Augustus: The Life Of Augustus

The tenor of his auto-biographical account is one of propaganda. Augustus, in truth maintained power for himself yet portrays his reasoning in Res Gestae that he ruled wisely and with the consent of his people. Augustus claims he “handed over the state from [his] power to the dominion of the senate and Roman people” and “had no greater power than the others who were colleagues with me in each magistracy.” He later proclaims he is awarded by vote the moniker father of Rome. Clearly the tone is one of propaganda since it is his perception of reality, thus a biased account of the actual methods in which he gained his title, Emperor of

The Deeds of the Divine Augustus By Augustus can answer all sorts of questions regarding how Augustus portrays himself. Augustus views himself almost as the greatest among men. After the Julius Creaser was declared a deity he demanded that he be called creaser and saw himself as “Divi filius” or “the son of the divine”. Almost like he was trying to use godliness of the former emperor to ensure to be viewed more highly or even be considered a deity himself. Upon Augustus’s death, Augustus left behind three scrolls. One of which scrolls instructed to have all of his accomplishments on a list, to be inscribed upon tablets made out of bronze and to be placed in front of the entry to his mausoleum. This inclines that he wants to be remembered for

Augustus was one of the main leaders during Pax Romana. His Rule was from 27 BC to 28 AD. He was one of the most important rulers in history because he helped to expand border and make peace for Rome. The Roman Empire was described as an autocratic government.

Compare the following descriptions of Augustus’ rise to power, one by Augustus himself and one by Tacitus (the second-century historian), and discuss their historical validity.

Everyone knows of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor. There is a whole month named after him. Augustus was a great leader favored by the people and by neighboring countries. But most people don’t know that he also banished his daughter and granddaughter, that his potential heirs kept mysteriously dying, and that he was extremely egotistical. Even though he expanded his empire more than any other leader had before and reformed the entire government of Rome, he still had many pitfalls that kept him from being a perfect leader.

He preserved all of the traditional offices while slowly taking many of the offices for him self. He was both consul and tribune. Commander and chief of the military and the senate also gave him direct control of many provinces, these provinces supplied men for his armies and food for them also, not to the senate. Augustus knew the importance of religion in roman society, he then named himself pontifex maximus which means supreme priest. He encourages the construction of temples dedicated to Rome and Augustus. None of these innovations in his ruling method altered the Roman constitution. The laws he did change however were the laws of the provinces of Rome which made them more romanized, so Augustus could be open about his actions so the senate would not bring him down and be with him. The Romans had a strong sense of there traditions and were fascinated by there history they loved when they could point out how the gods operated in there empire and allowed them much conquest of the western world. Before Augustus it looked for the romans as if the gods had left them, for they killed each other in revolutions and civil wars. Augustus’s many military victories and expansion of the empire through land and a political sense, show that the gods where on his side. He glorified Rome by hiring painters, sculptures, architects, and painters to design and build beautiful structures. He has paved the way for future Roman emperors to come.

Augustus, who was once named C. Octavius, was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar. Due to Caesar’s death from the uprising in 44 B.C., it was stated from his will, that Octavian was to be adopted as Caesar’s son. So his name was changed to C. Julius Caesar Octavianus (Porter, 2010). Later throughout his political and military career, he controlled Rome under the title Augustus (Brand, 2013). This begins a story of a young man to an emperor of the Roman world.

The major problems with most of the sources in the book are the sources themselves, because most are writers, or biographers, that were hired and paid to follow Augustus by Augustus. Although some were Augustus ' own biographers, some are also opponents of Augustus and his entitlement and takeover of the Roman Republic/Empire. These sources are also the only real documented information about Augustus that have been found or retrieved, and unknown to be based on facts, or just opinion and conjecture, or promoted by Augustus himself.

In the year 63 B.C Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, after the assassination of his adoptive father Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Augustus raised an army at the age of 19 to overthrow the tyrant leader Mark Antony, whom gained power of Rome after the assassination of Julius Caesar. After overthrowing the tyrannical system, Augustus liberated his father, and was offered dictatorship by the people of Rome. Augustus rejected the title of dictator on more than one occasion; he instead titled himself princeps civitatis: the first among citizens. In his reign Augustus completed many building projects, including the repair and rebuilding of aqueducts, roads, and sewers that had been neglected over time. The expansion of the Roman Empire under Augustus was extensive, stretching from Egypt to Spain including

Augustus is known to be the first Roman emperor, and the founder of Rome, known for politically transforming the Roman republic to the early Roman Empire. During his rule his influence on artwork and architecture illustrated a classical style, and often they was a reflection of the “public image” of his rule, as well as his “new agenda”. (115) Augustus was quickly seen as a restorer of Rome. Augustus commissioned many large scale building projects such as the Campus Martius, as well as elaborate pieces of portraiture that illustrate his power and the peace of the new Rome under his rule. Augustus acknowledged his power and wealth but at the same time never formally declared himself emperor in order to maintain his citizenship. Although he was keen on denying title of emperor, he emphasized that he was a descendant of the great Julius Caesar considering himself his adopted son and his predecessor, in which he reinforces in some of the temples he commissioned. Overall Augustus was seen as a man of change and power, the one who brought prosperity to Rome when it became shaken by the assassination of Julius Caesar. The age of Augustus brought forth a classical style, influenced by Greeks, and the usage of marble and concrete to create complex buildings and sculptures. This was important because as a result of Augustus’ reign Rome obtained a very classical style, in which would later be reintroduced in order to mimic his greatness by other Emperors.

To change an empire from a Republic to a Monarchy, is in itself a great achievement, but to be that one man that successfully changes the way of old to the original form of state is an amazing fete. The will to achieve this, and the desire must be great and you must truly be remarkable, although in saying that, having your forefathers pave the way, assist in reaching that goal. This is what Augustus achieved, he became greatest man in Rome, the highest achievement one might endeavour, outdoing his forefathers. He played the game of Roman politics against some of the greatest minds, brilliantly and shaped what is now known as the “Great Roman Empire”.

The Augustan Age was marked as one of the greatest time periods in Roman history, where the Empire flourished with prosperity and power. Augustus was careful not to declare himself as an emperor or any kind of title to state his kingship, but he referred to himself as “Princeps” or the First Citizen (Mark). Although he gave back power the senate, by doing so he establish central authority to himself. By calling himself Princeps, he held tremendous power. Also,because his uncle, Julius Caesar identified himself as a god, Augustus also represented himself as son of a god, something that is depicted in many of his portraits such as the one found in Prima Porta. During his reign, Augustus enacted an effective social and cultural program enlisting literature and the other arts revived time-honored values and

In ancient history there have been many great leaders who had saved the Roman Empire from destruction and demise. The leaders and heroes of the Roman Empire are countless, but one leader stands out from all the rest. Augustus Caesar’s contributions to Roman history helped make Rome the dominant empire we know of today. Augustus Caesar was without a question the greatest political leader in the history of the Roman Empire.

To reassure Roman Citizens that prosperity was evident Augustus set about reconstructing the city of Rome. Coins from the period (http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=443) illustrate the ‘health of the republic’ which was an essential part in reinforcing the feelings of stability that the Augustus wanted his people to encompass. The use of propaganda was also in an attempt to bolster his power. The reconstruction of the city involved creating essential services such as roads and aqueducts and also glorified Augustus and set in stone his achievements.

In this section I will be analysing how Octavian/Augustus rose to become the first Emperor of Rome and his reign thereafter. I will also be looking at how he gained his position and what being and