Introduction

ROME: The Mythological City 

During the course of this blog my plan is to look at Emperor Augustus’ use of myth in the foundation of his principate and his ‘rule’ over the city. Augustus could never say he ruled Rome, kings were not tolerated in Rome since the assassination of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (the seventh and last king of Rome) and the establishment of the Roman Republic. Anyone who acted like a king was murdered. This meant Augustus need to rule without being seen as ruler. I am going to look at the use of mythology within Augustan 'propaganda' and to what extent this helped establish his power and dominion over not just Rome but the whole of the Empire.

To me Augustus is the embodiment of Rome, he symbolises everything Rome stood for and everything it could be. Coming from fairly humble origins, he became the most powerful man in the known world; he was the original success story. I have been fascinated by Rome from a young age ever since seeing pictures of the Colosseum and hearing tales of the Emperors and as time moved on and I become older and started studying Classics my interest in Rome never faded. Specifically I found myself drawn to the character of Augustus and his role in the change from Republic to Empire.  During the first year of my degree, my love for all things Augustus led me to presenting a paper on the Meroë  Head of Augustus that is in the British Museum at the Student Classics Conference later that year. I plan to build on the themes of this presentation through out this blog specifically the use of Augustan propaganda in the provinces and how an objects meaning when it was made can change compared to how we view it today. 

Throughout the course of this blog I plan to look at Augustus and his use of myth in relation to:
-  Community 
-  Children 
-  Deities 
-  Reception 
-  Gender 
-  Cult 
-  History 

Who was Augustus and how did he gain power? Born in 63BCE as Gaius Octavius, he rose to notoriety in 45BCE with his posthumous adoption by his great-uncle Julius Caesar. In the subsequent years of civil war he led the winning faction against his one time friend Marcus Antonius and The Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, at the battle of Actium in 31BCE. This victory left Octavian in complete control of the Roman state, a historically dangerous position to be in (Murders of Sulla and Julius Caesar). Octavian need a way to ratify his power in a way that would not get him murdered but legitimise his 'rule', he achieved this by only taking Republican political and military powers (see first and second settlement of 27 & 23BCE), and through his clever use of  of propaganda. Augustan propaganda is a testament to his genius. 

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