Academic literature on the topic 'Res gestae divi Augusti (Augustus, Emperor of Rome)'

On the basis of The Deeds of Divine Augustus or Res Gestae Divi Augusti (RGDA), the author analyses the significance of the legacy of populares, one of the main political movements in the Late Republic, in the politics of Emperor Augustus. The main features of this political movement, in the opinion of modern researchers, were their demagogic political style, their assertion of the sovereignty of Roman people and their protection of economic interests of the lower classes. In the RGDA there is no mention of the odious political methods of the populares that entailed conflicts and unrest but the text significantly dwells on the tribunician power granted to Augustus. In the Late Republic the tribunician power served as the basis of the populares political method. The ideology reflected in the RGDA entrusts the Roman people with an important role in the public administration and describes the Roman people as a fullfledged partner of the Senate, however it lacks the populares contraposition of the Roman people to the Senate (or to the oligarchy controlling the Senate). The populares legacy is particularly apparent in the RGDA chapters describing Augustus expenses in favor of the Roman people such as the organisation of various social measures, shows and public building. Augustus inherited from the populares of the Late Republic the idea of Roman plebs as a source of political power and of satisfaction of its interest as a mechanism of maintaining political stability, but discarded those of populares slogans and methods that had a conflict potential.На материале Деяний Божественного Августа (Res Gestae Divi Augusti) рассматривается вопрос о том, какое место занимало в политике Августа наследие популяров одного из двух основных политических течений Поздней республики. В качестве характерных черт этого движения исследователи выделяют демагогический политический стиль приверженность идеологии народного суверенитета защиту экономических интересов неимущих слоёв. В RGDA не упоминаются одиозные политические методы популяров, которые влекли за собой конфликты и беспорядки, но важное место занимает предоставленная Августу трибунская власть, которая в Республике служила основой популярского Modus Operandi. Идеология, выраженная в RGDA, отводит римскому народу важное место в управлении государством и представляет его равноправным партнёром сената однако в ней отсутствует характерное для популяров противопоставление народа сенату (или олигархии, контролирующей сенат). Наиболее очевидно наследие популяров в тех главах RGDA, где описываются расходы Августа в пользу римского народа: социальные мероприятия, организация зрелищ и строительство. Август заимствовал у позднереспубликанских популяров представление о том, что римский плебс может служить источником политической силы, и удовлетворение его интересов необходимо для поддержания политической стабильности, однако исключил из своего арсенала те политические лозунги и методы популяров, которые имели конфликтный потенциал.

The anonymous and fragmentarily preserved Romance-dialect Chronicle describing the history of Rome in 1325–1360, the extensive correspondence between Cola di Rienzo (1313–1354) and rulers, nobles, Church dignitaries, and intellectuals (especially Petrarch) in Italy and abroad, as well as various documentary sources allow us to trace Rienzo’s career in considerable detail. A papal notary, a scholar in Classical literature, an exceptional orator and a copyist and translator of Ancient Roman inscriptions, Rienzo, aided by a group of followers, overthrew the baron rule in Rome in May 1347, assumed the title of ‘Roman Tribune’ and seized power with the aim of reuniting Italy under a common emperor, a concept modelled on the first Roman emperor, Augustus. After undertaking a number of more or less successful measures, public manifestations and diplomatic activities, he was forced to retreat by a clash with the barons’ army even before the end of the year. After years of exile, he returned triumphant in the middle of 1354 to seize power, but the first few weeks of tyranny and arbitrary measures led to his tragic demise at the hands of an infuriated mob. Later he grew into the subject of myth, portrayed in numerous literary, musical, and dramatic adaptations. The present paper examines two ancient documents crucial to the formation of the principate (the renewal of which was Cola’s objective), i.e. Augustus’ account of his own deeds (Res gestae divi Augusti), which is mentioned by Suetonius and known from three epigraphically attested copies from Asia Minor, and a bronze plaque bearing a law on the conferment of powers on Emperor Vespasian, the so-called Lex de imperio Vespasiani. The plaque was used as propaganda by Cola during his preparations for the coup. The inconsistencies between the parts of the law preserved on the plaque (it must have been preceded by at least one other plaque) and the account of Cola’s interpretation as given in the anonymous Chronicle raise a number of questions, which resist definitive answers.

The purpose of this article is to delve into the composition of the political testament of Octavian Augustus, focusing on the epigraphic medium as an instrument of communication chosen by the emperor to publicize the actions carried out at a complex and complicated time for the history of ancient Rome such as the years of the end of the republic and the beginnings of a new government driven by the same Octavian. Throughout these pages, we will show how this document can also be considered a means of propaganda, designed to leave a portrait of the optimus civis not only for contemporaries, but also for posterity. I emphasize this aspect because not all scholars consider this inscription as a product born from the Octavian pen and speculate about the existence of someone who could have done the work on commission.

Summary For a long time the text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti was studied mainly as a political or historical document. Yet recent criticism has capitalized on its primary function, that of an inscription on bronze slabs adjoining the entrance of Augustus� Mausoleum on the Field of Mars in Rome. The present article continues the exploration of the text's functioning in that original position, interpreting it in the light of its monumental context and vice versa. In particular, the hypothesis that a bronze exemplar of the Augustus of Prima Porta was the statue that topped Augustus� Mausoleum is considered from this perspective.

ABSTRACT In this essay, I examine two epideictic artifacts from the Roman Principate, The Res Gestae Divi Augusti and the summi viri, arguing Augustus used them to reshape the model of a good leader, in part, by emphasizing contributing to the built environment of the city. Additionally, the public and visual nature of these artifacts made them highly accessible to those outside of the Roman elite, who may have sought social mobility through the imperial bureaucracy allowing for more diverse participation in the Roman government. I close by considering the influence of classical exemplars on U.S. civic spaces.

Summary This paper discusses a number of linguistic and interpretative aspects of the Greek translation of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Linguistically, the text gives a good idea of the development of Koine Greek at the beginning of the 1st century. Even though the translation is clearly aimed at rendering the Latin original as faithful as possible, there are still a considerable number of deviations from the Latin version which enable us to get a glimpse of the translator, the intended audience and their world views. A number of deviations can be explained as attempts by the translator to tailor the text to the knowledge and attitudes of a Greek-speaking eastern audience. Occasional errors in the translation seem to reveal that the translator was not fully acquainted with Roman institutions, which may be an indication that he was based in the Greek East rather than in Rome. A third group of deviations, finally, appear to point to a different, provincial Greek, attitude toward Roman imperialism and Augustus’ status as monarch.

That Augustus wanted to utilise the to-be-publicly-published record of his career, the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, as subtle propaganda, is a well-established critical assumption. While never blatantly inventing ‘facts’ about his many achievements, the emperor manipulated his brief narrations of individual achievements to fit in with his programme of propaganda. This article not so much explores the ‘facts’ behind Augustus’ categorical assertions of achievements in many spheres, but analyses stylistically his presentation of these facts and his narrative strategies. The exiled poet, Ovid, is shown as one of the first critical readers of the document, his apparent allusions to it seemingly exposing Augustus’ often tendentious manipulation of the contrast between ‘what happened’ and ‘how it is told’. The article ends with reference to another critical reader of Augustus’ slanted auto-memorialisation.

That Augustus wanted to utilise the to-be-publicly-published record of his career, the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, as subtle propaganda, is a well-established critical assumption. While never blatantly inventing ‘facts’ about his many achievements, the emperor manipulated his brief narrations of individual achievements to fit in with his programme of propaganda. This article not so much explores the ‘facts’ behind Augustus’ categorical assertions of achievements in many spheres, but analyses stylistically his presentation of these facts and his narrative strategies. The exiled poet, Ovid, is shown as one of the first critical readers of the document, his apparent allusions to it seemingly exposing Augustus’ often tendentious manipulation of the contrast between ‘what happened’ and ‘how it is told’. The article ends with reference to another critical reader of Augustus’ slanted auto-memorialisation.

The foundation of the Principate under Augustus coincided with the expansion of Roman epigraphic culture. Given the sheer number of surviving inscriptions, imperial epigraphy provides all sorts of information about the power of the Roman emperor: its nature, its juridical basis, its modes of self-representation, including imperial titulature, and the means whereby the emperor controlled the Empire and communicated with its communities. These texts also provide evidence for the central place that the imperial family occupied in Roman society and the consensus of support that the emperors enjoyed in Rome and throughout the Empire. This chapter analyzes the texts of the imperial period, for instance key inscriptions such as the Res Gestae Divi Augusti.