Code art.: 14858
Price: 1.300,00 €
Stock availability: 4

The Augustus of Prima Porta, also known as Augustus loricato (from the lorica, the armor of the legionaries), is a Roman statue that portrays the emperor Augustus. 2.04 meters high, it is made of white marble and is kept in the Vatican Museums, in Rome (Vatican City). It was found on 20 April 1863 in the villa of Livia, the home of Livia Drusilla, wife of Augustus, in Prima Porta. The emperor is depicted standing, with his right arm raised and the gesture of attracting attention: this is the pose with which silence was requested before the adlocutio (incitement to the army before battle). The figure wears a richly decorated cuirass, under which he wears a short military tunic. A paludamentum (cloak which together with the parazonium was the symbol of the Roman general when he commanded an army) wraps around his hips, falling limply on his left hand, with a particularly elaborate drapery. In the same hand he holds the spear. On the right leg is a child: Eros, riding a dolphin. Eros was the son of Venus and the dolphin is a tribute to Venus, in fact it symbolizes the birth of the goddess which took place from the water. In fact, Augustus belonged to the gens Iulia, which was believed to descend from Venus, mother of Aeneas, through her son Ascanio or Iulo. The emperor is portrayed, at least in his face, with his real features, even if idealized in the celebration of his office.