The Res Gestae Analysis

Classics 201: Dr. John Friend

Rachel McFall

Topic#6: Augustus, The Deeds of the Divine Augustus

The Res Gestae was written by Augustus shortly before his death in 14 AD. It gives details about his life and many achievements as the first Roman emperor. The main purpose of the Res Gestae was for Augustus to preserve the memory of himself as a great emperor whose achievements transformed Rome into a great empire. The original was transcribed onto a pair of bronze pillars in Rome following his death but it didn’t survive. There is a copy that exists in Ankara, Turkey in front of a temple for Augustus.

The structure of the Res Gestae is mainly topical with a few parts being structured chronologically. In the Res Gestae Augustus mainly emphasizes

In the Res Gestae, he often speaks of being offered positions of power and turning them down. He also speaks of how he donated his own money to the Roman people and building projects. However, some of his actions before he became emperor often went against that image. Augustus also chooses to omit the fact that he had immense power as emperor. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus was named as his heir and began a rivalry with Marc Antony for power. He engaged in many deceitful acts, such as slandering Marc Antony and Cleopatra to turn the Roman people against them. In the end Marc Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Augustus doesn’t discuss the events from this period of time in detail. Augustus wanted to be seen as humble. He often spoke of turning down positions of power that he was offered by the people and the senate. However, he chooses to omit the fact that he was given Mauis Imperium in 23 BC which gave him immense power. This gave him the power to command any official in the empire. Augustus also wanted to present the image of being well-liked and respected. In the Res Gestae, he often mentions honors and positions he was offered due to the senate and people being so impressed with his accomplishments. However, not everyone was always impressed with Augustus or liked him. He completely omits any mention of the Perusine War. The Perusine War took place in 40 BC. Aristocrats opposed

The way that the document is written accomplishes this if the person reading it doesn’t know anything else about the history of Augustus as the first emperor of Rome. Augustus only includes his achievements and he leaves out any of his failures and shortcomings as emperor. He also frames every event in a way that makes him look good. Due to this, the document seems more like propaganda than a sincere reflection of his life to someone who knows about the history of his life as emperor. It doesn’t seem like Augustus’s intentions were for it to be a sincere reflection on his life, it seems more like propaganda to make him look good because it leaves out events that may reflect negatively on him. If Augustus had sincerely reflected on his life, I would have expected him to include his failures as well as his achievements. He might have mentioned things that he regrets and wishes he had done differently in his life. However, Augustus chose to only include events that make him look good. Therefore, the document seems more like propaganda to