#augusteum

Unlike most of Agrippa's other buildings, it (the Pantheon) had nothing to do with water, ships, or Neptune, at least as far as we know, apart from the fact that the Basilica Neptuni may have been located directly behind the Pantheon during the reign of Augustus. It thus stands out from the other new buildings on the Campus Martius not only in its function as a sacred building, but also in its conception as a building that does not directly refer to Agrippa through water symbolism.

This can be easily explained by the function that was initially intended for the Pantheon; as mentioned, Agrippa wanted to build an Augusteum. As such, it was naturally related to the person of Augustus. Only slightly concealed, the pseudo-Augusteum thus stood programmatically opposite the Neptunium as its counterpart, just as Agrippa's portrait on coins was accompanied by that of Augustus, on others Agrippa sat at Augustus' side — and just as in the vestibule of the Pantheon the statue of the princeps stood opposite that of his admiral. This dichotomy between Augustus and Agrippa, which manifested itself not only in iconography but also, of course, in the actual exercise of power, was to be of decisive importance for the urban redesign of the Campus Martius, as we shall see.

The temple complex in Aphrodisias known as the Sebasteion (Augusteum in Latin) was dedicated to cult of Aphrodite Prometor and the Julio-Claudian emperors. Built over the years AD 20/60 by two prominent families, the site provides a clear picture of the early years of the imperial cult in the east.

The city enjoyed a special relationship with the emperors. Its titular deity, Aphrodite, was the mother of Aeneas, the founder of Rome, and the progenitrix of the gens iulia. Furthermore, Gaius Julius Zoilus, a prominent citizen and benefactor of the city, was a freedman of Julius Caesar and trusted agent of Octavian. As emperor, Augustus declared Aphrodisias “the one city from all of Asia that I have selected to be my own,” and granted it many privileges, including self-rule and exemption from taxation. Under these circumstances, the city flourished and its citizens were among the most ardent and visible adherents to the newly-minted cult of the deified emperor.

The long, narrow rectangular site of the Sebasteion was wedged into the existing urban, mainly residential, fabric, at an oblique angle to the street. One entered through a propylon to which were linked two long, 3-story structures which had arcades in the lower story. At the far end of the open courtyard, on axis with the propylon was the free-standing, prostyle temple of Aphrodite Prometor of which only the tall podium remains. This layout recalls the recently-completed Forum of Julius Caesar (who had also shown favor to Aphrodisias), which was bordered by long arcades and focused on a temple also dedicated to Venus Genetrix.

The two upper registers of the arcade buildings consisted of 200 marble reliefs (80 of which survive) depicting mythological scenes and the episodes from the lives of Augustus, Claudius, and Nero. Each relief is framed by engaged columns that carry an entablature.

As R.R.R. Smith has pointed out, in the city of Rome, the emperor was a servant of the republic granted extraordinary powers by the senate, which in theory, he would would relinquish upon request and resume his former status as citizen. Everywhere else in the empire, he was viewed as an all-powerful monarch. Deification, for the Roman elite, was a metaphorical posthumous honor; after a flashy temple dedication ceremony, professional priests serviced the otherwise ignored cult, In the East, as the Sebasteion's iconographic program makes clear, the emperor was generally considered to be a god, even prior to his apotheosis (Nero, depicted with Agrippina Minor, was still alive when the complex was completed), and an active member of the Olympic pantheon.

The sculptors of the Sebasteion reliefs bring all of the conventions and devices of classical art to bear on their images of the deified Augustus and Claudius. Although they died at the ages of 77 and 63, the emperors are depicted in heroic nudity as youthful, idealized athletes. They are accompanied by allegorical personifications of Britannia, the winds, Victory, and so forth. They consort with the Olympian gods. All of the attributes firmly establish their divinity.

l: Claudius crosses the channel; r: Augustus and Victory

Aprodisias derived its wealth, in part, from its marble quarries and its famous school of Hellenistic sculpture. These local products are also represented in the reliefs, which serve as a veritable catalogue of classical sculpture. Portraits, personifcations, mythological narratives, allegories, damp-drapery, the heroic nude, the Polykleitan canon, Pergamene histrionics are all arrayed before the viewer in a monumental image gallery that informed the viewer about the city’s resources, talents and nature of the new imperial cult.

above: Agon (The Spirit of Competition)

l. Aeneas fleeing Troy; r: Agrippina Minor crowns Nero

below: A goddess erects a trophy

New York University has conducted extensive excavations at Aphrodisias since 1961 under the aegis of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and since 1995 with the collaboration of Oxford University. More information here.