The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus

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University of Michigan Press, 1988 - Architecture - 385 pages
"Art and architecture are mirrors of a society. They reflect the state of its values, especially in times of crisis or transition." Upon this premise Paul Zanker builds an interpretation of Augustan art as a visual language that both expressed and furthered the transformation of Roman society during the rule of Augustus Caesar. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus illustrates how the establishment of monarchy under Augustus Caesar led to the creation of a new system of visual imagery that reflects the consciousness of this transitional age.
 

Contents

Conflict and Contradiction in the Imagery of the Dying Republic
5
Rival Images Octavian Antony and the Struggle for Sole Power
33
The Great Turning Point Intimations of a New Imperial Style
79
The Augustan Program of Cultural Renewal
101
The Mythical Foundations of the New Rome
167
Form and Meaning of the New Mythology
239
The New Imagery in the Private Sphere
265
The Roman Empire of Augustus Imperial Myth and Cult in East and West
297
Conclusion
335
Notes and References for Further Reading
341
Illustration Sources
371
Index of Sites and Museums
381
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Page 367 - CC VERMEULE, Roman imperial art in Greece and Asia Minor, Cambridge, Mass., 1968, p.
Page 3 - My interest is instead in the totality of images that a contemporary would have experienced. This includes not only "works of art," buildings, and poetic imagery, but also religious ritual, clothing, state ceremony, the emperor's conduct and forms of social intercourse, insofar as these created a visual impression.

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