Today marks the 2,000th anniversary of the death of Augustus.
All hail. Not. Although he was an interesting character.
The
emblematic first Emperor was, in the end, sic transit.
It has been said that the sins of the ancients are the universal sins of humanity, but the
virtues of the Greeks and Romans are unique, the direct ancestors of
everything that is self-critical and marks the best in our own culture
today.
Tonight at the Ara Pacis Museum (a very ugly and unbecoming modern construction), the original colors
of the first century BC altar which is located there will be projected onto it. His ashes are still located there to this day.
Once yours truly was able to jump the construction fence and sneak in there on a Sunday morning after they tore down the former building constructed by Mussolini. Was interesting to walk around there on the altar and to explore the excavation. It was in 2005. I felt like Indiana Jones.
The role of Augustus in shaping Imperial Rome and the modern Rome of today cannot be underestimated. His reign had a lasting impact
almost unparalleled in ancient history, with his name becoming
synonymous with the Empire.
May he rest in peace, Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius.
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