The Buildings and the Images of
the Imperial Cult
III. Augustus, Pompeii
I Ara pacis
- dynastic ambitions, social policies,
religious affinities, military victories
Complex
-mausoleum, ustrinum, sundial and altar
Location
-nearby Via Flaminia – Augustus took it on
his return to Rome from Spain and Gaul
after the pacification
Date
4th July 13BC - foundation stone4th July 13BC - foundation stone
30th January , 9 BC – dedication - on Livia’s
birthday – Augustus (peace to the empire),
Livia (the foundation of the imperial family
and its Concordia)
Obelisk – Egyptian – victory monument over Egypt,
Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius – victory over eastern
provinces
Altar- victory over western provinces (Hispania, Gallia)
- the peace brought to the entire Roman world
Ustrinum and mausoleum – Augustus’ triumph over death
Res Gestae:
“On my return from Spain and Gaul, after successfully restoring law and order to these
provinces, the Senate decided under the consulship of Tiberius Nero and Publius
Quintilius to consecrate the Ara Pacis Augustae on the Campus Martius in honor of my
return, at which officials, priests and Vestal Virgins should offer an annual sacrifice.”
Decoration
Altar (interior):
- frieze of animals led to a sacrifice (the annual sacrifice to Pax)
- figures distinguished by their costumes but not individual features
- framed by majestic, horned-winged lions and a series of acanthus tendrils
- wooden fence and garlands hanging from wooden posts, garlands laced with fruits, paterae
and bucrania
exterior:
- floral panels with animals - acanthus leaves, wines,…
- swans (sacred birds of Apollo), frogs, birds, snakes…
- peace leads to growth and rebirth
Processions (or two parts of the same procession??)
- its obvious model in Parthenon procession
north frieze – faces reworked in renaissance – senators and dignitaries, followed by
families, prominent – Julia and Octavia
south frieze – left to right – Augustus (holding a lituus – associated with the chief state gods
Jupiter and Apollo), lictors, members of the imperial family – Marcus Agrippa, Livia, two sons Drusus
and Tiberius, Drusus’s wife Antonia the Younger (niece), their son Germanicus, Antonia
the Elder (niece), Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, their son and daughter
– inclusion of children – dynastic policy – social policy, law reforms – marriage and raising
children
– Pax (missing)- in front of Augustus (?)
legendary panels
Tellus or Italia
two babies, personifications of breezes
and sea
animals, flowers, fruit, symbols of
fertility and growth
the message – peace brings prosperity
and time for planting and harvesting
and the security to raise children and
plan for the future.
Roma
- originally flanked by Honos and Virtus
- in Amazonina costume – welcome to
a victorious emperor
Aeneas making a sacrifice to the
penates or household gods
- founder of the Julian family – divine
descent from Venus through Aeneas
- Augustus return from Spain is the
parallel to Aeneas’ arrival in Italy
- Aeneas accompanied with Julus
Ascanius – Julian family recieved the
name.
Mars with Romulus and Remus – badly
damaged
Mars symbolizes the war by which
Augustus brought peace to Rome
Mars – father of Romulus and so of the
Roman people
meaning
- the peace brought by Augustus to Rome and the empire through diplomatic efforts in
provinces
- opportunity to consolidate family and to raise children – children will ensure the
continuity of the Julian dynasty and preserve Augustan peace
- divine ancestry – Venus
The association of the name of Augustus with peace, the rebirth of Italy and the earth
under the universal dominion of Rome (Roma, Tellus), the city whose origin is associated
with the offspring of Aeneas (Aeneas, Mars)
II The forum of Augustus
- ideological manifesto summing the foundation myths, the mythic history of Rome, the summi
viri, divine lineage – everything points to Augustus’ imperium maximum
Location: next to the Caesar’s forum
Date: building started after Actium, finished 2BC, decision made before Philippi
Material and dimensions: Luna marble (Carrara – western coast of Italy), 125x118m, rectangular
- surrounded by a precinct wall, about 35 metres height – protection from fire and tenements
- two long porticoes, the temple of Mars Ultor (the east end), two exedrae, the forum, the Hall
of the colossus
The porticoes
– two stories, the first - Corinthian columns, the second decorated - caryatids that flank shields
ornamented with heads of divinities
-in display: real weapons (Res Gestae), shields (imagines clipeatae – Jupiter Ammon, Galatians),
dozens of statues (over-lifesize – mythological and historical Romans, great man of the Republic,
Augustus’ ancestors)
- caryatids – copies of the ones on the Erechtheion (Augustan golden age = Periclean Athens)
- round shields – victory of Alexander the Great (hung shields in Parthenon)
Exedrae
- left exedra: Aeneas flying from Troy, with his father Anchises and son Iulus
- right exedra: Romulus – founder of Rome with spolia opima
We know about these groups from copies and paintings (wall of a house at Pompeii)
The temple
– etruscan-roman type, closed back wall, high podium, staircase on one side, deep porch,
octastyle, constructed or faced with marble, corinthian capitals (or their variations)
- pediment: center a heroically semidraped Mars Ultor, to the left – Venus, her left shoulder
small Eros, seated Romulus, on the right – Fortuna, seated Roma, corners - personifications of
the Palatine hill and the Tiber River
- representation in miniature from the Claudian “Ara pietatis augustae” – pediment filled with
marble statuary
Inside the temple
– a statuary group of Mars, Venus and Divus Julius – not preserved
-representation: Algier Relief - marble bases in the relief suggest they are statues
a) Mars - fully amred, bearded, helmet, shield, cuirass, spear
b) Venus - leans on a column
c) Eros - resemblance of the Prima Porta statue
d) a young man with bare chest and Augustan cap of hair – Julius Caesar
Hall of the Colossus
Location: at the east end of the north portico, divided from the portico by two columns,
originally lighted by a clerestory above the roof of the colonnade
Dimensions: room – 12 x 13 m, podium – 1.22 x 1.40 x 2.80m
- pavement – checkerboard pattern of rectangular giallo antico and pavonazzetto slabs with a
cipollino border
- Back of the room – pavonazzetto-clad base that supported the colossus
North and south sides of the room – Corinthian pilasters with pavonazzetto shafts
the north bays – two tiers of famous greek figural paintings (attributed to Apelles), marble slabs
to the height of about 11 metres (as height as the statue
The wall at the back of hall - faced with rectangular Luna marble slabs (up to the height of the
statue at least) that were slightly rounded (different width of the slabs), to resemble draped
fabric, a sort of backdrop, which was painted with decorative plant motifs, some of them
painted in gold on a Egyptian blue.
Base - upper surface – pavonazzetto marble slabs, show a negative print of the feet of a lost
statue,
Left side of the podium – traces of holes – maybe a tripod
Holes all arounnd the podium – maybe transennae
Statue
material: white Greek marble from Paros (similar to the Prima Porta statue)
size: about 11 metres, left foot 177 cm, right foot 166 cm long
description: weight of the figure was resting on the left, foot (positioned in front of the
right), the right almost touching the wall behind, the right hand clasping a sympolic
circular object, the left one holding a tool for sacrifice
technique: the torso made of wood or iron, concealed by drapery or gilding, marble feet,
head and heads exposed, marble parts are extraordinarily life-like – veins delicatedly and
realistically curved
fragments:
a) right hand with the first phalange of the index finger
b) a part of a right forearmb) a part of a right forearm
c) the extended back of the left hand
a b c
Statue identification
– Genius Augusti – in toga, velato capite
- possible atributes:
- patera – compital altar of the Vicus Sandalarius
- patera and lituus
- corncucopia and patera
- acerra
the choice of such statuary type:
a) continuity with the image of Divus Julius
(coins from 36 BC)
b) stress on the pietas of Augustus
c) affinity with the familiar image of the geniusc) affinity with the familiar image of the genius
of the paterfamilias
The hall is a cult space in the Forum Augusti,
containing a statue not of Augustus himself, but
of his Genius – the location links Augustus with
ancestors - mythological and divine.
III Pompeii – The Forum
- the principate of Augustus until 79 AD – the forum of Pompeii communicated with Rome
by displaying social, political and religious connections as well as architectural allusions to
the Imperial family
- Pompeii and Imperial family – building projects – east side of the forum
- local elites – dedicated buildings to glorify and define themselves – local parallels to the
members of the Imperial family
- after earthquake – 62 AD – rebuilding – standardized the Imperial presence emphasizing
dynasty and creating visual continuity
From elite patronage to direct imperial control over a unified space
3 phases of the Forum:3 phases of the Forum:
a) Early: 6th century BC - Augustus
b) Augustan and early imperial
c) Late: 62 AD to 79 AD
Augustan period and early imperial :
During Augustus’ reign – emperor worship widespread throughout Italy and the provinces,
citizens sacrificed and dedicated temples to the living emperor
The peace, safety and economical development of the first half of Augustus’ reign – return to
the faith in the ancient gods and the rebirth of the ancient mores (behaviors) and virtutes
(values)
Roman cities – the beginning of the empire – domi nobiles (notable families) – devoted the
vast majority of the sanctuaries sponsored by themselves to an indirect form of the imperial
cult – superhuman qualities and the divine power of the princepscult – superhuman qualities and the divine power of the princeps
Prominent citizens – roles for the administration of the imperial cult, no dictated practices –
flamen and sacerdos leaders of the cult giving it the look
Patrons and patronesses – rebuilding and building
Domi nobiles – in the buildings for the imperial cult a new self-representation
e.g. Marcus Holconius Rufus
- sacerdos and flamen
- restoration of the theatre, addition of marble facing, tribunal, scaenae frons – from Hellenistic
to Roman Theatre
- similar to Augustus in Rome – city of wood to city of marble
- 1 BC – 14 AD – inscription emphasizing the emperor’s title as pater patriae and himself as
patronus coloniae –a position analog to Augustus
Eastern side and the centre
- Macellum
- Lararium (Lares Publici)
- The Temple of Vespasian
- The building of Eumachia
Western side
- noticeable smaller
bases – the notables of
the city
- the Sanctuary of Apollo
Topography:
Northern side – the temple and two arches
The temple of Jupiter – etrusco-italic style – high podium, hexastyle Corinthian, deep pronaos,
interior – ionic colonnade, 3 vaulted chambers, Capitoline cult
Approach – two narrow staircases flank rostrum, altar in the middle, equestrian statues
It was damaged during the earthquake, never fully restored, the cult statue probably stored
elsewhere
- The building of Eumachia
The centre
- base of an altar (didn’t
belong to the temple – had
one), possibly – to the
imperial cult
- the Sanctuary of Apollo
is one of the oldest cult
places in Pompeii, from
the 6th century BC, the
north of it
- market building –
symmetry to the
Macellum
South side – in the middle arched monument, which might have supported a bronze quadriga,
square bases, in the axis – equestrian statue – represented members of the imperial family
The Eumachia building
-wealth of architectural, sculptural and epigraphic
evidence
Date: the reign of Tiberius or Augustus (late
Augustan)
Size: 67 x 40 m, travertine
Function: market for wool or clothing in general,
luxury goods, slave market – multipurpose building
Patron: Eumachia (public priest), daughter of Lucius
Eumachius, with her son Marcus Nemistrius FrontoEumachius, with her son Marcus Nemistrius Fronto
- dedicated the structure to display prominence
while honoring Imperial Rome
- at her own expanses, with her son – building
consecrated to the Augustan Concord and Piety
- structural resemblance to the Porticus of Livia –
double porticoes, rectangular, dedicated with son
(Tiberius) – local counterpart to Livia
Inscription on the frieze, above the columns
3 parts:
Chalcidium – between forum and colonnade (A)
Porticus – interior colonnade (E)
Crypta – covered corridor behind the interior
colonnade (G)
Chalcidium
- articulated façade to the forum
- curved (C) and rectangular exedrae (B) (the latter
with podia with stairs – auctions or speeches) and
sculptural niches – flank the main portal
- long series of bases for statues – gallery of honorary
statuesstatues
-entrance (D) – acanthus scrolls - similar to Ara Pacis
on the right – porter’s lodge – 3rd style wall
painting – entrance to the portico
on the left – service passage to the
Sanctuary of Augustus
Statues: Aeneas and Romulus (similar to Augustus
Forum) – Augustan program or Pompeian analogy of
local summi viri
Porticus (E)
- surrounds an open-air court – eastern end apse
flanked by two smaller apses (exedrae)
Statue(s) : fragments found – a statue of Livia,
sides – Concordia and Pietas
Crypta (G)
3 entrances – 2 western ends, 1 south-eastern
entrance
- central eastern part (H) – the statue of
Eumachia – priestess, velato capite, idealized
face, late Classicism – Augustan period
-ample windows with low marble sills and-ample windows with low marble sills and
shutters connected the crypta and porticus, so
the crypta was adequately lighted
- possibility to shut the windows
and all the entrances
- small gardens behind
the cultic apses
The Temple of Vespasian
The Sanctuary of Augustus
Problem with datation: generally known as the
temple of Vespasian, but
a) court (B) – inscription (unidentified
few years ago) – dedicated by Mamia (Priestess
Mamia – lived at the age of Augustus – couldn’t
dedicate to Vespasian)
b) fits to the model of elite patronage,
dedicated to the Genius of Pompeii or
Augustus
c) technical analysis of thec) technical analysis of the
building techniques and
materials – Augustan date
Temple (D,E)– two lateral staircases
– similar to the Venus Genetrix and
Divus Iulius (unusual feature),
remains of the base for a cult
statue in the back of cella
The sacred space defined by an precinct wall, an ample entrance (A),inside a covered (?)
vestibule (B), the main space – open court (C) and temple against the rear wall (D,E), an altar in
front of the temple, east of the court, 3 service rooms (F, G, H)
Marble altar
Main panel – Augustan period – hooded figure
sacrificing a bull at an latar (Augustus, flamen
Augusti – Marcus Holconius Rufus
-presence of the sun – takes place in summer
temporary movable tripod altar, imply the
ceremony – dedication of the temple – before
the present altar probably on the imperial
anniversary (August 1st – conquest of
Alexandria, 23rd September – birthday)
Two smaller panels – sacrificial imagery –
acerra, lituus, patera, oinochoes, cropsacerra, lituus, patera, oinochoes, crops
sacrificies
The back panel - laurel trees, corona civica –
Augustus’ attributes
Lararium
The sanctuary of Lares Publici
- probably later than Augustan Era but
earlier than the earthquake 62 AD
- marble pavement still in situ
- discussions – roofed or not?
- statues depicting members of the Imperial
family
- altar in the middle (D) – sacrifices to Lares
of the city and the Imperial house
- the architectural design begins with Nero’s
Domus Aurea
- one large apse (B) accommodated
at least 9 statues
probably set between columns
-two large lateral exedrae (C)
(each exedra – base for a statue
and footings of two columns
which screened its entrance)
- integral part (A) – eight large
columns – forum colonnade and
façade colonnades
Macellum
Date: 30s or 40s AD - later than The Sanctuary
of Augustus and The Building of Eumachia
Function: traditionally identified as a market
place, but recently – change – a multicultural
place
Problem: is market a right place for the imperial
cult?
- formerly - markets dedicated to Mercurius
(the god of trading), in the market – the
emperor (deus praesens) providing order in
economic transaction
- demonstrated a connection to Imperial Rome,- demonstrated a connection to Imperial Rome,
Monumental entrance – statue bases,
an aedicula (a temple-like statue niche)
flanked by shops and/or offices leads
to once colonnaded interior
- colonnaded entrance (A) in front of the entrance (B) - aedicula – a statue
niche, I and J – other entrances
- internal colonnade surrounding the main court (C)
-shrine (E) – base for the main statue, 2 niches in each side wall
2 statues excavated in the southern wall – identity in doubt –
members of the imperial family,
fragment of a statue – larger than a life-size – a left hand
clutching a globe, a statue of an emperor – on the base
- two large rooms:
D – shop selling meat and fish (counter along three sides of the room)
F – room for sacrificial banquets – low altar
- southern side – shops
- in the center - a pavilion supported by 12 bases (H), fish were sold here
- northern space – religious (meetings of a cultic corporation) and feasts
The temple of Fortuna Augusta
Dedicated to the emperor’s worship
Sponsor: Marcus Tullius, M. fillius,
“Marcus Tullius the son of Marcus, duumvir with judiciary
authority for the third time, quinquennial duumvir, augur
and military tribune by the choice of the people, erected
this temple to Fortuna Augusta on his own ground and at
his own expense.”
Location: north of the forum
Material: travertine, covered with marbleMaterial: travertine, covered with marble
Augustus’ successful return from east and west –
altars and temples dedicated to Fortuna Redux
Unclear why not in the forum:
a) not a place
b) too much?
c) Other buildings already concieved
- sponsor and the architect – aware of the trends in
Rome
Podium and altar (A) – model of early Augustan
temples in Rome, cella (C, D) (alongside niches fortemples in Rome, cella (C, D) (alongside niches for
statues of the sponsor, his family, members of the
imperial family)
- the emperor here only synnaos (who shares the
cella) – thus private sponsor became synnaoi of the
emperor