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Julius Caesar Research Paper

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Emperor Augustus

Emperor Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, on the 23 September, 63 BCE. He was the adoptive nephew of Julius Caesar, and so, inherited a large portion of Julius Caesar’s wealth and property, when Julius Caesar was murdered by members of the Roman senate in 44 BCE. Augustus, using the wealth left to him by Caesar, began his journey to becoming the Roman Empire’s first Emperor. From the age of 18, Augustus masterfully navigated Rome’s political arena, eliminating any who tried to rival him, until finally in 27 BCE, he was finally in full control of the Roman Empire.

Augustus was different from rulers before him, in that he was smart to avoid the spotlight. Any praise directed at him personally, he reflected back on the Empire, and the people. He avoided anything that made him look like a King or Emperor. Augustus personally knew the dangers of this; his adoptive uncle, Julius …show more content…

Comparing the two statues reveals that there are striking similarities between them. Looking closely at the spear-bearers stance shows us that it is using a contrapposto stance, which is an Italian term that means counterpose. The spear-bearer using this pose, is showing to us a diagonal between tense and relaxed limbs on the statue itself. The overall style of the Prima Porta is Hellenistic, despite having tendencies towards the realism of Roman portraiture.

This Hellenistic style is shown, despite Augustus having quite prominent facial features, which link back to the style of realism. When looking at the statue, one is quick to notice the sombre, dull, and serious tone which is portrayed on Augustus’s face. Augustus is also barefoot in this statue, which combined with the use of cupid riding a dolphin on his armour, is meant to show Augustus’s divine links to Venus, through his adoptive father who also considered himself to have divine

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