Figure 1 shows the layout of the scenes on the breastplate of the Prima Porta statue of Augustus.
To what extent is the Prima Porta statue mainly a celebration of Augustus' military success? Use Figure 1 as a starting point and your own knowledge.
Model answer
Figure 1 shows that military success is at the very centre of the breastplate. A Parthian hands back a Roman legionary standard to a Roman in armour, recalling the return in 20 BC of the standards lost by Crassus at Carrhae and by Antony's commanders. On each side sits a mourning province, a conquered people. The rest of the statue supports this: Augustus wears a general's cuirass and cloak, and his raised arm is the adlocutio gesture of a commander addressing his troops. In the Res Gestae Augustus boasted that he 'compelled the Parthians' to return the standards, and he placed them in the temple of Mars the Avenger.
However, the standards were in fact recovered by diplomacy, not in battle, so the statue presents a negotiated agreement as a triumph. This suggests that its purpose was not simply to record military success but to build up an image.
Moreover, the breastplate places the victory in a much wider setting. Above it are Caelus, the sky, Sol in his chariot and Aurora, the dawn; below are Apollo and Diana, Augustus' protecting gods, and at the bottom Tellus, Mother Earth, with a cornucopia and babies. The message is that the gods support Augustus and that his victory has brought peace and prosperity to the whole world, a new golden age.
Other parts of the statue have nothing to do with war. Cupid on a dolphin recalls Augustus' descent from Venus, the bare feet suggest a hero or god, and the idealised face and Doryphoros pose make him a timeless Greek ideal.
In conclusion, the statue celebrates military success to a large extent, since the armour, gesture and central scene all focus on it. But it is not mainly about war: the victory is shown as the gods' gift that brings peace, and divine ancestry and heroic perfection are equally important. Its overall message is that Augustus is a divinely favoured ruler whose success guarantees a new age.
Explanation
Level 4 answers use the figure precisely (the central scene, provinces, gods, Tellus), add knowledge of 20 BC and of the rest of the statue, and judge whether military success is the main message or a means to the message of peace and divine favour. Remember that the standards were recovered by diplomacy.
