Augustus Building Programme Essay

Augustus’ Building Programme – An Overview
Augustus’ Aims 1. Providing for the needs of the people 2. Promoting the prestige of the empire 3. Glorifying his own and his family’s name 4. Making a statement about his leadership
Augustus spent a huge part of his personal wealth on building and his key lieutenant, Agrippa, until his death in 12 BC, supervised much of the building programme.
The Fora
There were three fora in Rome during the Augustan period. 1. The Roman Forum below the Palatine Hill: the political, commercial, religious and social centre of the Roman republic since earliest times, and later of the empire. Augustus: * repaved it in travertine * completed the basilica Iulia and the Curia Iulia *
added a courtyard to the Senate House * restored the basilica Aemilia * built a temple to Julius Caesar on the spot where he’d been cremated * erected a statue to the deified Julius * built a temple to Juturna 2. The Forum of Julius Caesar begun in 48 BC but completed by Augustus 3. The Forum of Augustus inaugurated in AD 2 – the year Augstus was awarded the title of pater patriae. It was larger than that of his “father” and was a wonderful piece of propaganda, depicting Augustus as victorious general, bringer of peace and the new Golden Age and reviver of the traditional way of life. Features included: * The temple of Mars Ultor (the Avenger) built as vengeance against Julius Caesar’s assassins. Beside the statue of Mars in the temple were two of Venus and the Divine Julius * Niches surrounding the main square with statues of Augustus and his family, illustrious Romans of the past, and the legendary founders of the city. The inscriptions below the heroes of the past were meant to teach a lesson. * In the centre of the forum was a statue of Augustus riding in a chariot bearing the title of pater patriae
Buildings on or around the Campus Martius (Field of Mars)
The Campus Martius was an open space to the north of the city, originally outside the walls. During the time of Augustus it was adorned with public buildings. On its southern side Augustus dedicated a circular, three-storey theatre to the memory of his nephew/son-in-law, Marcellus: the Theatre of Marcellus. On the northern side were: * Augustus’ circular family mausoleum * The Portico of Octavia (his sister) * A library * The original Pantheon: a temple to Mars and Venus built by Agrippa in 27 BC * A large thermae (public baths) also built by Agrippa
The Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis)
The sculptured marble walls that surrounded the Ara Pacis (dedicated in 9 BC) showed, more than any other monument, how Augustus wanted his principate to be seen and remembered: the traditional past, a promising future and the Julian family. The walls of the rectangular enclosure show: 1. Augustus, members of his family, priests and magistrates in a procession to dedicate the altar itself 2. A procession of dignified senators and other Romans 3. The legendary founding of Rome: Aeneas and the twins Romulus and Remus 4. The goddess Roma with her weapons (the victory of Rome), and a young woman with two infants and, at her feet, animals and plants (symbols of fertility and abundance).
Detail contained in the sources
Suetonius chapter 29, the Res Gestae and Dio Cassius * Restored 82 temples – Res Gestae – “on the authority of the Senate”; “beautifying these and others with the most lavish gifts: for instance a single donation to Capitoline Jupiter of 16,000 lb of gold, besides pearls and precious stones to the value of 500,000 gold coins.” Suetonius. * Restored all but two bridges of the city – R.G. * “built the Senate House” (R.G.), the Lupercal (R.G), “the portico at the Flaminian Circus which I allowed to be called the Portico of Octavius after the builder of the previous portico on the same site” (R.G.), the couch for the gods at the Circus Maximus (R.G), then follows a long list of temples he built. * “restored Capitol and the Theatre of Pompey, both works at great expense, without inscribing my name on them” (R.G.) * Restored the channels of the aqueducts which were falling into disrepair (R.G.) * Ara Pacis Augustae * “restored many public buildings erected by men of this calibre, complete with dedicatory inscriptions and raised statues to them” (Republicans) – Suetonius * Temple of Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum * Palatine Temple of Apollo – colonnades stretching out from it housed Latin and Greek libraries, according to Suetonius. And Suetonius also says that in his old age, he held Senate meetings and revised jury lists there. * Forum of Augustus with Temple of Mars Ultor – Forum built because the two existing fora could not deal with the increase of law suits due to the population growth (Suetonius). So important that he opened the Forum before the Temple of Mars had been completed. Decreed that Senate should meet in Temple of Mars whenever declarations of war were being considered and that all trophies from war should be deposited there. In the Res Gestae, Augustus says he built his Forum on “private land” and with “booty”. * Temple of Jupiter the Thunderer on the Capitoline, built after a freak lighting bolt killed the slave who was carrying his litter, and thus narrowly avoiding him. * Theatre of Marcellus – built on land “largely purchased from private sources”. * Mausoleum of Augustus on Campus Martius * House on the Palatine * Colonnade and basilica of Gaius and Lucius – in the Res Gestae, Augustus explains that he was building on the site of the Basilica Iulia which had been burnt down.
He named the site after his two grandsons and gave orders that if he died before completion, his heirs should complete it. * Colonnades of Livia and Octavia * “Often urged leading citizens to embellish the city with new public monuments or to improve and restore ancient ones…” (Suetonius) This produced, amongst others “a variety of magnificent buildings by Marcus Agrippa, a theatre by Cornelius Balbus and an amphitheatre by Statilius Taurus”. Agrippa’s buildings include Saepta Julia (voting hall) and Gardens and Baths of Agrippa on the Campus Martius, Aqua Virgo and PANTHEON. Not mentioned in Suetonius but we know about the Pantheon from the dedicatory inscription which Hadrian left there (M.Agrippa, son of Lucius, built this when he was consul for the third time) and from Dio Cassius. Dio Cassius mentions the aqueduct as does Frontinus. The Pantheon and the Mausoleum of Augustus faced each other on the Campus Martius, thus symbolizing the union between the two
men * He “improved the approaches to the city” (Suetonius) by repaving the Flaminian Way at his own expense and encouraged other men to restore the other public ways. * Suetonius – claims that Augustus boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. This is also mentioned by Dio Cassius. * Very happy to let other men, like Agrippa, build