Civic Monuments and the Augustales in Roman Italy

This book examines ancient Roman monuments made by the Augustales, civic groups composed primarily of wealthy ex-slaves.

Margaret L. Laird (Author)

9781107008229, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 September 2015

364 pages, 100 b/w illus.
26.2 x 18.6 x 2.1 cm, 0.94 kg

The combination of portrait statue, monumental support, and public lettering was considered emblematic of Roman public space even in antiquity. This book examines ancient Roman statues and their bases, tombs, dedicatory altars, and panels commemorating gifts of civic beneficence made by the Augustales, civic groups composed primarily of wealthy ex-slaves. Margaret L. Laird examines how these monuments functioned as protagonists in their built and social environments by focusing on archaeologically attested commissions made by the Augustales in Roman Italian towns. Integrating methodologies from art history, architectural history, social history, and epigraphy with archaeological and sociological theories of community, she considers how dedications and their accompanying inscriptions created webs of association and transformed places of display into sites of local history. Understanding how these objects functioned in ancient cities, the book argues, illuminates how ordinary Romans combined public lettering, honorific portraits, emperor worship, and civic philanthropy to express their communal identities.

Part I. Representation in the Funerary Realm: 1. VIVIR AVG IDEM QQ: text, image, and context
2. Ob honorem bisellii: the grammar of representation
Part II. Augustales in Their Meeting Places: 3. Templum Augusti quod est Augustalium: municipal and private Augustea
4. Curia Augustiana: civic standing and the Collegio degli Augustali at Herculaneum
5. Res communis Augustalium: group identity in the Sacello degli Augustali at Misenum XXX
6. Ob Eximiam Benivolentiam: donors and Augustales in second-century Misenum
Part III. Monuments in Public: 7. In statuas ponendas: sculpting a public persona
8. In vias sternendas: paving your way in the Roman town
Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc [AMG]