Signs of Roman power
The power and prestige of the Roman Emperor's were apparent in everything from the large, extravagant palaces of Rome, to Roman art and sculpture, and even in Roman coinage. Julius Caesar was the first emperor to put his own image on the face of a coin within his own lifetime. In this way, he was proving to the Roman public that his face was the ideal model of Roman power and strength. In 44 B.C., Caesar issued a coin bearing his portrait in the veristic style of the day. On one side of the coin, his face was shown in profile. His exaggerated long neck, large Adam's apple, lined cheeks and high, wrinkled forehead were all clear signs of Caesar's age and wisdom. He even wears a golden wreath to hide his slightly balding head. Whether or not this is a perfectly accurate portrayal of the emperor is not important, the only task is to show the emperor in an influential and authoritative light. On the reverse side of the coin, Caesar goes even farther with his propaganda by showing the god Venus, in her military armor as Victrix, holding Victoria in her right hand. By showing the goddess on his coin, Caesar is specifically trying to symbolize the link between his family and that of the ancient gods. If Caesar himself is related to a g
Although the human sacrifice trip stopped in 404 AD, the Romans continued to spill blood until the 6th century, popularizing games with dangerous animals like lions, elephants, snakes and even panthers. The fact that so much money was poured into the production of these fake, pretend battles shows that the government of Rome cared a great deal about entertaining the public (even if most of the entertainment consisted of political propaganda!). The fact that most of the Coloseum's entertainment consisted of mock battles shows that Roman society was extremely obsessed with the strength of their military. He wanted to be portrayed as the ideal man, which meant showing himself as divine. In certain mock naval battles, the emperor ordered to remove the heavy wooden flooring of the amphitheatre and flood the lower cells (which usually housed animals and prisoners!), therefore the audience got to see actual naval battles on water before their very eyes! This, of course, was a horrible idea, and eventually ruined the Colosseum. Some of the mock battles held in the Colosseum were incredibly extravagant and expensive. There are many elements of this sculpture that show Augustus' desire to portrayed as a symbol of power. This was definitely the case with Augustus Caesar. The people, like the emperors, truly believed that someday, with the power of their military and the strength of their rulers, Rome would take over the entire world. Many roman leaders were not sculpted to be an accurate representation of their actual appearance. Even his perfect locks of hair are god-like, falling elegantly onto his forehead in a very pure, child-like manner. In 80 AD, when the theatre was completed, the opening show was comprised of one hundred days of gladiator games where thousands of Romans were killed in athletic combat. Seeing that the Colosseum was the most famous and popular theatre of the entire Roman Empire, it is obvious that it would be a very influential symbol of Roman culture. The Roman Colosseum, also called the Ampitheatrum Flavium, was 160 feet high with eighty entrances and could seat more than 50,000 people when it was erected by Vespasian's son Titus.
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Acceptance Essays
