Augustus' Res Gestae as propaganda

[Alain12345]

Hi, I'm working on a fairly short essay discussing the Res Gestae as propaganda. I'm a little confused as to how I should go about my research on a pretty broad topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on what aspects of it I can focus on for about a 2000 word essay? I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but some suggestions would be helpful as I'm a first year university student who's never taken a classics course before. I have thought about it, and section 34 of the looks like a good place to start, but I'm not sure I want to spend a whole essay discussing ONE aspect of the Res Gestae.

 

Thanks.

Edited November 24, 2007 by Alain12345

[Ursus]

You might want to read books by Karl Galinsky, an expert on Augustus, who would help put RG and its values in broader context. Augustus claimed to restore the res publica. This is clearly nonsense if res publica means purely Republican government, but if it means a broader Commonwealth, than Augustus did in fact save Rome from itself. Anyway, Galinsky wrote a book on it, and it would be a great angle on a paper.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

If you can read french a new edition of the Res Gestae has just ( less than two years ) been published by John Scheid with extensive comments in the BUDE text edition collection and I've seen some other quite recent publications on the subject.

[Ursus]

If you can read french a new edition of the Res Gestae has just ( less than two years ) been published by John Scheid with extensive comments in the BUDE text edition collection and I've seen some other quite recent publications on the subject.

 

 

I posted about this in the Principate forum. Schied's new edition has been translated into English and will be hitting the UK and America soon if it hasn't already.

[The Augusta]

Hi, I'm working on a fairly short essay discussing the Res Gestae as propaganda. I'm a little confused as to how I should go about my research on a pretty broad topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on what aspects of it I can focus on for about a 2000 word essay? I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but some suggestions would be helpful as I'm a first year university student who's never taken a classics course before. I have thought about it, and section 34 of the looks like a good place to start, but I'm not sure I want to spend a whole essay discussing ONE aspect of the Res Gestae.

 

Thanks.

 

I think the age-old answer to this is perhaps to focus on the many disclaimers throughout the RG. Augustus is at pains to point out that his position is a constitutional one etc., although he 'exceeded all others in influence' (his catchword auctoritas). This particular aspect of the Res Gestae has kept Classics scholars busy for decades, and I can't honestly think it has changed now.

 

Although Others have given good advice about consulting modern works, I would say that you should perhaps contrast Augustus' take on the events of his rise to power and 'reign' with the usual suspects - i.e. the primary sources of Suetonius, Dio, Appian etc., together with whatever epigraphic and numismatic evidence you can find to back your case.

 

Your tutor may appreciate a link-in with the wider culture during the Augustan era too - i.e. Horace, Virgil - Horace's Odes and Virgil's Aeneid and Eclogues.

 

Whatever you choose, one thing sticks out like a sore thumb to me about the RG - it is Augustus' attempt to justify his unprecedented position within the state - and that should be a good enough starting point.

 

Hope this helps a bit. Having gone through the same 'first year' type of assignment, PM me if you need anything more detailed.

[Melvadius]

Hi, I'm working on a fairly short essay discussing the Res Gestae as propaganda. I'm a little confused as to how I should go about my research on a pretty broad topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on what aspects of it I can focus on for about a 2000 word essay? I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but some suggestions would be helpful as I'm a first year university student who's never taken a classics course before. I have thought about it, and section 34 of the looks like a good place to start, but I'm not sure I want to spend a whole essay discussing ONE aspect of the Res Gestae.

 

Thanks.

 

As The Augusta and others have suggested there is a plethora of material out there but may I make the obvious suggestion - first check the references that you have been assigned for suitable material and then spin out to look at extra material if it seems appropriate to the theme you will hopefully see developing.

 

That is where reference to other forms of propoganda such as the poetry of Horace et al, as has already been suggested, may be appropriate. I would also observe that with a 2000 word limit, unless you have a detailed knowledge of Latin and appropriate Classical sources, may be bit restrictive when giving a rounded answer especially if you are trying to concentrate on only one aspect of Res Gestae.

 

(edited to clarify a couple of points)

Edited November 25, 2007 by Melvadius

[Alain12345]

thanks a lot for your responses... there's one thing that I'm confused about though... after handing back the power to the senate and people, as Augustus claimed, what was the reason for the Senate giving the power back? thanks again.

[Primus Pilus]

thanks a lot for your responses... there's one thing that I'm confused about though... after handing back the power to the senate and people, as Augustus claimed, what was the reason for the Senate giving the power back? thanks again.

 

The people believed that Augustus was the deliverer from the woes of civil war and political strife that had been taking place for as long as anyone could remember. Taking "executive power" away from him left the impression that this strife would be renewed and certainly wouldn't have made the position of the senate a comfortable one. Regardless, it's much more likely that the entire episode was staged and/or embellished as part of the Augustan political mastery. Looking at his history, it seems highly unlikely that he ever had any intention of truly relinquishing his authority.

 

Of course, even if I am completely off-base on this, one must also consider that many of the leading men of the senate had been purged in various proscriptions and civil war over the last generation. It may very well be possible that the inexperienced leaders of the day were simply unsure of their ability to lead or were legitimately frightened by the possibility of renewed danger in the absence of strong leadership.

[Alain12345]

thanks a lot! I've pretty much figured out what aspects I want to focus on, but even so, I'll have to get a little more specific as the paper is only about 7 pages long... I'm looking at the transformation of the Republic to the Empire (January 27 BC), and Octavian/Augustus' role as a religious figure.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Tacitus said it best:

 

Augustus won over the soldiers with gifts, the populace with cheap corn, and all men with the sweets of repose, and so grew greater by degrees, while he concentrated in himself the functions of the Senate, the magistrates, and the laws. He was wholly unopposed, for the boldest spirits had fallen in battle, or in the proscription, while the remaining nobles, the readier they were to be slaves, were raised the higher by wealth and promotion, so that, aggrandised by revolution, they preferred the safety of the present to the dangerous past.

[Melvadius]

thanks a lot! I've pretty much figured out what aspects I want to focus on, but even so, I'll have to get a little more specific as the paper is only about 7 pages long... I'm looking at the transformation of the Republic to the Empire (January 27 BC), and Octavian/Augustus' role as a religious figure.

 

You may want to include a comparison of how Augustus and his family are depicted on the Ara Pacis (Atlar to Peace) which is full of religious symbolism, with Asugustus depicted as the 'father of his country' undertaking the familial priest role.

[Nephele]

You may want to include a comparison of how Augustus and his family are depicted on the Ara Pacis (Atlar to Peace) which is full of religious symbolism, with Augustus depicted as the 'father of his country' undertaking the familial priest role.

 

A good suggestion. And, may I add, UNRV's The Augusta has written an outstanding and award-winning essay titled "Laying New Foundations: How Augustan propaganda attempted to reshape the Roman past" which covers the Ara Pacis. Click on this link to be taken to the topic in the Academia forum where you will have a choice of accessing The Augusta's article in two formats. An illustration of the Ara Pacis is included in her essay, with notes and bibliography.

 

-- Nephele