AUGUSTUS
After Rome’s system of political government transformed from republic into empire, the successive emperors became the uncontested rulers of the entire Roman-dominated world. In 44 BCE Julius Caesar was assassinated and two years later the Senate officially elevated the deceased to the status of a divinity, granting him the title of divus.
Caesar’s will stipulated that his sole heir was to be Octavian, which made this youth the adopted son of a divine being. This effectively meant the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire but at the time this was not appreciated. However, this would prove to be very important for the young man, later known as Augustus (Princeps, 27 BCE-14 CE), and for his religio-political power and leadership strategy. Augustus held several important positions in Roman priesthoods, and he restored and built a huge number of temples, forums, aqueducts, baths, bridges and roads. He expressly stated that his goal in rebuilding the city was to revive Rome’s traditions, culture and respect for its glorious past. In the lavishly furnished square Forum Augustum, for instance, he built a temple dedicated to Mars Ultor (Mars the Avenger), which he had vowed to erect after taking revenge on Julius Caesar’s assassins. At the same time the great Mars Ultor temple was also a religious, political and military monument commemorating Augustus’s victory over Parthia, a kingdom that was Rome’s arch-enemy and represented one of the most pressing foreign-policy problems of his time. Thus, the temple had important military functions: Augustus ordained that the commanders were to set off from the temple, that the Senate was to meet in it discussing wars and triumphs, and that victorious generals were to dedicate to Mars the symbols of their triumphs (Suetonius Augustus 29). The grand design of the forum and temple underlined the links between Augustus, the gods and the city of Rome. There were presumably about 108 statues, but most of the sculpture is now lost. One statue portrayed Augustus himself, standing in a chariot in the centre of the forum, while statues of Mars and Venus called to mind the claims of the ruling family (gens Julia) to be descended from these two deities.Following the Battle of Actium (31 BCE) and Rome’s victory over the armies of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, the Senate was able to vote, on 11 January 29 BCE, that the doors of the Temple of Janus be closed. This was an event that tradition dictated could only take place when peace reigned at all of Rome’s borders. Besides closing the temple doors, the Senate decided to erect the Ara Pads (Altar of Peace), in honour of Augustus and the Augustan Peace. The friezes that embellish the enclosure surrounding the altar are related in various ways to Augustus and his activities and to important myths and rites in Roman religion.
The altar illustrates offerings and sacrificial processions featuring the emperor, his family and Roman officials. Other figures include attendants and sacrificial animals, and a bearded man in a toga (often presumed to be Aeneas), who is preparing a sacrifice. The Ara Pads clearly shows its viewers the rituals of a mythical past, the meanings of which are revived and renewed through the sacrifices Augustus himself makes at the peace altar. In short, the altar’s ritual and mythical references and depictions link Rome’s glorious past with a great present, demonstrating that religion is a fundamental element in Roman history and Roman identity.