Augustus as Mercury at last

• Main Author: Paulo Martins
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2017-07-01
• Series: Revista de História
• Subjects: Otávio Augusto; representações; Mercúrio; Hermes; imagens
• Online Access: http://www.revistas.usp.br/revhistoria/article/view/116333

My purpose in this paper is to investigate and to analyse the representation of Augustus as Mercury, and what this association may suggest and mean to the Romans from both the urbs and the prouinciae, focusing the epigraphy, the numismatic, and the literature. Furthermore, I review three researches that someway work this problem: Bandinelli, Zanker and Martins. Even though the associations between divinities and rulers were very common – Augustus represented as Apollo, Jupiter or Neptune; Tiberius as Apollo; Claudius as Jupiter; or Commodus as Hercules –, the discussion on the relationship between Augustus and Mercury is very rare in recent bibliography. The latest relevant research on this subject dates back to the first half of the twentieth century. Chittenden’s work on numismatic and Grether’s article on epigraphy are both very important. Thus, new evidences must be considered, so that we can further investigate these representations in the Roman world.