Res Publica Constituta: Actium, Apollo and the Accomplishment of the Triumviral Assignment Carsten Hjort Lange, cand.mag. Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2007 i Abstract This thesis will focus on the battle of Actium and the ways in which the Caesarian regime represented and commemorated this conflict and turned it to Octavian/Augustus’s purpose. It will be argued that Actium was relatively more important than Alexandria in the ideology of the regime, but at the same time that the two battles must be understood together, as part of the accomplishment of the assignment of the triumvirate (constituting the res publica to order and ending the civil war). The focus will thus be on the period between 43-27 BC. It will be suggested that the powers given back to the Senate and Roman people in 27 BC were in fact the powers of the triumvirate. The arrangements of 28-27 BC thus constitute the accomplishment of the triumviral assignment. It will be stressed that, according to the regime, Apollo had a major role to play in this development, helping Octavian to win the battle of Actium. There are many possible themes that could have been exploited, but the nexus of Actium, Apollo, civil war and peace all centre round the triumvirate and triumviral assignment. There is a generally held consensus amongst scholars that Actium was presented as a foreign war and that Octavian/Augustus tried to conceal that it was in fact a civil war. This thesis will reflect on the issue and challenge this consensus. Antonius decided to make war on his own country and thus a foreign war turned into a civil war. Similarly, it is more or less universally held that the battle of Actium was decided due to a prearranged battle plan by Antonius and Cleopatra; from the outset they wanted to flee. Instead it will be argued that it is much more likely that the battle was decided by Cleopatra’s treachery. ii Dedication My parents, for all their support, Marlene, for giving me the little nudge out of the door and in memory of my sister Rene and my father Knud iii Acknowledgements I have been extremely fortunate to have a supervisor with whom I share my interest and passion for the ‘Augustan’ age. John Rich’s guidance has been invaluable and it is difficult to see how anybody working on my subject could get a more suited supervisor. His encouragement, support, criticism and willingness to listen made this possible. His influence will be visible to the informed reader throughout these pages. But of course, the faults that remain are my own. Several other academics have lent their assistance doing the three years. I would like to thank Jacob Isager, who introduced me to Gurval’s book many years ago and has helped in numerous ways, especially on Nicopolis and Apollo. The Department of Classics, University of Nottingham, especially Katharina Lorenz and Lisa Trentin for helping with questions on art history and Kyriaki Konstantinidou. I would also like to thank my former MA supervisor Jesper Carlsen, Ittai Gradel and Konstantinos Zachos, Director of the 12 th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, for allowing me access to the victory monument of Octavian at Actium. Also thanks to Ed Bragg for agreeing to let me talk about the Res Gestae at the “Beyond the Battlefields of the Graeco-Roman World” at Oxford, and my department and the CA 2006 at Newcastle for the possibility to test my ideas on the victory monument of Octavian at Actium. Furthermore, James Moore and Ian Macgregor Morris for the opportunity to participate in the colloquium “Making History. Writing the History of the Ancient World in the Long Eighteenth Century. A Colloquium at the Institute of Historical Research”, talking about the battle of Actium. I have been very privileged to get funding from the AHRC and a Studentship from the School of Humanities, University of Nottingham, for which I am immensely grateful. I would also like to thank the Thomas Wiedemann Memorial Fund for two generous awards and Knud Højgaards Fund, Denmark, also for two generous awards, one allowing me to visit Actium and Nicopolis. Many friends and individuals have contributed in numerous ways, but space permits me to mention only a few. Without Andrew Bayliss and Ian Macgregor Morris my stay in Nottingham would have been far less enjoyable. Drinking coffee and complaining has become an art form. I owe them thanks both for their professional eye and their friendship. A constant help and a good friend, a soul-mate, I have had in Jesper Madsen. Also thanks to Jonny Trapp Steffensen for words of encouragement. Special thanks must go to me ex-wife Marlene Rosemarie Madsen; without her I would never have moved to England. For that and for all her support I owe her everything. And also many thanks to my family, past and present, for all their support. Finally, and most importantly, my parents, Knud Hjort Lange and Annelise Lange, who have supported me throughout the years and in numerous ways; without their support and trust in my abilities, this would have been very difficult indeed. Mange tak. iv List of Contents Abstract page ii Dedication page iii Acknowledgement page iv Lists of Contents page v List of Illustrations page viii Abbreviations page x Chapter 1: Introduction page 1 Chapter 2: The Triumvirate page 19 2.1: The champion of the res publica : Octavian’s political beginnings page 20 2.2: The triumviral assignment page 24 2.3: The renewal of the triumvirate page 34 2.4: Apollo and Octavian: the origins of a divine relationship page 38 2.5: Sextus Pompeius and the accomplishment of the triumviral assignment page 47 2.6: Conclusion page 53 Chapter 3: Approach to War page 56 3.1: The breakdown of a ‘friendship’ page 56 3.2: The end of the triumvirate page 62 3.3: Endgame: the year 32 BC page 68 3.4: Bellum Externum, Bellum Civile page 80 3.5: Actium as a civil war page 84 3.6: Conclusion page 95 v Chapter 4: Bellum Actiacum Alexandrinumque page 98 4.1: The historical tradition page 101 4.2: Horace and Actium: the odd one out? page 103 4.3: Antonius’ intentions going into battle: ideology and what really happened page 108 4.4: A glorious victory without much fighting: less than 5,000 dead page 125 4.5: From Actium to Alexandria page 130 4.6: Actium and Alexandria: one or two wars? page 134 4.7: Conclusion page 138 Chapter 5: Onsite Commemorations of the Battle of Actium page 142 5.1: Two victory cities page 143 5.2: Nicopolis and the victory monument: the literary evidence page 146 5.3: The new city of Nicopolis and the temple of Actian Apollo page 149 5.4: The victory monument and its inscription page 158 5.5: A Roman monument at a Greek city page 170 5.6: The victory monument and its gods page 177 5.7: Conclusion: the victory monument and Augustan ideology page 182 Chapter 6: Waiting for Caesar page 187 6.1: Honouring the absent victor: Dio 51.19.1-20.5 page 187 6.2: Victory festivals page 195 6.3: ‘ Damnatio memoriae ’: dishonouring Antonius page 200 6.4: The temple of Janus page 205 vi 6.5: The triple triumph of 29 BC page 216 6.6: Conclusion page 226 Chapter 7: Res publica constituta page 229 7.1: The reshaping of the Forum Romanum page 230 7.2: Apollo Palatinus and Actium page 239 7.3: The constitution of the Res publica : the settlement of 28-27 BC page 260 7.4: Conclusion page 270 Chapter 8: Conclusion page 273 Bibliography page 290 vii List of Illustrations Figure 1: Map of the Campus Martius in Augustan times page 8 Figure 2: Map of Actium page 98 Figure 3: Map of battle plan Actium page 118 Figure 4: Map showing the synoecism of Nicopolis page 150 Figure 5: View from the Victory Monument at Actium towards Nicopolis and view of the monument from the plain below page 158 Figure 6: Reconstructions of the Victory Monument at Actium page 160 Figure 7: The Victory Monument at Actium in its current state of preservation page 162 Figure 8: Reconstruction of the upper terrace of the Victory Monument at Actium page 163 Figure 9: Semicircular base showing Apollo with lyre and eleven other gods page 164 Figure 10: Triumphal chariot from the monumental altar, from the monumental altar of the Victory Monument at Actium page 165 Figure 11: Reconstruction of ram inserted in lower terrace wall of the Victory Monument at Actium page 166 Figure 12: The Inscription of the Victory Monument at Actium today page 168 Figure 13: The temple of Janus on reverse of coin of Nero page 206 Figure 14: Map of Forum Romanum Augustan times AD 10 page 231 Figure 15: Coin of the Curia page 233 Figure 16: Terracotta plaque showing Hercules and Apollo viii fighting over the tripod page 248 Figure 17: Terracotta plaque showing a baetyl page 253 Figure 18: Denarius of C. Antistius Vetus page 255 Figure 19: The Sorrento base page 258 Figure 20: A new aureus of Octavian page 262 Figure 21: Cistophorus of Octavian from Asia, 28 BC, the reverse legend shows a personification of Pax page 265 ix Abbreviations AJA American Journal of Archaeology AJP American Journal of Philology ARW Aufstieg und iedergang der römischen Welt BABesch Bulletin Antieke Beschaving (Annual Papers on Classical Archaeology) BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies BMC Mattingly, H., Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum , vol.1 and vol.3 (London 1923/1936) CAH The Cambridge Ancient History CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum CQ The Classical Quarterly CR The Classical Review EJ Ehrenberg, V.