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9 BCE

In 13 BCE, the Roman Senate decreed that the Ara Pacis be built to celebrate Augustus'
triumphant return from the wars in Spain and Gaul, although the dedication or official
inauguration took place about three and a half years later, in January 9 BCE. This altar
to Peace was located in the Campus Martius (the Field of War), a place ironically where
the military did exercises. In the succeeding centuries, however, the altar was eventually
covered up as the level of the area was raised until finally it was buried and forgotten,
only to be uncovered in part in the Renaissance, with slabs of the altar dispersed to
various locations. Eventually the area was excavated and slabs were recovered from a
number of owners; the altar was restored and installed in its own pavilion in 1938.
Today, the Ara Pacis is installed in a new museum, which opened in 2006 (not entirely
finished by the time I photographed it). See photographs of this museum by American
architect Richard Meier.

c




  





The Ara Pacis is essentially a small building enclosing an actual altar where sacrifices
would have been performed. The enclosure is almost square--about 11 and a half meters
on the open west and east sides and about 10 and a half meters on the north and south
sides.

The exterior is divided

into two registers--the
lower with acanthus
scrolls (or reliefs
associated with nature)
and the upper with reliefs
depicting humans or
divinities. The two areas
are divided by a band
with a meander (or
swastika motif)--a design
often associated with
Trojan and middle eastern
cultures.
The western facade has reliefs depicting events from Rome's legendary history--Aeneas,
the mythical founder of Rome performing a sacrifice on the right and the discovery of
Romulus and Remus on the left, with the only discernable part of the latter being the
head and part of the cuirass of Mars.

j



  




In this relief a fatherly Aeneas makes an offering at a rustic altar. Behind, the
incomplete figure is probably his son Ascanius while before him are two attendants to
the ritual, one with a bowl and jug, the other leading a sacrificial sow. The temple in the
upper left represents the Penates, the household gods of the Trojans, saved from the
fires of Troy. However, Stokstad asserts that the figure, usually identified as Aeneas,
might more convincingly be identified as Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome
associated with peace, in contrast to the first king of Rome, Romulus, depicted on the
left side panel, associated with belligerence.

Augustus, as Pontifex
Maximus, would have
had access to the Temple
of Vesta where the
Penates were kept. Thus a
symbolic association is
made between Augustus
and Aeneas, the
legendary founder of
Rome.

j



 



c




The central figure is usually identified as Tellus, or Mother Earth, although earlier she
was defined as a personification of Italy and recently as Venus genitrix (Aeneas' divine
mother) or as a personification for Peace, bestowing prosperity, or as Ceres, goddess of
harvests. The two children on her lap have been interpreted as the nephews and heirs to
Augustus, Gaius and Lucius Caesar.
According to Rossini, the
figure to the right of the
central goddess is a
representation of the
beneficial earth. An "aura
velificans" from the
Hellenistic tradition, she
holds the hem of her
billowing gown and rides
on the back of a swan.
Stokstad identifies the
figure as a personification
for the land wind with the
jug of fresh water and the
vegetation at her feet
representing the fertility
of Roman farms.
 c




Wearing a chiton that

emphasizes her breasts
and abdomen, the figure
also is veiled with a
headband of flowers and
fruit. Her lap contains
fruit as well, all to
emphasize the fecundity
associated with the
goddess. A sheep and
cow rest at her feet.
Poppies, ears of wheat
and lilies (?) appear in the
background. The two
chubby children which
she nourishes represent
the Roman people
symbolically.

According to Rossini, the figure to the left of the central

goddess is a representation of the sea winds. An "aura
velificans" from the Hellenistic tradition, she holds the
hem of her billowing gown and rides on the back of a sea
serpent.







These friezes, representing more than fifty identified species, may operate symbolically
as well, suggesting rebirth and fruitfulness associated with Augustus' reign. The friezes
run along the lower sides of the enclosure. Scholars believe it would have been
enhanced with color. Scrolls unfold from the acanthus at the bottom. (Acanthus was
often a symbol for regeneration.)

The stem originating at

the bottom center divides
the relief pattern into two
halves. Ivy, grapes leaves
and even small insects
and animals (like lizards,
scorpions, and snails)
inhabit the reliefs and
more than twenty swans
are spaced along the
frieze. See page 3.

Continue to page 2.

Works Consulted:
Orietta Rossini. 

. Rome: Electa, 2006.
Marilyn Stokstad.  
. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Edu., 2005.

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Works Consulted:
Orietta Rossini. 

. Rome: Electa, 2006.
Marilyn Stokstad.  
. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Edu., 2005.

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Works Consulted:
Orietta Rossini. 

. Rome: Electa, 2006.
Marilyn Stokstad.  
. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Edu., 2005.

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Works Consulted:
Orietta Rossini. 

. Rome: Electa, 2006.
Marilyn Stokstad.  
. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Edu., 2005.