Augustus Propaganda In The Res Gestae Divi Augusti
Augustus Propaganda in the Res Gestae Divi Augusti
The image that Gaius Octavius Thurinus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, the same man one and all, wanted to portray in his book, the Res Gestae, was one of a patriotic, religious, lawful, chosen by both the senate and the citizens of Rome, modest, generous, independent, benevolent, successful leader, worldly recognised and travelled Roman citizen. Augustus wanted to portray himself as the ideal Roman, one to look up to, one to be a pillar of the old ways and customs. He wanted to be the Pater Patriae, or “Father of the country.” He succeeded, by viewing the writings in his book, indeed portray himself as an ideal Roman for the rest of the world to see.
Patriot
In ‘chapter …show more content…
1,’ ‘line 2’ of the Res Gestae Augustus portrays himself as a patriot by saying “...per quem rem publicam dominatione factionis oppressam in libertatem vindicavi.” This shows that Augustus wants his readers to believe that he was a defender of the republic from the oppressive domination of the ‘faction’ (Cassius and Brutus.) A technique that Augustus uses in this sentence is one of word order. The word order of “publicam dominatione factionis oppressam in libertatem” reinforces the words “dominatione factionis oppressam,” meaning in this context the oppressing tyrannical faction, and “publicam...libertatem,” meaning public and liberty. This word order emphasizes the oppressing tyrannical faction showing how big a menace Augustus faced to defend the republic.
Also in ‘chapter 27,’ ‘line 1’ of the Res Gestae patriotism is evident in the words “Aegyptum imperio populi Romani adicei,” because he was stating that he was increasing Rome’s territory. A technique shown in this sentence is sound play for “populi Romani adicei,” which emphasises the words and makes them more than the sum of their parts. This then shows that Augustus has given more to the Roman people and more to Rome as a whole which is the meaning of patriotism, to give to one’s own country.
Generosity
Augustus wanted to portray the idea of generosity to the reader so he seemed to be a kind citizen of the republic of Rome. In ‘line 1’ of ‘chapter 18’ Augustus writes “mentarius et nummarius,” to emphasize how much money and food he has given to Rome by manipulating the ending of mentarius, his generosity towards the republic. I could not find a definition of “mentarius” so I assumed it meant grain/food and that Augustus made the ending to rhyme with “nummarius,” thus intentionally putting two rhyming words for money and food together emphasizing the amount of each and therefore his generosity.
Generosity was portrayed by Augustus during his reign as shown when he made the list of colonies in ‘chapter 28,’ ‘line 1,’ of the Res Gestae that he had funded for military retirement homes. This was enforced with Asyndeton to state his achievements rapidly in the sentence, “Colonias in Africa Sicilia Macedonia Utrque Hispania Achaia Asia Syria Gallia Narbonensi Pisidia militum deduxi,” which exemplifies Augustus’ generosity in a quickfire rapid procession.
Modesty
In the ‘chapter 5’ of the Res Gestae, Augustus repeats the words “...non accepi,” emphasizing the modesty of refusing to accept a higher position than others. This quote is based in the context of Augustus refusing the offer of dictatorship and consul for life, showing that Augustus is a modest man and wants to be recognised for efforts that he himself received, not titles heaped upon him.
The technique Polysyndeton is the addition of conjugations to induce a cumulative effect. Augustus uses this technique in the Res Gestae to portray his modesty. This technique appears in ‘line 1’ of ‘chapter 21’ in the sentence “Ter munus gladiatorium dedi meo nomine et quinquens filiorum meo rum aut nepotum nomine;” which shows that he held games under his sons’ and grandsons’ names in a bout of modesty which is and was a desired trait in any civilised world, (and got the senate off his back about unprecedented indulgences.)
Successful leader
Augustus wrote about his successful organisation and leadership during his ruling in the Res Gestae. He described these achievements with Anaphora, the repetition of a word at the start of a clause or sentence. Two examples of this in the Res Gestae are in ‘chapter 8,’ and ‘chapter 23,’ during which he repeated the words Lustrum in the first and the 1st person singular in the latter. This was used in the context to 1. Emphasise his organising of the Romans’ censors and 2. Show his many achievements to a higher extent than normal. This shows that he was a successful leader in the Res Gestae because of his many achievements mentioned that he had accomplished.
Ideal Roman
In ‘chapter 8’ of the Res Gestae Augustus mentions exemplary practices of the Roman’s ancestors that were being lost and that he now followed these ancient teachings. He does this in a hyperbolic manner with the multiple mentioning of the word exempla to stress the exemplary practices and how everyone should follow Augustus’ way of actively pursuing these ideals.
Augustus Propaganda in Virgil’s Aeneid
The propaganda for Augustus in Virgil’s Aeneid is based on the ‘New’ Roman ideals of Piety, Patriotism and leadership.
The Aeneid also sets Augustus as a bringer of much desired and longed for peace after thirteen years of civil war. Virgil shows these values in Augustus by use of techniques. Virgil also wished to portray Augustus as a being of divine power but this supreme power over everything was still feared in the society of that time so Augustus publicly rejected the idea of divinity.
An ideal of the people and ‘Republic’ at that time was that a senator could be godlike but unable to proclaim himself as a god, a being above his people, while alive. Virgil uses allusion in the Aeneid to portray Augustus’ link to divinity. One example of the link between Augustus and divinity is in ‘chapter 8,’ ‘line 680’ which says Geminas cui tempora flammas, the “Twin beams of light” that can be interpreted as the twins of beginning Romulus and Remus. Since the word Geminus was used it could also allude to the twins of legend Castor and Pollux who reported victories to the Romans and lead them to victory at certain points of Roman history. The Flammas could then allude itself to Zeus himself as light beams (lightning) being his specialty. All of the above make Augustus appear superior without directly mentioning it thus allowing Augustus to appear divine without actually accusing him of breaking the ‘Republic’s’ standards of
ideology.
Augustus is shown to be a bearer of peace in the Aeneid by Virgil through juxtaposition in ‘chapter 1,’ ‘line 291.’ On this line it says Aspera tum positis mitescent saecula bellis, which means that the savage age of war will cease and grow mild. The juxtaposition in this sentence is of the words positis mitescent, which symbolise the stopping of conflict in this context, between the words Aspera...saecula bellis, which is the savagery of war and the opposite of the ideology of Romans at that time. This juxtaposition shows that Augustus is splitting the age of war and savagery apart, thus bringing peace to the Romans and helping them find their ideal all the while portraying Augustus in a favourable light. The Romans in the Augustan Era expected their senators and generals to show leadership beyond the norm. In the Aeneid Virgil writes of Augustus as a leader that doesn’t just get armies to follow him but the senate, the people and the Roman gods. This is exemplified in the use of hard sounds to show a list of the people that he leads and who fight for him, patribus populoque, penatibus; senators, people and household gods. The Aristocrats, plebeians and gods that follow him all do so because he protects them from harm and gives them the commanding presence of a great leader that was expected from him by the people of Rome.
The image that Gaius Octavius Thurinus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, the same man one and all, wanted to portray in his book, the Res Gestae, was one of a patriotic, religious, lawful, chosen by both the senate and the citizens of Rome, modest, generous, independent, benevolent, successful leader, worldly recognised and travelled Roman citizen. Augustus wanted to portray himself as the ideal Roman, one to look up to, one to be a pillar of the old ways and customs. He wanted to be the Pater Patriae, or “Father of the country.” He succeeded, by viewing the writings in his book, indeed portray himself as an ideal Roman for the rest of the world to see.
Patriot
In ‘chapter …show more content…
1,’ ‘line 2’ of the Res Gestae Augustus portrays himself as a patriot by saying “...per quem rem publicam dominatione factionis oppressam in libertatem vindicavi.” This shows that Augustus wants his readers to believe that he was a defender of the republic from the oppressive domination of the ‘faction’ (Cassius and Brutus.) A technique that Augustus uses in this sentence is one of word order. The word order of “publicam dominatione factionis oppressam in libertatem” reinforces the words “dominatione factionis oppressam,” meaning in this context the oppressing tyrannical faction, and “publicam...libertatem,” meaning public and liberty. This word order emphasizes the oppressing tyrannical faction showing how big a menace Augustus faced to defend the republic.
Also in ‘chapter 27,’ ‘line 1’ of the Res Gestae patriotism is evident in the words “Aegyptum imperio populi Romani adicei,” because he was stating that he was increasing Rome’s territory. A technique shown in this sentence is sound play for “populi Romani adicei,” which emphasises the words and makes them more than the sum of their parts. This then shows that Augustus has given more to the Roman people and more to Rome as a whole which is the meaning of patriotism, to give to one’s own country.
Generosity
Augustus wanted to portray the idea of generosity to the reader so he seemed to be a kind citizen of the republic of Rome. In ‘line 1’ of ‘chapter 18’ Augustus writes “mentarius et nummarius,” to emphasize how much money and food he has given to Rome by manipulating the ending of mentarius, his generosity towards the republic. I could not find a definition of “mentarius” so I assumed it meant grain/food and that Augustus made the ending to rhyme with “nummarius,” thus intentionally putting two rhyming words for money and food together emphasizing the amount of each and therefore his generosity.
Generosity was portrayed by Augustus during his reign as shown when he made the list of colonies in ‘chapter 28,’ ‘line 1,’ of the Res Gestae that he had funded for military retirement homes. This was enforced with Asyndeton to state his achievements rapidly in the sentence, “Colonias in Africa Sicilia Macedonia Utrque Hispania Achaia Asia Syria Gallia Narbonensi Pisidia militum deduxi,” which exemplifies Augustus’ generosity in a quickfire rapid procession.
Modesty
In the ‘chapter 5’ of the Res Gestae, Augustus repeats the words “...non accepi,” emphasizing the modesty of refusing to accept a higher position than others. This quote is based in the context of Augustus refusing the offer of dictatorship and consul for life, showing that Augustus is a modest man and wants to be recognised for efforts that he himself received, not titles heaped upon him.
The technique Polysyndeton is the addition of conjugations to induce a cumulative effect. Augustus uses this technique in the Res Gestae to portray his modesty. This technique appears in ‘line 1’ of ‘chapter 21’ in the sentence “Ter munus gladiatorium dedi meo nomine et quinquens filiorum meo rum aut nepotum nomine;” which shows that he held games under his sons’ and grandsons’ names in a bout of modesty which is and was a desired trait in any civilised world, (and got the senate off his back about unprecedented indulgences.)
Successful leader
Augustus wrote about his successful organisation and leadership during his ruling in the Res Gestae. He described these achievements with Anaphora, the repetition of a word at the start of a clause or sentence. Two examples of this in the Res Gestae are in ‘chapter 8,’ and ‘chapter 23,’ during which he repeated the words Lustrum in the first and the 1st person singular in the latter. This was used in the context to 1. Emphasise his organising of the Romans’ censors and 2. Show his many achievements to a higher extent than normal. This shows that he was a successful leader in the Res Gestae because of his many achievements mentioned that he had accomplished.
Ideal Roman
In ‘chapter 8’ of the Res Gestae Augustus mentions exemplary practices of the Roman’s ancestors that were being lost and that he now followed these ancient teachings. He does this in a hyperbolic manner with the multiple mentioning of the word exempla to stress the exemplary practices and how everyone should follow Augustus’ way of actively pursuing these ideals.
Augustus Propaganda in Virgil’s Aeneid
The propaganda for Augustus in Virgil’s Aeneid is based on the ‘New’ Roman ideals of Piety, Patriotism and leadership.
The Aeneid also sets Augustus as a bringer of much desired and longed for peace after thirteen years of civil war. Virgil shows these values in Augustus by use of techniques. Virgil also wished to portray Augustus as a being of divine power but this supreme power over everything was still feared in the society of that time so Augustus publicly rejected the idea of divinity.
An ideal of the people and ‘Republic’ at that time was that a senator could be godlike but unable to proclaim himself as a god, a being above his people, while alive. Virgil uses allusion in the Aeneid to portray Augustus’ link to divinity. One example of the link between Augustus and divinity is in ‘chapter 8,’ ‘line 680’ which says Geminas cui tempora flammas, the “Twin beams of light” that can be interpreted as the twins of beginning Romulus and Remus. Since the word Geminus was used it could also allude to the twins of legend Castor and Pollux who reported victories to the Romans and lead them to victory at certain points of Roman history. The Flammas could then allude itself to Zeus himself as light beams (lightning) being his specialty. All of the above make Augustus appear superior without directly mentioning it thus allowing Augustus to appear divine without actually accusing him of breaking the ‘Republic’s’ standards of
ideology.
Augustus is shown to be a bearer of peace in the Aeneid by Virgil through juxtaposition in ‘chapter 1,’ ‘line 291.’ On this line it says Aspera tum positis mitescent saecula bellis, which means that the savage age of war will cease and grow mild. The juxtaposition in this sentence is of the words positis mitescent, which symbolise the stopping of conflict in this context, between the words Aspera...saecula bellis, which is the savagery of war and the opposite of the ideology of Romans at that time. This juxtaposition shows that Augustus is splitting the age of war and savagery apart, thus bringing peace to the Romans and helping them find their ideal all the while portraying Augustus in a favourable light. The Romans in the Augustan Era expected their senators and generals to show leadership beyond the norm. In the Aeneid Virgil writes of Augustus as a leader that doesn’t just get armies to follow him but the senate, the people and the Roman gods. This is exemplified in the use of hard sounds to show a list of the people that he leads and who fight for him, patribus populoque, penatibus; senators, people and household gods. The Aristocrats, plebeians and gods that follow him all do so because he protects them from harm and gives them the commanding presence of a great leader that was expected from him by the people of Rome.