Augustus and the revival of Roman religion

Background

• Octavian = heir of Julius Caesar• Battle for power after Caesar’s death• 31BC Octavian defeated Mark Antony and

Cleopatra in naval battle at Actium• Peace after intermittent civil war for 100 years• Relief and guilt

Why had such terrible events happened?

• Failed to carry out rituals to maintain the favour of the gods – pax deorum– Civil wars were punishment sent by the gods

• Octavian determined to restore stability– One way was to promote the ancient religion

• Octavian = Augustus – ‘a person in whom numen was increased’– Therefore, worthy of great honour and respect

The revival of the old religion

• Festivals and rituals had been ignored• Temples damaged, destroyed or ruined• Priesthoods left vacant

The revival of the old religion

• According to Augustus’ records, he:– Rebuilt 82 temples in 28BC alone– Filled vacant priesthoods– Promoted the worship of 2 old gods in a new role

• Mars honoured as father of Rome’s founder, Romulus, as god of war, and Mars the Avenger (he had helped Augustus avenge two wrongs – murder of Caesar and the slaughter of Roman legions at Carrhae)

• Apollo honoured for helping Augustus win at Actium. A large temple was built for him and he was honoured as the protector of Rome. Also promoted as a god of arts and civilisation, and a symbol of Augustus’ success

The revival of old Roman virtuesA moral code for Roman people• pietas – dedication to duty• gravitas – sense of responsibility• simplicitas – being sensible, clearly seeing things as they are• humanitas – respect for human personality and relationships• frugalitas – simple tastes• disciplina – character training• industria – hard work• virtus – manliness and courage• constantia – firmness of purpose• clementia – showing mercy/compassion to the weak or defeated

Can you think of an English word that derives from the Latin word for each of the Roman virtues?

The backing of the poets of Rome

• Little opposition to revival of religious practices– Uneducated continued practices that were of

benefit to them– Many educated Romans no longer believed in the

gods, but few objected to those who did worship them

– Religious toleration – wide range of beliefs

The backing of the poets of Rome• Augustus backed by Rome’s poets– Virgil and Horace– Horace not particularly religious but appreciated the

peace Augustus brought to the Roman empire– Horace praised Rome and Augustus in a poem sung at the

Secular Games in 17BC. He asked for the help of numerous gods and goddesses, prayed for all Romans and praised public and private virtues

– Virgil was genuinely religious. Believed fate or destiny had made Rome the power that it was (Aeneid). This, he believed was reward for the virtues of early Romans. If descendants of early Romans returned to these virtues, they too would prosper

Primary source material

O Meliboeus, it is a god who has fashioned this peace (otium) for us. For me he will always be a god (deus), and a tender lamb from my folds will often stain his altar. For he has allowed my cattle to wander, and me to play what I want on my rustic pipe.

Virgil Eclogue (1.6-10)

Without naming Octavian, Virgil calls the man who brought peace to Rome a god, he declares he will always be a god, and he will honour him by sacrificing lambs to him.

The Ara Pacis

• Altar of Peace – 13BC• Divinities depicted on walls• Aeneas, father of the Roman race, depicted

sacrificing to the gods• Augustus’ family is depicted, together with

priests, magistrates and senators, making a procession to the altar to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving

The Ara Pacis

The Ara Pacis

The creation of the cult of the emperor

• Worship of the ruler as a god• Based on the concept of power– An all-powerful ruler could drastically change

someone’s life for better or worse– An all-powerful ruler could claim descent from the

gods– Therefore, they could claim respect beyond that

given to other men while alive, and could be worshipped as a god after his death• Aeneas, Romulus, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar

The creation of the cult of the emperor

• Origins of practice lie in traditional Roman practice and Rome’s contact with the Mediterranean world during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC– Cult of dead ancestors honoured at Parentalia and

Feralia– Ancestors memorialised in the family home – eg

masks made and worn at funerals by relatives who impersonated dead ancestors

– In the Roman triumph, the victorious general impersonated the god Jupiter for one day

The creation of the cult of the emperor

- People in the Near East were accustomed to regarding their emperors as gods- Egyptian pharaohs- Alexander the Great – story that Zeus had entered

the bed of Alexander’s mother, Olympias, in the form of a snake, another that the oracle of Zeus Ammon in Egypt had greeted Alexander as the son of Zeus

Primary source material

• The story that Rome’s founder became a god dates at least to the late 3rd century BC

• Livy gives a graphic though somewhat sceptical account of Romulus’ death, his assumption into heaven, and his deification