Augustan Rule (27 B.C.–14 A.D.)

Thematic Essay Categories

American Art

Sort Thematic Essays by:

Aedicula with small landscape, Egyptianizing scenes: From the 'Black Room' of the Imperial Villa at Boscotrecase

Statue of a member of the imperial family shown in heroic semi-nudity

Fragmentary head of a deity wearing a Dionysiac fillet

Section of a pilaster with acanthus scrolls

Roll over thumbnail(s) for preview(s) of related Museum work(s) of art, organized in chronological order.

Timelines (5)

Thematic Essays (31)

• Ancient Greek Dress
• The Antonine Dynasty (138–193)
• Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition
• Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages
• Collecting for the Kunstkammer
• The Flavian Dynasty (69–96)
• Greek Art in the Archaic Period
• Greek Gods and Religious Practices
• Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints
• The Idea and Invention of the Villa
• Intellectual Pursuits of the Hellenistic Age
• The Julio–Claudian Dynasty (27 B.C.–68 A.D.)
• List of Rulers: Ancient Egypt and Nubia
• List of Rulers: Roman Empire
• List of Rulers: The Ancient Greek World
• Neoclassicism
• Polychromy of Roman Marble Sculpture
• Provinces of the Late Roman Empire (1–500)
• The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity
• Retrospective Style in Greek and Roman Sculpture
• Roman Copies of Greek Statues
• Roman Egypt
• The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.)
• Roman Glass
• Roman Mosaic and Network Glass
• Roman Painting
• Roman Portrait Sculpture: Republican through Constantinian
• Roman Portrait Sculpture: The Stylistic Cycle
• The Roman Republic
• Theater and Amphitheater in the Roman World
• The Year One

Maps (2)

Index Terms (21)

Subject Matter/Theme

By the first century B.C., Rome was already the largest, richest, and most powerful city in the Mediterranean world. During the reign of Augustus, however, it was transformed into a truly imperial city. Writers were encouraged to compose works that proclaimed its imperial destiny: the Histories of Livy, no less than the Aeneid of Virgil, were intended to demonstrate that the gods had ordained Rome "mistress of the world." A social and cultural program enlisting literature and the other arts revived time-honored values and customs, and promoted allegiance to Augustus and his family. The emperor was recognized as chief state priest, and many statues depicted him in the act of prayer or sacrifice. Sculpted monuments, such as the Ara Pacis Augustae built between 14 and 9 B.C., testify to the high artistic achievements of imperial sculptors under Augustus and a keen awareness of the potency of political symbolism. Religious cults were revived, temples rebuilt, and a number of public ceremonies and customs reinstated. Craftsmen from all around the Mediterranean established workshops that were soon producing a range of objects—silverware, gems, glass—of the highest quality and originality. Great advances were made in architecture and civil engineering through the innovative use of space and materials. By 1 A.D., Rome was transformed from a city of modest brick and local stone into a metropolis of marble with an improved water and food supply system, more public amenities such as baths, and other public buildings and monuments worthy of an imperial capital.

Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation for this page

Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Augustan Rule (27 B.C.–14 A.D.)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/augs/hd_augs.htm (October 2000)

Suggested Further Reading(s)

Find these publications in a library

Bartman, Elizabeth. Portraits of Livia: Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan Rome. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Milleker, Elizabeth J., ed. . The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
Winkes, Rolf, ed. The Age of Augustus: Interdisciplinary Conference Held at Brown University, April 30–May 2, 1982. Providence, R.I.: Center for Old World Archaeology and Art, Brown University, 1985.
Zanker, Paul. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1988.

More Information on www.metmuseum.org
Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

Ancient Faces: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt
The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West

Learn more on www.metmuseum.org

Greek and Roman Art: Features & Exhibitions; Permanent Collection; Online Resources (links); Books in the Met Store

↑ Back to Top