Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome) speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker This video replaces an older version
There are certain days in which they use lights to simulate the colours that the Ara Pacis once had, as it was painted, i saw it and it was magnificent.
very well done thank you! I grew up in italy and every year our school would take us on a gita scolastica, a school trip..a particular church, the roman forum, the cage where a live wolf was kept, situated at the base of the campidoglio (olive tree fields) castel Sant'angelo..I remember that despite the tall windows surrounding the the ara pacis (c is spelled like a ch in spanish), it felt dark and oppressive inside..as small children it was hard to follow our teacher as she tried to convey the importance of the monument..years later I would drive by the monument almost daily on my motorcycle from my high school never giving it a second thought, one of the many things we took for granted in our beautiful city..this was before the meier project..
I had to pause the video for that "oh my!" edit. Well played. 😂 The more I learned about this structure, the more I appreciated it. I'm impressed by the patterned biodiversity on the bottom frieze and enjoy the beauty of the mysterious narrative frieze. It must've been so stunning in its painted state.
The unsightliness of the museum is exhaulting the superior architecture of the building it encases. I sincerely hope that is what the "architect" of the museum was aiming for. 🤭 Anyways quite aesthetic, informative and aurally pleasing video. 👍 Rename channel to ASMR art and architecture to boost subscribers. 👍
I guess opinions certainly vary, because to me this building seems to be very well designed and suited to house this historic temple. The white colour gives it a peaceful and serene vibe, and all of the natural light which comes through the windows brings out the best of the temple. It's also interesting to see the contrast between this modern building and the over two millennia old building in it.
Thank you for allowing us to find this video via the link in the comment section of the previous link. at 9:09 (i had played that last bit several times over because) i was experiencing a conscious interplay of past, present, and future; in regards to the quote. → "could justly boast that he found [Rome] built of bricks and left it in marble." ▼ • the past: well that's what had happened and that's fascinating • the present: it's an adoptable (and historically recorded) manifestation of mindset, possibilities, and participating in that. For example, we may choose to adopt that mindset with our 3 modes of being, or in spiritual/worldy beings. A "healthier" body, mind, soul may start as "bricks" • the future: and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson talks about this, and merges the narrowed magnificence of creative people, as removing types of limitations (by understanding one's limitations first), and then particiapting in a newer form. It sounds something like: "don't lie, or before you die, aim to make the world even just a little better than how you found it" ▲ brick(past) to(day) marble(future) → we also remembered a new word: "princeps" - we thank you once more!
My best congratulations!! This is wonderfully done, and also useful for teaching at school (Liceo). Actually, the students are planning to visit the reamins of the ancient Rome...😊
Caius Octavius (Thurinus) then after his adoption he was called Caesar! Only Cicero and Mark Anthony called him Octavius/Octavianus.. the name Octavian has come later on i think by William Shakespeare
@@joelrebollar7055 Dr. Harris's description ("...frogs and lizards and birds...") is reminiscent of the famous line from the Wizard of Oz ("Lions and tigers and bears?" "Oh, my!") :)
It's always surprised me that nobody mentions Rhea Silvia as a possibility for the indeterminate lady on the Tellus Panel. I mean, if there's Aeneas at the front and a lady with two babies at the back, would it not be an obvious presumption that the lady is Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus? Her head is also veiled, which would be appropriate given that Rhea was a Vestal. Like, honestly, it makes very little sense why Tellus would be there at all and such a conclusion seems to be based soley upon the bounteous imagery which is common but not specific to her, and positioning Pax somewhat improminently on the back of her own altar opposite Aeneas at the front seems inappropriate, particularly given the limited relationship between them. Venus is a decent guess, given that she was the mother of Aeneas and both were claimed as ancestors by the Julians, but the veil and two babies still fits Rhea much better than Venus (who typically had her hair or breasts uncovered) even if the bounty isn't the most consistent imagery to depict her with. In my mind, at least, depicting Venus on Pax's altar merely as the mother of Aeneas or ancestor of the Julians makes less sense than depicting Rhea and her twins who founded Rome and made the Pax Romana possible. People often forget that with artwork like this, the commissioner is trying to tell a story or impart a (typically propagandistic) message, and the figures depicted were meant to be easily recognisable to the general public so they could understand that story. Any attempt to identify figures such as these requires evaluation through the eye of a Roman spectator, and must consider what would make superficial sense to them in the religious and historical/political context of the artwork, including the totality of what it depicts and celebrates and how that relates to the motives or agenda of whoever commissioned it. Ordinarily, then, if a random Roman sees two babies in artwork, the first thing he thinks of will usually be Romulus and Remus, so if there's a lady with them, one naturally calls to mind their mother Rhea. While it's true that babies representing the legendary twins are usually depicted with a she-wolf to identify them, such an image is believed to have been present on the (admittedly, largely missing) front panel of the altar on the left side opposite Aeneas on the right, so it wouldn't have been difficult for a Roman observer to recognise the twins without the customary she-wolf and through them discern that the lady must be their mother Rhea. This identification of the lady as Rhea is reinforced if one presumes that the scene at the front involves Aeneas, who was literally Rhea's ancestor and is the other half of Rome's foundation legend. Together, the two panels would constitute a depiction of the beginning and ending of Rome's legendary founding first at the front and then at the back of the altar, which seems highly appropriate to depict given that it both glorifies Rome's role and instrumentality in establishing the Pax Romana while simultaneously evoking Augustus, who was inclined to promote and associate himself with legendary figures such as Aeneas and Romulus. Similarly, the left side would depict the discovery of the twins at the front, and at the back is the goddess Roma representing the city that they established. The narrative of the altar, then, would be squarely rooted in the establishment of Rome as the means by which peace, and literally her altar, exists in the empire. However, while this would be a mostly tidy and consistent interpretation of the altar's narrative and message, anyone who's read the _res gestae_ and is familiar with Augustus' tireless efforts to propagandise and weave narratives about himself might be uncomfortable with how little this interpretation appears to glorify or insinuate Augustus personally into the narrative that the altar is telling. I myself had long held doubts about the identity of the figures despite my conviction that Rhea was a far more reasonable assumption than any of the other candidates. That was until I discovered the proposition of Paul Rehak that the Aeneas Panel, rather than depicting Aeneas' legendary sacrifice of the Lavinian sow and her piglets to Juno upon his arrival in Italy (which almost always includes piglets and is otherwise described very differently by Vergil-a shocking inconsistency given that both the altar and the Aeneid were commissioned by Augustus to serve as propaganda instruments), instead depicts Numa Pompilius making the customary sacrifice of a pig when establishing a peace treaty. I personally find this identification with the second king of Rome to be entirely compelling, as the association of such a scene with Pax is immediately apparent, and the presence of Numa is remarkably appropriate given that he is famed for his vehement promotion and establishment of peace, including the erection of the Temple of Janus whose gates were closed during peacetime. It also creates a narratively pleasing parallel between the discovery of the twins on the left, featuring both Mars and his fratracidal war-minded son Romulus who would become the first king of Rome, and a sacrifice in the name of peace offered by Numa on the left, the second king of Rome who instituted the Roman religion and tried to curb the warring nature of his people. With Numa in mind, then, the depiction of a temple atop a hill in the background, which originally had little meaning or reason when identifying the figure as Aeneas, now might well be interpreted as a representation of the Capitoline Hill, which would have been intended to situate this scene in the valley below it that contained both the Roman Forum and the Temple of Janus, along with its gates that had been recently closed by Augustus. This makes the propagandistic relevance of the scene all the more palpable, as Numa is one of Rome's legendary figures whom Augustus went to great lengths in order to imitate and associate himself with, not only to reinforce and promote his image as a peacegiver and celebrated closer of the gates that Numa built, but also to legitimise and substantiate his sweeping religious reforms and renovations, which Numa was also famous for. The way in which a representation of Numa in this scene perfectly fulfils both the altar's literal purpose as a consecreation to Pax and its propagandistic purpose as a glorification of Augustus and his accomplisments makes this identification invariably compelling, but it also brings with it implications for other scenes on the altar, which must be considered in the context of each other. Looking back at the depiction of Tellus/Pax/Venus/Rhea on the rear, the case for Rhea is now much weaker without Aeneas to support her, and an identification of Pax now becomes incredibly consistent and compelling within the holistic context of the artwork and the placement of Numa opposite her at the front. Sure, the altar is dedicated to Pax and the lady happens to be surrounded by a fertile bounty which is common to associate with peace, so by itself it's not the wildest argument to suggest that the lady is indeed Pax. But now, the positioning of Pax gains meaning from being opposite the devout Numa, who was undoubtedly her greatest champion and advocate before Augustus, and the purpose of including her on the exterior walls (as opposed to _within_ the precinct, which is typically where one expects to find the image of a shrine's deity) becomes clear and sensible. As the two kings, Romulus and Numa, are depicted on the front, so too are the deities that they fostered depicted opposite them at the rear, Roma and Pax. With Numa identified and situated opposite the lady, about the only thing that might seem inconsistent about identifying her as Pax is the curious presence of the babies alongside her, who clearly wouldn't be Romulus and Remus. Although the babies might appear rather out of place at first, it's by no means a stretch to assume that their inclusion was intended to be considered as part of the bounty that is brought by the arrival of peace. When considered within the wider context of Augustus' concern for and legislation regarding the replenishment of Rome's war-depleted population, however, the inclusion of the children in Pax's bounty takes on a fitting and amusingly cunning propagandistic tone that certainly befits Augustus and his mastery of allegory. With all four panels and their positions taken as a whole, Romulus and Numa at the front with Roma and Pax at the back, the narrative of the altar is now centred on Rome's foundation and historic success in war, which has lead to a new era of peace that will bring about bounteous prosperity. Both of these aspects are also embodied in Augustus, whose well publicised achievements promoted him as both the Romulan conqueror and the Numan peacebringer, ancient legacies which it was most certainly Augustus' direct intention-and indeed, the purpose and design of this altar-to associate himself with, both for their historic recognisability and their foundational prestige which he hoped would legitimate his ascent to near monarchical levels of power and characterise it as something old and Roman, rather than something new and tyrannical.
@@user-ix1rp9ff3p I think I did get a bit carried away! 😂😂😂 The TL;DR: is that it's almost certainly not Aeneas in the Sacrifice Panel, but rather Numa Pompilius, and in that context it's probably not Tellus in the Tellus Panel, but rather Pax. This provides the most thematic and cohesive narrative across the altar while also being consistent with the goals and trends in Augustus' propaganda.
Great to see this video renewed; it is an excellent, comprehensive overview of the Ara Pacis. Thank you. I'm not surprised there was no emphasis on the meander detail since it incorporates swastikas, which were a very common artistic symbol or cultural motif in Classical Antiquity; I think the Greeks called a swastika, “tetra-gammadion”. It's a crying shame that the 20th-century facist era ruined a truly European symbol; we all need to stop letting World War Ⅱ substantively shape our perceptions.
Never thought I'd be thanking Mussolini for something. It's interesting how dictators always seem to want to evoke a return to an idealized past. Augustus is looking back to classical Greece and foundation mythologies, and Mussolini is looking back to Augustus. Regardless, this is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen
Universaly, statues were usually painted indeed (like china terracota)...... but for some reason, in western context, the cause issue was at least due to the later popular idea of "purity white" during Renaissance's ancient greece art revival (still debatable on why is that but we know for sure most colorful statues had already faded out after many years). The good news is that there are pigments from the white statues even though it's hard to exactly reconstruct how all the fragments may make the statues have "light, dark shadow, hue, saturation" (which is what painters usually do)
People forget Rome was not just a city of marble it was a city of color everything from statues to temples it was not just marble White also imagine the smell it must have been unbelievable in fact someone wrote you knew when you where near Rome by the smell of it .
I guess it’d vary greatly where in Rome one would be; I’d imagine the Ara Pacis being saturated with incense, perhaps something from the cypress trees and the pyres burning nearby. In the city, the smells must’ve been a strange combination of atrocious, familiar, appetizing, and inescapable.
It's now much higher resolution, we corrected a small error, and generally cleaned it up. This video gets a lot of use in colleges and we wanted it to be stronger.
This unnerved me a lot. It's beautiful and the proportions are so elegant but it celebrates death. Formalizes and ritualizes it. I'm definitely of the modern age because this disturbed me but it truly is so graceful. A walk in marble jewelbox. But for one person it was stark and morbid.
The caption at 0:39 seems wrong? Augustus was early first century BCE, or late first century CE, but early first century BCE doesn't make sense. Especially not for imperial statues of him, the standard design for which was definitely fixed in the last 1/3 of the first century BCE.
The Primaporta sculpture is thought to commemorate the victory over the Parthians in 20 B.C.E. and assuming it took less than 20 years to complete our caption would be correct, though it is entirely possible it dates to a few years later and is instead early first century C.E. You might enjoy our video on the sculpture: smarthistory.org/augustus-of-primaporta/
Smarthistory , I don't understand ! Why are you doing this? And why always with sculpture? This video was published in 2012, what is the meaning of re-publication? We have been waiting for new something and for a long time .
We are slowly renewing older videos with new audio edits, new photography, etc. There are also several new videos in the works. One about a building, another about a fresco. And there is sculpture on the priority list so it won't be too long. Video production has been slow over the summer since we have been editing dozens of new essays by early career art historians who had been impacted by the pandemic. We should be wrapping that up soon. Have a look over at Smarthistory.org for those essays, there is even some sculpture mixed in!
