Augustus’ Ara Pacis: An Exercise of Politics and Propaganda

One can hardly discuss the significance of the Ara Pacis without talking about the man behind the “ara pacis augustae”, the Roman Emperor Augustus. Coming from relative obscurity, Augustus would become the most powerful leader Rome would ever see, dominating the empire at the peak of Roman influence. Using propaganda, Augustus nullified all opposing forces, ushering in peace and prosperity in what today we call the “Golden Age of Rome”.

Augustus, the man himself.

The first emperor of the Roman Empire was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, or Octavius for short. He came from a modest family, yet he had a connection with a pivotal figure in Rome at the time. His mother, Atia, was Julius Caesar’s niece, making Octavian the great-nephew of Julius Caesar (Everitt, 30).

His childhood was relatively uneventful until a particular battle in Spain, where he had to cross enemy territory to return to base. Julius Caesar, who was the general of the campaign, became so impressed with the Octavius after an incident that he secretly named the young man his heir. Caesar had written a new will and placed it with the Vestil Virgins, essentially protecting Octavian from possible harm until Caesar had passed away.

After Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of Match in 44 BC, Octavius inherited two-thirds of Julius Caesar’s properties, a large amount of estate, military influence, and most important of all, Caesar’s clientale, the Roman social convention that linked lower families (plebeians) to the upper echelon of society (patrician). Since Julius Caesar was the most powerful man in Rome before he died, Octavius inherited a serious amount of power and influence from all those that saw Caesar as their “patronus” (Everitt, 79).

Octavius began to style himself as a true son of Julius Caesar, taking the new name of Gaius Julius Caesar instead of Gaius Octavianus, which would symbolize his family change (Octavius to Octavianus). This was the first of many shrewd political acts which propelled him to the forefront of Roman political life. Over time, Octavian eventually became a part of the Second Triumverate with Marcus Antonius and Marcus Lepidus. These three men legalized their power through the Lex Titia, a law forcibly passed through the senate which ended the Roman Republic.

After the Battle of Philippi, where Antony and Octavian overcame the murderers of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar became deified in 42 B.C. as “divus iulius”, and Octavius became “divi filius”, or “son of god”. This was another notch in Octavius’s rise to power. Slowly, he began to elevate his status above those of Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus.

Sometimes afterwards, Mark Antony married Cleopatra, Caesar’s ex-lover and left Rome to stay with the Egyptian queen. During his absence in Rome, Octavius used propaganda to completely turn the public opinion against Antony. Octavian eventually overcame Antony in the Battle of Actium. In 27 B.C. Octavius took on the title of “princeps”, or the “leading citizen”, and the new name of Augustus, or “the illustrious one”. Note that he does not use anything like “authoritas”, “imperium”, or any other menacing words signifying command and authority (Fagan). Augustus even uses his own name to skillfully improve his political image, further enhancing his reputation as a ruler and a leader.

“I found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.” – Augustus (Fagan)

The newly christened Augustus began to completely restructure Rome. He won over public opinion by rebuilding much of the city, using marble to “beautify” Rome. Augustus commissioned roads, bridges, and especially temples, as he wanted to strengthen the state religion in order to unify what he considered a stagnant Rome. Augustus was also the first to institutionalize public services such as the fire brigand, the police force, and a courier system that strongly resembles the mailing system we use today (Eck, 81-87). Not only did he drastically improve the functionality within the city of Rome, he also commanded a standing army of about 170,000 men. This army was used to extensively expand the Roman Empire during his reign. The combination of all these things ushered in what we call the “Pax Augustus”, or the Golden Age of Augustus, the longest period which the Roman Empire enjoyed stable peace and prosperity.

It is interesting to mention the contrast that Augustus had to the Roman Senate that preceded him. Whereas the senators were upper class and disconnected with the plebian class, Augustus was very much loved by the people. As he ascended to power, Augustus purposefully chose to distance himself from the ineffectiveness of the Roman Senate. He displaced many corrupted leaders in the empire, appointing only those that were trustworthy and capable. He even chose to change his own image so that it was in conflict with those of the Roman Senate. Augustus made all likeliness of himself youthful, strong, beautiful, and without corruption. Even in old age, he shrewdly chose to portray himself this way. In fact, all the surviving statues of Augustus show him as a dashing young man - there are none that portray him as a wizened old ruler.

The entryway of the ara pacis from the west entrance, facing the Campus Martius.

In July 4th, 13 B.C., the senate commissioned the Ara Pacis in order to honor Augustus after his triumph over Spain and Gaul.

“The senate voted to consecrate the altar of August Peace in the field of Mars for my return, on which it ordered the magistrates and priests and Vestal virgins to offer annual sacrifices.” – Augustus (Bushnell)

The altar of peace was constructed adjacent to the Via Flaminia, as that is the route which Augustus took when he returned from his victory. Ironically, the Ara Pacis was originally placed by the Campus Martius, or the field of Mars, which was used as a primarily as a training ground for the army. In the past, the army was always used for war and conquest, by placing the symbol of long lasting peace on the grounds where war is created, Augustus is trying to show the populace that a standing army can be used to maintain peace and stability, not just create conflict. The Via Flaminia was also one of the major pathways to enter Rome, by placing the Ara Pacis right by it, Augustus, in a way, forced everyone entering Rome though the Via Flaminia to acknowledge the tribute to his greatness.

The altar itself is small. It measures 11 by 10 meters wide and is 6 meters high. There are four walls which enclose a small, raised sacrificial altar. Each of the walls is divided horizontally into two distinct sections. The top portion contains intricately sculpted panels, and the bottom contains reliefs that are associated with nature. These reliefs, also known as acanthus scrolls, run continuously though out the bottom portion. The scrolls contain many different types of fruit, flowers, and small animals, all of which symbolize the prosperity that thrived under the Pax Augustus and the wealth that flowed into Rome during the Golden Age (Simon, 13).

Unlike most other temples, the Ara Pacis has two entrances. The eastern entrance faces the Via Flaminia while the western faces the Campus Martius. The western entrance is considered the main entrance as it is raised by nine steps. This positioning forced anyone making a sacrifice to the altar to turn their back to the Campus Martius, thus turning their back to Mars, the god of war (Freibergs, 7). Symbolically, this meant that one was turning against the idea of war, advocating peace instead.

The sacrificial altar itself is quite plain and similar to others at the time. The interior walls are decorated with bovine skulls and garlands of fruit and vegetation. These garlands, similar to the acanthus scrolls, symbolize the bounty during the reign of Augustus.

The interior garlands with the skull in the middle.

The focal point of the Ara Pacis, surprisingly, is not the actual sacrificial altar, but the exterior walls that enclose the actual altar. The west wall contains scenes that relate to the origins of the city of Rome, the east walls contain two reliefs that are both controversial in their symbolism, and the other two walls contain images of processions.

The upper left side contains an image of Mars overlooking the she-wolf which is suckling Romulus and Remus. Mars, who is standing by a fig tree, is calming watching over the she-wolf and Faustulus, the farmer who initially raised Romulus and Remus. The upper right side of the west walls contains a relief of the famous scene in which Aeneas sacrifices a sow to his adversary, Juno, after he escapes burning Troy. In the relief, he is helped by his son, Ascanius, along with two attendants who are unidentified. One attendant holds a libation mug, while the other holds lituus. The altar is to the upper left of the image, and is decorated with a garland similar to the altar within the Ara Pacis.

(Top) The Aeneas panel.

(Bottom) Mars overlooking the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus

Both images of the west wall are incredibly important mythological stories about the foundations of Rome. Augustus, in his mastery of propaganda, picked two of the most important and strongly aligns himself to them. According to Simon, the portrayal of Aeneas making the sacrifice in addition to the similarity of the two altars is strong motive in the creation of the Ara Pacis (24). Aeneas reaching Rome after a long journey is almost meant to symbolize the return of Augustus after a long period of absence away from Rome.

It is also necessary to mention that the positioning of Aeneas is very similar to the positioning of Augustus himself on the side relief (Simon, 25). Augustus didn’t just want the people to view him as a divine emperor, but as a direct descendant of someone as legendary as Aeneas.

The reliefs on the east wall contain two of the most controversial figures. On the left side is an extremely well preserved panel. Known as the Tellus panel, it shows a womanly figure in the center holding two babies, accompanies by two other maidens. The left maiden rides a swan, and the right maiden rides a dragon. Though it is still hotly debated who the central woman is, it is generally considered that she is Tellus Mater, or Mother Earth. One popular belief is that the left maiden is Acraia (air) and the right maiden is sea (Euploia). Together with both Acraia and Euploia, the image portrays Venus Douritis, or the giving earth (Freiberg, 12). During the Pax Augustus, Earth must not only be Earth, but also giving, as the world is bountiful during the reign of Augustus.

The well preserved Tellus panel with the lower acanthus scroll.

On the right side, there is a very poorly preserved panel of a woman, clad in Amazonian outfit, sitting calmly on top of a pile of arms. The symbol of the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is clearly present on her shield, supporting the fact that this warrior woman is a personification of the city of Rome. Rome is a warrior, since she is always at war. However, during the Pax Augustus there is no longer reason to fight. All the enemies have already been defeated, and all their arms have been collected. In a way, this panel synergizes with the Tellus panel. The Tellus shows the bountiful world, while the right panel shows a peaceful Roman Empire. Both point a world that Augustus has created.

The sides of the Ara Pacis contain two distinct processions of people. The more significant procession is on the south wall. Though mostly destroyed and largely speculation, the western end procession of south wall possibly contains a trio of goddesses all associated with prosperity: Hygenia, the goddess of public health, Concordia, the goddess agreement, understanding, and harmony, and Pax, the goddess of peace. Following them, Augustus seems to be playing the role of princeps – making a sacrifice to the three gods (Freiberg, 9). He is followed by several flamines, or priests important to the state religion, discernable by their helmet-like hats. The procession is then followed by extremely important people during the reign of Augustus. Agrippa, the chief general and the right hand man of Augustus, can be seen bearing a large scroll. Following him is Julia (the daughter of Augustus). They are then followed by the most prominent woman on the Ara Pacis, believed to be Livia, the wife of Augustus, though this remains unclear (Simon, 18). She is followed by two boys, presumably to be the sons of Augustus, Gaius and Lucius.

A critical note in this procession is the mere inclusion of children. As discussed in class, children are almost never found in important proceedings such as this one. Augustus, who strongly advocated population increase and the Roman family as part of his social policy, proudly displays his own children on his triumph of peace. This is simply another example of Augustus’ ingenious usage of propaganda on the Ara Pacis.

After being constructed, the Ara Pacis eventually became neglected and buried in silt from the river Tiber over centuries. In Renaissance times, the Ara Pacis was rediscovered and broken into several pieces and distributed to various buildings. Due to the altar’s separation, many pieces were damaged. It was not till 1937 that all the fragments were recovered and Mussolini ordered the altar to be restored and protected.

Currently, the Ara Pacis resides in a new building designed by Richard Meyer. The monument still stands as a symbol of peace. One often forgets that the altar is like a triumph for Augustus and his accomplishments. The Ara Pacis is a prime example of how he manipulated images using propaganda to now only solidify his own reputation but to extend his own policies. It is proof that Augustus was a brilliant politician who revolutionized the usage of propaganda to affect public opinion. In any case, it is one of the best examples of Roman art from the empire that exists today.

Since the Ara Pacis was created fairly early in the Roman Empire (the time of Augustus), it is likely that it influenced most Roman art that occurred after it. According to Spaeth, the Tellus panel from the Ara Pacis was almost directly copied in a similar monument in Carthage in the 4th century AD (1). Various elements from the monument was also used in later Christian churches. For instance, the interior of the San Crisgono church in Rome contains acanthus scrolls.

Also, considering the fact that the Ara Pacis was found during the Renaissance, a time where Roman art was greatly emulated means that it was likely a source of inspiration for many artists who saw it.

(Top)The interior friezes of the San Crisogono contain swirling foliage

much like the bottom of the Ara Pacis.

(Bottom) A frieze under a mosaic painting at St. Peters also shows the same resemblance.

In researching all this, the element that surprised me the most has to be the amount of symbolism that is present on the Ara Pacis. Though I have discussed every single panel, I’ve merely scratched the surface of what some panels could possibly mean. There is much debate, for instance, about the meaning of the Tellus panel and the message that Augustus was trying to relay. Every additional thing I learned about the monument made me realize how great a politician Augustus truly was. It amazes me that two thousand years have passed and we still cannot fully comprehend the propaganda that he put on the Ara Pacis. I suppose it is this air of mystique that keeps visitors and scholars alike streaming to see the monument today.

Bibliography

Bushnell, Thomas. "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus ." MIT, 1998. Web. 24 Jun 2010. <http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html>.

Eck, Werner. Augustus. Blackwell Publishing, Malden MA, 2003.

Everitt, Anthony. Augustus. 1st ed. New York City, NY: Random House Inc, 2007. 1-160. Print.

Fagan, Garrett G. "AUGUSTUS." Pennsylvania State University, 05 Jul 2004. Web. 24 Jun 2010. <http://www.roman-emperors.org/auggie.htm>.

Freibergs, G. “Indo-European Tripartition and the Ara Pacis Augustae: An Excursus in Ideological Archaeology.” Numen 1986, Vol. 33, pp. 3-32.

Simon, Erika. ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE. 1st ed. Greenwich: New York Graphics Society LTD, 1986. 1-32. Print.

Spaeth, Barbette. "The Goddess Ceres in the Ara Pacis Augustae and the Carthage Relief." American Journal of Archaeology. 98.1 (1994): 65-100. Print.