590. Augustan Rome. Andrew Walllace- Hadrill. - Summary

590.  Augustan Rome.  Andrew Walllace- Hadrill.  The battle of Actium, September 2, 31 BC was transformed by Augustus.  First Augustus drew off support from Antonius via Virgil and Horace and by depicting him as associating with everything East and casting this in a light opposed to values of Rome.  Eventually this was transformed into a battle which required the effort of a god to set matters right for Rome.  Antonius slowly faded into the mist.

It is important to understand that Augustus had not figured out in advance what he would do.  The plan developed as situations arose.  Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a good example, says the author, that transformation is slow. 
The biggest dilemma which Augustus faced was the Republic.  It had to be restored to secure his position but to restore the Republic fully would mean that his position would have to be eliminated.  So he restored the Republic but kept key provinces with the bulk of the armies.  The Senate was in control of numerous provinces but guarded by fewer forces. So in one sense the restoration was a joke but in another way it was not.  If he wished to save the Republic he needed extraordinary powers to protect it from the intense competition which the political system demanded.  Augustus held office but one consul was equal to another, one tribune had same powers as another.  He was given greater prestige and authority.  By Republican standards this was possessing superhuman powers.  So poets and art begin to give the impression that he was “on loan from Jupiter” to protect the Roman world.  It is unfair to label the references of Virgil and Horace to Augustus’ divine powers as licking his boots.  Society was looking for ways to understand this new dimension. His name, Augustus, has connections with religious terms.  It means revered.  So the name gave him a connection to temple worship but stopped short of declaring him a god.
Romans evidently never had a written constitution because they wished to able to adjust to changing situations.  So his position in some ways harkened back to an older version of the Republic.  Tradition in so many ways was a common experience in Roman culture.  The trappings of senatorial achievements: triumphs, monuments, inscriptions were slowly absorbed by Augustus to himself.  Eventually under Tiberius elections were transfered to the Senate. 
By creating a professional army Augustus made a more clear distinction between soldier and citizen.
Augustus slept in the same bed in his house on the Palatine for 40 years.  As time went by more and more religious emblems adorned his house: wreaths, laurels, ivy and a temple of Apollo nearby.  (It must have attracted a great deal of attention and in spite of the fact that it was the Princeps’ house the area was considered by Ovid to be a great place to pick up chicks.) In a similar fashion the nobility was absorbed.  Still there but connected to the royal family.  That he held so much authority made it necessary for nobility to seek his support to pursue their goals.  As time passed the nobility was not a threat but, something he probably did not anticipate, the new threat came from within his own house. 
House members such as women gained power too.  Not official power but the kind that comes from concentrating power and authority within the walls of his own home.  Octavia, his sister, was the first woman to appear on coins.  Caligula referred to his won grandmother as ”Ulysses in  petticoats.”
The author identifies three phases of intrigue:
Octavia
Julia/Livia
Livia

Evidence of court intrigue may be in one of Ovid’s poems.  He praised Gaius, grandson
of Augustus.  Gaius may have had friends opposed to Livia’s interests.  May help to account for Ovid’s exile.
The population of Rome was cosmopolitan- this contained its own set of problems.  The population was prone to violence.  This probably forced a willing Augustus to be the protector of the people.   The Tribunate fit well with this.
Rome became something upon which Augustus had great influence.  The 14 modern districts are modeled on his divisions of the city.  He restored 82 temples in one year.  The forum became a place where every stone was, practically, sacred.  His arch in the forum listed all triumphs and past consuls.  There were numerous monuments which one way or another reminded the passerby of Augustus.
The author seems to suggest that Ovid’s confiscation of war terms for use in his poems was part of this process of stripping such from noble use.  I wonder if these poems were found to be offensive to Augustus because they mock warlike traits.  Ovid may have also made Augustus angry by writing poems which mocked Augustus’ new morality.  Augustus made efforts in many areas to prevent another civil war.
The obelisk, sun dial, Ara Pacis may have been arranged the way it was to use mathematics to connect Augustus to the Gods.  As a result peace, prosperity became associated with him to the degree that liberty suffered.  Disorder could not be tolerated.   
Augustus never had a blueprint from which to work.  Like any great leader he was forced to respond to situations as they presented themselves and find ways to fit this in with what he felt needed to be done.  Stability was a worthy result but liberty suffered.