Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the Northern Campus Martius (Wisconsin Studies in Classics)

Caesar Augustus Promoted A Modest Image Of Himself As The First Among Equals (princeps), A Characterization That Was As Popular With The Ancient Romans As It Is With Many Scholars Today. Paul Rehak Argues Against This Impression Of Humility And Suggests That, Like The Monarchs Of The Hellenistic Age, Augustus Sought Immortality - An Eternal Glory Gained Through Deliberate Planning For His Niche In History While Flexing His Existing Power. Imperium And Cosmos Focuses On Augustus's Mausoleum And Ustrinum (site Of His Cremation), The Horologium-solarium (a Colossal Sundial), And The Ara Pacis (altar To Augustan Peace), All Of Which Transformed The Northern Campus Martius Into A Tribute To His Major Achievements In Life And A Vast Memorial For His Deification After Death. Rehak Closely Examines The Artistic Imagery On These Monuments, Providing Numerous Illustrations, Tables, And Charts. In An Analysis Firmly Contextualized By A Thorough Discussion Of The Earlier Models And Motifs That Inspired These Augustan Monuments, Rehak Shows How The Princeps Used These On Such An Unprecedented Scale As To Truly Elevate Himself Above The Common Citizen. 1. Brick Into Marble: Metaphor And Reality -- 2. Field Of Dreams: The Campus Martius -- 3. Last Things First: Ustrinum And Mausoleum -- 4. Visualizing The Invisible: The Horologium-solarium -- 5. Gateway To History: The Ara Pacis Augustae -- 6. Imperium And Cosmos. Paul Rehak ; Edited By John G. Younger. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 149-193) And Indexes. Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals (princeps), a characterization that was as popular with the ancient Romans as it is with many scholars today. Paul Rehak argues against this impression of humility and suggests that, like the monarchs of the Hellenistic age, Augustus sought immortality—an eternal glory gained through deliberate planning for his niche in history while flexing his existing power. Imperium and Cosmos focuses on Augustus’s Mausoleum and Ustrinum (site of his cremation), the Horologium-Solarium (a colossal sundial), and the Ara Pacis (Altar to Augustan Peace), all of which transformed the northern Campus Martius into a tribute to his major achievements in life and a vast memorial for his deification after death.

Rehak closely examines the artistic imagery on these monuments, providing numerous illustrations, tables, and charts. In an analysis firmly contextualized by a thorough discussion of the earlier models and motifs that inspired these Augustan monuments, Rehak shows how the princeps used these on such an unprecedented scale as to truly elevate himself above the common citizen.       

Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals (princeps), a characterization that was as recognized with the ancient Romans as it is with many scholars today. Paul Rehak argues against this impression of humility and suggests that Augustus sought immortality - an eternal glory gained through deliberate planning for his niche in history while flexing his existing power. ''Imperium and Cosmos'' focuses on Augustus' Mausoleum and Ustrinum (site of his cremation), the Horologium-Solarium (a colossal sundial), and the Ara Pacis (Altar to Augustan Peace), all of which transformed the northern Campus Martius into a tribute to his life and a vast memorial for his deification after death. Rehak closely examines the artistic imagery on these monuments, providing numerous illustrations, tables, and charts. In an analysis firmly contextualized by a thorough discussion of the earlier models and motifs that inspired these Augustan monuments, Rehak shows how the princeps used these on such an unprecedented scale as to truly elevate himself above the common citizen. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Chronology......Page 18 Genealogical Charts......Page 27 1 Brick into Marble: Metaphor and Reality......Page 32 2 Field of Dreams: The Campus Martius......Page 38 3 Last Things First: Ustrinum and Mausoleum......Page 60 4 Visualizing the Invisible: The Horologium-Solarium......Page 91 5 Gateway to History: The Ara Pacis Augustae......Page 125 6 Imperium and Cosmos......Page 167 Works Cited......Page 178 Index of Ancient Sources......Page 224 General Index......Page 232 Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals, a characterization that was as popular with the ancient Romans. This work focuses on Augustus's Mausoleum and Ustrinum, the Horologium-Solarium, and the Ara Pacis. It also examines the artistic imagery on these monuments, providing illustrations, tables, and charts. Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals, a characterisation that was popular with the ancient Romans. This work focuses on Augustus's Mausoleum and Ustrinum, the Horologium-Solarium, and the Ara Pacis. It also examines the artistic imagery on these monuments