The great friezes of the Ara Pacis Augustae. Greek sources roman derivatives and augustan social policy

Abstract

Diana E. E. Kleiner, The Great Friezes of the Ara Pacis Augustae. Greek Sources, Roman Derivatives, and Augustan Social Policy, p. 753-785. Three problems concerning the Ara Pacis Augustae are discussed. It is suggested that the Parthenon frieze was not the sole formal source for the processional friezes of the Ara Pacis precinct wall, but that the family groups of the Augustan altar were based upon comparable groups on late classical Greek grave stelai in Athens. It is argued that the Ara Pacis frieze in turn influenced the composition of Augustan funerary reliefs in Rome commissioned by freedmen and their immediate descendants; the Altar of Peace thus had an impact on art produced outside the Imperial circle. Finally, it is suggested that the Ara Pacis frizes must be viewed in connection with the augustan social policy of encouraging marriage and the raising of children.

Tarpeia: workings of a Roman myth

“…The Ara Pacis is the other conspicuous example, and this lends support to Kampen's dating of the fragments to 14 bce (Kampen 1991: 450). See also Kleiner 1978, who argues that the women on the Ara Pacis are represented in their traditional, familial roles.…”

Femina Princeps: Livia in Ovid’s Poetry

“…The presence of women and children resulting from the absence of Tiberius' wife see Winkes 2000: 38. 12 -On the monument see Richardson 1992: 287-289;Torelli 1999: 70-74. On the sculptures themselves see Kleiner 1978;Torelli 1982: 27-55. 13 -R.G. 12.2: cum ex Hispania Galliaque, rebus in iis provincis prospere gestis, Romam redi, Ti Nerone P. Quintilio consulibus, aram Pacem Augustae senatus pro reditu meo consecrandam censuit ad campum Martium.…”

Visual Representations of Children and Ritual in the Early Roman Empire

“…As Jas Elsner has argued, the primary function of the religious art on the Ara Pacis was to map the sacred elements of the imperial cult at its beginnings in the 1st century BCE (Elsner, 1995: 192–196). However, as Paul Zanker and others have argued, its political function, especially with regard to children, cannot be separated from its religious function (Zanker, 1990: 121–123; Kleiner, 1993: 29, 44–46; Rose, 1993: 54; Kleiner and Buxton, 2008: 57). The monument shows two processions, which move in parallel lines depicted on the north and south friezes of the precinct walls which protect and demarcate the actual altar.…”

“…The monument shows two processions, which move in parallel lines depicted on the north and south friezes of the precinct walls which protect and demarcate the actual altar. Some scholars hold the view that the visual presentation of the procession on the Ara Pacis is not symbolic; rather, it represents an actual religious procession (Kleiner, 1993: 28; Elsner, 1995: 200 n21). On the south frieze, where Augustus leads the procession, there are three children, two boys and a girl, fully togated.…”

“…The two central children have generally been identified as Gneus Domitus Ahenobarbus (future father of Nero) with his sister Domitia (their mother is Antonia Major, elder daughter of Mark Anthony and Octavia; their father is Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus). For discussions on the identification of the figures in the Ara Pacis , see Rose (1993); Kleiner (1993); Elsner (1995); Kleiner and Buxton (2008).…”