Main content
Ancient Mediterranean + Europe
Course: Ancient Mediterranean + Europe > Unit 9
Lesson 7: Early empire- Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
- Augustus of Primaporta
- Augustus of Primaporta
- Augustus of Primaporta
- Ara Pacis
- Ara Pacis
- Ara Pacis
- The Mausoleum of Augustus and the Piazza Augusto Imperatore in Rome
- Gemma Augustea
- The art of gem carving
- Pont du Gard
- Obelisks and ancient Rome
- Lateran Obelisk
- Preparations for a Sacrifice
- The Domus Aurea, Nero’s Golden Palace
- The rediscovery and impact of the Domus Aurea
- Portrait of Vespasian
- Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)
- Colosseum
- The Arch of Titus
- Relief from the Arch of Titus, showing The Spoils of Jerusalem being brought into Rome
- Silver shekel of the Second Jewish Revolt
- Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca Bust), part 1 of 2
- When there is no archaeological record: Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca bust)
- Forum and Markets of Trajan
- The Forum of Trajan
- Markets of Trajan
- Column of Trajan
- Column of Trajan
- Column of Trajan
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Augustus of Primaporta
The marble sculpture Augustus Primaporta celebrates Rome's first emperor and his victory over the Parthians. This artwork, found in Livia's estate, showcases a naturalistic, idealized figure of Augustus, borrowing from ancient Greek art. The cuirass displays symbolic imagery, linking Augustus to divine lineage and emphasizing Rome's divinely ordained triumphs. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Want to join the conversation?
- @We see the focus on Cupid and Augustus's relation to Cupid. Is Cupid made smaller here to make him seem enormous or did they really think Cupid was this small? 3:00(26 votes)
- Cupid was the son of Venus and was always portrayed as a chubby kid about 3 years old.
I think that Cupid was intentionally made smaller so that most of our attention was on Augustus. If you think about paintings where everyone is the correct scale, your attention is pretty much equally divided between the different characters. But Augustus would have wanted ALL of our attention. Cupid probably functions as a symbol in this sculpture in the same way that paintings of Mary often have lilies to s(40 votes)
- Hopefully not a stupid question but...! Does anyone else find the raised arm out of proportion. Looks to me like it would belong to a larger body.(14 votes)
- It looks fine to me. Maybe it's because it's muscled which makes it look larger.(1 vote)
- What are some of the other figures on his breastplate?(6 votes)
- There is a drawing on a German website to see the details better.
http://www.mbradtke.de/augustus/augustus01.htm
On the shoulders are 2 spinx symbolizing his victory over Cleopatra. Top figure is Caelus holding the veil of the sky with Apollo (Sol) riding his chariot across and Luna (moon) & Aurora on the other side. In the center is the Parthian king returning the aquilae lost by Mark Anthony to Rome (personified possibly by Tiberius). On either side are the Teutons and Celts. Below is Apollo on the left and Diana riding a stag on the left. Bottom center is Tellus/Ceres Goddess of the Earth.(15 votes)
- Why use C.E. or Common Era to describe the period instead of A.D. or Anno Domini? The year from the Gregorian calendar is supposed to be based on the birth of Christ, right? The approximation of the actual year may not be quite right, but why is there such an effort to remove BC and AD? Even if you replace the BC and AD the numerical year itself is still based on the birth of Christ and therefore implied. So why bother?(10 votes)
- I feel that there is such a movement for " political correctness" and that if we associate BC and AD with the birth of Christ then someone will be offended. History is history and I feel that to come in and change the accepted way of denoting time that we have used for a very long time is silly. Whether people are religious or not there is no denying that religion has played a fundamental role in history since time began.(7 votes)
- How do statues last SO long?(2 votes)
- The statues are make of marble which is a very hard rock and can last hundreds of years...Possibly thousands in the right conditions.(10 votes)
- At, "this is tremendously powerful visual propaganda," but how do we measure that? I have a hard time believing the Romans were so gullible as to think Augustus and Julius Cesar were gods and related to humans, and that a statue of Augusts would make that belief stronger. Or the Egyptians thinking pharoahs were related to gods as well. Does anyone else other there think the same? Since history is written by the "winners" anyone or any document saying otherwise would be destroyed. 4:40(2 votes)
- I would say that modern politicians do this very same thing. Think about the visuals of our elections. Modern politicians just use video and photographs to create these visuals.(5 votes)
- Why is Cupid always portrayed as a child?(2 votes)
- Cupid / Eros is not always depicted as a child. There are several traditions with respect to Cupid. In Hesiod's Theogony, Eros is a primordial god, present at the beginnings of the world. In later traditions, he is portrayed as the son of Aphrodite / Venus. In this child role he is mischievous, interfering in the romantic affairs of gods and humans. In earlier Greek poetry and art, Eros is depicted as a youthful male. See, for instance, the Eros of Thespiae by Praxiteles.(5 votes)
- The statue has a brown patch on its elbow (- 1:30). Is it part of the marble? Or some of the original paint? 1:40(3 votes)
- It could be paint but it is most likely a form of weathering from being in harsh conditions before being put on display at this museum.(1 vote)
- Were battle armor really made with illustrations like the statue has?(2 votes)
- Possibly ceremonial armour would have been designed like that.(2 votes)
- what style would you say this is?(2 votes)
- The Augustus of Primaporta is Classicizing in its style, meaning Augustus and the sculptor deliberately evoke stylistic trends from 5th century BCE Greece.(2 votes)
Video transcript
(jazzy piano music) - [Steven] We're in the
museums of the Vatican in Rome and we're looking at an ancient
over life sized sculpture in marble called Augustus Primaporta. - [Beth] This is the great Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Rome had a period of being a republic. There was a period of civil
war that followed that and Augustus emerges as
the first emperor of Rome. - [Steven] And the word
Primaporta in the title refers to a gate north
of the city of Rome. This sculpture was found
on the estate of Livia, who was Augustus' wife. - [Beth] Who lived near the gate. Now we think that this is actually a copy of an original bronze sculpture that was probably set up in public, but this marble version
was a private version that was discovered in her home. - [Steven] The bronze was probably made around the year 19 or 20 BCE, that is, during the lifetime of Augustus after his military victory over one of the great armies in
the East, the Parthians. - [Beth] The Parthians
were victorious over Rome several times in what
the Romans considered humiliating defeats. - [Steven] But these were also important symbolic victories. The Parthians captured
the Roman standards. These were symbolic staffs
that functioned like flags. - [Beth] They were carried by
the Roman legions into battle. When you captured them, it was a symbol of the defeat of Rome. - [Steven] And so we
think that this sculpture, originally in bronze,
was meant to celebrate Augustus' great victory
over the Parthians. - [Beth] Finally, they had
defeated this formidable enemy and that happened under Augustus. Now every part of this sculpture speaks of Augustus and his reign. This is all about the political ideology of this new Augustan era. - [Steven] We see an incredibly
naturalistic handling of the human body, of its musculature, of its bone structure. The figure seems as if he
might be moving forward easily. There's nothing static about him. Look at the fringe. Look at the way that the drapes fall down. - [Beth] Really showing off what the artist could do with marble. It's important to remember too, that this sculpture was once painted. His eyes, his pupils,
his hair, his uniform, these things were brightly painted. And he raises his right hand as if in the midst of
addressing his troops. He's got his weight on his right leg. His left leg is bent. This is contrapposto, directly borrowed from ancient Greek art. This is a natural position for
the body, a relaxed position, but also one that gives
it a sense of being alive. - [Steven] But here, the
sculptor is borrowing more than just the position of the body. This seems to be an almost direct copy of a sculpture by a very
famous ancient Greek artist, whose name is Polykleitos, specifically a sculpture
called the Doryphoros. - [Beth] To recall the
golden age of Greece, implying that Augustus was
bringing a golden age to Rome. - [Steven] And that Rome is the inheritor of the great Greek tradition. It's also reflected in a subtle symbol at the feet of the emperor. Now at first glance, this
may look like a little angel. In fact, it's a cupid, and Cupid was the son
of the goddess Venus. - [Beth] And Cupid is riding a dolphin, which reminds us that Venus
was born from the sea. - [Steven] What's important here is that Augustus has chosen this cupid because he linked his lineage back to the ancient hero Aeneas. Aeneas who had come from
Greece, and therefore he traces his lineage back to Venus. In other words, he was
descended from the gods. - [Beth] His face is
youthful; it's beautiful. He has these lovely, high cheekbones. He raises his eyebrows just slightly to create some lines in his forehead to indicate a seriousness and nobility. But we know that he was older when these sculptures were made, and so the artist is
intentionally idealizing Augustus, making him more youthful, more athletic than he was in reality. And this too looks back to the ancient Greek tradition
from the classical period of creating beautiful, idealized figures. - [Steven] And it's
simultaneously in contrast to the old Republican
tradition of portraits that represented age and experience through the lines of the face, through the imperfections of the face. - [Beth] So Augustus is
inventing a new tradition for the portraiture of Roman emperors, one that idealizes instead of emphasizing that dignity that comes with age. - [Steven] Let's turn to the cuirass, to that armored breast plate, which is probably representing something made out of a hardened leather. It is absolutely full of imagery. - [Beth] And it tells us so much about Augustus and his great achievements, focusing in the center
on a figure which may be the personification of Rome
itself, the goddess Roma. - [Steven] We don't really
know that the figure on the left is Roma. It's a good guess, but scholars
are arguing about this. What we do know is that whoever it is that figure represents Rome. - [Beth] And on the right, we see a Parthian who's
handing over a standard that may symbolically
represent the hundred or so standards that were returned to Rome after this decisive victory. And at the top, we see an Eagle, which is typical of these standards. Augustus is getting back those
important military symbols. And the Parthian himself
wears baggy trousers. He has a beard. He could easily be read as a barbarian, as a foreigner, as a Parthian. - [Steven] Just below this pair, we see Tellus the goddess of earth. She lounges back and holds two infants. And above, a personification of the sky. - [Beth] Holding up the clouds. - [Steven] We see the
ancient Greek god, Apollo, holding a lyre and on the opposite side we see the goddess Diana and her stag. - [Beth] And above those
two divine figures, we see representations of captives. - [Steven] Referring to important earlier victories by Augustus. And just above the
captives, on either side, we see on the left a
personification of the sun, and on the right a
personification either of the dawn or perhaps the moon. - [Beth] Overall, we get this impression that Rome's victory over its enemies, this expansion of its empire, is something that is divinely ordained. And that Augustus is
this divinely ordained leader of the Roman empire. (jazzy piano music)