4/23/12 Golden Age (con1nued) •  How did Augustus control the image of his new Golden Age and share his message? 1) Public celebra1ons: Secular games 2) Poetry: Vergil, Horace, & patron, Maecenas 3) Monumental building program & inscrip1ons -­‐including Res Gestae 4) Coinage & official portraits distributed throughout empire “This is the man, this is he, whom you have oYen heard promised: Augustus Caesar, descendant of a god, who will again establish the Golden Ages (aurea saecula) which once reigned in the fields of La1um under Saturn of old, and who will carry forward the empire over the Garamantes & Indians….” -­‐ Vergil, Aeneid 6 (Father Anchises to son Aeneas in Underworld) Public fes1vals and Poetry •  Revive tradi1on of ludi saeculares (Secular Games) celebra1ng passing of new saeculum –  “saeculum” = period of 100 or 110 years: New Age –  Games and sacrifices in Campus Mar1us in honor of Dis and Proserpine (Pluto and Persephone) –  Last held in 146 BC (dropped during civil wars) •  Augustus reinvents fes1val to inaugurate his new Golden Age 17 BC: Secular Games •  Marks official arrival of New Age •  Three days and nights of ceremony & sacrifice as usual, but Augustus changes fes1val completely! –  No longer for gods of Underworld –  for goddess of childbirth, Mother Earth, and Queen of the gods, Juno –  New prayer asks for blessings on “me, my family and household ” –  Augustus and his household = ROME now 1 4/23/12 Horace: Carmen Saeculare (Secular Hymn = Song of a New Age) “Goddess, nurture our offspring, bring to frui1on the Senate’s decrees concerning the wedlock of women who’ll bear us more of our children, and the laws of marriage…” Augustus’ restora1on of downtown Rome: •  Reinvents Roman history and inserts himself as culmina1on Eg. Temple of Janus (see Vergil Aeneid passage A) •  Next to forum = Pala1ne Hill: home to Augustus & new temple of Apollo 2) Rebuilding the City •  “Aware that the city was architecturally unworthy of her posi1on as capital of the Roman Empire, besides being vulnerable to fire and river floods, Augustus so improved her appearance that he could jus1fiably boast: ‘I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble.’” -­‐Suetonius -­‐  Center of Republican Rome = display of aristocra1c compe11on -­‐  Now, Imperial Rome = monument to Augustus MESSAGE: Augustus IS Rome & preserves best of good old Republic. Restora1on and Re-­‐dedica1on in forum •  Temple of Divine Julius •  Rostra with Ac1um prows •  Basilicas renamed for Gaius & Lucius (grandkids) •  Castor and Pollux = Tiberius & Drusus (step-­‐sons) 2 4/23/12 Temple of Concordia now for Livia Curia Julia: Victoria and Golden Shield of
valor, clemency, justice, & devotion
•  Augustus = Rome •  Harmony at home for Aug. = harmony in Rome Arch of Aug. Castor and Pollux Basilica Julia Divus Iulus Basilica Aemilia Curia Julia Forum of Julius Caesar Forum of Augustus Temple of Concord Temple of Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger) Dedicated 2 BC 1) Caesar’s Assassins 2) Parthians 3) Cleopatra (and Antony) Living History: Augustus as fulfillment of Roman history -­‐ new founder 3 4/23/12 Mausoleum of Augustus Ara Pacis = altar of peace (vowed in 13 BC) -­‐ massive tomb, 50 meters high -­‐  2 drums, planted with trees, capped by massive statue of Augustus (like Alex. the Great) -­‐  Res Gestae inscribed on pillars in front Solarium Augus6: sundial (10 BC) •  largest sundial ever built, c. 160 m. by 75 m. •  indicated both hour of day and day of year •  gnomon of sundial, pointer that casts shadow, actually huge obelisk from Egypt •  markings for hours of day and signs of zodiac •  On Aug’s birthday, Sept 23rd, shadow from gnomon pointed directly to Ara Pacis The Result: •  Augustus made Rome into truly imperial city: a showplace for both Rome’s power in the world and his own power in Rome •  Starts with restora1on of individual temples and ends with monumental celebra1on of dynasty •  old Rome = founda1on for new era of peace, prosperity, fer1lity, rebirth, art, literature, morality, military success, respect for mos maiorum, and religious revival. 4