Insight into the Mind of One of Rome's Greatest

Everybody knows that the first-rate eavesdroppers are the ones that have the highest quality news to spread. It is for this reason that this information usually circulates itself around those of high prestige and popularity. This coupled with the fact that we here at this blog want to provide our readers with only the most excellent entries has made it imperative that there be a portion dedicated to one of Rome’s pivotal players, Caesar Augustus.

Furthermore, one of the most telling ways to discover the secrets behind a person is to delve into how a person sees himself. For this reason, the ideal place to analyze the person of Augustus is through the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta, which is currently on display in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican Museums.

This marble statue was utilized by the Emperor Augustus as a tool of propaganda concerning himself to his people to show how he see himself and how they ought to view him. The first declaration of note made by this statue is that of his stance. His stature is one that would have been made by the classical Greek symbol of the athlete. By using this template, Augustus represents himself, the middle-aged man with large ears, as a perfectly fit and capable man. He seems to no longer be in possession of any exterior flaws or hindrances that might prevent him from being a capable leader.

In addition to this insight into how Augustus views himself physically, there are also figurines that are utilized to increase his recognition as a capable leader. To the side of the statues right leg is the figure of a small cupid riding what appears to be a dolphin. Together these two characters represent Augustus as a superior naval commander and one that has been descended from the Gods. For just as Romulus and Remus shared blood with the goddess Venus so to does Augustus make this claim to his citizens and by including the cupid he asserts that he holds that it is more than just a rumor.

Finally, Augustus clothes his statuesque self with a telling breastplate. Throughout this piece of armor, there are depictions that allude to the prosperity that Augustus has brought to his empire as well as his acknowledgment to the gods who have assisted him in doing so. In the end, the Augustus of Prima Porta provides the viewer with not only an exterior representation of the man, but it also allows them to move into his interior thoughts, which is the supreme form of eavesdropping.

Sources:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/a/augustus-of-primaporta

http://web.mit.edu/21h.402/www/primaporta/description/