Julius Caesar Imperial Propaganda Essay

In order to illustrate the power of the Republic and Early Empire the Romans had designed my artworks, monuments, and infrastructure that not only celebrated Roman power but also created the sense of a real empire. One of the most important works that is a great example of using public monuments as imperial propaganda is the marble statue of Augustus of Primaporta. Julius Caesar’s nephew Octavian had order the work to be created in order to provide with a monument of Caesar. The statue shows Caesar as a young idealized man instead of his real age, that in a way reflects the influence that Greek had in Roman artwork. The statue also shows the armor that he is wearing, in scripted is his victories over the “barbarians.” To take a step back we

For example, in the Column of Trajan there are reliefs of scenes that depicted victories and other narratives that pushed the great image of the Roman emperor. There is also a statue of Trajan standing in the top, it’s the best possible way to depict not only his power and role but also shows how he was respected among the empire. He is at the top of the empire literally. In a way many of the monuments used as propaganda portray the way that these emperors and rulers had the divine will and power from Roman Gods. For example, in the Augustus of Primaporta some scholars believe that because of his bare feet and that the “work was made after his death to commemorate his apotheosis, or elevation to divine status.” (Stokstad pg.138) This shows that the power of the leaders of the empire wasn’t just to any man who can fight for it or it was given just by popularity or through inheritance it was a power that was awarded to the person because he was special. In addition, the Marcus Aurelius bronze statue also elicits this notion of divine power. Aurelius is an emperor and what’s an emperor without an armor or weapons or some sort of item or icon that depicts his