Download How effectively did Emperor Augustus use patronage to promote

How effectively did Emperor Augustus use patronage to promote and uphold his power over the
Roman world?
Poppy Thompson – Ormiston Six Villages Academy
By cleverly combining the use of brute force, law and politics, Caesar Augustus rose from what
many scholars - such as Chisholm and Ferguson - describe as “relative obscurity”[1] to become
the first Emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. However, I do not believe that Augustus'
power came merely from his adoption by Julius Caesar and his military success which meant
that – as Pat Southern states - “he controlled all the armies and had direct access to the wealth
of Egypt.”[2] As I will be arguing throughout this essay, Augustus was able to achieve and
maintain power through his effective use of patronage. In the Roman world patronage was very
common and consisted of “patrons” providing protection and favours to their “clients” who, in
turn, were obliged to support the patron when they were required to do so. Augustus and many
others like him used patronage to increase support for themselves as it made them look strong
and powerful. I will try to outline three different ways in which Augustus used patronage –
through architecture, coinage and literature - discussing my views on the extent to which these
were forms of propaganda; and evaluating which types were the most successful. I believe that
Augustus' patronage was effective as it helped him to maintain power over the Roman Empire
for 41 years.
Augustus’ patronage of architecture was very effective as it allowed him to convey many
different messages. His patronage of the town walls of Saepinum is something that is very
intriguing as there is no apparent reason for why such impressive walls and gateways were built
around a small town which was in the mountains. The Roman world was already under the Pax
Romana and the small outbreaks of violence that still existed took place far away from
Saepinum. One idea that tries to explain the presence of these impressive structures is that
Augustus may have wanted to intimidate people. The two sculptures of bound, barbaric
prisoners could have been intended to describe the fate of those who disobeyed the laws. As M.
Frank suggests, “the gateways intimidate you into good behaviour,”[3] which is quite likely to be
the reasoning behind the building of such structures. S. Tuck states that the gateways could be
intended to display a message that is, “cautionary and forbidding,” as foreigners and outlaws
may, “identify with the bound captives.”[4]
I agree that Augustus may have used his patronage of the town walls of Saepinum to associate
himself with this intimidating structure so that people would fear what may happen to them if
they were to turn against him. It is evident that Augustus was a patron to the town of Saepinum
and wanted people to know this through his inscription. Augustus was probably just helping and
protecting the town of Saepinum as they were his clients and so they would support him.
Ultimately I believe that Augustus effectively conveyed a message of his own power through his
patronage of the town walls of Saepinum which would have demonstrated to all who saw it that
he was a person to respect.
In 13 BC the Altar of Peace was founded to commemorate Augustus establishing the Pax
Romana. The article Roman Power and Roman Imperial Sculpture describes how “the two north
panels focus on military and war while the southern panels reflect more peaceful pursuits.”[5] I
believe that Augustus was trying to convey his power over the Roman Empire through his
patronage of this structure. The Altar of Peace is a public declaration of Augustus’ ability to
conquer his enemies and maintain a peaceful Empire, preventing outbreaks of conflict.
Augustus’ patronage of architecture was very
effective as the impressive buildings clearly
demonstrated the fact that Augustus was
wealthy, respected and powerful. He states that
he, “rebuilt the Capitol,”[6] and is famously
quoted to have said; “I found Rome a city of
brick and left it a city of marble”. In addition to
the effects of the structures themselves, the
purpose of each building played a huge role in
Augustus’ patronage of architecture. For
example, his reconstruction of buildings meant
that he had places to hold events. Augustus
also states, “Twenty six times I gave to the
people hunting shows of African wild beasts.”[7]
This shows that his patronage of architecture did not just impress people, it could serve as
entertainment. Augustus appears to have given the people of the Roman Empire events that
they wanted and so, support for him would increase. Therefore, I believe that Augustus’
patronage of architecture was very effective as it was able to display messages of his power
while also consolidating it.
The creation and implementation of many different coins was a strategy that Augustus
clearly thought would an effective way of helping him to consolidate his power. However, I
believe that Augustus' patronage of coins was not as effective as he would have desired. This is
because the coins were very clearly used as a form of propaganda, promoting his political
cause and ideas in a very biased way. As Ronnie Watts points out, “Augustan imagery on coins
were not always subtle.”[8] For example, in 12 BC a coin was issued that had Augustus' head
with the words AVGVSTVS DIVI F on the obverse and the words COSSVS LENTVLVS RES
PVB AVGVST with a picture of Augustus extending his hand to the Respublica who are
kneeling before him.[9] This coin completely contradicts the image that Augustus had built of
himself as being not a dictator but the 'First Citizen' as it highlights Augustus' divine status. It
may have confused people to see Augustus’ patronage of a coin which depicts them (the
people) as being inferior to him. Due to this, the bold statements that were made on the coins –
including the aforementioned coin - may have led to some people perceiving Augustus as a vain
and arrogant man. This would not have helped him maintain his power as ill feelings towards
him would have jeopardised his support. This is why I believe that Augustus' patronage of coins
was not as effective as it could have been.
Despite this, I believe that Augustus' patronage of coinage was clever as it allowed his
messages to be spread to everyone in the Roman Empire, regardless of their literary skill.
Augustus used coinage to spread many different messages about his power to people. In 12 BC
another coin was issued which depicted a naked German man kneeling in submission whilst
offering up a vexillum. This coin would send a warning to potential enemies of Augustus,
showing them that he was prepared for conflicts and had defeated many people. This would
also provide a comfort to the people of the
Roman Empire as it would show them that
he could protect them from any threats. By
displaying his own power through his
patronage of coinage, Augustus managed
to consolidate his existing position in society
and create even more power for himself.
Augustus' coinage was not subtle but was
able to affect many people and therefore it
worked because it spread the messages
that Augustus wanted to be distributed throughout the empire. Watts makes a very interesting
point in his work and that is the idea that the coins spread one message: “Augustus was Rome
and Rome was Augustus.”[10] Personally, I agree very strongly with this interpretation.
Augustus used coinage to create an image of himself, showing all his victories,
accomplishments and achievements. He used his patronage of coins to link himself to the gods
and the divine. Although the coins sometimes contradicted his apparent ideas for leadership,
they were a means of ensuring that everybody was aware of how powerful he was. Yes,
Augustus definitely exploited his patronage of coinage, but it allowed him to increase his power
over the Empire that he had created.
The third way, in which I feel Augustus used patronage to promote his power, was
through literature. I strongly agree with Shotter on the idea that Virgil was used by Augustus to
provide a “prospectus for the Augustan Empire.”[11] Augustus believed that an epic poem that
highlighted his achievements was necessary and after asking several poets to create a
masterpiece, Virgil accepted the offer. The Aeneid tells a story about a Trojan named Aeneas
who became the ancestor of the Romans after travelling to Italy. The poem creates a parallel
between Aeneas who founded Rome and Augustus who created the Roman Empire. Augustus’
patronage of this piece of literature can be viewed as propaganda as it spread biased versions
of his work and ideas. Aeneas is depicted as a heroic man who cares deeply about his country
and so sets out on a journey which is dedicated to the betterment of Rome. This story appears
to reflect Augustus’ introduction of the Pax Romana and the traditional Roman values that he
wanted to return to. Augustus’ patronage of the Aeneid helped him to consolidate his power as
the poem gives mythical legitimacy to his rule over the Roman Empire. Kamm highlights that
The Aeneid is a “deliberate continuation of Homer’s Iliad, to stress the connection between
Rome and the heroes of Troy.”[12] The poem also renames Aeneas’ son as Iulus which would
make him an ancestor of Julius Caesar and therefore the adoption of Augustus would have
given him a right to rule over Rome.
The fact that Virgil was Augustus’ client in the Roman patron system could lead people to
receive the poem as a deeply biased story, intended to promote Augustus as an Emperor.
However, I believe that a more likely scenario is that the Aeneid would have increased support
for Augustus as people would have trusted him due to the prophecies made in the poem. Many
of the prophecies and scenes from the poem are depicted on the Ara Pacis, the Altar of Peace.
This is an important monument and on the Southwestern side of the structure various scenes
from the Aeneid are depicted. In one scene, Aeneas is shown with his son, offering a sacrifice to
the Gods. The sacrifice of this sow refers to a prophecy in the Aeneid which states that a sow
would be found under an oak tree by Aeneas when he entered Latium. An article by SUNY says
that, “Augustus would have wanted to be linked to his legendary ancestor Aeneas, the pater
(father) of the Julian family and the Roman
tradition.”[13] I thoroughly agree with this idea as
Augustus wanted to reassure people that his ability to
rule was validated by the idea that he was a
descendent of Aeneas and, in turn, Romulus. He used
his patronage of Virgil’s poem The Aeneid to
showcase his political aims for the Roman Empire in
an indirect way. This was quite effective as it did allow
his messages to reach some of the most influential
people but it did not affect everyone. Therefore, he
also displayed ideas from the poem through the Altar of Peace so his message would be
stronger and more widely received.
I believe that Augustus used patronage very effectively to promote and uphold his power over
the Roman world as he was able to display strong messages to many people through many
different ways. His patronage showed that he was respected, strong in warfare, peaceful and
powerful. Augustus wanted people to both fear and respect him, so he used his patronage to
display many different aspects of himself.
In my opinion, coinage was the least successful type of patronage as it displayed very blatant
messages that could be perceived as arrogant, something that the Roman people did not favour
in their leaders. Despite this, the coins that Augustus produced were still quite effective because
they conveyed his achievements and ideas to the entire Roman Empire regardless of peoples'
literary skill. This type of patronage was evidently used as propaganda, as it spread messages
to the masses which conveyed his political ideas. I believe that Augustus' patronage of
literature, such as Aeneid, was used as a form of propaganda as it displayed his political aims.
This was more effective than coinage as it allowed him to showcase his ideas to influence many
important people but was more subtle and would not affect those who were illiterate. Finally, I
believe that the patronage of architecture was the most effective form of patronage as it was
permanently on display for all to see, was a physical reminder of his strength and power, and
could also display many different messages such as his ability to hold peace and win wars. Due
to his effective use of patronage through many different forms, Caesar Augustus was able to
command the support of the most influential people and due to this he was able to uphold his
power over the Roman world until his death on 19th August 14AD.
Bibliography:
(1) Kitty Chisholm and John Ferguson (1981) Rome the Augustan Age , 21
(2) Pat Southern, ‘Rome’s Pivotal Emperors’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/romespivotalemperors_gallery_01.shtml [Accessed
30 July 2016]
(3) Michael Frank ‘A Rarity among Roman towns’, New York Times, 23 December 1990
(4) Steven Tuck (2014) A History of Roman Art , 151
(5) ‘Roman Power and Roman Imperial Sculpture’,
https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/politics/roman_imp_sculpt.html
[Accessed 31 July 2016]
(6) Emperor Augustus (14 AD) The Deeds of the Divine Augustus
(7) Emperor Augustus (14 AD) The Deeds of the Divine Augustus
(8) Ronnie Watt (2014) The Numismatic Propaganda of Augustus
(9) ‘RIC I (second edition) Augustus 413’, www.numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1(2).aug.413
[Accessed 31 July 2016]
(10) Ronnie Watt (2014) The Numismatic Propaganda of Augustus
(11) David Shotter (1991) Augustus Caesar , 49
(12) Antony Kamm, ‘The Romans – Virgil’, http://www.the-romans.co.uk/virgil.htm [Accessed 31
July 2016]
(13) https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/politics/roman_imp_sculpt.html
[Accessed 31 July 2016]