Augustus Articles

Augustus is well known for being the first Emperor of Rome, but even more than that, for being a self-proclaimed “Restorer of the Republic.” He believed in ancestral values such as monogamy, chastity, and piety (virtue). Thus, he introduced a number of moral and political reforms in order to improve Roman society and formulate a new Roman government... [continue reading]

Though the Battle of Cynocephalae in 197 BCE is often cited as the birth of the Roman Empire, the equally famous Battle of Actium is a better candidate.With the overthrow of the last Roman king, the Roman Republic was ruled by a senate and assembly from 509 BCE until Julius Caesar's appointment as Dictator in 44 BCE. The battle of Cynocephalae in 197... [continue reading]

The Meroe Head, so-called because it was found beneath a temple in the ruins of Meroe, is the head of a larger-than life statue of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (better known as Augustus Caesar) the first Emperor of Rome (reigned 31 BCE-14 CE). On 2 September 31 BCE  Octavian Caesar (the future Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt... [continue reading]

Inscribed on Augustus’ mausoleum after his death in AD 14, the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, the Achievements of the Divine Augustus, includes an extensive description of Augustus’ monumental building in the city of Rome. Monumental building provided a means of converting economic capital into a symbolic reminder of one’s success. Augustus... [continue reading]

Augustus, the first Roman emperor, has what modern media analysts call a high “Q” quotient – that is, most people recognize his name even is they do not really know very much about him. Indeed, the achievement of Augustus in rescuing the Roman empire from political chaos and re-establishing it upon a firm political, economic and social... [continue reading]

This paper explores processes of cultural appropriation, and specifically Augustan visual receptions of pharaonic Egypt. As a test case, I consider the possibility of Egyptianizing precedents for the Ara Pacis, including the architecture of Middle and New Kingdom jubilee chapels. This requires looking at the Augustan interventions into the traditional... [continue reading]