Actium and Augustus: The Politics and Emotions of Civil WarOn 2 September 31 B.C.E., the heir of Julius Caesar defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra in a naval engagement at Actium. Despite the varied judgments this battle received in antiquity, common opinion held that Actium marked the start of a new era, a turning point in Roman history and, indeed, in Western civilization. Actium and Augustus marks a turning point as well. Robert Alan Gurval's unusual approach is to examine contemporary views of the battle and its immediate political and social consequences. He starts with a consideration of the official celebration and public commemoration of the Actian victory and then moves on to other questions. What were the "Actian" monuments that Octavian erected on the battle site and later in Rome? What role did the Actian victory play in the political formation of the Principate and its public ideology? What was the response of contemporary poetry? Throughout, this volume concentrates on contemporary views of Actium and its results. Written to include the general reader, Actium and Augustus presents a thoughtful examination of a complex period. All Greek and Latin quotations are translated, and extensive illustrations present graphic evidence about the issues Romans faced. Robert Alan Gurval is Associate Professor of Classics, University of California, Los Angeles, and has been a recipient of the Rome Prize awarded by the American Academy in Rome. |
Contents
Abbreviations | xi |
Introduction | 1 |
The Imperious Show of the FullFortund Caesar Celebration in Rome and the Monuments of Victory | 19 |
The Actian Arch | 36 |
The Coinage of the Victor | 47 |
Victory Cities and Actian Games | 65 |
Tuus iam regnat Apollo Octavian Apollo and the Temple on the Palatine | 87 |
The Temple of Apollo | 111 |
The Defeat and Flight of the hostis | 154 |
Final Anxiety Fear and the fluens nausea | 157 |
Bellaque resque tui memorarem Caesaris Propertius and the Memorials of Actium | 167 |
Romes Fear of Cleopatra and the Shame of Civil War | 189 |
No Virgil No The Battle of Actium on the Shield of Aeneas | 209 |
Alexandrian Poetics and Roman Politics Propertius 46 | 249 |
Actium Renascens | 279 |
| 293 | |
Posteri Negabitis Horace and Actium | 137 |
Initial Joy of Victory and the mixtutn carmen | 141 |
The Neptunius dux and the Recollection of Naulochus | 145 |
The Actian Campaign and Battle | 147 |
The Cry of Triumph and the nee parem ducem | 152 |
Common terms and phrases
Actian Actian games Actian victory Aeneas Aeneid allusion Ambracian Gulf ancient Antony Antony's Apollo Actius Appian arch association Augustan Augustus battle at Actium Battle of Actium BMCRE Caesar Augustus CAESAR DIVI celebration ceremonies civil claim Cleopatra coin types coinage commemorated contemporary Curia Julia dedication defeat denarius depicted DIVI F divine Divus Julius earlier ecphrasis Egypt Egyptian queen elegist elegy enemy epic epode Epode 9 erected evidence exalted Fasti festival Gauls Greek honor Horace Horace's identified IMP CAESAR inscription interpretation issues Julius Caesar later legend literary Livy military monument Naulochus naval battle Nicopolis numismatic Octavian Octavian's victory Odes official Palatine Parthians phrase poem poet poet's political propaganda Propertian Propertius reader RICē role Roman Roman triumph Rome Rome's scene scholars Sextus Pompey shield of Aeneas Sosius statue suggest Temple of Apollo tion triple triumph triumphal triumvir Trojan Vergil Vergilian verses victory at Actium victory city Zanker