Octavian promoting Julius Caesar
E2017.467, RRC 535/1
Inscriptions
Obverse: CAESAR DIVI F
Reverse: DIVOS IVLIVS [1]
After the infamous assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BC, Octavian, his heir, resolved to avenge him (Suet. Aug. 10). At twenty years of age Octavian was already a skilled politician and, in 43 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) formed the Second Triumvirate (three-man government) with Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the latter of whom proved troublesome and was gradually ousted and banished for life (Suet. Aug. 16.4). With this triumvirate, Octavian declared war against Rome’s self-styled ‘liberators’ who had conspired against and killed his predecessor, and through these acts of vengeance he proved himself to be a worthy successor, a true saviour of Rome, and a skilled military leader (Suet. Aug. 10; Aug. Res Gestae 1-3).[2] Octavian’s quest to cleanse Rome of Caesar’s enemies and honour him was a success; Julius Caesar was deified by the Senate in 42 BC.[3]
As they gradually restored order to the Roman world, joint rulers Antony and Octavian competed for the popularity of the Roman people in the provinces they administered; eventually Octavian ceased his uneasy alliance with Antony, branding him a public enemy (Suet. Aug. 17). Tensions were running high toward the outbreak of Octavian's fifth civil war: The Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Making a string of controversial moves in order to elevate himself to sole imperator, Octavian finally wrested control of the Roman Empire from Antony in this decisive battle, after which both Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide (Suet. Aug. 17). He became Augustus, Rome’s first and arguably greatest emperor, in 27 BC.
Octavian's predecessor Julius Caesar was widely thought to have “abused his power” and accepted “excessive honours”, many of which were “too great for mortal man”, and so was “justly slain” (Suet. Julius Caesar 76.1). Octavian went to great lengths to save himself from a similar fate by assuming an air of modesty. In his autobiographical Res Gestae, he asserts that he frequently turned down honours and titles bestowed on him by the Senate and the citizens (Aug. Res Gestae 1ff.). Suetonius states that, so as not to appear too eager in his quest for sole rulership, Octavian thought of restoring the republic and returning power to the people of Rome to avoid any accusations of being a dictator or king. However, he believed that holding onto this complete power would allow him to “establish the state in a firm and secure position” and become “the author of the best possible government” (Suet. Aug. 28). In his illustrious forty years of emperorship, he showed himself to be a “prince who desired the public welfare rather than popularity”, sacrificing much for the good of the state and bringing peace to the empire (Suet. Aug. 42.1).
Dating from his troubled triumvirate in approximately 38 BC, this coin was minted eleven years before Octavian would assume the role of emperor and take on the name Augustus (in 27 BC) and seven years before the Battle of Actium (in 31 BC). At this time, Octavian began to emphasise Julius Caesar’s divinity in his coinage. Both Antony and Octavian minted coins during this time, challenging each other’s claims to be Julius Caesar’s political successor.[4] But Octavian had something that Antony did not: a direct family connection to Julius Caesar, who was his maternal great-uncle and adoptive father. Capitalising on this fact, Octavian gradually phased in coinage that presented these ties in increasingly overt terms. This coin represents a very obvious declaration of family connection, designed to oust Antony as a candidate for ruler and declare Octavian as Rome’s only rightful, divinely ordained and descended leader.
The coin’s legend, “CAESAR DIVI F”, marks Caesar’s (Octavian’s) rise to power in the 30’s when he assumed the title ‘son of a god’, that is, of the divine Julius Caesar, “DIVOS IULIUS”.[5] On this coin, Octavian wears a beard as a sign of mourning and of his filial devotion to his father. On the reverse of the coin, Julius Caesar is pictured wearing his famous wreath. He wore this frequently and with great pride; it was awarded to him by the Senate after his victory at the Battle of Munda in 45 BC. In this battle, Julius Caesar’s co-ruler in the First Triumvirate, Pompey, was defeated, thus bringing Rome’s civil war to an end.[6] Incidentally, the Battle of Actium would bring similar resolution for Octavian fourteen years later. In 45 BC, the Senate allowed for Julius Caesar’s image to be engraved on coinage; this was an unprecedented honour and set the model for the emperors who succeeded him.[7] This is an example of a double portrait coin, on which both the obverse and reverse (‘heads’ and ‘tails’) contain an image of a head.[8] There are deliberate similarities between the two images and faces to show a strong family resemblance, announcing a direct family connection that, once again, only Octavian can claim.
This coin shows Julius Caesar to be passing the torch, so to speak, assuming a secondary role on the reverse side of the coin to make room for the hopeful emperor Octavian. Octavian is declaring in a very real way that he has the weight of history and the power and support of deified Julius Caesar behind him. Through a number of public works undertaken during his reign, Octavian sought to honour the memory of those former leaders who had made Rome a great empire. In this and many other Octavian/ Augustus coins, he not only honours Julius Caesar’s legacy, but also connects himself directly with the greatest of Rome’s former leaders (Suet. Aug. 31.5).
[1] Online Coins of the Roman Empire - RRC 535/1
[2] Macquarie University. 'Rival Claims: Octavian and Caesar.' Humanities.mq.edu.au.
[3] Koortbojian, M. 2013. The Divinization of Caesar and Augustus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 115. https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Divinization_of_Caesar_and_Augustus.html?id=QZI2AQAAQBAJ, (Date Accessed: 16 September 2018).
[4] Macquarie University.
[5] Koortbojian, 125
[6] Ibid., 119
[7] Ibid., 118
[8] Macquarie University.