Augustus Of Prima Porta
Since its discovery on 20 April 1963, the sculpture Augustus of Prima
Porta
(fig. 1) has been the subject of much scholarly discussion. Found in a
rural
villa near Prima Porta (fig. 2), the statue has resulted in an
almost
unparalleled generation of literature.1 The marble sculpture is
probably a copy
of a now-lost bronze statue which was made shortly after 22
BC—the exact
location for this original has been a question of speculation;
the sanctuary of
Athena at Pergamum is one of many suggestions.2 Octavian
became Augustus Caesar
in 27 BC after an elaborate public show of resignation
and humility.3 (Augustus
was a religious title meaning "revered" which the
Roman people
bestowed upon Octavian in honor of his service.) The Res Gestae
were his memoirs
recording his victories in Gaul (France) and Spain, military
victories in the
provinces which brought the Pax romana, an era of relative
peace and prosperity,
to the Roman people. Augustus was lionized by the Roman
people—he promoted
conservative Republican values even though he failed to
re-establish it. He
tried to restore faith in the Roman state by equating his
role as pontifex
maximus with religious and moral values. Augustus used
religion to reorganize
state and to establish his own rule. He assumed the
title of Pontifex maximus
(head priest) and revived old religious traditions
like the Lupercalia festival
to further associate the emperor with the state
cult. He also promoted the cult
of emperor as divine by building a temple to
the Divine Julius. His views on
morality extended to laws regarding adultery,
unchastity, and bribery. Under
Augustus, widowers were required to
remarry within 3 years of losing a spouse,
and those fathering large families
were rewarded with public recognition.4 In
Augustus of Prima Porta,
Augustus is portrayed as a general and wears a cuirass
(breastplate) richly
embellished with reliefs. Around his waist is draped the
paludamentum or
officer's cloak. And, while the statue is beautifully preserved,
the fingers
of the right hand have been restored, and, though they now suggest a
gesture
of ad locutio or address, may originally have held a lance, or a wreath
of
the imperial laurel.5 Augustus of Prima Porta is one of the earliest
examples
of imperial portraiture used for political propoganda—a practice
that began
with Augustus.6 In fact, one of the statue's purposes was to
identify the state
with a well-meaning and enlightened Augustus. But it is
more than that. The
sculpture of Augustus of Prima Porta is a Greco-Roman
example of exquisite
craftsmanship of the Roman period. When one observes
this sculpture, the power
of expression in its god-like appearance is
apparent. Practice of deifying
rulers and erecting temples began in Rome as
early as the reign of Augustus.
Augustus of Prima Porta is the type of
statue that stood in such a temple.
"The sculptor has eloquently adapted the
orator's gesture of the Aulus
Metellus [fig. 3] and combined it with the
pose and body proportions prescribed
by the Greek Polykleitos and exemplified
in his Spear Bearer, Doryphoros [fig.
4]."7 "Augustus could be seen as
general praising troops, or as
peacetime leader speaking words of
encouragement to the people—in either case,
he projects a benign emperor,
touched by gods, governing by reason and
persuasion, not autocratic power."8
The god, Cupid (fig. 5), son of Venus,
rides a dolphin—probably representing
Augustus' tie to divinity through Venus'
human son Aeneas.9 The dolphin
itself refers to a Roman naval victory at Actium;
this support strongly
suggests that the statue is a copy of a lost bronze
original.10 Bare feet
suggest to some scholars that the work was posthumous and
signifies his
apotheosis, or elevation to devine status.11 What has..
...
attracted
most scholars is the elaborate breast plate (fig. 6), whose throng
of figures
and symbols lend themselves to a rich spectrum of interpretations
of Augustan
art and propaganda. Decorations on the cuirass allude to
Augustus's victory over
the Parthians in 20 BCE; so, the original bronze
statue may have commemorated
that event. Carved on the cuirass are scenes in
low relief recounting the
outstanding achievements of Augustus' reign and
pictures of the gods and
goddesses who bestowed favor upon him. The central
group depicts a Parthian
giving back the lost eagle from Carrhae to a Roman
general. If historically
correct, this latter would be Tiberius, but a
symbolic reading permits him to be
Romulus (with the wolf at his feet),
Aeneas, Mars or some other important
figure. Apart from some female seated
figures, representing conquered peoples
such as the Gauls and the Hispanians,
the rest form a cosmic setting: the sky
god Caelus, Sol in his chariot,
Aurora, Apollo on a winged griffin, Diana on a
stag; all flying around above
Tellus who is cradling two babies. These
identifications may vary according
to the aims of different scholars, but taken
as a whole, the scene conveys
the god-given peace, order and fertility
accomplished by the new ruler of the
world. The idealized and smooth face of the
emperor, together with the
comma-shaped locks over his forehead, constitutes the
most common type of
Augustus-portraits and contribute to the god-like
appearance.12 Augustus of
Prima Porta is one of the earliest examples of
imperial deification. Augustus
himself is in no small way responsible for this
trend, being one of the first
to erect temples and statues for that purpose.13
The sculpture holds many
clues pointing to the deification of Augustus—the
detailed breastplate with
its many divine symbols, the presence of Cupid riding
the dolphin, the
demigod-like stance of Augustus, and the bare feet. With so
much artistic
detail and symbolism in the Augustus of Prima Porta, it is no
surprise that
so many scholars have devoted their time to the uncovering of
its
secrets.
Bibliography
1. "Augustus of Prima Porta" [online
notes], Uppsala University
Archive, Accessed 2 December 1999; available
from http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/primaporta/Augustus.htm.
2. "Augustus of
Prima Porta" [online notes], Uppsala University
Archive, Accessed 2
December 1999; available from
http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/primaporta/Augustus.htm.
3. "Augustus and the
Early Roman Empire" [online notes], University of
Colorado, Accessed 2
December 1999; available from
http://harpy.uccs.edu/roman/html/augustus.html
4. "Augustus and the Early
Roman Empire" [online notes], University of
Colorado, Accessed 2 December
1999; available from http://harpy.uccs.edu/roman/html/augustus.html
5.
Encyclopaedia Romana [encyclopaedia online], Accessed 3 December
1999;
available from
http://www.ancientsites.com/as/er/augustusprimaporta.html 6.
Marilyn
Stokstad, Art History, Rev. ed. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999),
1:248.
7. Marilyn Stokstad, Art History, Rev. ed. (New York: Harry N.
Abrams,
1999), 1:248. 8. Marilyn Stokstad, Art History, Rev. ed. (New
York: Harry N.
Abrams, 1999), 1:248. 9. Marilyn Stokstad, Art History,
Rev. ed. (New York:
Harry N. Abrams, 1999), 1:248. 10. "Augustus of Prima
Porta" [online
notes], Uppsala University Archive, Accessed 2 December 1999;
available from
http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/primaporta/Augustus.htm. 11.
Marilyn Stokstad, Art
History, Rev. ed. (New York: Harry N. Abrams,
1999), 1:248. 12. "Augustus
of Prima Porta" [online notes], Uppsala
University Archive, Accessed 2
December 1999; available from
http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/primaporta/Augustus.htm.
13. William Fleming,
Art, Music, & Ideas (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and
Winston, 1970),
66.