Augustus Of Prima Port The Statue Of Augustus

At around 20BC a statue was created in celebration for Augustus’ victory over the Parthians. This statue is known as the Augustus of Prima Porta, and was created in the image of Augustus in Prima Porta, Rome. A man named Tiberius commissioned the creation of this statue in honor of Augustus, and depicts himself as a hero of the particular battle on the breastplate of the artwork. As previously stated, the statue is in commemoration to the victory over the Parthians. The Romans lost many battles to the Parthians, Both Julius Ceasar and Mark Anthony attempted to regain strength against the Parthians through military force. However both of them failed, Julius Ceasar was cut short because of his assassination, and then Mark Anthony just went through further losses against the Parthians. Now Augustus in this
statue is shown wearing a standard Roman military uniform. This statue is full of symbolism, particularly the breastplate. The front portion of the breastplate of the Augustus of Prima Porta depicts a man that is shown as barbaric wearing the Parthian clothing.
And is argued that that person may be King Phraates. Also in the center there is a Roman in military attire accepting the standards, this Roman could be interpreted as to represent either Tiberius, Romulus, Augustus, Aeneas, Mars, or the personified Roman Army, as described by the MIT educational website giving information about the Augustus of Prima Porta. Surrounding the central portion of this breastplate, divinities and personifications decorate the remaining space on the breastplate. Also on the breastplate, more towards the upper section, are a number of different gods. This makes the setting devine and suggests the idea that it is inspired of heaven or approved of the gods. Around the bottom portion of the breastplate are two babies and a cornucopia between Caelus and Tellus(or Terra Mater). It can be assumed Tellus because it is common for Caelus and Tellus to be paired together. All of these images and the breastplate as a whole are to convey a message of fertility, peace, and general prosperity of Augustus’ reign. On the back portion of this breastplate a trophy and wings are depicted there. This back portion is roughly done,
which leads to the assumption that it was made to be set with the back up against a wall. Another major part of this statue is the head, to the Greeks the head was the most important part of a statue. Augustus is depicted as young, calm, and is shown with having self control. For this statue combining the looks of youthfulness, strength, and control gives Augustus a more godly feel. As an emperor this is an important aspect to have because the emperor is someone the people look up to as a leader. Next, the hands/arms are strategically placed to help with the image that Augustus is a leader. His right hand is shown in a calm yet directing manner raised up into the air. The style for the Augustus of Prima Porta is for the most part quite usually for that time period. Something seen often in Greek statues including this one is the stance of the figure where the weight of the person is focused more to one leg. Something however unusual about this stance is that Augustus is not wearing any footwear. This is odd for a few reasons, one being that Roman generals did not go into battle barefoot, and because Augustus is wearing military attire except that he has no shoes. It can be interpreted that he is depicted without shoes to show divine status. You can also see this in many statues of different gods like in the Artemision Bronze or in the Aphrodite of Cnidus. In both of these artworks the gods are presented without footwear. Just as seen in the Augustus of Prima Porta. Often seen in Greek art, pieces or styles are borrowed from other famous artworks to help convey certain messages or idea for their artwork. This is also seen in the statues of Gaius and Trajan in how they use the ‘comma-like hair’ that Augustus is seen with in his statues. So, the Augustus of Prima Porta isn’t particularly innovative, there are aspects like the hair or feet but as a whole it is a very typically statue of an emperor. The major message of this is that it is a victory statue, it shows Augustus as not only a leader but a victorious leader as opposed to his predecessors. Another important aspect of this artwork is that this statue is seen as a symbol of a golden age for Rome because Augustus is a very important emperor. And this statue is very influential, other emperors see the importance of it and mimic the styles of it. Just as Gaius and Trajan used the same hair style.

Works Cited
"Augustus of Prima Porta." Augustus of Prima Porta MIT. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"Augustus of Prima Porta." Augustus of Prima Porta. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"Augustus of Primaporta." - Smarthistory. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Roman Feet and Sandals." Roman Feet and Sandals. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.