TO WHAT EXTENT DOES EVIDENCE SUPPORT/REFUTE AUGUSTUS’ CLAIM TO HAVE RESTORED THE

REPUBLIC

POINT EVIDENCE QUOTE

THESIS: “Validity was restored to the laws, authority to the court, and dignity to
the senate … the traditional form of republic was restored”, Paterculus.
This notion of a new order, a restored republic was a perspective
undertook by many Ancient Historians, which was mostly naïve and
wholly propagandist. This school of thought recognizes that a republic
was established in the light of the people, the return to ‘justice, courage
and pietas’. The methods employed by Augustus to justify his rule
included the restoration of the senate, the rebuilding of morality and
buildings that had decayed during the civil wars were mostly deceptive,
but their result was the illusion of the restored Republic, which proved
to be more than enough to satisfy everyone.

Restoration Augustus wanted to refine and streamline the administration of the “he tried to get the
of the Senate Senate to harmonise fairness and efficiency, with the underling notion Senate to select
of growing his influence and position. themselves..
- Exiled members that opposed him ensuring he had significant Augustus soon
power by acquiring most support of Senators detected corruption,
- Through the titles that were given to him by the Senate such as and had to make the
proconsular imperium, granting of maius imperium and selection himself” –
tribunician potestas meant he had the right to veto decision in A.H.M Jones
the senate and to compel reluctant citizens to obey
- He implemented the requirement of senators that each member “even men of
must posses property more than 1 million Sesterces, which humble birth, who
exposed lower classed senators, making the senate a high formerly used to
quality, high integrity body of elite status surpass the nobility
- This also encourage growth of competition for a position within in merit, rather
the Senate, resulting in greater ability of these individuals, pursue power and
- To further eliminate the possibility of senators rivalring his hour by intrigue and
influence he lowered the consulship from 1 year to six months to dishonesty,, than by
allow for a greater rotation of senators honourable
- With power to revise the senate, he gained authority through qualifications” -
the legalization of his power to dismiss and convene the Sallust
assembly. He restored surface level administrative powers
back to the senate and legislative bodies and would work
through and with them. Although he retained his autocratic
powers and could act decisively if needed he typically chose a
facade of cooperation.
- The Rejection of the monarchy. This was at the core of
republican values and Augustus worked around this via his
choice in titles. Octavius would adopt Princep, tribune and
other republic based titles in his styling. So while the educated
and elite knew they were living under a dictator to common
citizens Octavius appeared as a liberator instead of a king.
 TO WHAT EXTENT DOES EVIDENCE SUPPORT/REFUTE AUGUSTUS’ CLAIM TO HAVE RESTORED THE
REPUBLIC

Religion “Religious revival was a necessary part of the Augustan Republica if this “the return of peace
+morality + was successfully to claim a close relationship with the old republica”, and prosperity must
marriage Shotter. The restoration of the ‘old religion’ and renewed trust in have been part of a
reforms traditional gods would ultimately restore the confidence of the people consequence of
in Augustus. Augustus’
- Attempted to create and revitalize this image by installing the legislations” –
tradition, values and culture of Roman patriotism, by addressing Scullard
this need to reawaken importance of religion that had lost faith Augustus links rising
in old gods, would population to moral
- Revival of old festivals and reinstuition of the Secular Games reforms – Res
indicated new beginning and to emphasis the importance of Gestae 8
Augustus relationship with the traditional gods and to celebrate
peace, prosperity, traditional values all came to reinforce new “He revised exssting
regime, through the linkage of a Republican past laws and enacted
- Eamillus states that the Roman people “possess a city founded some new ones, for
by the divine approval”, showing the importance of religion example on
and its ties with even Romulus and Remus, by Augustus extravagance,
bringing this back this shows how he is centred around Rome adultery, chastity,
and its history and the people. on bribery and on
- The close relo between religion and politics ensured that he the encouragement
became the dominant figure in the religious sphere at the same of marriage among
time of becoming the dominant political figure. the various classes if
- By rekindling a functioning image of the archaic roman religion citizens” – Suetonius
as in the roman republic, through the arteries of the republic
through the building of 82 temples shows this
- Promotion of pietas; a traditional formation of the family, its
values and existence as an agreement between two individuals,
this vision achieved through stout implementation of social
legislation that of Lex Julia de martiandis ordinibus, which made
provisions for a valid marriage, the proclamation of pietas had
transformed from a privatized to state affair
Augustus’ moral authority and his power of auctoritas allowed him to
introduce such a legislation due to the standards of morality among the
roman upper classes declining.
- Wanted to rebuild moral decay of Rome and fix erosion of public
morals due to it “leaking into the violence, selfishness of political
life in Rome”, Everitt, restore Rome to city of faith and values
- These were necessary as then the growing tendency to turn
towards foreign religion was a huge threat to morality
- Lex Adulteriss reinforced crime of adultery
- Tax breaks for large family’s to minimise abortion rates, wanted
more children to ensure manpower for next gen army
- Lex Julia De Adulteriis coeercendis was a woman’s infidelity,
adulterous couples could have their property confiscated, be
exiled to a different parts of empire and prohibited from marrying
each other
- Lex Julia de maritandas ordinibus,
 TO WHAT EXTENT DOES EVIDENCE SUPPORT/REFUTE AUGUSTUS’ CLAIM TO HAVE RESTORED THE
REPUBLIC

- The result of such laws meant to make Augustus seem as

righteous, so that he cant be dragged like Cicero did to Antony
and his wrongful relo with cleopatra
- Controlling the flow of assets ensure that families with a next
generation would be able to reinforce their status through the
wealth they have inherited, put money to a productive purpose
- Some believe that the intent was to divide individuals against
themselves and therefore render Romans incapable of handling
the world around them, laws as an attempt to separate sexuality
from love, leaving Roman men unable to be outspoken or
defiant against Augustan government
- a crusade for moral regeneration satisfied those who feared evil
would come with abandoned religious traditions
- proclaim Augustus as “saviour and liberator of Rome”
- ‘revered one’, a figure who restored the “traditional form of the
Republic” – Paterculus

building Augustus used public monuments to promote and legitimise his power “Augustus set about
programs using his building programme. cementing his
- focusses his projects on the restoration of the Republic (Wallace power and
Hadrill 2000, 295) legitimacy by
- This included a new pious devotion to the gods and as such showing the people
many temples were restored and new ones were set up across of Rome and
the city. This new system referred to Rome’s forefathers as idealised pic of
much as possible, especially Aeneas and Romulus (Galinsky peace and
2003, 202) prosperity” –
- commemorative monuments such as the Ara Pacis or the Arch of Galinsky
Augustus acted as political billboards in which Augustus and the
Senate visually imprinted his new regime to his citizens “I left Rome a city of
- the intention of not only showing the citizens of Rome who marble though I
their master was but also to further legitimise the power found it a city of
Augustus already had gained. An example of this is the theatre bricks” – Augustus
of Marcellus, which was purposefully larger than the theatre of
Pompey, which had previously been the largest and only stone “piety, productivity;
theatre in the city golden age virtues
- The Ara Pacis highlights auggies desire to create piety, the of moral legislation,
southern frieze he leads a religious ceremony shown by priestly important values” -
clothes, conveys piety to gods and family reflecting his social Hadrill
legislation and views on maintaining peace; Venus showing Mars
Ultor (respect for gods)
- The porch of Maidens on the Athenian Acropolis had the same
set of maidens for the Forum Augustum, wanted to define relo
between his golden age and golden age of Periclean Athens
- Building programme as a means of presenting Augustus as a
generous benefactor, wide base of support for him
- Image and prosperity increased, more trade, more money
 TO WHAT EXTENT DOES EVIDENCE SUPPORT/REFUTE AUGUSTUS’ CLAIM TO HAVE RESTORED THE
REPUBLIC

CONCLUSION He maintained the institutions of the Republic and its various offices,
but robbed them their power and authority, at least to the extent it
challenged his. In this Augustus was quite clever. He still needed a
judiciary, and officials to run the far flung empire, all of whom would
come from the Senatorial class, so eliminating the Senate or magistrates
would have required him to create a new type of administration which
would have been troublesome, expensive, and might have failed. Of
equal importance to the practical requirement of running the empire,
was his own and his successors legitimacy. By maintaining the
institutions of the Republic, Augustus created what many historians
refer to as a monarchy disguised as a republic. This was important
because theoretically in Roman political ideology, monarchy was
abhorrent.