THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 16 mi'
A
Remarkable Head of the; First Roman Emperor Found Among the
r
V 1 : ,
:
'HE official Got-
eminent archae
ologists bare
Just unearthed from
the subsoil of ancient
Tibur, near Rome, a
marble statue of the
Emperor Augustus
Caesar. i
This discovery Is of
immense Interest, be
cause It, is ; a eontemr
porary portrait of
the famous Emperor
made at a certain .
period. The world
lias been chiefly made
familiar -with, his appearance from the
majestic statue of him in armor now stand
ing in the Vatican gallery J
The Vatican statue shows him at the
height of his military career and of his
manly strength. The newly found statue
shows him a middle-aged man, bowed down
with years of statecraft and struggle, worn
with ill-health and perhaps excesses, al
though Augustus was regarded as a dis
creet ruler. There are several other
statues and heads of Augustus, but none
that shows the same expression as thl3
one. .
Augustus was the firBt Roman Emperor,
the founder of the empire in a sense, and
the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar. The
latter was removed, as every schoolboy
will recall, by the knives of Brutus and his
friends, because of a suspicion that he
planned to be emperor.
The. archaeologists were recently improv
ing the drainage of the excavated Mensa
Ponderarlum, the ancient Roman office of
weights and measures, at Tibur. A work
man slipped down a hole, and when the
, others dug down to him they found him
standing on a wonderful marble inlaid
pavement, and then, upon this, they picked
tip the pert ectly preserved marble head of
an emperor.
The remainder of the statue was soon
recovered. The pavement proved to be
that of a temple probably erected in honor
of Augustus, or perhaps older. It faces
on what is now called tha Piazza del 'Olmo,'
where the Cathedral stands. It is believed
that this spot was the centre of ancient
Tibur and known as the Curia Tiburtina.
On Investigation the statue was proved
to be that of Augustus Caesar. It was In'
three parts and in
such condition that
It could be put to-
gether perfectly. Up
on the pedestal was
deciphered an In
scription reading:
-Pro salute et ,
reditu domlnl nostri
Augustl Caesaris."
'(Thank offering for
the health and safe
return of our lord
Augustus Caesar.)
An archaeologist
commenting on the
statue says:
"It represents him
as a little I petulant
in expression and
probably, a t that
time, seeking health
In the salubrious
town of Tibur, , fend
evidently, from the
Inscription, j recently
cured of some severe
illness." I
The age of the Em--peror
when this stat
ue was made is be-"
lieved to have been
about forty. It waa made some years after
the bartle of Actium, fought in 31 B. C, when
Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleo
patra and drove them to suicide, a victoo
that led to Augustus's assumption of the
title xof Emperor. He was born in 63 B. C.
Why does the great Emperor look petu
lant? Is it because he regrets having pur
sued the fascinating Cleopatra to her death,
or is it, perhaps, because he regrets not
having caught her and exhibited her In
chains, which would have pleased the Ro
man populace immensely? Certainly he
relentless pursuit of Cleopatra was one of
the most striking features of Augustus's
long and varied life. ;
Soon after the murder of Julius Caesar
the young Augustus combined with Mark
Antony and Pompey to rule the Roman
world. Augustus and Mark Antony then
combined to eliminate Pompey. After that
Augustus proceeded to eliminate Antony.
As a girl Cleopatra had fascinated the
great Julius Caesar, and that rankled in
the soul of his nephew Augustus and other
Romans. Now the famous Mark Antony
fell under her domination. Antoriy accom
panied her through the streets of Alexan
dria dressed as Osiris and in other fantas
tic costumes.
Shakespeare has told us how Cleopatra
looked when she first captivated the sus
ceptible Antony:
".The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd
throne.
Burn'd on the water; the poop was beaten
gold: , !
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
J- - - AWJ
Ancient Tibur, j Showing a Strangely '
Different' Expression from the
Famoufe Vatican Statue
IS. -
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v. -v .jW, -a ..... j ... :,. ' a .jer . : . . . 1 v v
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Th Butt of Augustus Caesar, Just Found
at Ancient Tibur, Is Particularly In
teresting Because Shows the '
Aged, Weary Features of Augustus,
As Contrasted with the Vigorous
Face of the Vatican Statue.
The Celibrated
Statue of
Augustus Caesar
in the Vatican,
Made When He
Was in the
Prime of Life
and Triumph.
The winds were
love - sick with
them; the oars
were silver,
Which to the tune
of flutes kept
stroke, and
made
The water which
they beat to fol
low faster,
As amorous of
their strokes.
For her own
person.
it
n
lid ark Antony doing to Meet Cleopatra in H
Barge. . From the Painting by
Gustavo Wertheimer,
f
Ik
WW
: :e ,vi
.4
A Marine Theatre of the Roman Period Among the Ruins at
Tibw the Modern Tivoli.
"Age cannot
wither her, nor
custom stale.
Her infinite variety."
Antony had been married to Octavia,
After wandering through Asia Antony
rejoined the Queen In Egypt. They planned
It beggar'd all de- to escape to several parts of the world,'
but Augustus cut them off. Antony, in
despair, shut himself up tor a time In a
tower at the end of'a pier and said he
scription.
would spend his life there alone, hut, the
historian Duruy tells us, he could not stay
away from Cleopatra.
Thev founded a now rvlotir iUtA Tk
V. ' . . . . " 'XV.VVJIVliUWU 1J
T.t . ps'U8' ana wnenene1ect. inseparahle in Death," whose members all
rd this noble lady and followed the Egyp- planned to pass their d ln
tian siren it angered the young Cae6ar and and end their lives by suicide. Cleopatra
helped his ambitions. When Augustus led collected all the poisons known and etudied
his army against Antony he said to his their effects upon living persons. She also
soldiers: trIed venomous reptiles, and decided that
It Is not against Antony, the Roman the asp, which produced a quiet death
soldier, that we are going to fight, but whereby the features were not disturbed,
against this woman, who in the delirium of was the most desirable,
her Hopes and the intoxication of her good Cleopatra and Antony offered certain
fortune dreams of the fall of the Capitol terms of submission to Augustus. At the
and the ruin of the Empire." gamejime she secretly invited the lattento
Augustus met the forces of Antony and snare hiTthrolSeT The crafty Augustus sent a
Cleopatra near Actium on the Ionian Sea. message giving her hope and encouraging
Antony would have fought on land, as he her to keep Antony alive so that he might
was the most popular Roman general, but grace the conqueror's triumph in Rome.
Cleopatra persuaded him, in spite of the The Queen sent word to Augustus that
advice of his soldiers, to meet Augustas at he would find a private meeting with her
sea, because she wished her large fleet to agreeable. Recalling how she had fascJ
share in the. glory of the battle. Antony nated his great uncle, she believed she
then put most of his army on the ships, c,uld charm the nephew. She was then
veUStU8'. 7 !kIlfUl manoeuvrine, threw thirty-nine, but her beauty had always
the hostile fleet into confusion. The battle been less seductive than her Intellect
was by no means lost, however, when and . charm. Augustus remained
Cleopatra was struck by panio and sailed coid '
away at the head of her fleet. Antony could jtony kIlled himself, eTeryDody
ftay war hls charmer, and for- knows. Cleopatra was then in despair of
D V H menJh dylCS fr hlm fiin anrbody l her. Augustus ad-
ib pumio sails. tered Aleiandria
Augustus came once to see her.
Augustus then rnmnlptolv
forces of Antony. Cleonatr ret,.m to "?"5,lu? .came..onPe l see her. She
Alexandria, where, she' plundered the lutVl Pemtoes ot
temples, and desirine the friendshin f rr""""8 uae8ar- ana usea every trick
i . . . ... - - k ii h Knew t n niriiica nv
lue iueoes sent tnem tne hnad nr hr nrio.
coldly asked her for a list of her Jewels,
treasures and valuable possessions.
Cleopatra learned from a young Roman
nobleman, whom she had ensnared, that
Augustus waa planning to take her to
Rome to grace s great triumphal proces
sion. . j '
When ahe heard this she said: T will
not be dragged along in a triumph." The
next day she was found dead on a golden
bed, clad in her royal robes, with two
women lying lifeless at her feet.
There is no certainty how she died. Au
'gustus, by 'displaying at. his triumph in
Rome a statue of Cleopatra with a serpent
on her arm, confirmed the report that she
had caused herself to be stulig to death ifZ!
DV All ASA. AllPnafna Tvnf f-rs 1nath Tiaw bam
Caesarion, who might have, claimed to be tvvHt,
the heir rt Jnlfn. raona, S.iT'w.
f w -"wfcjsa
Augustus became the first Roman Em
peror a few years after this. He died in
14 A. TJU'when he was seventy-seven years
old, a great age for that time. The Saviour
was born In his reign, Latin literature
reached its highest development and this
was in many ways one of the greatest"
epochs in the history of the world.
This Is the man whose face has now
been revealed to us by a statue as he
looked after the period of his greatest
struggles and triumphs. Critics say that
the statue was made with high artistic
skill. It tells the story of cares and anx
ieties, advancing age and bodily heaviness
and infirmity. The flesh on the face sags
down somewhat, which it does not do is
the Vatican statue. .
The Emperor is not now concerned with
winning battles as much as with holding
on to the enormous possessions he has se
curea. mis he succeeded Tn doing for
uiujr ictuo. n is not suggested that there
is any lack of vigor in the face at this
e I . f si.;v-..i
TO;KWyt,, jvag-aL6ia.fcr WfilVKUr
Ruins of the Period of Augustus at Tibur, Near Rome, Where the
New Statue of the Emperor Has Been Found.' '
mi . ...
oner, the King of Armenia, as a gift. There , uqu r 11ftened to her In silence
Tn mtii j-.-fi, tv!. With, his eyes fixed on the ernunri Th.n
!m?Mj&Utor7 . : be of good couraie,lIdy." 5
are
romance
forehead, slightly wrinkled, small mouth,
wide-set eyes and curly hair. -
The statue when In its original condition
represented the Emperor seated with his
right forearm posed on his right knee and
the left arm raised, with the : hand half
dosed., -j ..
A graceful drapery covered .the lower
part of the body, leaving the shoulders
nude. With the se of a little plaster it
would be possible to put ihe three parts
together and restore the statue to nearly
perfect condition. This work is now prob
ably completed, -r . i .. ,
The temple found- at the' same .tima a
It is not suggested that there) statue was of oblong form, with a beau-
Df vigor in the face at thta tiful pavement formed of marble bricks of
age. . different colors arranged :in a mosaic de-
The resemblance between Augustus and slg.nr - I
his grand uncle; Julius Caesar, is striking: At one end was an apse, the back wall
ThereIs jthe same aquiline nose, broad ofjSJJjj8 frescoed red garlands
Great BrlUIa Eights Besets."
The other discoveries in the vicinity ara
of great interest. The "Ponderarium, or
office of weights and measures, is still the
subject of investigation, although it was
discovered several years ago. This Romaa
office is the only one of Its kind yet dis
covered.. ' f ' ". "
It contains two marble counters where
twenty centuries ago the people of Tibur
brought their oil, wine and other liquids
to be measured. , i '
" Tibur was the favorite health resort of
Rome during the time of Augustus, tt waa
nere that the poet Horace spent much of
his time. He and other Roman poets en
joyed the fine wines' and hospitality of the
celebrated Maecenas at this resorti It
has been conjectured from - Internal ! evi
dence that Horace wrote bis poem Ars
Poetlca," after the Emperor's visit to
Tibur and the erection of the temple,