Res Gestae Divi Augusti, by Augustus

Augustus Caesar is one of my favourite historical figures (Cyrus the Great of Persia, Catherine the Great and Peter the Great are others I admire) and even though I've read every non-fiction text about Augustus and the Julio Claudians that I can get my hands on he remains ever the enigma. I think that's why I'm still fascinated by him all these years later. He's kind of a riddle that I can never solve and each time I think I understand an aspect of his political career or personality I uncover extra layers that throw all of my views upside down. Augustus is endlessly complex and it's quite fitting that he is because Rome itself, the Republic, the Empire and it's political system are just as complex. We will never truly understand Rome or its people, it had no equal before or since (as Augustus has had no equal before or since), and that's why I'll always be fascinated with this period.

Res Gestae Divi Augusti (or the Achievements of the Divine Augustus) is a funerary inscription which gives a first hand account of Augustus' life and achievements (specifically from his rise in 31 B.C to his death in 14 C.E) in his own words. It was inscribed on two columns close to the Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome. Today, it can be seen in the Temple of Roma and Augustus in modern Ankara (Ancyra in Ancient Times). Interestingly, the Temple is currently being used as a Mosque. It's historically significant because it gives a first hand account of the image Augustus portrayed to the Roman people. It is a very powerful piece of propaganda which can be seen in the full title of the funerary inscription:

 "The achievements of the deified Augustus by which he placed the whole world under the sovereignty of the Roman people, and of the amounts which he expended upon the state and the Roman people."

The Res Gestae Divi Augusti itself is rather short but incredibly fascinating and suprisingly readable. The language is very persuasive and you can tell Augustus was extremely skilled at protecting his public image as well as being a gifted writer. In my copy I underlined a few choice passages or lines which I either liked or which show the power of this funerary inscription. They include:

(1) "The people appointed me consul" - throughout the Res Gestae Divi Augusti he keeps enforcing his point that the PEOPLE appointed him during the last years of the Republic which gives him legitimacy.

(3) "I undertook many civil and foreign wars by land" - reinforces his power and sacrifice for Rome

(5) "I delivered the whole city from apprehension and immediate danger AT MY OWN COST AND BY MY OWN EFFORTS" - again reinforces the sacrifice he made for Rome

(17) "Four times I assisted the treasury with my own money....I transferred to the military treasury which I founded 170,000,000 sesterces" - it seems it was important to Augustus that people knew he basically built Rome to the greatness it was just before his death.

(25) "I made the sea peaceful and free of pirates...The whole of Italy OF ITS OWN FREE WILL swoe allegiance to me." - again, Augustus is repeating his military prowess and enforces the point that the people of Italy appointed him as leader. 

(35) "the whole people of Rome gave me the title of Father of my Country" - this line I think really drives home the image of Augustus the Leader he wanted projected to the world. It's how he wanted to be remembered. As the man who found Rome a city of brick and made Rome a city of marble. More than a conquerer or a consolidator. He wanted to be remembered as the Father of Rome. 

I would definitely recommend this text to anyone who is interested in Rome, history or Augustus himself. A very powerful piece of writing that has somehow survived the centuries against all odds. We remember Augustus as he wanted to be seen. A father. A consolidator. A leader. This text brought me no closer to the real Augustus but it is definitely something I will be reading again and again.