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Augustus of Prima Porta

First Roman Empereor

The Augustus of Prima Porta is a full-length portrait of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. The Statue was discovered by Giuseppe Gagliardi on April 20th, 1863 during an archaeological excavation at the Villa of Livia which was owned by Augustus's third wife Livia Drusilla. She retired to the villa after Augustus had died in AD 14. Augustus is seen to be extremely young, he wanted to appear invincible before his people and his family, almost god like when in reality he was 60. Why you may ask? because being invincible is important, having power is important. He was the first roman empereor he wanted to be seen above his people. The detailing on his armor lead them to believe that it was perhaps given to him by the gods or crafted for him. The detail on it is emmaculate. This whole statue is to sell propaganda not only to his people but to his enemies. The figure at the top is Caelus, the sky god who is seen holding up the sky and beneath we see Sol the sun god riding in a four horse chariot suggesting that the sky would fall without Augustus and the day would not move without him. We also see Hispania on the left and a captured female barbarian on the right suggesting that he has power of other countries and his enemies. We see beneath Mother Earth Tellus craddling two babies and a cornucopia of fruit sympolizing Augustus not only projects power but peace and nourishment within his people. Overall the breastplate as a whole suggests that August's rule has a cosmic favor along with his victories.

The Cupid and The Dolphin

A small favor?

Here we see a cupid and a dolphin, why? To show that augustus has favor with the gods. Within his armor we see all the divine figures but it's more than just favoritism perhaps its ancestory? The propaganda behind this is obviously selling to his people that he was god like. Cupid and the Dolphin symbolize ancestory within the gods specfically Venus, reinforced by his adoptive father Julius Caesar. Cupid being the son of venus reinforces the divine lineage with Augustus and the gos where the dolphin represents the mystical birth of venus from the sea. Cupid also looks as if he is supporting Augustus with his upright stance hinting to the small favor.