcitizens. Thus the door-posts of the house of Augustus triumphantly declare his glory
for ever.
[Valerius Maximus, 2.8.71
laurel wreath: symbolised a triumph (see note on H21).
civic crown: on this award, see note on H14. Augustus was given this award, widely commemorated (e.g.
C5, H21, H23,H32, RG 34.2) for saving the lives of fellow-citizens in general by bringing an end to civil
war.
H21 Civic crown: aureus, 27 BC
Obv.:
Bare head of Augustus right.
CAESAR COS VII CIVIBVS SERVATEIS (caesar, consul for the seventh
time, for saving the citizens)
Rev.:
Eagle, wings spread, standing on oak-wreath; two laurel branches behind.
AVGVSTVS 1 S C (Augustus, by decree of the Senate)
[RIC Augustus 277, BMC Augustus 6561
In one symbolically packed design centred on the eagle, the bird of Jupiter, a powerful allusion to Augustus'
position of supremacy, the reverse of this coin refers to many of the privileges granted in January 27 BC: the
name Augustus; the civic crown; the right to have laurel branches (associated with victory and the god
Apollo) before the entrance to his house. The letters S C (by decree of the senate) refer to the Senates' grant
of these exceptional honours, not to the issue of the coin.
Triumvirate to Principate
187
H22 'Augustus' 27 BC
When Gaius Caesar had established the peace and re-imposed order in the provinces,
he was given the cognomen Augustus. The sixth month, Sextilis, was re-named August
in his honour.
[Summary of Livy 1341
The name 'Augustus' was decreed 16January 27 BC according to the calendars (C7;
C40 and RG 34.2; Suetonius,
Augusrus 7.2; Velleius 2.91.1). On the naming of the month, Dio 55.6.6 agrees with Censorinus (H36)
in giving
the year as 8 BC.Presumably the summariser mistook a digression by Livy for notice of the actual event.
H23 Ovid, Fasti on the name 'Augustus'
Upon the Ides in great Jove's shrine the priest, well-purified,
Offers the entrails of a gelded ram upon the flames. For on that day
Was restitution made of every province to Rome's sovereign people;
Then was your grandsire honoured by the holy name "Augustus".
Read all the titles on the waxen images that deck our nobles' atria;
Never were titles heaped upon a single man as great as these.
Africa proclaims one victor by her name; another witness bears
To Cretan power subdued; another the bandits of Isauria. This
From Numidian conquest gained his glory, that from Messana,
A third at the city of Numantia once made his mark. But Drusus
Gained death as well as glory from his conquered Germany.
Alas that virtue such as his should gain in recompense so short a span.
But if from his conquests Caesar should gain his titles, his would be
Honours as many as the wide world holds the names of nations.
Some from a single enemy have titles won, Torquatus from his foe
Despoiled of necklace; Corvinus from the raven, his strange auxiliary.
Pompeius Magnus, Great is your name, and great the measure of your deeds;
But greater yet, greater than any name, is he that conquered you.
Fabius is the name that holds fame's highest rung; and theirs
The Greatest house, claiming the well-earned name of "Marimus".
Yet mortal only are the honours earned by these; Augustus alone,
Our Caesar, bears a name worthy to partner mighty Jove himself.
"Revered" (or "august") do the Fathers call our holy things; august
The temples consecrated with due ritual and priestly hands to heaven.
From that same august stem derives the craft of augury; thence too
The increase, or augment, to mortal men which comes as gift of Jove.
May he augment our Leader's empire, may he augment his years;
Long may the oak-leaf crown protect your doors. May the inheritor
Of that great name shoulder the burden of the wide world's rule,
Blessed by heaven's auspices and those same omens as blessed his father.
605
615
[Ovid, Fasti 1.5874161
Ides: 13January.Ovid thus dates both the division of provinces and the award of the name 'Augustus'.
These lines refer to the assumption after the relevant conquests of the extra names of Africanus,
Creticus, Isauricus, Numidicus, Messanicus and Numantinus by various great Roman generals in
the Republic, thus implying that 'Augustus' has some precedent.
5 9 6 8 These lines lament the loss of Drusus, brother of Tiberius and father of Germanicus, who died in 9 BC
after victories in Germany, for which he receivedthe title 'Germanicus' which was passed on to his son.
6 0 1 4 More Roman names deriving from military achievements (Torquatus from despoiling a Gaul of his
torque or necklace in the 4C BC;for Corvinus see K22.
587
593-6
Triumvirate to Principate
61 1
616
August...augury: Munatius Plancus who formally proposed the name in the Senatequoted a famous
line from Ennius, 'After famous Rome was founded by augury august' as evidence for the
suitablilityof the name, 'Augustus' (Suet. Aug. 7.2).
His father: Augustus' adoptive father Julius Caesar, see 54.
H24 Shield of Virtue, Arles
The Senate and People of Rome gave to Imperator Caesar Augustus, consul eight times,
a shield of valour, clemency, justice, and piety towards gods and country.
[El 22 = A E 1952.1651
A large marble copy from Arelate (Arles in Provence) of the golden shield set up in Augustus' honour in
the Senate House in Rome, near the Altar of Victory. This copy dates from a year later than the original,
which was bestowed upon Augustus in 27 BC as part of a package of honours - see RG 34.2.
H25 Shield of Virtue, de-us,
Obv.:
Bare head of Augustus left.
Rev.:
Round shield.
c. 19 BC
CAESAR AVGVSTVS
S P Q R 1 CL V (The Senate and People of Rome [dedicated the] Shield of
Virtue)
[RIC Augustus 42b, BMC Augustus 3351
See H24 above.
The settlement of 23 BC (H26-H27)
Like the settlement of 28/27, this has been widely argued about (see, for example, Syme, Roman Revolution
331-348; B ~ n &
t Moore, Res Gestae Divi Augusti 10-12; CAN X2 84-87, 113-117). The issues
here concern what prompted this constitutional settlement (Marcellus' death, Augustus' illness; a
conspiracy; or some combination) as well as the technicalities of his powers - tribunicia potestas
(tribunician power) and imperium maim (greater executive power). Augustus does not include this
settlement in his Res Gestae.
H26 Tribunician power (23 BC)
The tribunician power was a term formulated by Augustus to express the supremacy
of his own position. It allowed him to avoid the title of king or dictator, while giving
a title to his predominant position in all the highest offices of state. He then selected
Marcus Agrippa to share this title with him as colleague and, after his death, Tiberius
Nero, thus ensuring that there could be no doubt about his intended successor. Since
he had complete confidence in Tiberius' lack of ambition as well as his own preeminence, he hoped that this would prevent others from developing unhealthy
ambitions for the throne.
(Tacitus Annals 3.561
189
Triumvirate to Principate
Tribunician power: Augustus took this power, or activated power he already had, in mid-23 BC during
a political crisis in which he gave up the consulship. Besides the powers it conferred within the City it
stood for Augustus' championship of the people (traditionally the role of the tribunes). But he soon exploited
it as a means of indicating his partner in power and so, if Augustus died first, his successor. Tribunician
power always appears as one of the titles of the emperor. Dio explains the powers as 'giving them the right
to stop measures taken by anyone else if they disapprove, protecting them from maltreatment and permitting
them, if they think that they have been injured in some way, however trivial, not only in deed, but also in
word, to execute the person responsible without trial as accursed.' (Dio 53.17.9). 'Protection from
malmatment' (sacrosanctity) is mentioned specifically alongside the tribunician power by Augustus, Res
Gestae 10.1.
Marcus Agrippa: he held it 18-12 BC (HZ);
Tiberius 6-1 BC and from AD 4 onwards (540).
H27 Augustus and Agrippa as Tribunes, denarius, 13 BC
Obv.:
Bare head of Augustus right.
CAESAR AVGVSTVS
Rev.:
Augustus and Agrippa wearing togas seated on a tribune's bench.
C SVLPICIVS PLATORIN (name of monetary magistrate)
[RIC Augustus 407. BMC Augustus 1151
Agrippa was granted tribunician power in 18 BC, renewed in 13 BC, and he and Augustus appear together
on this coin as fellow-tribunes. This image reinforced the important illusion that Augustus did not
exercise a monopoly on executive power, but that he shared it with colleagues in the proper Republican
manner.
Pontifex Maximus (12 BC) (H2SH32)
The pontifex maximus wasthe chief priest. Priesthoods in Rome were usually occupied by public figures.
The pontifex maximus was elected by popular vote. Julius Caesar was elected (through bribery) in 63 BC.
After his death, Lepidus the triumvir became pontifex, perhaps irregularly. Augustus ostentatiously allowed
Lepidus to remain pontifex maximus after his deposition in 36 BC and boasted about his moderation and
regard for legality in his Res Gesrae 10.2. The pontificate is recorded on Augustus' titles and all emperors
after Augustus adopted the office. The technical requirement for the ponrifex maximus to live in quarters
adjoining Vesta's temple in the Roman forum was satisfied by Augustus dedicating a shrine to Vesta in his
house on the Palatine.
H28 Calendar at Cupra, 12 BC
Caesar was made pontifex maximus and gave a donation to the people.
[Inscr. Ir. 13.1.7 - Fasri Cuprenses]
Other calendars mark Augustus being made ponrifex maximus on 6 March. See C15, C40.
H29 Lepidus allowed to remainpontifex maximus until his death
Even to Lepidus he allowed an unconscionable time in which to die. For long years he
tolerated his wearing the regalia of a ruler, and only after his death did he allow the