Augustus

Augustus and His Success in Creating a Strong and Religious State

Throughout his life, Augustus, the first emperor of Rome and self-proclaimed “restorer of the Republic”, sought to improve society. After a disastrous century of disorder, internal turmoil and a political system that was ultimately unsatisfactory for the empire, Augustus attempted to formulate a new Roman government and way of life. He believed that the degradation of Rome was due in large part to a “breakdown in religious tradition as well as political and moral order. Old rites had been forgotten, old temples were allowed to crumble in neglect, and the gods were angry with this”. Augustus attempted to renew peace and stability in Rome through political and moral legislation, at the heart of which was the revival of traditional Roman religion in the state. He believed that the order and prosperity needed so desperately by the Romans relied on the thoughtful fulfillment of religious rites; that is, religious duties to the gods. There were several principle ways in which Augustus sought to reemphasize the traditional religion of Rome. By the reconstruction of public religion and public monuments, the regulation of private behavior, and the emergence of literature which extolled the virtues of piety and morality, Augustus was successful in pressing religion into service in the state, and as a result, renewed a Roman sense of pride, peace and prosperity.

Augustus’ first task in the religious revival of Rome was the restoration of public monuments, namely, the temples of the gods. Aside from appeasing the gods, the refreshed temples proclaimed a sense of renewed Roman faith. Augustus also commissioned the construction of certain monuments to furth...

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...e unified Empire. A return to traditional ways of life, piety and peace helped the Romans to heal after the corruption and demoralization of the civil wars, and allowed for the rebirth of Rome as a capital city. Augustus’ success can be measured by the subsistence of the Empire for another 300 years, as well as his formal deification. Many of the traditional moral standards and values that Augustus promoted during his regime lasted until the final transformation of the Empire to Christianity

As the saviour of traditional values, Augustus was looked upon as the bringer of peace, security and prosperity in a world of chaos, and as a result, eventually came to be accepted as one of the gods. The first, and perhaps finest of the Roman emperors, Augustus succeeded in creating a strong and religious state which unified and kept peace in Rome for a great many years.