Ara Pacis Augustae
Walking around the Ara Pacis Augustae to the West side, where the entrance was, the young doctor opened his mouth once again, in an attempt to make conversation, much to Musa's despair. As he looked gazed at the alter of peace, Musa could almost feel the waves of enthusiasm and eagerness flowing off him. It was nauseating. "Wow!" cried the young man. "The Ara Pacis Augustae. It’s absolutely beautiful. When was it built? Was it done by Augustus himself then? People come here every year do they? What for?" The young doctor asked all these questions in one excited breath then paused staring at Musa expectantly. Jupiter above! he actually expects me to answer him. Musa gave a mental sigh.
"Uh,
it was commissioned by the senate 4th July in 14 years ago. and actually
consecrated on the 30th January in 10 years ago." answered the older
man slowly. He squinted in the sun, racking his tired brain, for something
intelligent to add. "He was returning from Spain and Gaul, where he had
been settling matters and trying to make peace since 16 B. C.
The Ara Pacis was therefore built to thank the Emperor for his gift of
peace." Musa hoped that that
was enough information to keep the young man happy. The energy that he had
shown at the gates of Janus this morning, showed no signs of diminishing, and
further more, seemed to expand with each monument that he saw.
“The foundation and dedication are commemorated by sacrifices held here
annual (1). Usually
sacrifices are made to Julius Caesar and Pax, occasionally, to other gods."
As an afterthought, he added, "Its made of marble".
“Beautiful”,
said the younger man again. “Would
they have come the way we did?” he asked, walking up to admire it more
closely. “Yes.
The procession would approach here from the city, along the road we came
in from, the Via Flaminia, then it would have circled around the precinct to
reach the main entrance.” Musa
gestured with his hand, “That’s here. The
West side. After the ritual, they
would exit towards the city again”. Despite
his nausea, Musa could not help but enjoy himself, as he spoke of the history of
great Rome. It was undeniably nice,
to have such as attentive audience for once. Sliding a glance at the young
man, he felt sorry for him, hung-over or not. His youth and innocence was
written all over his face, and Musa knew that however enthusiastic and eager he
was, he still had a lot to learn. Life was not always easy for a Greek in
Rome, especially for an inexperienced young Greek doctor, who had little
status in the Roman world.
Walking
up to join the young man, Musa could not help but admire the beauty of the
alter, or deny the sense of tranquillity and peace that it radiated.
Despite the heat in the air, the Luna Marble that the Ara Pacis was made of felt
cool to the touch. Feeling a little better, he began to talk the young apprentice through
the images shown. “You see, here,
on the upper left,” he pointed “that’s the Lupercal.”
The young man brightened. "The shrine on the Palatine!" He
exclaimed.
“Ah
yes! I remember, suckled by the She wolf. Romulus
was the great founder of Rome.”
Looking at Musa, he said enthusiastically, “I’ve heard the legends.
I love legends and stories.”
“Well.
Their father, Mars, the god of war, is standing just behind them. And that, on the other side, would be
Aeneas, sacrificing (2) the a white
sow-”
“That
the gods prophesised that he would find under a laurel tree, suckling her
young.” The young man
interrupted. “Then he was
supposed to sacrifice the pig and thus lay the foundations of Rome.”
“You
certainly listen to what legend says. But
yes, that is correct. Aeneas travels around the world and goes on many adventures,
a bit like Odysseus, before the gods finally lead him to Rome.
There, behind him is Mars again. Aeneas
had the gods on his side constantly. He
was a very pious man, never forgot the gods.”
Mars, the consort of Venus, ancestor of Augustus, indeed looked like he
was on the side of Aeneas, silently approving as the dead Hero carried out his
duties. Musa pointed again.
“Before we go on, did you notice the bottom half of the frieze?
The frieze on top shows the history of Rome, but if you like closely at
the bottom, you can see Augustus’s desire for peace etched here.”
Musa pointed out the individual parts of the frieze that he was
explaining. “There is the
repetition of fruit. That
represents the forever flowering of Rome, and symbolises the fertility of the
Empire. See the details of the birds, the small creatures?
Look, there’s even worms in the soil!
And look at the swans. Know
what they symbolise?” The young
doctor shook his head. “Swans,
are sacred to the god Apollo, and he is connected to the house of our
Emperor.” Leaning towards the
young doctor, Musa whispered, “There are rumours that Apollo is Augustus’
real father.” (3)
He cleared his throat as the young man gasped.
“Swans are also seen as creature of beauty, elegance and above all,
peace. Peace, is a very important part of the Emperor’s regime.
He prides himself of keeping it, and the favour of the gods.”
As the young man peered at the depictions, Musa closed his eyes for a
second. The noise and the heat of
the crowd came back to him, as he remembered last year’s sacrifice. A huge event, everyone had come to watch the Vestal virgins
and the priests perform their duty; to honour the gods, and to remind the public
that it was Augustus, that had given them all this to be proud of.
The Emperor, who never forgot his father, Julius Caesar, who had now
earned a place with the gods above, following his murder in 44 B. C.
“And
this side?” The young man’s
voice brought Musa back to the present. He
had walked over to the east side of the alter.
Musa followed him amused, the young seemed to have taken him as the
expert. “Ah.
That’s Roma, she’s the goddess of war.
I suppose you could say that she’s also a personification of Rome.
See, she’s sitting down. Rome
won’t be going to war anymore, my boy, the goddess is at peace.
Her armour won’t be needed so it rests next to her.”
He pointed to the other side. “That’s
Tellus, mother earth.” He bowed his head as a sign of respect to her image.
“Although some believe her to be Venus herself.”
Musa, was struggling to provide information here.
Although he admired beautiful art, he had never researched any particular
building in depth. Most of what he
knew, was what he had seen, or heard from his patron and his patron’s friends,
while they ‘discussed’ important issues, over wine. Lots of wine,
Musa groaned, and mopped his head with the sleeve of his tunic.
“Those, uh, those figures, next to her…”
He scratched his head “Seasons! That’s
what they are! They represent the
seasons of peace that are to come. You see the children that are on her lap and
the animals at her feet? They
represent fertility.” He did not
mention that the Emperor was keen to increase the population of Romans, and
therefore promoted the idea of a family strongly.
“The artwork is so
intricate!” Commented the younger
man. “Of Course!” laughed Musa,
only the best for our Emperor. He
also did not mention that building was a way of showing power in Rome. The more you built, the stronger you were.
By the late 30’s Augustus Augustus had built many impressionable
buildings, if you stood in the Forum, you could look in any direction and be
able to see a building that belonged to the Emperor.
A massive achievement considering that Rome consisted of brick buildings
before he came into power.
“Here,
look at the longer sides,” he nudged the young man towards the south side.
“Now, this is impressive.” As
the young man stared, Musa explained “It’s the Imperial family on a procession. Shows the day that the
alter was consecrated.” He pointed. “That’s
Augustus with the toga pulled over his head, in the style of a priest.
Avery religious man, he is. And
those at the front, are his priests and heralds.
The figures at the back are all his family.”
Musa hoped that the young doctor would not ask who each of the figures
were, because he had no idea. Although
he could guess the identities of some of the figures, he had heard Patron
mention that not all of the figures in the frieze were actually there on the day
of Consecration. Not that he was
there during the special day. “They
must be a very close family,” the young ma said, impressed, that the Emperor
was openly showing to the public how much he valued his family.
After all, this was a family portrait, almost!”
“Yes,
he does” said Musa. He did not
add that this was the only piece of art work to show that whole of the Imperial
family together to this date. Usually,
it was only Augustus that was seen.
“What
about the other side?” he asked, walking around.
“Oh, the north side?” Musa thought it was the most boring part of the whole building. “Senators,” he said briefly. Senators on a procession, that’s all” Musa was eager to move on, they had a lot to see, and he wanted to have time to make it to the baths. A nice, long bath, would make him feel better! “Come along now, I’ll show you something that really is impressive.”
As they turned to leave, the
young man pointed to the pointed to the northen end of the Campus Martius. “What’s that thing?” he asked.
“That’s the Horologium
Augusti, the Sundial. (3)
It was erected in 10 B. C., the twentieth year since that conquest of
Egypt. You see how the ground is
criss-crossed with lines? It works like a calendar, the shadow of the sun moves in a
circular motion and falls on the correct time of the year.
The are even bronze markings for zodiac signs and the changes of season.
The actual indicator of the sundial, called the Obelisk was taken from
Egypt. On Augustus’ birthday, the
shadow will fall on the doorway of the Ara Pacis.
It’s a blessing from Apollo.”
Satisfied with the explanation,
the young man cast a final look at it over his shoulder before following Musa
towards the
Mausoleum, and away from the calming presence of the Ara Pacis.
From
the via Flaminia
Home
(1) In the Res Gestae 12, Augustus records:
On my return from Spain and Gaul, after successfully restoring law and order to these provinces the senate decided...to consecrate the Ara Pacis Augustae on Campus Martius in honour of my return, at which officials, priests and vestal virgins should offer an annual sacrifice."
