Augustan Building Programme: Sourcework

Suetonius, Augustus, 29-30, 42
According to the source, what were Augustus' motives for his building projects?

• "His reason for building the forum was the increase in the number of people and of cases at law... two (forums) were no longer adequate" - built for the good of Rome
• "He had made a vow to build the temple of Mars in the war of Philippi, which he undertook to avenge his father"
• "He reared the temple of Apollo... for which the soothsayers declared that the god had shown his desire by striking it (the land on which the temple was built) with lightning" - built on Palantine hill (added to his house) - contained libraries filled with Greek and Latin texts - it was later used to hold senate meetings
• "He dedicated the shrine to Jupiter the Thunderer because of a narrow escape" - lightning had struck a slave who was carrying a torch in front of Augustus during a night march in Spain (this shows him to be very pious) 
• "He constructed some works too in the name of others, his grandsons and nephew to wit, his wife and sister, such as the colonnade and basilica of Gaius and Lucius; also the colonnades of Livia and Octavia, and the theatre of Marcellus"
• "to make the approach to the city easier from every direction, he personally undertook to rebuild the Flaminian Road all the way to Ariminium"

How does the source view Augustus' projects? Do they say they were beneficial more for Rome or for Augustus?

• "To show that he was a prince who desired the public welfare rather than popularity, when the people complained of the scarcity and high price of wine, he sharply rebuked them by saying 'My son in law Agrippa has taken good care by building several aqueducts, that men shall not go thirsty'" - shows that his projects were for public welfare rather than popularity
  

Res Gestae, 19-22

According to the source, what were Augustus' motives for his building projects?

• He restored many buildings as well as building new ones that were damaged by fire or had fallen into disrepair
• He restored 82 temples - none that needed repairing were overlooked
• "Without inscribing my name upon them, I restored the Capitol and the Theatre of Pompey, both works at great expense"

How does the source view Augustus' projects? Do they say they were beneficial more for Rome or for Augustus?

• The source implies that Augustus spent a great deal of time and money (his own) on improving Rome, which in turn implies that his priority was Rome, rather than his own popularity - although whether this is actually true or not is debated

Lactor 17,K6,L4,T8-9

According to the source, what were Augustus' motives for his building projects?

Strabo:

• Augustus was particularly concerned with the constant deterioration of the city from fire and collapse
• he created a fire brigade and height regulations on buildings
• Agrippa's aqueducts brought such a great water supply that people could have private cisterns and flowing water in their house

Ovid:

• Restoration of the temples  - celebrates the piety of Augustus
• "Our Saviour Juno, neighbour/ To Phygria's Mother Goddess, was honoured with new temples"
• "It was our blessed leader's care and providence that all the rest should never be suffered likewise to decay crumbling to ruination" - (like the other temples that fell into disrepair)
• "Beneath his care our temples do not feel the searing touch of age"
• "O holy one, builder of temples and rebuilder too, this is my prayer:/ May all the gods repay your care by mutual benefaction, and grant/ you years in heaven to match the years on earth you gave to them"

Pliny:

• Agrippa added to the existing aqueducts the Aqua Virgo, as well as combining or repairing the channels of the others
• Added 700 reservoirs, 500 fountains and 130 cisterns (a number of which were elaborately decorated)

How does the source view Augustus' projects? Do they say they were beneficial more for Rome or for Augustus?

• These sources show Augustus' projects to be for the people of Rome and the good of the city, painting him as a hero.

Augustan Building Programme

The Pantheon

• Who built it? - Marcus Agrippa
• What date was it built? - sometime between 29 BC- 19 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Piazza della Rotonda (nowadays)
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - It was potentially a temple
• Are there any notable features? - It has a giant dome
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - It burnt to the ground in 80 AD and was rebuilt by Hadrian in approximately 126 AD
• What remains today? - The rebuilt Pantheon

The Ara Pacis Augustae

• Who built it? - Commissioned by the Roman Senate
• What date was it built? - commissioned in 17-18 BC - finished in 13 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Campus Martius
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - Honours Augustus' return from Spain and Gaul where he had been campaigning - it had an altar
• Are there any notable features? - it has a renaissance look and has depictions of the Senate, Priests and Imperial family as well as Romulus and Remus and some depictions of the gods (peace/mother earth) and heroes
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - it wasn't rebuilt but it was lost and rediscovered, rededicated and put in a museum by Mussolini in the 1930s
• What remains today? - the entire structure

The Theatre of Marcellus

• Who built it? - It was to be commissioned by Caesar, but was finished by Augustus 
• What date was it built? - 13 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Circus Flaminius
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - it was dedicated by Augustus to his nephew Marcellus
• Are there any notable features? - it was the largest and most significant Roman theatre
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - it was turned into a fortress after the fall of Rome - the top part of the building was built into a residence in the 1600s and to this day remains a bed and breakfast
• What remains today? - parts of the original building, along with additional parts that were built to make it a residence
• Marcellus was Augustus' first chosen successor, but he died before the project was finished

The Baths of Agrippa

• Who built it? - Agrippa
• What date was it built? - 25 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Campus Martius
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - Public baths
• Are there any notable features? - adorned with expensive artwork
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - It also burnt down in 80 AD and was restored by Domitian - after it was rebuilt Pope Gregory turned it into nunnery 
• What remains today? - Only part of the circular wall of the rotunda remains

The Forum of Augustus

• Who built it? - Augustus
• What date was it built? - it was begun in 42 BC and finished in 2 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Just outside the Forum (the centre of Rome)
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - the Forum was extra space for shops, business transactions and other things - it was basically like a massive common area. It was used by the Senate for military discussions. It was also a place for the rite of passage for boys becoming of age
• Are there any notable features? - the "Temple to Mars Avenger" that was built in the middle of the Forum
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - It became a place of sanctuary during fires - it was closed in the late Christian Empire
• What remains today? - the Forum remains but over thousands of years people would steal parts of the temple, leading to its eventual destruction

The Temple of Mars Ultor

• Who built it? - Augustus
• What date was it built? - begun in 42 BC and finished in 2 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - the Forum
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - a temple dedicated to Mars 'the avenger' after the death of Caesar
• Are there any notable features? - made of fine materials
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - No
• What remains today? - nothing, over thousands of years people would steal parts of the temple, leading to its eventual destruction

Arch of Augustus

• Who built it? - the Senate
• What date was it built? - 27 BC
• Where in Rome was it built? - Rimini (the surviving arch of the two)
• What was its purpose? Why was it built? - It marked the end of major road ways in the Forum and honoured Augustus' military achievements, especially at Actium
• Are there any notable features? - Corinthian Colonnades - Hoplite shields depicting Jupiter, Apollo, Neptune and Roma - it depicts Augustus on a chariot with defeated foes underneath
• Was it rebuilt or rededicated at any point in ancient times? - No
• What remains today? - the one in Rimini, as the one in Rome collapsed over time

"I found Rome made of brick, I leave her clothed in marble" -  Suetonius (quoting Augustus)

What is propaganda?
"Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view"

Understanding Utilisation

• The majority of the population in Rome was illiterate, and so communicating to the people through literature wouldn't be very effective

Augustan Building Projects

• Augustus' boasting is exaggeration. The majority of Rome was still wood and brick residential districts, and the Augustan building project did little to change this. However, he did undertake massive building projects that were intended to beautify the city and renovate Rome after decades of civil war and neglect

How did the building projects benefit Augustus?

• Many of the buildings in Rome had fallen into disrepair
• Public amenities such as aqueducts, baths, entertainment etc had been neglected
• Many people were unemployed and relied on grain subsidies and handouts to feed themselves and their families
• Augustus came along and...
• The major buildings of Rome and civic centres such as the Forum were completely renovated in expensive materials such as marble
• New baths, aqueducts and other amenities were suddenly being provided for once again
• Lots of new building project began, meaning that that there were thousands of new jobs available for the Romans