Images of War and Peace in Augustan Rome

"As for the city itself...he so improved it that it was with justification that he boasted he had found it a city of brick and left it a city of marble."

(Suetonius The Deified Augustus 29)

Indeed between 38 B.C. until the time of his death in 14 A.D., Augustus undertook numerous building projects to beautify Rome, rendering it an illustrious city of marble as Suetonius tells us. From temples to baths to aqueducts, Augustus erected buildings everywhere as part of his program of revival after the debilitating civil wars. Yet underlying Suetonius' account of Augustus' beautification of Rome is his deliberate use of visual manipulation to inculcate the Roman people with his political ideology. Two excellent examples of such visual manipulation are the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine and the Temple of Mars Ultor. Both buildings employ the same visual strategy, that is relying on Rome's mythical infatuation, but for two entirely different purposes. Mythical imagery and political strife underlie the two temples, revealing two opposing personas of Augustus: that of Apollo, the arbiter of Peace and Justice and that of Mars, avenger and protector of Rome's legacy.

The Temple of Apollo on the Palatine was built during a time of political volatility in which Augustus emerged to quell the fears and uncertainty of the Romans in order to gain power. Augustus first promised to build the temple in 36 B.C. following the Battle of Naulochos during his campaign against Sextus Pompeius (Eck Age of Augustus 39). In 36 B.C., not a full decade after Julius Caesar's assassination, no one expected Augustus (then Octavian) to become the first emperor of Rome. Octavian and Marc Antony were major contenders for the throne, and their attempts to win popular support often led to bloodshed. The fragility of the triumvirate, the proscriptions, the Battle of Philippi, the uprising at Perugia, the Battle of Mutina, and Sextus Pompeius' piracy were all in the minds of everyday Romans. This political tug-of-war between Augustus and Antony left no assurance of a victor, yet Augustus seemed to foresee his future success. In a highly presumptuous move, he erected the Temple of Apollo to demonstrate his role as bringer of peace well before the Pax Augusta really began. After all, Augustus still had to battle and defeat Marc Antony and Cleopatra at Actium and Alexandria. However, by building this temple, drawing upon images of the great god Apollo, Augustus subtly infused Romans with hope of stability and prosperity, enabling them to endure the political turmoil until peace could finally be established. Though the temple was completed and dedicated in 28 B.C., its impact on Augustan viewers was not felt until 17 B.C. when Augustus reinstituted the ludi saeculare, or Secular Games. By commemorating the temple on the third day of the Secular Games, Augustus was able to usher in his new role as neo-Apollo, bringer of peace and harmony. The great lyric poet Horace encapsulates this new role for Augustus and for Rome in his Secular Hymn:

There is Trust now, and Peace, Honor, and Chastity;

Ancient Virtue, long neglected,

Dares to return, and rich Abundance is amongst us

With full horn.

(Horace Carmen Saeculare 56-60)

Augustus commissioned Horace to write this hymn and recite it during the Secular Games right in front of the temple. Thus, with the culmination of the Secular Games, the Temple of Apollo as built by Augustus emerged as a beacon of light, a symbol worthy of its dedication Phoebus Apollo.

The Temple of Apollo is rife with images of peace, piety, and harmony. What we know of how the temple looked in Augustus' time comes from only a handful of observers, including the great elegiac poet Propertius. In Elegies 2.31, Propertius describes the temple of Apollo, making reference to "old Danaus' host of women," "Myron's herd," "the Sun's chariot," "the Gauls flung down from Parnassus' peak," and "Tantalus' daughter" (Propertius Elegies 2.31). Each figure or event depicted in the temple conveys a unifying message. Beginning with Danaus' host of women, we are reminded of the story of Danaus' fifty daughters each of whom he instructs to kill their fifty husbands. For this crime, all of Danaus' daughters are punished in Tartarus[1]. Similarly, "Tantalus' daughter" - Niobe - conjures up ideas of vengeance and discord. According to the myth, Niobe insulted Latona for only having two children whereas she had seven sons and seven daughters. Latona, enraged, instructs her two children, Diana and Apollo, to kill all fourteen of Niobe's[2]. Finally, the reference to the Gauls being flung from Mt. Parnassus does not function as a remidner of Rome's military legacy, but rather it offers another example of vengeance and violence. These ideas of vengeance contrast with Apollo's role as bringer of peace and light. However, the vengeful nature of the gods as shown by the previous examples is not out of place. Paul Zanker provides some insight: "the misdeeds of the civil wars were to be redeemed through sacrifice and religious piety and Apollo won over as guarantor of the new spirit of peace" (Zanker PIAA 86). In other words, by using the story of Niobe and the Danaids as well as Rome's defeat of the Gauls as examples of vengeance, treachery, and murder, Apollo rises up as god of harmony and peace amid these reminders of discord. So too does Augustus, as protégé of Apollo, rise up to restore harmony and peace amid years of civil war.

Thus in depicting Apollo, one sees the Sun's chariot and Myron's herd to show Apollo as Apollo Helios, the sun god who protects livestock. Furthermore, according to coins pertaining to the cult statue of Apollo in the interior of the temple, Apollo is carrying a lyre rather than a bow. This adds Apollo's role as god of the Muses to the overall picture. Nowhere is Apollo depicted with poisonous arrows, wreaking havoc on mankind, as in images of the Trojan War. Apollo's role as god of piety is another theme of the temple. An example of such a representation is a relief showing Apollo and Diana beside the baitylos (a religious symbol), with priestesses in ritualized poses in the background (Zanker PIAA 90). Another example is the statue of Apollo Actius outside of the temple depicting Apollo holding a lyre beside a libation bowl (Zanker PIAA 85). Thus, by way of association, Augustus emerges as Apollo incarnate, bringer of light, piety, and peace amid destruction and strife.

The Temple of Mars Ultor exemplified Rome's military legacy, reminding Augustan viewers of Rome's successes in war. The temple was vowed in 42 B.C. during the Battle of Philippi and dedicated in 2 B.C. (Suetonius The Deified Augustus 29). The Battle of Philippi was the first major battle involving the young Octavian. Just two years after Caesar's assassination, Octavian and Antony waged the Battle of Philippi against Julius Caesar's conspirators, Brutus and Cassius. Octavian, as Caesar's adopted son and heir redressed his father's unlawful murder through vengeance. What better way to commemorate vengeance than with a temple dedicated to Mars Ultor ("Mars the Avenger")? Unlike the Temple of Apollo which was also vowed during a major battle, the Temple of Mars Ultor embraced war as opposed to repudiating it. Forty years after the Battle of Philippi, after several other major battles, Augustus had emerged as pater patriae in that same year (Augustus Res Gestae 35). With his role as emperor solidified, the dedication of the temple in 2 B.C. may have been perceived as anachronistic. Augustus had already proven to the Roman citizens that he could restore peace and order. Why would he dedicate a temple praising war after all of the civil unrest that plagued Rome? Suetonius clarifies Augustus' intent: "Accordingly he decreed that it was here that the senate would conduct its debates as to whether war should be waged...Augustus 29). Thus, Augustus wanted to make the Temple of Mars Ultor a kind of war memorial and war bureau. By establishing one building where war was discussed and commemorated, Augustus was forced his audience to remember that it was through war that Rome achieved her greatness. Likewise, Augustus achieved greatness through war. Interestingly enough as Augustus himself admits, "On my own land, I erected the Temple of Mars Ultor and the Forum Augustum from the spoils of war" (Eck The Age of Augustus 109). The temple was not merely a building, but a spectacle oozing with reminders of war, even in the money that was used to build it. It is not surprising that Augustus replaced the battle standards lost from the Parthians in the temple after the Parthian "victory" in 20 B.C. The Parthians had defeated the Romans under Crassus in 53 B.C., so Augustus in turn avenged this defeat in 20 B.C. Thus, Augustus' audience could not help but associate Mars the Avenger with Augustus. The temple, as a war memorial, reminded Romans of their military might while simultaneously serving as a warning to barbarians and foreigners intent on destroying Rome.

In stark contrast to the mythical images of harmony and peace in the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Mars Ultor pays homage to Rome's violent past, glorifying Rome's military might. Inside the temple, images of Rome's greatest heroes, both mortal and immortal are depicted. Chief among them are Aeneas, Mars, Venus, and Romulus. To start off, Aeneas the hero of the Trojan War is no stranger to bloodshed. The final lines of the Aeneid reveal Aeneas' sanguinary and merciless nature: "He sank his blade in fury in Turnus' chest/Then all the body slackened in death's chill" (Virgil Aeneid 12.1295-1296). Aeneas, as the legend goes, travels to Italy (Latium) where he faces off against Turnus to found the city of Lavinium and in the final scene, Vergil vividly recounts how he kills Turnus after the latter begs for his life. Though Aeneas is responsible for founding the race of the Romans, an Augustan viewer would undoubtedly be reminded of his role as a merciless warrior. Similarly, images of Mars reinforce the acceptance of violence. Although responsible for the births of Romulus and Remus, Mars accomplished this through the rape of Rhea Silvia (Ilia), who happened to be a Vestal Virgin[3]. Finally, images of Romulus attest to violence because Romulus killed his brother Remus. A Roman viewer, looking upon these figures would have remembered their violent pasts in spite of their respective roles in founding Rome. Whereas Apollo served as a contrast to the trials and tribulations of the Danaids, Niobe, and others, images of Rome's violent heroes appear unabashedly in the foreground in the Temple of Mars. Propertius helps capture this sentiment in his Elegies:

Father Mars and fateful lamps of holy Vesta,

I pray that before my last that day may come

When I see our Caesar's chariots burdened with booty,

...

...I'll undertake

To read the names of captured towns, and gaze

At fleeing cavalry's darts and trousered infantry's bows,

And captured chiefs that sit beneath their weapons!

Venus, preserve your line: may what you see

Survive of Aeneas' source prove sempiternal...

(Propertius Elegies 3.4.11-13,15-20)

Here, Propertius invokes Rome's military supremacy as decreed by the gods. Propertius prays that Augustus will wage war, kill barbarians, and bring back wealth all with Venus' protection because of his divine lineage to Aeneas. There also statues of famous Roman figures, including Sulla and Pompey, with inscriptions of their military exploits (Eck Age of Augustus 109). The juxtaposition of these mortal men with the mythical figures creates a powerful message because Augustus and his kin are the bridging of these separate entities. Augustus is both mortal and immortal; his lineage can be traced all the way to Mars yet his mortal predecessors also include notorious figures. The Temple of Mars is thus Augustus' divine justification for Rome's conquests and military exploits.

Augustus' visual manipulation was a key aspect of his rise for power. By fusing mythology with history, past with present, and war with peace, Augustus truly won over the Roman people with his magnificent building projects. The Temple of Apollo on the Palatine offered assurance of peace and prosperity, while the Temple of Mars Ultor preserved Rome's legacy and justified Augustus' empire. Both buildings were built in a time of uncertainty in Rome, replete with civil wars and turmoil, yet only Augustus seemed to sense where Rome was heading and who would head it. Augustus successfully drew upon his divine aura to mature from divi filius to pater patriae.

Bibliography

Eck, Werner. "The Age of Augustus." Tr. Deborah Lucas Schneider. U.K.: Blackwell Publishing, 1998.

Horace, "The Complete Odes and Epodes." Tr. David West. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Propertius, "The Poems." Tr. W.G. Shepherd. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.

Suetonius, "Lives of the Caesars." Tr. Catharine Edwards. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Virgil, "The Aeneid." Tr. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Random House, Inc., 1990.

Zanker, Paul. "The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus." Tr. Alan Shapiro. U.S.A.: University of Michigan Press, 1990.

[1] Source: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/danaus.html

[2] Source: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/niobe.html

[3] Source: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/rhea_silvia.html