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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a

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Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day.

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Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're looking at the story

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Speaker 1: behind one of the most richly adorned artifacts of ancient Rome,

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Speaker 1: a ceremonial altar honoring the ruler who brought peace to

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Speaker 1: the volatile region for more than two centuries. The day

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Speaker 1: was January thirtieth, nine BC. The Altar of Peace was

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Speaker 1: dedicated in Rome as a tribute to Caesar Augustus. The

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Speaker 1: ornate marble monument was a square enclosure built on a

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Speaker 1: low platform with an open air altar at its center.

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Speaker 1: The altar was used for the ritual sacrifice of animals,

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Speaker 1: o religious rite carried out annually by magistrates, priests, and

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Speaker 1: vestal virgins. But aside from the altars let's say practical purpose,

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Speaker 1: it also functioned as an important propaganda tool for Augustus.

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Speaker 1: Its exterior walls were adorned with intricately carved friezes which

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Speaker 1: told the story of Augustus's reign and reinforced his image

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Speaker 1: as the ruler who brought peace to the empire That

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Speaker 1: narrative wasn't too far off the mark either. Prior to Augustus,

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Speaker 1: formerly known as Gaius Octavius, the Roman Republic had been

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Speaker 1: characterized by political assassinations, power struggles, and civil wars. But

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Speaker 1: the chaos of that failed government finally came to an

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Speaker 1: end in thirty one BC when Augustus defeated Mark Antony

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Speaker 1: and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Four years later,

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Speaker 1: the Roman Senate granted extraordinary powers to its liberator, bestowing

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Speaker 1: upon him the name and title of Caesar Augustus. This

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Speaker 1: effectively madeid him both the founder and the first emperor

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Speaker 1: of the newly formed Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus

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Speaker 1: was a time of substantial change for Rome, socially, politically,

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Speaker 1: and culturally. He passed laws to encourage marital stability and

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Speaker 1: to revive traditional religious practices, and he improved the administration

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Speaker 1: of the empire by instituting a system of taxation and

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Speaker 1: a census. He also led a number of public works projects,

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Speaker 1: including building more roads and monuments, founding a postal service,

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Speaker 1: and establishing a regular police force and fire brigade. This

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Speaker 1: period of unprecedented development and stability became known as the

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Speaker 1: Pax Romana or the Roman Peace. But that's not to

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Speaker 1: say that the Roman military sat on its laurels during

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Speaker 1: Augustus's reign. Far from it. He greatly expanded the Empire's

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Speaker 1: territory through military conquest, annexing Egypt, part of Spain, areas

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Speaker 1: of central Europe, and even parts of the Middle East.

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Speaker 1: It was after his victorious campaigns in Spain and Gaul

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Speaker 1: in thirteen BC that the Senate proposed building a monument

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Speaker 1: to Augustus. It would be called the Ara Paches Augusta,

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Speaker 1: or the Altar of Augustine Peace, and it would stand

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Speaker 1: in the Campus Martius, an area just outside the city

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Speaker 1: that had traditionally been used as a military training ground.

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Speaker 1: Construction began soon after the Senate's proposal and took roughly

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Speaker 1: four years to complete. The monument was formally dedicated on

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Speaker 1: January thirtieth, nine b C, a date chosen for two

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Speaker 1: symbolic reasons. First, it was the birthday of Augustus's wife, Livia,

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Speaker 1: and second, it was the anniversary of Augustus's assumption of

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Speaker 1: the title Potter Patriai or father of the country. The

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Speaker 1: four walls that formed the Altar's enclosure measured about thirty

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Speaker 1: five feet wide and long and thirty eight feet high.

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Speaker 1: They were carved from solid luna marble and ea. Each

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Speaker 1: side featured four panels of detailed friezes or sculpted decorations.

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Speaker 1: The north and south facing panels are the most well

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Speaker 1: known today, depicting stately processions of Augustus, his family, and

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Speaker 1: an assortment of magistrates, priests, bodyguards, and attendants. These scenes

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Speaker 1: embody the central ideals of Augustus's reign, family values, religious devotion,

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Speaker 1: and civic duty, and emphasize the connection between them as

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Speaker 1: a way of maintaining peace. The other panels are a

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Speaker 1: bit more diverse in their subject matter. The upper parts

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Speaker 1: of those exterior walls depict four scenes from Roman mythology,

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Speaker 1: including the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus, and Remus. The

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Speaker 1: lower panels, on the other hand, feature elegant patterns made

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Speaker 1: up of traditional Roman motifs such as plants, fruits, flowers,

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Speaker 1: and animals. The friezes centered on myth and nature may

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Speaker 1: not seem as explicitly tied to Augustus as the others,

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Speaker 1: but in the minds of the ancient Romans, it was

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Speaker 1: all connected by showing the emperor's own lineage and rain

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Speaker 1: alongside scenes from Roman legend. The suggestion was that it

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Speaker 1: was all part of one grand, ongoing story, and the

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Speaker 1: natural imagery of plants and animals further evoked the current

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Speaker 1: happy chapter, symbolizing the abundance and prosperity which the empire

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Speaker 1: enjoyed under Augustus's rule. Originally, each of these scenes would

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Speaker 1: have been painted in vivid colors to stand out against

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Speaker 1: the white marble, but unfortunately all of that color has

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Speaker 1: since been lost due to centuries of exposure to the elements.

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Speaker 1: The Altar itself was also hit hard by the passage

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Speaker 1: of time. Following the eventual fall of the Roman Empire,

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Speaker 1: the monument sank into disrepair and was gradually buried in

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Speaker 1: silt thanks to the periodic flooding of the Tiber River.

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Speaker 1: By late antiquity, it had practically disappeared from view and

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Speaker 1: wouldn't be seen again until the Renaissance, when portions of

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Speaker 1: the monument were intermittently discovered. Even then, a full excavation

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Speaker 1: of the Altar of Peace wouldn't take place until the

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Speaker 1: twentieth century, when Fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered it

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Speaker 1: to be dug up and reconstructed at a new location

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Speaker 1: several hundred meters away. Nearly seventy years after that, in

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Speaker 1: two thousand and six, the Altar was once again relocated,

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Speaker 1: this time to a modern museum designed by American architect

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Speaker 1: Richard Meyer. Housed within its own dedicated museum, the Altar

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Speaker 1: of Peace is finally shielded from the elements, allowing it

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Speaker 1: to continue singing the praises of Caesar Augustus for many

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Speaker 1: generations to come, and thanks to new technology including VR

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Speaker 1: goggles and projection lights, guests can even visualize the altar's

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Speaker 1: original full color appearance, just as the Emperor's pr team

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Speaker 1: would have won. I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now

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Speaker 1: know a little more about history today and you did yesterday.

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Speaker 1: If you'd like to keep up with the show, you

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Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI

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Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any feedback to share,

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Speaker 1: you can always send it my way by writing to

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Speaker 1: this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays

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Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll

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Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in

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Speaker 1: History Class