Imperial Image Modern Scholarship

Syme

Augustus’ reign was so tyrannical on so large a scale that a genuine comparison to Caesar’s time as dictator perpetuus cannot be made.

White

1. Augustus was not, at least in the early stages after Caesar’s death, trying to sever himself from the Caesar name.

2. Augustus promoted the deification of Caesar not to make Caesar a less controversial figure, but to prepare the public for his own later apotheosis.

Zanker (1)

The Forum represents both Rome’s epic history and its modern present. It was used to “educate her people.”

Zanker (2)

Even Augustus’s most adamant opponents would not be able to find untoward self-promotion in the Forum.

Rich

An important part of Augustus consolidating his sole power came from his presenting his control of the provinces as temporary which eventually turned into a permanent command. 

“He made his rule secure by giving it a republican guise.”

Cooley (1)

Both the Ara Pacis and the Altar dedicated to Fortune the Home-Bringer were effectively substitutes for a triumph — an honour Augustus no longer desired.

Cooley (2)

The Ara Pacis shows the importance of:

1. visual and material culture for understanding Augustus’s self-representation

2. religion

3. imposition of peace through warfare and conquest

4. family values

Cooley (Obelisk)

The obelisk was not a sundial specifically for Augustus’s birthday. It was designed to measure the length of days to maintain accuracy of the length of the Roman calendar — it could therefore be a symbolic demonstration that Rome’s calendar was now fixed and accountable.

Tempest (1)

For Cicero, “good men” (boni) were those who championed the Republic and the senate. Thus, when Augustus adopted the name of Caesar — the very man who destroyed such a government — Cicero was immediately suspicious.

Tempest (2)

The fact that Cicero couldn’t dispute the rumour that Octavian was plotting on Antony’s life tells us how Cicero perceived Octavian’s character and ambitions.

Osborne (Ara Pacis)

As the Athenian Parthenon gathers all sorts of Greeks into a religious procession, so does the Ara Pacis show pious Romans, the Senate, and Augustus and his family as (and among) priests.

Osborne (1)

It was as important for Augustus in the Prima Porta statue to appear as one citizen among many as it was to appear as an army leader.

Osborne (2)

Augustus needs the “bath towel” in the Prima Porta statue to stimulate the imagination and give him a divine super-body.