Influences in or on The Augustan Building Programme. The Augustan Building Programme: What Was The Message?

Julius Caesar introduced him to public life whilst he was still a boy (Crystal, 1998, p. 53). Augustus’ father was a Roman senator who died whilst he was a boy, although the family link that proved invaluable for his future political and military career was through his mother Atia, she was the niece of Julius Caesar. Circumstances turned Augustus from a protégé and adopted son of Julius Caesar to a political and military leader more powerful and formally more established than his mentor had ever been. Like many Romans he was taught the importance of family and traditional Roman values such as mental and physical toughness, as well as a strong respect for legality. In many respects these lessons were strong influences not only upon the Augustan building programme, yet also upon his political and military decision-making processes (Speake, 1994, p.93). Previously Julius Caesar had gained wide-ranging military and political powers in Rome as a pro-consul and ‘dictator for life’. Julius Caesar’s military campaigns such as the invasion of Gaul meant he had been admired and feared in almost equal measures, although the legions he commanded were very loyal to him, leading Senators and other generals were envious of his power. It was Brutus that killed Julius Caesar in 44 BC to prevent him from becoming king and ending the Roman Republic by reintroducing the monarchy (Boardman, Griffin, & Murray, 1988, p. 121). Julius Caesar left all his wealth and possessions to his only male relative, Augustus. Fortunately for Augustus, the loyalty of Julius Caesar’s battle hardened legions was also passed on to him, an invaluable asset for the seizing of power in the subsequent civil wars (Castleden, 2005, p. 96).

As his power grew, Augustus did not officially end the Roman Republic as he chose not to do so (Ramage & Ramage, 1991, p. 79). However as will be described, the old Republican institutions were sidelined as Augustus centralised power into his own hands, gaining the titles of ‘imperator’ and ‘princeps’, literally being known as emperor and first citizen of Rome. Although imperator was only originally a title given to a general or admiral that had won a battle, such a victory gave them the right to march through Rome, whilst many had built or renovated temples to commemorate their achievements. These titles demonstrate that Augustus successfully increased his public prestige, whilst even those with Republican scruples had to admit that Augustus brought peace, prosperity, and stability to Rome after decades of civil war and Republican decay (Roberts, 1996, p. 53). Augustus may have made frequent public protestations about just being an ordinary Roman citizen doing an extraordinary job, yet his occasional façade of modesty could not disguise his systematic accumulation of power, wealth, and public offices. The very adoption of the title Augustus Caesar itself was of great symbolic significance, it was a title that he had earned through the virtue of his political and military achievements. It was also a means of ensuring a greater degree of loyalty within the Roman Empire, especially from the army and the Senate (Goldsworthy, 2003 p. 236).