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'Augustus relied on other people to achieve a positive imperial image of himself' How far do you agree? - Full essay
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‘Augustus relied on other people to achieve a positive imperial image of himself’ How far doyou agree?
Overall I would argue, the extent to which Augustus relied on other people to create a
positive imperial image depended on the point in his career and the part of his image he
was trying to create.
Firstly, it could be said Augustus relied on other people to achieve a positive imperial image
of himself as there are cases where Augustus can be seen to be solely dependent on family
as he could not achieve this image on his own. For example, to show his divine descent in
order to gain power Augustus has to make clear his relation to Julius Caesar who was deified
and also an ancestor of Venus. In Ovid’s metamorphoses, Caesar is emphasised as Augustus’
father ‘stood father to our emperor’, this shows Augustus to be related to a god but also
emphasises his power as Julius Caesar held much military power and this would have been
passed down to Augustus. Beard argues ‘Caesar was Octavian’s passport to power’ which
suggests without this relation to Julius Caesar, Augustus would not have been able to rise to
power showing he was reliant on him. Additionally, through his relation to Julius Caesar he
would also be an ascendant from Venus as Caesar was to venus ‘your descendant’. This
shows Augustus to have impressive lineage and shows he was not an average Roman thus
portraying him to be an all-powerful figure. This shows Augustus was fully dependant on his
family at times to create a powerful image of himself.
Moreover, it could be said Augustus was reliant on the senate body in portraying himself to
be a restorer of the republic. Augustus emphasised that the senate granted him power and
he rejected it multiple times. For example, in the res gestae, Augustus states the senate
offered him the position of pontifex maximus but he refused to take it as his colleague was
still in the position, Lepidus. This shows Augustus’ respect for other romans and shows he is
not taking an unlawful amount of power. Additionally, he states, the senate ‘admitted me
into its order’ giving him the consular powers during the consulship of Hirtius and Pansa.
This shows the senate gave him these powers and he gained them through traditional
means, he is working in line with the ways of the republic. Thus, without the portrayal of the
senate in this way, Augustus is able to create an image of himself as a leader who is working
within the realms of the republic. However, from suetonius’ account we can see Augustus
takes power for himself by ‘marched against Rome to get the consulship’ and engineered
the fate of hirtius and pansa. This contrast the image of Augustus within his life time and
shows Augustus did not gain power in a traditional way. Thus, it could be argued, Augustus
was not reliant on other people, in this case, the senate, as he was able to manipulate
events to create a positive image of himself and thus it was not necessary for the senate to
actually offer him power as he had enough control to give out information saying they did.
Additionally, it could be said Augustus was not reliant on people when portraying himself as
a strong military figure. Augustus led an army and had many successes such as the return of
the standards and the battle of Actium. Through the prima porta statue Augustus portrays
himself as a strong commander through showing his success in retrieving the standards –
something that had been tried by many Romans before without success. Augustus is shown
to be posed with his right hand up, this adlocutio stance portrays him to be commanding or
addressing an army, therefore, Augustus would be seen to be a leader of the military.
, Moreover, Augustus’ dress also portrays him to be a member of the military, he is shown to
be wearing a breastplate and a Palludamentum. The breastplate suggests he is prepared to
go into battle as it would be worn to protect oneself from fighting, thus, Augustus would be
associated with battle. Moreover, the Palludamentum would only be worn by commanders
in the army, thus, the statue is showing Augustus’ status in the army and shows his
importance within the military. Moreover, it could be argued the Prima Porta also displays
Augustus as a military commander as a result of the images depicted on his breastplate.
Firstly, his armour is imprinted with muscles, thus Augustus would be seen as physically
strong, a trait associated with battle and fighting. Additionally, the breastplate shows his
military victories, for example, on the shoulder straps sphinx’s can be seen, this is a
reference to Augustus’ victory against Cleopatra. Moreover, at the sides of the breastplate
men can be seen, these are regarded to be personification of the conquered people and
territories by Augustus. Therefore, his clothing further portrays his military success’ which
reminds viewers of his military experiences. Additionally, in Horace Epode 9 and Odes 1.37
Augustus portrays himself to be bringing peace to Rome through his military success against
Cleopatra as celebration is able to occur. For example, in Epode 9 Horace states ‘Let’s
delight in banishing fear and anxiety’, this highlights the peace Augustus has bought to
Rome by defeating any threat or battle which could cause fear. Additionally, in Odes 1.37,
Horace states ‘Now’s the time for drinking deep’, this stresses that people are able to relax
and indulge in festivity. It also suggests that the battle was difficult and thus, worthy of
celebration which suggests to the reader Augustus is a strong military leader who could lead
his troops through battle to success. Therefore, through Augustus’ portrayal of his success in
military events such as the return of the standards in the prima porta and the defeat of
Cleopatra in Horace’s poems, Augustus shows himself to not be reliant on any body else as
these successes are a result of his strong leadership. Moreover, Augustus is careful in
discussing his relation to family members when it could have a negative impact on his
political image through their military actions. For example, Julius Caesar was well known for
his role in the civil war against Pompey in 49-45BC, Augustus wanted to distance himself
from this image. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, when discussing Julius Caesar’s
accomplishments, Ovid is brief and states ‘his actions at home’. This is because his actions
were that he was part of a civil war, however, Augustus wants to portray himself as a
traditional character who is restoring the republic thus, he does not want to be associated
with civil war. This shows that in this cause Augustus did not rely on people, in particular his
family in creating his military image as it went against the persona he was trying to create.
However, in reference to his military success it could be argued he did rely on other people
to achieve a positive image of himself. Suetonius says Augustus’ ‘other wars were conducted
by his generals’, for example, the feat at Actium can mostly be attributed to Agrippa as he
led the army. Thus, it could be said Augustus was reliant on Agrippa to carry forward his
name as a strong military leader. Moreover, the retrieval of the standards was actually
carried out by Tiberius, Augustus’ stepson, so again it could be argued, this success was not
a result of Augustus’ military skill. However, in the res gestae Augustus shows himself to
raise an army and liberate the republic at the age of 19 showing his military skill from a
young age. Thus, I would argue, despite these figures carrying out these military conquests
for Augustus, he did not rely on them as he had the military skill himself but rather as he
went on his career he dedicated more time to his political efforts so he used them to
continue this part of his image. Additionally, as he raised his army himself it could be
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