Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus: From Adonis Lanius to the Pater Patriae
After the failure of the Roman Republic and decades of civil war and unrest, what the Roman People needed was a leading figure. Octavian, who was later named Augustus, succeeded in establishing a basis for a system that would last for centuries to come. Augustus wanted to avoid the mistakes made by his adopted father, Gaius Julius Caesar and to return to the rule of the law. He reestablished the offices and functions of the old Republic (at least in theory) reserving for himself however, the role of the leading figure, as proven by his nomination as princeps. As a result, Augustus’s period of rule is referred to as the principate. Under Augustus, Rome prospered in all aspects. Political and social unrest gave way to peace and stability, Rome’s territory was expanded, new buildings were built and most forms of art flourished. Through the information available from historical texts by writers like Suetonious and Tacitus and poems from Virgil, Horace and Ovid as well as other sources on Augustus, his early life and beginnings until his death in 14 A.D., one can see that Augustus was one of the great, if not the greatest, benefactor of Rome even though his early life was characterized by gruesomeness and, acts of brutality and violence. The principate and thus the system he adopted was not flawless but nevertheless, proved to be what Rome needed after years of turmoil.
In his will, Gaius Julius Caesar adopted Octavian (born Gaius Octavianus in 63 BC) and made him his heir. After accepting the inheritance, he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus and it was not until 27 BC that he received the name Augustus. Until restoring the peace in 31-30 BC, Octavian was responsible for death, destruction and unforeseen misery. After eliminating all threats, actual and perceived, to his leadership, he acknowledged the fact that a new system was in need. On the one hand, he knew he had to avoid Caesar’s ways of dictatorship and on the other, he wished to be the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. At the beginning he held consulships every year and his first move towards showing the Roman People of his intentions came in 27 BC, when he announced that he “resigned all powers and provinces to the free disposal of the Senate and People of Rome” . Taking advantage of the positive reaction of the Senate, he agreed to remain consul and to govern Spain, Gaul, Cicilia, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt for ten years. This agreement was what is known as the First Settlement and it also awarded him the name Augustus and the title princeps. The Second Settlement was reached in 23 BC, when Augustus resigned the consulship but kept his provinces. In addition, his “imperium was made “greater” or maius by the senate” and he was given the power of the tribune which enabled him to veto the decisions of the Senate but also to convene the Senate whenever he saw fit. He almost never accepted powers or offices for life and the only two exceptions were the religious office of pontifex maximus (which however he accepted only after the death of his fellow triumvir, Lepidus, and not before) and the title of Pater Patriae, Father of the Country, which was awarded to him in 2 BC.
After Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome his behavior changed. He was no longer the ruthless and cruel predator of the past. It is not that his personality changed though. Octavian, or later Augustus, realized that the Roman People no longer needed his intimidation tactics in order to follow his lead, since “the Revolution had been stabilized” , and that the best path for him to follow was that of an understanding, accommodating and approachable leader. The new regime was based nevertheless on his own calculations and on the promotion of his own interests. He was still unforgiving as proven by the detachment with which he responded to his aunt’s, his daughter’s and his grandson’s behavior. Despite his firmly held belief in the need for a family and his opposition to any disruption of the traditional, nuclear sphere of a family, he remained true to his principles and exiled all three. He never lost this personality trait; his actions were always according to reason and he never let his emotions influence his behavior. Finally, he always was a man of his word and never reneged on a promise. In all, the new regime was based on Augustus’s personality and it could not have happened in any other way, since Augustus would have never allowed for the Roman Empire, to stray away from his absolute control.
As a whole and by name, this regime was a “restored Republic”. The old offices and institutions were put in function again and Augustus maintained an honest government. Along with promoting his own interests, Augustus had as his main concern the protection of the Roman people and all his actions were towards Rome achieving unforeseen glory. While retaining some level of control, he promoted freedom of speech and the republican ideology; he even encouraged the Senate to decide matters without reference to him. However, his influence was always present. Another way in which he put forth the ideology of this new Republic was the Second settlement, where he gave up consulship. He realized that the nobles would get upset and that no person had the right of holding it year after year. The fact that he held no titles or offices for life (apart from the two mentioned earlier), show his determination to prove to the Roman people that he did not intend to constantly interfere with public matters. Moreover, he did not nominate his adopted sons for offices without taking into account the oppinion of the Senate on the matter of their worthiness. However, the new regime, even though it was called a “restored Republic”, was to a certain extent a monarchy. The offices and titles that Augustus held, gave him the absolute control over all public matters. He was above the law and through his influence, he controlled the government and he could promote the actions that suited him and veto the ones that were perceived by him as a nuisance or even a threat to his reign. As mentioned in the book, The Romans: From Village to Empire, one of the few unrepublican features was “the sheer size of Augustus’s command. No consul had ever had been assigned one so large.” Another unrepublican feature was the fact that from the very early stages, Augustus was looking for a successor. He felt strongly about not leaving the governing of the Roman Empire in the people’s hands and about having a blood relative as a successor, at least one with family ties.
Augustus, as princeps, brought about great changes to the Roman “Republic”, most of which were welcomed. To begin with, he restored Rome’s financial structure. On several occasions, he used his own money and wealth in order to help out the people in need or to subsidize the treasury. He “considered the interest of farmers and grain merchants as much as the needs of city dwellers” , when he turned his attention to the food problem. He was always considerate of every profession and trade and made it a point not to make anyone worse off. By installing a fair tax system, the empire prospered economically. Another point one has to make is that he “freed the sea from pirates” . He also expanded the population of Rome. In addition to grating citizenship to all Romans, he also granted citizenship to some of the slaves. He added Egypt to the empire, established colonies in places like Africa, Macedonia, Asia, Syria, Achaea, Pisidia, Gallia Narbonensis and both Spanish provinces and, recovered Spain and Gaul.
Focusing on the city of Rome, Augustus rebuilt the Capitol, the theater in Pompey, he built the Senate House, the Chalcidium, the temple of Apollo, the temple of the deified Julius the Lupercal and many other important landmarks as well as important infrastructure. He also extended the highway and ameliorated the services and amenities. He bragged that “he found Rome a city of brick, and left it one of marble” . Apart from changing the face of the city, all these works and constructions provided employment for poor people, another reason why Augustus gained so much popularity.
Augustus ruled the Roman Empire practically undisturbed. There are many reasons why the Roman people did not oppose him. First of all, the people were worn out by decades of civil unrest and war. For the first time in a very long time, they could enjoy stability, reconciliation and peace and they were not willing to jeopardize or give that up. Upper-class people who had profited by the revolution did not want to put their wealth at risk and poor people felt obligated to him and his generosity towards them. “War or judicial murder had disposed of all men of spirit” and Augustus’s elimination of threats, included men who would have been able to put together an opposition movement.
In addition, the equites were gratified when Augustus turned to them for assistance. They had been neglected in the past and they felt excluded, but Augustus changed it all by increasing the number of officer positions they could hold in the army. Furthermore, the end of the draft was a welcome change on the part of the people who were afraid they would get enlisted to the army thus being unable to work in order to fend for their families. Augustus succeeded in creating a private army (the Praetorian Guard (the equites)) and a loyal army through carefully planning an executing a system that brought about satisfaction, gratification as well as recognition of military talent. He changed the term of the enlisted to 20 years, plus five years as a reservist and increased the wages, substantially for the centurians, less for the soldiers. As for their pensions, it was raised to 13 years of pay and on some occasions a piece of land to go with it. However one of the most interesting changes in the organization of the army was the oath to Augustus himself and his family, instead of Rome and the Gods.
Furthermore, he supported the intellectuals. Literature flourished in the time of Augustus as he would patiently and politely attend readings of the works, speeches and dialogues. He never censored any work and had an immense sense of humor, for which he was known and respected for. He also gave dinner parties, either formal or informal and paid special attention to his guests. During his time, he presented three gladiator games in his own name and five in the name of his sons and grandsons. He loved the games and he admitted it openly and never “dictated letters during a circus performance." He respected the athletes and increased the privileges that were held by them.
As one can see, Augustus was indeed a great benefactor to almost every single aspect to the Roman life. The only ones who lost out because of the new regime were the members of the Senate. In order to create a strong and active senate, whose members where the wealthiest and most outstanding citizens of Rome, but that would also not create problems for him, he reviewed the roster twice and each time he reduced the number of its members by two hundred. He made the requirements for membership even more strenuous (one million sesterces was the minimum) and even though elections were conducted freely, most of the appointments were actually made by him, or at least at his request. Despite the fact that he made every effort to appear supportive and liberal with the Senate and to discuss important measures with them, there was a growing feeling that the Senate’s only function was to approve whatever had already been decided in the private offices of Augustus. One may wonder why the Senate did not put forth a movement of opposition but the truth is that, apart from the fact that everyone was exhausted by the endless war, Augustus had learnt from Julius Caesar’s mistake and unlike him had created a strong army that was utterly loyal to him.
One of the strengths of the Augustus’s system was his strong belief in family and the traditional nuclear sphere of the family. He “devised rewards for husbands and fathers in the form of more rapid promotion in the senatorial career, with the restriction on the unmarried and the childless in the matter of inheriting property” , thus promoting marriages and births. Despite the fact that his actions imposed an extraordinary standard of social dignity for the Senate, his conservatism appealed to the majority of the Roman people and reinforced his image as a fair and honest leader. Moreover, he prevented his system from causing individual stress and the peace and stability that his system offered was enough to guarantee him the support he needed in order to advance his own interests. Bringing back to life and full function the offices and institutions of the Republic and, thus ensuring that the people viewed the new system as a “restored Republic”, Augustus managed to manipulate the system as he saw fit, while at the same time maintaining and increasing Rome’s glory and strength.
An interesting point and one that could be viewed as Augustus’ main weakness, was the subject of his succession. At the time, there were two main methods of succession. The first, by marriage, meant that the individuals were linked through marriage, i.e. Augustus married his daughter Julia to a number of men he saw as possible successors. The second, by adoption, as occurred in the case of Augustus himself, meant that the successor was adopted by the person to be succeeded and thus becoming heir to his father’s position. Both these methods involved making the successor part of the family in the absence of a worthy existing relative. Augustus’ efforts to appoint a successor however proved lacking. It could be that he changed his mind and wanted to keep his options open, sending mixed signals. He married Marcellus to his daughter Julia. Then when he fell ill and feared for his demise he handed his dear friend and General, Agrippa his signature ring. Other apparent nominations followed, but in what could be viewed as a desperate move, he forced Tiberius to divorce his wife and arranged for him to marry Julia and take over in his place. This move proves Augustus’ inability to find a successor, more so than the previous ones, as he went as far as taking apart a family to achieve his goal.
Augustus was without doubt a great benefactor of the Roman Empire and the fact that the system he established lasted for over three centuries as well as the fact that the Roman Empire achieved such glory and power during his principate are both evidence to that effect. His transformation from a ruthless and unforgiving youth into Augustus, the accommodating and approachable leader went in line with the transformation of Rome itself, from a state of havoc into the “optimus status”. The success of his principate lay in the way he managed to become the sole ruler by using the system to his advantage and not making the two main mistakes of his predecessor. He never asked for the powers given to him nor did he become a victim of his own arrogance like Caesar. Thus, though not flawless, one has to accept that Augustus achieved more than anyone before him and despite his weakness in choosing the right successor to continue his work, it lived on for centuries.
Bibliography:
1) The Romans: From Village to Empire, Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert
2) Suetonius: The Twelve Caesars, trans. Graves
3) Tacitus: The Annals of Imperial Rome, trans. Grant
4) Res Gestae Divi Augusti (in Mellor, The Historians of Ancient Rome)
5) Syme, The Roman Revolution, chapters 22 (pp. 313-330), 29 and 30 (440-475)
6) Yavetz, "The Personality of Augustus: Reflections on Syme's Roman
Revolution," in Raaflaub & Toher, eds., Between Republic and Empire:
Interpretations of Augustus and His Principate