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Forest Edwards
Professor Lori Bedell
CAS 137H
25 September 2015
Augustus Caesar’s Immortality in Stone
Augustus Caesar died in the year 14 AD, and despite two thousand years of empires
rising and falling, barbarians invading, and cataclysmic world and local wars, he’s still
remembered. Not only is Augustus (also referred to as Octavius) remembered, he is remembered
as the man who brought peace to Rome’s expanding borders, built much of its civic
infrastructure, and strengthened its armies. That’s a pretty good legacy for someone who was,
essentially, a dictator. Augustus was never known as an emperor, and Rome was still officially a
republic, but it was Augustus’ actions that led to the demise of the Roman Republic, and the rise
of its successor empire. Even though leading Rome out of a potentially disastrous civil war is
both a significant and heroic act, it can be hard to swallow that what Augustus did was really no
better than the actions of Robespierre or Napoleon (who is similarly regarded as a heroic
dictator). Augustus Caesar effectively immortalized himself as a hero by perpetuating an image
of himself as a simultaneous conqueror and just, legitimate civic leader, as can be seen in statues
the Via Labicana Augustus and the Augustus of Prima Porta.
The Augustus of Prima Porta is without a doubt the definitive image of Augustus Caesar
in the mind of the public, and this is greatly to Augustus’ benefit as it portrays him as a youthful,
confident, powerful, savior of Rome, its people and the Senate. The first thing the statue does is
appeal to human’s basic nature; it shows a strong looking man in a dramatic pose, ensuring that
the gut reaction to the statue and the man it portrays is positive. The face is that of Augustus, but
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the hair is intentionally modeled after that of Alexander the Great, which would conflate the
memories of the heroic Alexander with those of Augustus. This is all done so that before even
thinking about the message of the statue, the viewer had already associated Augustus with lively
youth and one of the greatest heroes of the classical world. As if the ties to Alexander the Great
weren’t enough, the statue also features Cupid riding a dolphin, which doesn’t really have a clear
metaphorical meaning to an American living in the twenty-first century, but to a Roman would
evoke images of Venus, mother of Cupid and frequently symbolized by dolphins. The indirect
Venus imagery is an attempt to remind the viewer of one of Julius Caesar and Augustus’ claims;
that they were descendants of Venus. It is clear that one of main goals of this statue is to
establish the reputation of Augustus through whatever means necessary, which makes perfect
sense given his non-republican rise to power.
Augustus did not just look to establish his reputation in the distant past or through
rumors of divinity however. On his breastplate (in and of itself a symbol of Roman military
might), there are figures commemorating civic and military accomplishments achieved either
under Augustus’ rule or directly by him as a general. The defeated Parthians (who had
previously humiliated Rome) are seen, as well as subjugated Germans, Visigoths, Gauls, and
Egyptians, referring the conquests of the Iberian Peninsula, Northern Africa, and much of
Germany and Central Europe under the administration of Augustus. Above those figures are
images of the gods of the Roman pantheon, all serenely ordaining the Pax Romana started by
Augustus (the existence of such a term is even more evidence of the persuasiveness of Roman
propaganda).The message is clear; Augustus is an incredibly effective military and civic leader
who is a living continuation of the legacies of both the gods and famous conquerors of the past.
By appealing to people’s innate favoritism towards the attractive and heroic, as well as
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establishing himself as the inheritor of an ancient and grand legacy, Augustus establishes himself
as the rightful and reputable ruler of Rome.
The Via Labicana Augustus displays Augustus Caesar as the Pontifex Maximus, and in
doing so, shows that not only does he have the best interests of the Roman people and religion at
heart, but the support of both the senate and the gods. The term Pontifex Maximus today refers
to the Pope, but at the time referred to the religious head of the Roman Republic, which, over
time, evolved into the Pope. Augustus was elected Pontifex Maximus by the senate, and after his
reign it was traditionally tied to the role of Caesar. The fact that Augustus was elected Pontifex
Maximus is something that the statue is intended to remind the viewer of, as it is another tie
between the old institutions and the new Ruler. The Republic was still reeling from a generation
of civil wars and instability, and anything that hearkened back to the era of the Republic was
greatly comforting. The Pontifex Maximus especially was important to the average citizen, as it
was a position open to plebeians, and usually the person in the office was considered to be a man
of the people because of this.
This statue was meant to comfort, unlike the other which meant to inspire. Augustus is
portrayed as a man of peace; absent is his elaborate military regalia and pose, instead he is shown
draped in the simple robes of a priest performing a sacrifice to the gods. The piece makes no
grandiose illusions to godhood or divinity either, trying to calm the viewer and reassure them
that Rome was in the hands of a capable, mortal man. The structural support for the statue is a
simple pillar, instead of a god riding on the representation of another god, and the robes are
plain, lacking the military victories and subjugated people of the Prima Porta Augustus.
While the intended message and style of the two statues are different, there is one thing
that is similar between the two. Not only is it similar, it is, in fact, exactly the same. The heads
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of both statues are identical, save the direction they point and the hood half covering the head of
the latter statue. This idealized, youthful image of Augustus became the standard, and the vast
majority of pieces portraying him essentially have the same face. By propagating a singular
image of himself throughout Rome, Augustus both standardizes his image and presents himself
as a legitimate and constant figure in Roman politics. Proving his legitimacy is the immediate
goal of almost all of the propaganda dispersed or constructed by Augustus, as he came to power
during one of the most tumultuous periods of Roman history as many generals, senators and
warlords claimed they were the true leaders of the embattled Roman Republic.
The statues Via Labicana Augustus and Augustus of Prima Porta function as propaganda
pieces portraying Augustus as a relatable, legitimate ruler of the people and a heroic, godlike
conqueror and protector of the Romans respectively, all to acclimate and open the Roman people
toward his rule as Emperor in all but name. There was a power vacuum in Rome, and it was
filled by Augustus. As the need for stability was met, the need for justification rose, and it was
met by all manner of propaganda, most of the survivors of which are carved in stone. The
idolization (and later deification) of Augustus came exactly when it was needed to keep Rome
together, and it never did leave until the fall of the Roman Empire. Even after that, the
Byzantines and the Papacy kept it alive, and they did such a good job that to this day, statues of
Augustus Caesar can be found in any reputable art museum and schools teach about his life. As
effective as the state propaganda was during Augustus’ lifetime, it was perhaps more effective
after it, where his life and deeds are still immortalized two thousand years later in disparate parts
of the world where no Roman ever went.
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Works Cited:
"Augustus of Prima Porta." Augustus of Prima Porta. The Vatican, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
Fagan, Garrett G. "Roman Emperors - DIR Augustus." Roman Emperors - DIR Augustus. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
"Pax Romana." Pax Romana. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
"Search the Collection." Augustus (Emperor from 27 BC to AD 14) Department of Greek,
Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities: Roman Art. The Louvre, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.