Augustus and the Secular Games Reborn in 17 BCE

Augustus and the Secular Games Reborn in 17 BCE

In 17 BCE, Augustus revived the ancient Ludi Saeculares, a centurial festival that had nearly slipped from memory. Lucas and Luna explore the religious vision behind the Secular Games: how Augustus and the quindecimviri sacris faciundis orchestrated three nights of sacrifices to the Moirae, Ilithyiae, and Tellus on the Campus Martius and at the Tarentum. They unpack the Carmen Saeculare composed by Horace, the role of the Sibylline Books, and the political symbolism of the festival as a marker of a new Golden Age. Why did Augustus make the secular games his own, and how did the event's timing and rituals assert the dawn of the Pax Romana? This episode also looks at the Acta of the Secular Games, the stone record that preserves the official schedule, and what the fires, hymns, and theatrical shows reveal about Augustan religion and propaganda. #Augustus #LudiSaeculares #SecularGames #Horace #CampusMartius #Tarentum #Moirae #Ilithyiae #Tellus #CarmenSaeculare #Quindecimviri #SibyllineBooks #PaxRomana #AncientRome #RomanReligion #RomanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Augustus and the Res Gestae: The Emperor's Own Triumphal Inscription

In episode 163 of our Augustus series, Lucas and Luna explore the Res Gestae Divi Augusti — the long inscription that the first emperor wrote himself, recording his achievements for posterity. Carved on bronze pillars outside his mausoleum, the Res Gestae is a unique autobiographical document: part political testament, part propaganda, part census of glory. Lucas walks Luna through the six main sections: Augustus's military victories and annexations, his building projects and civic gifts, his religious restorations and moral legislation, his gladiatorial shows and public spectacles, his foreign policy with Parthia and client kingdoms, and his final account of state expenditures. They discuss what the text leaves out — the defeats, the purges, the dynastic scheming — and what it means as a historical source. Luna wonders about its audience and survival, and they trace how copies of the Res Gestae were set up across the empire, with the best-preserved version found at Ankara in modern Turkey. Along the way, they touch on Augustus's recurring motifs — pietas, clementia, libertas — and the delicate balance between personal achievement and republican tradition. This episode turns the Augustan lens back on itself: a ruler who wanted the final word on his own life. #ResGestae #Augustus #RomanHistory #AugustanPropaganda #PaxRomana #MonumentumAncyranum #FirstEmperor #ImperialRome #AncientAutobiography #Princeps #Clementia #Pietas #RomanInscriptions #HistoricalSources #AugustanAchievement #RomanEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Augustus and the Censorship: Morality Laws and Social Engineering

In 18 BCE, Augustus Caesar, Rome's first emperor, pushed through the Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis and the Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus — laws that criminalized adultery, penalized the unmarried, and tried to force the Roman elite to marry and reproduce. Lucas and Luna explore how these moral reforms fit into Augustus's broader project of restoring tradition after civil war, the backlash from the senatorial class, and the ironies of enforcing family values when the emperor's own household was rife with scandal. They discuss the role of the censors, the use of sumptuary laws, the exile of Ovid, and the practical failures of Augustus's attempt to legislate virtue. The conversation also touches on how these laws shaped Roman law for centuries and what modern parallels might look like. A fresh look at the intersection of power, morality, and social control in the early empire. #Augustus #RomanLaw #LexJulia #MoralityLaws #RomanCensors #Adultery #Ovid #SocialEngineering #PaxRomana #RomanEmpire #LexPapiaPoppaea #SumptuaryLaw #JuliaTheElder #RomanWomen #AugustanReforms #AncientHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Augustus and the Parthian Crown Prince Hostage

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fascinating and little-known story of how Augustus took the Parthian crown prince as a hostage, securing a generation of peace on Rome's eastern frontier. They delve into the diplomatic game that followed the 'signis receptis' — the return of the lost legionary standards — and how the hostage prince Vonones was raised as a Roman citizen before being sent back to rule Parthia, with disastrous consequences. The conversation covers the roles of Phraates IV, his son Phraataces, the queen Musa, and the complex interplay of client kingdoms like Armenia. Lucas explains how this blend of soft power and military threat defined Augustan foreign policy and set a precedent for Roman-Parthian relations for decades. Along the way, they touch on the Res Gestae, the Euphrates frontier, and the limits of cultural integration. A rare look at hostage diplomacy as statecraft. #Augustus #Parthia #Vonones #PhraatesIV #Musa #HostageDiplomacy #SignisReceptis #ResGestae #ClientKingdoms #Euphrates #RomanEmpire #PaxRomana #Diplomacy #SoftPower #AncientHistory #RomanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Augustus and the Roman Standard: The Signum Receptum

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Roman military standard (signum) and its role in Augustus's reign. They discuss the legionary eagle (aquila), the auxiliary standards, and the symbolic power of recovering lost standards from Parthia. Lucas explains the religious significance of the signa, the ceremony of the signis receptis, and how Augustus turned a diplomatic victory into lasting propaganda. Along the way, they touch on the standards' evolution, their role in the Roman army's identity, and their place in the Pax Romana. This episode dives into a specific cultural and military detail not yet covered: the everyday object that embodied Rome's honor and military might. #RomanStandards #Signum #Augustus #Aquila #Parthia #SignisReceptis #RomanArmy #PaxRomana #MilitaryHistory #StandardBearers #Imagifer #LegionaryEagle #CohortSigillum #PrimaPorta #RomanPropaganda #ResGestae #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]