Octavius : The Savior Of Rome

Augustus, formerly known as Octavian, was the adopted son of dictator Julius Caesar and Emperor or Rome. Octavian set out to destroy his father’s murderers and assembled his own army in his quest for power and retribution. At the start, he shared rule with Mark Antony, however, their collaboration proved ineffective leading Augustus to pursue more and more control, culminating in the defeat of Antony in the battle of Actium and assuming rule as Emperor of Rome. Augustus did not inherit rule, his pursuit for power comprised of manipulative actions veiled under his generosity, concern for his people and charismatic tone and tenor. Res Gestae Divi Augusti expresses a sense of self adoration and honor in his quest for power and control, yet the subtext portrays a vastly different undertone, that of use of cajoling and propagandizing messages to benefit his position and accumulation of control of the republic. This Res Gestae is Augustus’ mechanism of self-promotion and adoration for his exceptional leadership qualities, concern and respect gleaned from his citizens and senate, and his military savvy to overpower and gain peace for the Romans, thus proclaiming his reign as one of prestige and importance.

Antony- Caesar's biggest follower. After Caesar's death; Antony claims to be join the conspiracy in order to save his life and say his speech about Caesar to the crowd. After Brutus leaves, Antony persuades the crowd that the conspiracy killed Caesar out of hate and not for Rome. Antony makes the crowd go on a rampage. Later Antony meets up with Caesar's adopted son Octavius and kills the conspiracy.

Octavius was born into a family with few connections. He was a sickly child; he was small in stature, with bad teeth and spots covering his body, with many birthmarks on his chest and belly. Octavius was the great nephew of Julius Caesar; Julius Caesar won the civil war in 46 B.C, and was named dictator of Rome Julius then said to the people “I came, I saw, I conquered”. Julius needed and heir to succeed him. Having no children he adopted Octavius. His name was then changed to Gaius Julius Caesar. Octavius did not learn of this until the assassination of Julius Caesar, and it wasn’t until the reading of Julius’ will that everyone learned that Octavius was now the successor to Julius, and the power he had was going to Octavius.

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.

Octavian was an effective leader because he was humble and generous to the Roman citizens. Octavian was not power hungry and did not enjoy being called “Lord” or “Sire”. As Octavian states in Document C, “When the dictatorship was offered to me, I did not accept it” (Document C). Octavian did not want the dictatorship because he did not want too much power. He wanted the Roman government to be equal.

When Octavian stated “And yet, at first, I was so enthusiastic about him that I shared with him my command, married my sister to him, and have him legions,” he shows that he was the dominate male in his home and an authority figure in Rome during his speech to his troops (Document 2). He tells them of how men are superior to woman, but that Antony is allowing Cleopatra to take control of Rome and him. Antony has given her everything that the citizens of Rome have worked for and owned including land, riches, and even an island, all while he is still married to Octavian’s sister. Antony went as far as even “legitimizing the two children, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selena,” that he conceived with Cleopatra while still married (Document 1). Octavian tried to reason with Antony, showing that he still backed him but that he needed to come back to the Roman side because the Egyptian queen has brainwashed him, and turned him into a female servant. Once, Antony rejects the offer, Octavian condemned Antony and in return was condemned right back (Document 1). From that point, Octavian decided that he no longer has a choice, Rome needed to defend themselves from the Egyptian sorcerous, Cleopatra, and the bewitched Marc Antony. If they conquered them, then they would be free from all that has been done, but if they lose, then they have brought shame upon themselves (Document

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.

Octavian engaged in conquest to secure the borders and promote the arts of government within them. Octavian was ultimately setting the bar for future leaders that would follow his reign. (Cassar, 2005:176).

While Octavius became popular with the populace, Antony was falling back into destation. Morey (1901), stated that Octavius did not do anything but bided his time waiting for Antony to slip up. Romans have suspected that Antony was making treasonable acts with his army and frequent visits to Egypt meeting Cleopatra. This was deemed true as the Romans saw this as treason and demanded Octavius to war with Antony. Octavius appealed to the Romans that they should war against Cleopatra than Antony. Instead of the foreign war against Egypt, this was a civil war against Antony. Antony knew what this war was directed at, so he separated himself from Octavius and declared himself an enemy of Rome (Morey, 1901).

Octavian Augustus is one of the fiercest leaders in the history of the Roman Empire because of his successful military expansion, his Control of Finance, and his political leadership.

He was a very hostile man, and didn’t want the fame that an Emperor should receive. II. Augustus was the very first and was considered to be the best Emperor of Rome. His uncle, Julius Ceaser, was his guardian and sent Octavian to learn under Aplollodurus who was a distinguished

Octavian Augustus (63 B.C.E-14 AD) is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian enabled the long, peaceful time of the Pax Romana by changing Rome from a fragile, crumbling republican government to a mighty empire. Octavian¹s government was strong enough to withstand weak emperors who mismanaged the Empire. His changes proved to be the cornerstone of the greatest empire the world has ever seen.

Octavian enabled the long, nonviolent time of the Pax Romana, (Latin for Roman peace) by changing Rome from a frail, collapsing republican government to a powerful empire. He is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian was born on September 23, 63 BC, and died in 14 AD. Born with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar via his will, and then was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. This happened in 44 BC when his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Additionally, he received the name “Augustus” a term meaning “the revered one” from the Roman Senate in 27 BC. Because of the various names he had, it is

Octavian could then concentrate his efforts on moving against Marc Antony, for total control of the Roman Empire. The Battle of Actium in 31 BC was arguably one of the most important naval battles in the history of the Roman Empire. The following year in Egypt, Octavian and his army again defeat Antony. Consequently, Antony and Cleopatra (Anotny’s wife) commit suicide. With the victory at the Battle of Actium, Octavian was now sole ruler of Rome and all its provinces.

Augustus' familial ties with Caesar are perhaps most important in his ascension to power. While just a boy he had no public image or standing therefore he had no power according to Roman culture. He was not recognized as anyone of importance in the eyes of the senate or citizenry of The Republic. However when taken under the wing of Caesar, one of the most powerful and loved men in all of Rome, he marches with him in the victory parades of Caesar's military conquest of Africa, Rome's newest conquest which included Egypt and it's infamous Queen Cleopatra. He also accompanied Caesar into battle in his final conquest of Spain. These events placed Octavius into the spotlight of public life where according to the Roman ideologies of courage, bravery, strength, loyalty, military conquest, glory and honor he won their praise and acceptance. He was also a noted scholar, tactician and aristocrat; a gifted orator, he embodied everything it meant to be a citizen of Rome, honorable, courageous, brilliant and cunning.