The Imagery of Roman Identity in Augustan Rome

Abstract

The understanding of Roman identity in Augustan Rome derived from the images that Augustus used to authenticate his own identity. By controlling the images that epitomized Roman cultural identity, Augustus not only strengthened the weakening Roman ideals rampant among the Roman elite, but also placed the gens Iulia at its core. Using these images, the following paper will expose the ways in which ordinary Romans at varying levels on the social strata manipulated these images to display their own identity within art and text. By exploring the different memoriae within epic poetry, frescoes, graffiti, statues, and monuments, this thesis demonstrates how Augustan Rome was a lieu de mémoire for the gens Iulia.