The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Lecture 32

Transcription

1 The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus Lecture 32

2 Caesar s assassins celebrated their deed by the issue of a special set of coins, featuring on one side the bust of the assassin Brutus and, on the reverse, a set of daggers flanking a liberty cap, similar to those given to slaves upon their emancipation. The Latin inscription marks the Ides of March as a day of remembrance and celebration,

3 After the Ides of March, 44 B.C. - Caesar s assassins Brutus and Cassius flee - Octavian, only 18 years old, but the designated heir - Mark Antony, Caesar s former right-hand man - Elimination of the assassins at Philippi in 42 B.C.

4 THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE In 42 B.C., Caesar s assassins were defeated at Philippi in Macedonia, less than a hundred miles from Pharsalus, where Caesar had defeated Pompey six years earlier. Octavian Lepidus Antony In the new power-sharing arrangement, the Second Triumvirate, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus each took control of one region of the empire previously ruled by Julius Caesar.

5 The Face (and Fortune) that Captured the Heart of Mark Antony After his victory at Philippi, Caesar s former general Mark Antony toured the East to secure Roman control. At Tarsus (southern Turkey), he had a fateful meeting with Caesar s former lover, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra (as depicted here by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1960 Hollywood epic).

6 Coin of Mark Antony and Cleopatra Mark Antony s bond with Cleopatra was both romantic and political. For Roman audiences, they presented themselves in the austere tradition of Republican portraiture. But in Egypt, they continued to drape themselves in Hellenistic style, feasting like gods.

7 Stories circulating in Rome emphasized the excessive luxury of Cleopatra and Antony s court in Alexandria. One story often depicted in later European painting tells how Cleopatra dissolved one of her giant pearl earrings in wine and then drank it! Tales of excess at Alexandria Cleopatra s giant pearl

8 The popular image of Cleopatra as a seductive oriental in 20th century Europe and America has its roots in the hostile attacks on Mark Antony circulated by Cicero and other Romans, who objected to his marriage to a non-roman queen! This photo comes from the 1917 silent movie about Cleopatra starring Theda Bara, a Hollywood superstar of the silent film era. The Cleopatra of Legend

9 As Roman troops closed in on Alexandria, Cleopatra committed suicide to avoid capture or so the story goes. The scene at her deathbed became a popular theme of European Orientalist painting. The Death of Cleopatra, 30 B.C.

10 OCTAVIAN TEENAGE TRIUMVIR Caesar s designated heir was only 18 years old on the Ides of March, 44 B.C. Not surprisingly, Mark Antony and the other generals did not initially see him as a credible challenger. They were wrong. In the crucial Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra off the coast of Greece and then chased them back to Egypt.

11 Augustus adopts Egyptian imagery after victory at Actium

12 Images of Augustus from Egypt, where he was represented in both Hellenistic and Egyptian style

13 As sole ruler of the Roman Empire, Octavian/Augustus created an entire new language of power, very different from the traditional images of head-bashing god-kings.

14 Octavian inherited an empire centered on the Mediterranean, with many territories only recently or partially conquered.

15 Octavian/Augustus reorganized the empire so that the most important provinces remained under his direct control, while Senators served as governors in the less militarized provinces.

16 Celebrating the Golden Age: Ara Pacis

17 Augustan legislation attempted to increase the birthrate of Roman citizens by rewarding mothers and criminalizing any action (divorce, widowhood, homosexuality, abortion) that reduced the birthrate. FECUNDITY and FEMALE PIETY

18 Potential heirs of Augustus depicted in public art

19 According to his admirers, Augustus transformed Rome from a city of brick into a city of marble. He paid for the construction of numerous new temples, theaters, and other public buildings, including an entire new forum. The Forum of Augustus

20 Mausoleum of Augustus Augustus tomb, built beside the Tiber River in Rome, was designed to be a monument for the ages. Only its core cylinders survive intact today. The bronze columns bearing his funerary inscription, the Res Gestae, are known only from literary sources.

21 Copies of Augustus funeral inscription, the Res Gestae ( Deeds Accomplished ), were erected all over the empire. The most complete copy to survive to this day was the one carved onto the wall of an imperial temple in Ankara, capital of modern Turkey. You can read the text of the inscription in our course pack. What does the style of this inscription tell us about Augustus image of himself and Roman views of government?

22 Further reading, viewing, and study: Consider taking Alain Gowing s History/Classics course on the age of Augustus or any of the courses in Roman history taught by my colleague Sandra Joshel. The HBO television show Rome gets the basic history of this era right, though it emphasizes (predictably) the sex and violence, which probably indicates as much about our society as it does about ancient Rome. Still, the show includes some memorable depictions of the key historical players. For a brilliant scholarly account of Augustus use of images to convince people that they were living in a new golden age, see Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (1988).