Landmarks Event - Europe 1, #40 Emperor Augustus (till December 31st!)

Welcome to Week 1 of December of the great World Landmarks Event!

I invite you to learn a bit about Emperor Augustus, the first in the long line or sometimes more like zigzag... of Roman Emperors.

The landmark is actually a shadow of a marble statue of Augustus, now called Prima Porta statue.

The statue was discovered on April 20, 1863 In Prima Porta (thus the name) near Rome. It was decorating Villa of Livia, Augustus' wife. It's hard to tell when exactly the statue was made. Some say it was sculpted soon after Augustus came to full power, others say it was his official effigy near the end of his life. Yet other scholars argue that it was created after Augustus' death... Nonetheless, the image was surely made as an official image of the emperor (whether living or not), and was recreated in many copies and replicas as well as emulated by other emperors. Enough to say, this is the most well-known portrait to this day.

Augustus is shown here in so-called adlocutio pose, that signifies he was addressing either Senate, Populus Romanus or the army. The cuirass and the officer's cloak (paludamentum) hints at the latter. The iconography of the breastplate is very interesting. Not all figures are identified for certain but here is one of the ideas:

1. Sol (Sun) on his fiery chariot.
2. Caelus (Sky) with the firmament over his head.
3. Aurora and Luna (Dawn and Moon) running away from Sun.
4. The personification of a conquered province (Pannonia or Illyria).
5. The central scene shows a Parthian giving back Roman military signs back to a Roman soldier.
6. The personification of a conquered province (Gallia most probably because of the horn carnyx).
7. Apollo on a griffon.
8. Tellus, the goddess of the Earth, also connected to abundance.
9. Diana, Apollo's sister.

The little child riding a dolphin is probably Cupid, the son of Venus. The family of Julius (that Augustus was adopted to) was claiming to have a grandson of Venus, Julus as their ancestor.

Come here to check your knowledge (and the skill in research)!

Note: Collect the passwords from the all 4 landmarks from this week to gain access to a train for week 1 of December!

The event's schedule as well as access to other puzzles can be found here.

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