scholarship

Question 1

wardle on suetonius x2

Answer 1

Suet employs a “business like” style in the 12 caesars = clarity

but Suet also extrapolates from one instance to habitual actions eg Suet 73 Aug’s frugality through wearing simple clothes made by his family = modesty and humility BUT exaggerates

Question 2

Horsfall on Suet

Answer 2

more humane, human, agreeable princeps presented to us.

Question 3

Ramage on Suet

Answer 3

“brick to marble” quote subtly undermines JC

Question 4

Brunt and Moore on the RG

Answer 4

what is omitted is as informative as what is stated as it indicates the way in which augustus wished to slant his narrative. “the account of achievements might be highly selective”

Question 5

Beard on RG

Answer 5

it is a self-serving, partisan and rose-tinted piece of work, glossing over the murderous illegalities of his early career

Question 6

Galinsky on RG

Answer 6

“augustus’ self-representation is meant to be suggestive and true in a larger sense than in the documentary sense”
= meant to paint a broader, inspiring picture of his legacy to reflect his achievements and roman ideals, not document.

Question 7

Wallace-Hadrill on Ovid

Answer 7

suggests reading Ovid’s epic as a metaphor for the change in rome and augustus

Question 8

Beard on poets

Answer 8

the work they produced offers a memorable image of a new golden age for rome and its empire with augustus centre stage

Question 9

Wallace-Hadrill on poets

Answer 9

poetry was off the patronage of Maecenas which gave them independence, allowing them to be more than propagandists for the regime

Question 10

Syme on poets

Answer 10

characterises augustus similarly to a fascist dictator and poets such as horace were “simply operatives within the framework”
= authoritative attempt to control opinion through propaganda

Question 11

Wallace-Hadrill on arhitecture

Answer 11

augustan architecture was heavily inflenced by greek tradition, so not so roman after all.

Question 12

Zanker on mausoleum

Answer 12

the mausoleum overshadowed all structures in rome, likened to tomb of dynast Mausolus (seven wonders of world) = “The monument was first of all a demonstration of its patron’s power

Question 13

Nicholls on Mausoleum x2

Answer 13

dynastic tomb - signalling start of a long lasting dynasty

completed 28BC but Aug lives for another 42 years = early strategic effort to shape his legacy, emphasise his virtues, reputation, and contributions

Question 14

Jenkyns on statues

Answer 14

his face does not alter with the years: he is godlike in his immutability, monarchical and aloof.

Question 15

Stuart on statues

Answer 15

roman imagines were more art than state controlled propaganda as there is lacking evidence for mass-produced moulds. = reflects cultural beliefs more than enforced state agenda.

Question 16

Jenkyns on aug emp/rep

Answer 16

he restores republican forms, calls himself princeps (first citizen), lives in a modest house with homespun clothes BUT monuments of monarchical magnificence are under construction, Augustus title (grandiouse religious connotations), and “his colossal, overbearing mausoleum”

Question 17

Wick on trad roman emphasis

Answer 17

Augustus wants to divert away from his more violent Octavian, decided to redefine Rome but emphasising old trad roman values specifically pietas and pax deorum

Question 18

nicholls forum augustum

Answer 18

it is both republican and regal (dynastic overtones)

Question 19

Holliday on ara pacis

Answer 19

Golden Age imagery (previously only alluded to in poetry) appealed to a large number of the Roman populace as it promised stability and addressed fears if cyclical history (and thus a return to civil war)

Question 20

Nicholls on ara pacis

Answer 20

The imagery speaks instead of benefits of peace plenty abundance natural and human, vegetable, exuberance and foliage and fecundity everywhere, and beauty

Question 21

Bowman ara pacis

Answer 21

tellus and roma panel represente the dependence of peace on victory in war. pax romana

Question 22

Nicholls ara pacis prop

Answer 22

augustus had a hand in it but it was the senate who commissioned it = not as simple to say this was propaganda

Question 23

Zanker on prima porta

Answer 23

the only figure in the scene who is not immobilized is the Parthian, looking up respectfully at the Roman eagle

Question 24

galinsky - prima porta

Answer 24

the prima porta is a good example of the deliberate synthesis of several traditions
fusion of greek forms with roman elements eg detailed armour with imperial triumphs. = fusion creates a powerful image of augustus as both a divine, timeless hero and a Roman military leader, aligning with his broader propaganda to unify Greek and Roman cultural ideals.

Question 25

Grueber - coinage

Answer 25

coinage most important as was a way to communicate with the general/illiterate public.

Question 26

Jones - aug's power

Answer 26

he was determined to rule the empire but he disguised absolute powers in constitutional wrappings

Question 27

Syme - fasc

Answer 27

characterises augsutus as being similar to a fascist dictator

Question 28

Wallace-Hadrill - later reps

Answer 28

points out how 20th century fascists eg Mussolini projected himself as a new augustus augustus was poorly received in modern period.

Question 29

Wallace-Hadrill emph on ccl pp

Answer 29

although Gibbon presented aug as a "crafty tyrant", we can see he was keen to show himself as a caring civilian leader + pater patriae

Question 30

Beard on JC

Answer 30

JC was Aug's passport to power

Question 31

Goldsworthy on JC

Answer 31

scholars have a consensus aug distanced himself from the dictator but aug kept the name caesar, finished caesar's projects, and highlighted the julian name in the forum augustus both claimed caesar's legacy and reshaped it to suit himself

Question 32

Huzar - MA

Answer 32

MA's true downfall is cleopatra who ruined his reputation

Question 33

Lange - triumvirate

Answer 33

proscription is selective violence - a strategic way to secure power whilst securing enemies

Question 34

Beard on war

Answer 34

Aug exploited the idea of a clash between roman western traditions and the "oriental" excess that MA and Cleo represented

Question 35

Jones - aug ruth

Answer 35

Aug was ruthless after Actium

Question 36

Osgood - perusia

Answer 36

aug deliberated omitted the perusine war from the RG as the brutal siege and massacre were indefensible and clashed with the image of a benevolent restorer of peace

Question 37

Zanker on greek morality and social reform

Answer 37

aug's principate appealed to greek classical style because it carried a moral message. romans viewed it as period of superior moral behaviour

Question 38

Wallace Hadrill on aug and religiousity

Answer 38

aug's restoration of temples and public rituals was not driven by religious belief but a pragmatic response to stabilise roman society, legitimising aug as restorer of order and piety contrasts Bradly who said policy reflected "his genuine conservative inclinations"

Question 39

Wallace-Hadrill on aug and apollo

Answer 39

apollo was a potent cultural and political symbol

Question 40

Burton

Answer 40

The title Augustus, meaning "the venerable," suggested divine reverence, but Augustus rejected divine honors in Rome, prohibiting temples dedicated solely to him. He permitted provincial temples honoring both himself and the goddess Roma, fostering an emperor cult that became immensely popular, surpassing other religious practices.

Question 41

cooley on the res gestae

Answer 41

"the text of the res gestae was common currency among writers dealing with the age of augustus" = augustus' account influenced later historians, reinforcing his official image.

Question 42

wallace-hadrill on the rel resto

Answer 42

"religious restoration guaranteed the new order was truly roman" = augustus used religious revival to justify his rule

Question 43

erker on imperial cult and pietas

Answer 43

"augustus theatrically staged his religious performance to legitimise his role as princeps" = his religious actions were carefully managed displays of power

Question 44

williams on aug and jc

Answer 44

"octavian recognised this more clearly than his adoptive father, julius caesar, who paid for political insensitivity with his life" = augustus learned from caesar's mistakes, making his rule acceptable

Question 45

ramage on coinage

Answer 45

"julius caesar disappears from coinage after 31BC" = Augustus distanced himself from caesar's direct rule but key the divi filius title

Question 46

beard on aug's mausoleum

Answer 46

"an aggressive assrtion of the emperor's power, dynastic aspirations, and committment to rome" = signalled augustus' long-term control