The Ara Pacis Augustae

1
The Ara Pacis Augustae

• Its place in the development of Roman historical
  relief

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In the summer of 13 BCE Augustus Caesar returned
to Rome after an absence of three years in the
western provinces. Soon after, his chief of
staff Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa returned to Rome,
having completed successful military campaigns in
the eastern Empire.
The Roman Senate voted several honors to Augustus
upon his return, most of which he refused.
However, he did accept a senatorial decree for
an outdoor altar complex to be built on the Via
Flaminia in the area of the Campus Martius. The
altar was consecrated by a senatus consultum on
4 July 13 BCE, the constitutio. It was dedicated
on 30 January 9 BCE (Livias birthday), the
dedicatio.
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As we have discussed, the Ara Pacis Augustae was
one element in the Augustan script for the Via
Flaminia, part of his plan to create a visual
celebration of his family and his achievements
4
Monuments on the Via Flaminia and their
relationship to the center of Rome
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Background of the Ara
Pacis sculptureWhen I returned from Spain and
Gaul, in the consulship of Tiberius Nero and
Publius Quintilius, after successful operations
in those provinces, the Senate voted in honor of
my return the consecration of an altar to Pax
Augusta in the Campus Martius, and on this altar
it ordered the magistrates and priests and Vestal
Virgins to make annual sacrifice. (Augustus, Res
Gestae 2.12) The foundations and relief panels
of the altar were first discovered during the
16th century a sketch was made of one panel of
the scroll frieze in 1536 and several sections
were uncovered in 1568 and were purchased for the
Medici collection. The slabs were sawed in half
and sent to Florence (including the Tellus panel
and the southern procession) the northern
procession slabs were acquired by the Vatican and
presented to the Italian state in 1954. Four
garland panels are still in the Villa Medici in
Rome. The Florence and Vatican panels were
restored, but one part of the northern procession
remains in the Louvre. In 1859 further panels,
including the Aeneas and Mars reliefs, were
discovered. Excavation of the site of the altar
in 1903 revealed details of the ground plan
shortly thereafter, the altar was reconstructed
by E. Petersen. In 1937 and 1938 G. Moretti
oversaw further excavations and discovered
additional sections of the altar.
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In 1938 the Ara Pacis was reconstructed near its
former site under the direction of Benito
Mussolini and now stands by the Tiber near the
Mausoleum of Augustus.
Currently the altar is housed in a building
designed by Richard Meier (opened in 2006).
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The plan of the altar is known and the sculptures
on it have been successfully remounted so that
its program can be determined.
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The theme of sacrifice is emphasized in the
interior decoration.
Above, sacrificial procession on the altar Below,
garlands and ox heads on the interior frame.
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Much of the scholarship on the Ara Pacis has been
dominated by two questions, the origin of the
sculpture and style, and the identification of
the figures in the procession of the Imperial
family.
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The identity of the members of the Imperial
family have been fairly well worked out, see (as
a recent example) Rose 1990.
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Greek influence on the Ara Pacis
The extent and nature of Greek influence on the
Altar and its program are still debated.
Where did the form of the altar come from?
Above, reconstruction of the Altar of the Twelve
gods, Agora in Athens
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Several scholars, especially Hölscher 2004,
stress the connection with Greek models,
especially the Parthenon frieze.
Above and left, Parthenon frieze Below, Ara Pacis
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The charm and informal nature of the family
relationships on the Ara Pacis are often
considered Roman innovations, although the
Parthenon reliefs also display informality.
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There was evidently also a strong Italic
tradition of procession friezes note the
paintings in the Tomb of the Conference, Tarquinia
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Compare two processions of officials
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The side panels are an intentional mixture of
styles.
Left, Poseidon, from the east frieze of the
Parthenon Above, Aeneas panel from the Ara Pacis
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Another mixture of stylesThe
style of fifth century Athens was associated with
maiestas, auctoritas, and gravitas. It expressed
the Augustan ideal of decorum in manner and
public life and drew an intentional contrast with
the more florid Asiatic style associated with
the Roman East.
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Images of abundance
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As often noted, the Peace panel is rich with
imagery of abundance and fertility, animal and
human.
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Detail of ornament
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Close observation of natural life, plant and
animal
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Such imagery had been used before, but not to
this degree
Above, relief from the Propylon of Ptolemy
II, Samothrace Left, mosaic from Palace V,
Pergamon
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Bibliography

• Images taken from ArtStor
• Billows, Richard. The religious procession of
  the Ara Pacis Augustae, Journal of Roman
  Archaeology 6 (1993) 80-92.
• Castriota, David. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the
  imagery of abundance in later Greek and early
  Roman Imperial Art (Princeton 1995).
• Conlin, Diane Atnally. The Artists of the Ara
  Pacis (Chapel Hill and London 1997).
• Elsner, John. Cult and Sculpture Sacrifice in
  the Ara Pacis Augustae, Journal of Roman Studies
  81 (1991), pp. 50-61.
• Favro, Diane. Reading the Augustan City,
  Narrative and Event in Ancient Art, ed. P.
  Holliday, pp. 230-257.
• Holliday, Peter J. Time, History, and Ritual on
  the Ara Pacis Augustae Art Bulletin 72 (1990),
  pp. 542-557.
• Hölscher, Tonio. The Language of Images in Roman
  Art (1987, English translation, Cambridge 2004).
• Rose, C. Brian. Princes and Barbarians on the
  Ara Pacis, American Journal of Archaeology 94
  (1990) 453-467.
• Zanker, Paul. The Power of Images in the Age of
  Augustus (University of Michigan Ann Arbor 1988).