In the polytheistic Roman and Italian mythology, Jupiter was designated as the god of the sky and thunder. To start, Jupiter was designated as an additional and personal overseer for the pilgrims of the soon-to-be Romans along with the spirits of the ancestors of the pilgrims. Therefore, he was given the name of Jupiter Elicius, also known as ‘one who gives forth’. When the Roman republic was solidified, the identity of Jupiter as the supreme god and father of the gods was set in stone, and he was titled Jupiter Optimus Maximus, meaning ‘The Best and Greatest’. It was in this Republic that Jupiter was also hailed a god of light, and a protector during the times of defeat. Similar to the Judeo-Christian deity, Jupiter’s immense power and anger …show more content…
At this time, the Roman Empire had begun to prosper once more in the Pax Romani time period, translated to ‘The Peace of Rome’. This was due to the reign of Augustus, a princeps, or a high class citizen, who ruled with a principate-structured government. This governmental system had some components of a republic while giving the leaders the powers of a monarch. Despite the seemingly unlimited power given to the emperor, the Senate was able to function and had a say in governmental affairs. To start, the material of the statuette is bronze, a highly desired and expensive material from the Roman people. The Romans acquired this precious metal through trade with the Phoenicians. However, because of how costly bronze was to process, only the wealthy were able to possess the metal. Second, this statuette is nude, characteristic most often found among honorable people and deities in Greek and Roman sculptures. The idea of nudity of sculptures being reserved for honorable subjects was revolutionary for the Romans at the time. This was due to the fact that, before the time of the Greeks, nakedness was seen as a sign of humiliation and defeat in many cultures, such as with the Assyrians. Therefore, the subjects that would be nude were defeated warriors and dead enemies who were usually impaled. On the contrary, the victorious people, which in this case were the …show more content…
At this time, Rome was in a chaotic state due to the War between Antony and Octavian. This war occurred shortly after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Because Caesar did not have a direct son to be his successor, the competition for the throne was Octavian, Caesar’s heir, and Mark Antony, his general. Although they were once allies, after the discovery of a relationship between Mark Antony and Cleopatra and natural growing tensions with the two men, in the year 31 BC, a naval battle between Octavian’s and Antony’s armies broke out at Actium. Therefore, the government was in a shaky state, and the artwork created at the time, especially of their deities, perfectly depicted the confusion among the Roman people. As with the statuette, this bust of Jupiter is made of bronze, but it is also mixed with copper. Therefore, the sculpture is lighter than that of the statuette, despite both sculptures being made at around the same time period. Next, this bust of Jupiter is assumed to have been used as a centerpiece of a bowl the subject of the bust, thus, it must have been under the possession of a wealthy person or family. To add, Jupiter has a worried expression on his face, a representation of the uneasiness the Romans had for the safety of their government, leaders, and
After the defeat of Carthage and the Gaul the Roman generals began to vie for power. Even after the murder of Cesar was retaliated the fighting would not end. It was only after Anthony and Cleopatra were defeated that a certain peace settled over the Roman provinces. The man responsible for this peace is Octavian, who is later known as Augustus (Roman Empire, 2002). To honor his many achievements a statue of him was made after his death. Using the contrapposto pose, the all-around relief, various symbolic shapes Polykleitos, the artist of this statue, creates an inspiring image of the great
As time kept passing, more and more magnificent sculptures were made by numerous artists. One of the most memorable sculpture was Aphrodite of Knidos, goddess of love and beauty. Back in the Late Classical Period, the civilians were only used to seeing ideal male nude bodies, but Praxiteles decided to make a different approach and sculpted the first female nude. Because he obviously had never seen a goddess before, he used his imagination and sculpted bathing Aphrodite as humanlike possible. He did not make it look idealistic, but instead made it beautiful with flaws.
Changing social habits of a contemporary society have seen Cleopatra depicted in many different ways. Whilst few artefacts remain of the true image of Cleopatra, we see from her portrait on the coins (Fear, 2008, p, 21 Fig 1.4) that despite being no legendary beauty, she had the power to captivate two of the greatest Romans of her time. Cleopatra consummated her union with Julius Caesar, which strengthened her grip on the throne, following his assassination; she formed alliance with Mark Antony, in opposition to Octavian, a coalition that would lead to her downfall as both Antony and Cleopatra’s combined forces would be defeated against Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. (Fear, 2008, p.7)
Augustus’s statue portrayed him as an individualistic faction leader and tended to be more idealistic. For example, although he did start ruling as a youth, at the age of 18, his face was, continually, throughout his life, shown with youthfulness and vibrancy. He also had an archetypal body type of a hero and is shown with the omission of his boots, a reference to the ideal heroic statue. Lastly, there is a dolphin riding Cupid at his ankle which reminded the viewer that he was of divine descent. However, there was a limit to which he could exalt himself. He could not promote his individual character and will above the Roman public which would call for distrust and resentment.
The Votive Statue of Gudea depicts the ruler in his youth standing straight up with his arms holding a vessel of water in front of him. Two streams of water are flowing out of the vessel and down the statue while fish are depicted facing towards the vessel, promoting life and peace. Gudea wears a long garment that does not cover one of his shoulders and contains inscriptions written by Gudea himself. In the inscription he dedicates the statue to Geshtinanna, a goddess who interpreted dreams. Because the garment leaves on shoulder bare, viewers are able to see Gudea’s well-defined muscles. His eyes are wide open, symbolic of intense concentration, and he wears a wide brimmed hat. In the work, Gudea is seen as an amicable, strong, and righteous leader. The Augustus of Primaporta depicts the emperor standing with his arm raised and with all his weight shifted into one foot. This is slightly different than the Votive Statue of Gudea, both positions are symbolic of the way a rule from each time period would have addressed troops. Augustus along with his youthful features, is exactly how Augustus would have wanted to be remembered. This is also true to The Votive Statue of Gudea. There are many other symbolic details that relate to mythology and history incorporated into the statue of Augustus. The torso armor that Augustus wears
There is no doubt in mythology that the king of gods, Zeus, is the most supreme and powerful, ruling the sky. He controls the thunderbolt, a symbol of power feared by both gods and mortals. The Greeks and Romans honored Zeus above all other gods. He is without mistake, the god of all gods. Their stories of Zeus are plenty; his designs have molded mythology from his birth. Zeus' victory in outwitting his intelligent wife, Metis, by swallowing her pregnant, was the gateway used by the Greeks and Romans to show Zeus as the greatest god to come since his father and grandfather. However, as the stories of the gods and goddesses unfold, the Greeks and Roman's interpretation of Zeus' characteristics are different. Zeus is always upheld as the king of gods, but his other personal attributes to his godly rein are conflicting. Zeus' characteristics of fearfulness of female deities, cunningness and use of trickery, and lust in Ovid's Metamorphoses compared to the Theogony are opposed due to Hesiod's true respect of Zeus versus Ovid's lack of respect of Jupiter in Roman mythology.
The book Julius Caesar is full of happiness, conspiracy, power, and betrayal. The people of Rome deeply loved julius Caesar and wished to make him their king. A group of senators however were not so fond of this idea and formed a conspiracy. The leader of this group was a man by the name of Cassius. In order to make sure that his scheme of killing Caesar would work and would look honorable he had to convince a senator by the name of Brutus to help. After being convinced that they had to kill Caesar to protect Rome from a tyrant Brutus joined the conspiracy and soon became the principal conspirator.On the day in which Caesar was to be crowned king he was on the way to the senate when he was stabbed by all the conspirators panic ensued and to convince Rome of their honorable intentions Brutus gave a funeral speech. Mark Antony, a very close friend of Caesar, gave his speech after Brutus had given his. Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive to the Roman people because of his outstanding use of pathos, sarcasm, and logos.
Throughout history, the idea of what a ruler is has evolved. In ancient societies the style of leadership evolved from royal leadership to politically appointed emperors. Inheritance of a throne and kingship subsided after Alexander the Great’s world domination. Instead, leaders came to power through political and military prowess, and if their leadership was unsatisfactory they would usually be overthrown. With the evolution of leadership throughout ancient times, came the evolution of art portraying the rulers of the era. The personality and authority portrayed in portraits, employ different means of expression. In the ancient Egyptian sculpture of King Menkaure and his Queen, a tetradrachm coin of ancient Greece depicting Alexander the Great, and the portrait sculpture of the emperor Philip the Arab from Rome, it is evident that portrayal of ancient rulers in art evolves in accordance with the political climate.
The Ara Pacis (“Altar of Augustan Peace” in Latin) is one of the most representative works of Augustan art. The monument was dedicated on 4 July 13 B.C to honor the return of Augustus after three years in Spain and Gaul, which were his last military operations, and commemorate military victories. The altar was an impressive example of the culture of Rome in general and illustration of prosperous Rome. The monument is a visual medium to represent that peace is the result of military victories and his proconsular power on the land and sea. Karl Galinsky, a Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin says that the Ara Pacis is linked with the concept that pace is the result of military victories. According to him, Augustus mentioned the importance of the Ara Pacis in Res Gestae by saying, “On my return from Spain and Gaul in the consulship of Tiberius Nero and Publius Quintilius, after I had successfully arranged affairs in those provinces, the senate decreed that an altar of the Augustan Peace should be consecrated next to the Campus Martius in honor of my return, and ordered that the magistrates and priests and the Vestal Virgins perform an annual sacrifice there” (Karl Galinsky, 1996). He avoided building an altar in the senate chamber to honor his return. Instead, he ordered to build an altar to Pax Agusta in which one mile away from the sacred boundary of the city. It means that the altar was meant not only to be a monument of military achievement, but also a vision of the Roman religion. This research aims on function, structure of the altar, and reliefs on each side of the precinct wall.
The primary function of monumental portraits in Ancient Rome was to honor political figures of power through repeating social and political themes. The Romans expressed these themes through a form of “realism”. Relics of this era were found depicting the elderly conservative nobility that lived through civil disruptions and war, elaborately individualized through detail of the face expression. Through the features of grimacing heaviness, wrinkles, and effects of old age, the Romans were able to express the reality of their political situation felt by the people whose faces were sculptured into stone. Furthermore, Nodelman discusses the use of sculpture portraits to depict the ideology behind Roman conservative aristocracy. Artists would portray the virtues of gravitas, dignities, and fides, through the use to physical expression and symbolic meaning, rather than through words. A statue of Augustus, for instance, displays the militaristic, powerful, godly perception of the conservative ideology through the use of symbolic detail. The decorative, rich, military outfit on Augustus, represents the power of the military and Augustus’s role as imperator in it. The freely held masculine arm and pointing gesture towards the horizon are Rome’s expanding dreams, clashing with the overall powerful and sturdy stance of the body. The bare feet bring about the impression
Jupiter was the ruler of the gods. He is also known as Zeus to the Greeks. The King of Gods in Greek Mythology Zeus was the ruler of the sky, and had the power to create thunderstorms and lightning as well as earthquakes. He was the child of Cronus and Rhea. As the story goes he was their sixth child, and the father to protect him from being overthrown had eaten the five previous children. Zeus was taken to a city called Crete and hidden from his father. As Zeus grew older and learned of what happened he found a potion to make his father regurgitate the other children. Once this happened they all teamed up and killed their father. Zeus then became the ruler of Mount Olympus, and head of the new line of Gods. Jupiter was the predominant power holder of Roman Gods. He was ruler of the sky, the daylight, all the weather, and even the thunder and lightening.(Ruck,Carl and Staples, Danny, pg 19)
In ancient Greece and Rome, each of the gods was associated with specific objects. Zeus (Jupiter), the father of the gods, was often accompanied by an eagle or a thunderbolt; Apollo, the god of art, by a lyre; Artemis (Diana), the hunter, by a bow and quiver. In addition, the Romans perfected the use of secular allegorical symbols. For example, a woman surrounded by bunches of grapes and sheaves of wheat would be readily understood as a representation of the bounties of the earth.
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.
The First Phase (753 BC to 500 BC) - The first phase of Roman religion dated from the founding of the city to the early republic. This phase occurred before the Roman civilization had really adopted the Greek ways and so the religious practices of this time consisted of only three gods and these gods were known as the Archaic Triad. The gods of the archaic Triad were Jupiter (Jove) ,Mars and Quirinus. These gods had their Greek counterparts and would later be identified with them. Jupiter was the supreme master god and so he was associated with Zeus of Greek mythology. Ares was the god of power and war and so he was associated with his Greek counterpart, Ares and Quirinus was the god of the Roman people in general and he had no Greek counterpart. Mars was valued and worshipped more by the conquering and warlike Romans than Ares was to the Greeks and ,as a result, he had The Fields of Mars named after him. The Fields of Mars was located outside of Rome and it is where the soldiers would train.
Here, we will be looking at a rendition of the high marble statue of Augustus Caesar known as “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Originating from 1st Century A.D., it is said that there is a possibility that the original sculpture could have been of greek descent. Upon a general overview of the sculpture, one can see that Augustus fulfils a millitarial role of some kind. From his very stance to the garments portrayed on him, Augustus is draped in a decorative cuirass and a tunic, accompanied by a figure of Cupid clutching on to his right calf. After taking the general themes of the work into account, one can then began to start unraveling the many symbolic elements embedded into the sculpture that allude to godly themes. Starting from the crown of his head, the very chiselment and structure of his face gives the work a youthful element to it, even though some say that Augustus was around 40 years old. A recurring theme within Greek and Roman culture is the matter of godliness and immortality amongst idolized figures themselves. This idea is usually depicted by displaying powerful human being in a younger light. This