Via Labicana Augustus (Augustus as Pontifex Maximus)

Via Labicana Augustus (Augustus as Pontifex Maximus)

The Via Labicana Augustus is a marble statue portraying Augustus in his religious role as Pontifex Maximus (head priest of the College of Pontiffs). He is portrayed with a veiled head, in preparation for animal sacrifice. This religious style emphasizes Augustus' coopting religious aspects of leadership in his self-fashioning as "Princeps." This statue is highly similar to a relief depiction of Augustus, also in religious garb, on the exterior of the Ara Pacis Augustae--in both portraits, Augustus is illustrated in a idealized style remnisncent of traditional Hellenistic portraiture. This statue is traditionally dated towards the middle or end of his reign, sometime after 12 BC. Discovered in the early 20th century on the Oppian Hill on the Via Labicana (a major road leading out of Rome, hence the traditional name given to the statue), it now resides in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme at the National Museum of Rome.

Unknown.

Artstor Digital Library. Canyonlights World Art Image Bank

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After 12 BC.

Jonathan Marrow

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Marble

Portrait Statue