The Res Gestae Divi Augustus Analysis

The Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which in English means ‘The Achievements of the Deified Augustus,’ was written by the first Roman emperor Augustus as a biographical account of his life just before his death in 14 CE. Because the document was written in first person, it lent Augustus the ability to portray himself and his rule precisely the way he wished it to be remembered. The original text was displayed on two bronze tablets set in front of the mausoleum of Augustus in Rome, though multiple other copies of the funerary inscription have been found in cities across the Empire. Both the public exhibition of the Res Gestae, and its deliberate manipulation of Republican rhetoric would have appealed to the hearts and minds of the Roman people when …show more content…
Due to Rome’s historical, deep-seated hatred of one-man rule, it was imperative that Augustus did not give the impression that he was establishing a monarchy. It is likely that Augustus would have learned from Julius Caesar’s mistakes– his adoptive father– and realized how dangerous it was to exhibit brazen displays of tyrannical authority. To prevent the Roman people from viewing him as a dictator, or even worse, a rex, Augustus capitalized on Republican terminology and rhetoric to counterbalance the astonishingly un-Republican nature of his regime. By describing the history of his leadership with traditional Republican idioms, Augustus was able to satisfy the people by assuring them of the continuity of a classic Republican framework, “even though important elements of this discourse had been rendered null and void by the time the Res Gestae was published” (Hodgson 263). In the sixth paragraph of the document Augustus claims, “The Senate and the Roman people agreed that I should be appointed sole guardian of laws and morals with supreme power, but I refused any office offered to me that was contrary to the customs of our ancestors” (Mellor 256). In this manner Augustus was able to advertise his achievements while emphasizing the fact that he declined anything that seemed excessive or untraditional. Therefore, the Res Gestae persuasively implies that Augustus had simply bore the responsibilities of the empire and done what the populace had demanded of him without assuming imperious authority. Augustus’ appeal to Republican political discourse communicated the legitimacy of his regime to the Roman people, as well as a justification for his unconstitutional actions. Even the historian Suetonius made mention of