Augustus (63 B.C.–A.D. 14) was the first emperor of Rome. Born Gaius Octavius, he was later adopted by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, and then known as Octavian. After Caesar’s assassination, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony to avenge the murder. However, rivalries between the two led to civil war.
Octavian was the victor, defeating the alliance of Antony and Cleopatra. He took control of the entire Roman world, made Egypt one of its provinces, and added further territories. Octavian replaced the previous Roman republic system of government with a form of autocracy that strove to preserve the illusion of republican ideals to placate the people.
At the start of his reign in 27 B.C., Octavian took the name Augustus, meaning lofty or serene. Augustus prided himself on his frugality. As a result, many coins and statues promoted a modest and restrained image of the emperor to ingratiate him with those who wanted to return to a republic. However, just as he was ultimately an absolute ruler, some artworks exalted him, especially after Caesar was deified, since Augustus claimed descent from him. A few months after Augustus died in A.D. 14, he was deified as well.
Augustus Cameos
London’s British Museum has a cameo portrait of Augustus that dates to A.D. 14–A.D. 20. It is called “The Blacas Cameo” as it was purchased in 1867 from Louis, Duc de Blacas d’Aulps (1815–1866). A previous owner was a member of the famous Florentine Strozzi family. A fragment that was originally part of a larger portrait, the cameo is carved from a three-layered sardonyx.
A later sardonyx cameo that dates to the reign of Emperor Claudius, Tiberius’s nephew, is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met’s cameo shows Augustus wearing an aegis as well. This one is decorated with an image of the head of a wind god at left. Scholars believe it may reference summer winds that brought Egypt’s corn fleet to Rome and, hence, an allusion to Augustus’s annexation of the country. Additionally, it shows the head of Medusa on the right.
This cameo had several prominent owners before The Met acquired it: Thomas Howard (1585–1646), Earl of Arundel, who was one of the great English art collectors of the early 1600s; the Dukes of Marlborough, a family with a famous collection of cameos and intaglios; and Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941), the archeologist best-known for his excavations of Knossos, Crete.
“Gemma Augustea,” the second largest surviving ancient cameo, is considered the most important ever created during antiquity. It extols the leadership of Augustus and Tiberius. The former is portrayed enthroned in the upper panel. Augustus’s divinity is emphasized by his attire and pose, which harken to Jupiter. At Augustus’s right is the patroness of Rome, the goddess Roma.
Between them is the constellation sign of Capricorn. The emperor believed this was his lucky star sign, so it was used as an imperial symbol, including on cameos. An example of this can also be found at The Met.
Tiberius is represented on the upper left of “Gemma Augustea”; he dismounts from a chariot whose reins are held by Victoria, goddess of victory. In the lower panel, it appears that gods have taken barbarians captive and are erecting a victory monument, called a tropaion. It glorifies a military triumph, perhaps the suppression of the Dalmatian Revolt, undertaken by Tiberius at Augustus’s order.
Augustus was admired in his lifetime and beyond for bringing peace to the fractured Roman Republic. In addition, he expanded the Roman Empire into western and central Europe and north Africa. The empire that he started lasted until its fall in A.D. 476. These magnificent museum gemstone cameos depict Augustus as a heroic leader and imply his equality with the gods. Initially made for intimate viewing by the privileged few, they are now accessible to all via public display or an online search.
