Augustus Primaporta

a. How does this work embody the Early Empire?

b. What does this portrait say about Augustus?

Answers will vary.

a. Augustus is presented as the general addressing his troops; he is confident, the raised arm shows the idea of inclusion to all within the Empire. The costume Augustus wears also reiterates the power of the Empire.

b. It portrays him as a general, a title he earned in his military campaigns, but it also alludes to the Julian ancestry. According to legend, Venus is an ancestress of the family. The overall effect of the work, however, was a political statement on the peace Augustus established and also the military power of the Empire.