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Sic Exempla Parantur: Livia's Shrine to Concordia and the Porticus Liviae

Author(s): Marleen Boudreau FloryReviewed work(s):Source: Historia: Zeitschrift fr Alte Geschichte, Bd. 33, H. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1984), pp. 309-330Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4435892 .

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SIC EXEMPLAPARANTUR:LIVIA'SSHRINETO CONCORDIA AND THE PORTICUSLIVIAEVediusPollio, who diedin 15 B. C., bequeathedo Augustusa largepartofhis estate,his villaPausilyponbetweenNeapolisandPuteoli,andhis houseinRome on the ClivusSuburanus.Dio Cassius,our sourcefor this information(54.23.1-6), further reports that Vedius, in a testamentaryrequest, askedAugustusto build some publicwork of greatbeautywith a portionof the

estate: n TE 6i-jtp nE(cLxaaXXE; ovExoboX00T'J"vaL xFXaRoag54.23.5).The house in Rome Augustusproceededto raze and in its placeerected aporticusin the name of his wife Livia(54.23.6).Of this porticusno physicaltraces survive. Ovid (Fast. 6.637-48), our other importantsource for thisporticus,closely connects it with a shrine(aedes)to ConcordiaerectedbyLivia, for under June 11 Ovid first mentions the dedicationof the AedesConcordiae, and then a description of the Porticus Liviae immediatelyfollows:te quoquemagnifica,Concordia,dedicataedeLivia,quam caropraestitit psaviro.discetamen,veniensaetas:ubi Liviaenunc estporticus, mmensae ectafueredomus.(637-40)1Dio tells us that Tiberiuswith his mother Liviadedicated he porticus inJanuaryof 7 B. C. in celebrationof his triumph (55.8.1), but the AedesConcordiae,asOvid's textestablishes,had a separate ay of dedication.Whilethe porticusboreLivia'snamebut includedherson in thecelebratory peningevents, the Fasti show that Livia alone sponsored ("praestitit psa") anddedicated he shrine("dedicatLivia").Ovid's few words on the shrine,which

' The plan of the porticus is preserved on the Forma Urbis Romae on four joining fragments. Itwas on the north slope of the Oppius and approached from the Clivus Suburanus by a widestairway. See G. Carettoni, A. M. Colini, L. Cozza, G. Gatti, Lapianta marmorea diRoma antica(Rome 1960) tav. 18. For references to the Porticus Liviae (as it is called on the Marble Plan), see,in addition to works cited in the text of this paper, Ov., Ars Am. 1.71-72; Pliny, Ep. 1.5.9; Pliny,HN 14.11; Suet., Aug. 29.4; Strab. 5.236. Discussion in S. B. Platner and T. Ashby, ATopographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Oxford 1929) 423; H. Jordan and C. Hulsen,Topographieder Stadt Rom im Alterthum (Berlin 1871-1907) 1.3.315-16; G. Lugli, I MonumentiAntichi di Roma e Suburbio (Rome 1938) 3.384-86. L. Richardson, Jr. ("The Evolution of thePorticus Octaviae," AJA 80 [1976] 62) argues that Suetonius (Aug. 29.4) is wrong to claim thatAugustus built the porticus; rather, he provided the land. But see Dio Cass. 54.23.6. Throughoutthis article I use the abbreviations for periodicals found in L'Annee Philologique. For the text ofOvid's Fasti I use the edition of E. H. Alton,' D. E. W. Wormell, and E. Courtney (Leipzig1978).

Historia, Band XXXIII/3 (1984) ? FranzSteiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH, Stuttgart


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310 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORYhas left no physicaltraceof its existence,areprecious, or they constituteouronly survivingreference o it.The versesfrom the Fastido not makeclear hephysicalrelationship f theAedesConcordiae o the porticus,whether he shrine s insidetheporticusormerelycloseenoughto it forOvidnaturally o mention he one inconjunctionwith the other. Ovid's magnificadoes not appear o PlatnerandAshby to suitthe small, rectangular tructurevisible at the centerof the porticus,whoselayout is preserved n the MarblePlan.This buildinghas alsobeententativelyidentified as a fountain.2Coarelli, however, has pointed out the strikingresemblanceof the plan of this rectangular tructure to the Ara PacisAugustae.3 f Livia'sshrinewereof the same artistic ignificance,henOvid'sadjective s explained.The termaedes,of course,does not implya buildingofany particular ize and can refer to modest shrinesas well as to imposingtemples.4Since the passagebegins by flatteringLivia and culminates n aaccolade to Augustus for destroying his own inheritanceto show hisdisapproval f the opulencesymbolizedby Vedius'house, we cannotwhollydiscount rhetoricalexaggeration n Ovid's choice of language.Althoughdoubts may still linger in the absence of conclusiveevidence,the shrinementionedby Ovid is now generallyacceptedas the buildingseen on theMarblePlan.5It is not surprising, iventhemeagerness f theevidence, hattherehas beenlittleconsideration aidto this shrinebeyondverybriefnotices.6Yet,evenso,there existdivergentopinionsaboutits purpose.Ovid saysthat Liviabuilttheshrine as a publictestimonial o herharmoniousmarriedife with Augustus.

2 So the editors of the Marble Plan suggest with reservations (above, n. 1, 69).Guida archeologica di Roma (Verona 1974) 206: "Al centro della piazza, un edificio

rettangolare, probabilmente un recinto, che contiene un altro elemento, mostra singolarisomiglianze con la pianta dell' Ara Pacis."0. Prinz in ThLL, s.v. aedes, 911, 51-53: "aedificiumsacris usibus destinatum, tamquamdeideaeve cuiusdam domicilium exstructum, sive parvulum (i. q. aedicula, lararium, sacellum), sivemaius," etc. Platnerand Ashby (above, n. 1, 138) are looking for a temple: "The small rectangularstructure marked on the Marble Plan can hardly have been a temple deserving of the epithetmagnifica." Coarelli (above, n. 2, 206) calls it an ara.

5 See, for this identification, Jordan-Hulsen (above, n. 1) 315; Lugli (above, n. 1) 385; Coarelli(above, n. 3) 206; J. G. Frazer, The Fasti of Ovid (London 1929) 4.305. F. Bomer (P. OvidiusNaso. Die Fasten [Heidelberg 1957] 2.379) does not believe the location is certain, whileL. Richardson, Jr. ("Concordia and Concordia Augusta, Rome and Pompeii," PP33 [1978] 269),on the basis of the parallel structure of Eumachia's porticus to Concordia at Pompeii, believes:"We do not need to hunt for a temple or altarfor the Porticus Livia when there was none in itscounterpart in Pompeii." But this statement ignores Ovid's evidence that a shrine existed.

6 The only extensive consideration I know is by Richardson (above, n. 5) 260-72. I disagree,however, with his conclusion that the Porticus Liviae was itself dedicated to Concordia (270) andintended to stress dynastic harmony (266). I have tried to bring out these and other points ofdisagreement in my paper.


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Sicexemplaparantur:Livia'sShrine o Concordiaand the PorticusLiviae 311SometakeOvid'swords atfacevalue,butmanyread nto the constructionofthis shrine to Concordia by a memberof the Imperialfamily a politicalmessageemanating rom the dynastic propaganda r difficultiesof the era:"Liviabuilt her [Concordia]anothershrine n the PorticusLiviae n 7 B. C.,demonstratingher concord with her son Tiberius.""'Thereseems to havebeen some threatof trouble n the imperialamily.Augustus'grandsonsGaiusand Lucius were now adolescent,andTiberius'marriageo Juliain 11 B. C.seems not to have been a happy one. After the deathof Drusus,Tiberius'position may well have been an awkward one .... Livia may well havedecided a show of family solidaritywas in order .... "8 Bomer, in hiscommentaryon the Fasti, sees the ideas of marital and family unity asinterrelated nd essentiallypolitical in origin and purpose:"Das Kaiserhauslegte aus propagandistischenGrunden Wert auf eine m6glichst weite Ver-breitung des Glaubens an die Concordia zwischen Augustus und Livia, dietatsachlich bestand, und die zwischen Livia und Tiberius zumindest spaternicht mehr bestand."9 Beranger, citing Bomer, cautions against reading toomuch political significance into our extant evidence and recalls us to Ovid'swords: "La Concorde ... devait ... symboliser uniquement l'union conjugaledu couple imperial."10

One reason for this divergence of opinion, I believe, arises from a failure toremember that the dedication of the porticus in January of 7 B. C. by Tiberiusand Livia was a separate occasion and act from the consecration on June 11 ofthe shrine to Concordia, with which Livia's name alone is connected, even

' S. Weinstock, Divus Julius (Oxford 1971) 266. See too G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus derRomer2(Munich 1912) 328.

8 Richardson (above, n. 5) 265-66. B. Levick sees the shrine at the beginning of the longhistory of "Concordia Augusta [which] became the harmony between the Princeps and his wife(or mother), who embodied the deity as the female link between the Princeps and his malekinsman." See "Concordia at Rome" in Scripta Nummaria Romana: Essays presented toHumphrey Sutherland (London 1978) 227. H. F. Rebert and H. Marceau ("The Temple ofConcord in the Roman Forum", MAAR 5 [1925] 55) see a shift of meaning of Concordia in thisperiod to the harmony of the Empire under Augustus and contemporary monuments subservientto that significance.9 See above, n. 5, 2.379.10 "Remarques sur la CONCORDIA dans la propagandamonetaire imperiale et la nature duprincipat", in Principatus (Geneva 1973) 371 and n. 37. Berangerstresses the absence of referencesto Concordia as a political slogan on coins during Augustus' rule and Augustus' continuity withRepublican usage. Only at the end of Nero's rule did Concordia "prendre de l'envergure enmultipliant ses emplois" (371). Beranger makes penetrating observations on the use of Concordiaas a form of marriage announcement on some Imperial coins (377-78). Others, like Beranger, alsodistinguish between political Concordia and the domestic idea, see, e. g., E. Aust, "Concordia,"RE 4 (1901) 833, but discussion amounts to less than one sentence. The overwhelming emphasis insecondary literature is on Concordia as a political concept, and that, I believe, has influencedinterpretation of Livia's shrine.


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312 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORYthough the two buildings were in the same location on the Oppius." Ovidmakes clear Livia's sole responsibility for financing and dedicating the shrine.There is no evidence to link Tiberius with this shrine, and to do so,we mustignore Ovid's statement that the aedes commemorated the marriage of Liviaand Augustus.

A passage in book 1 of the Fasti(637-50), in which Ovid describes Tiberius'restoration of the temple of Concordia in the Roman Forum in his own nameand that of his dead brother Drusus and, at the end of the passage, introducesLivia's name, a matter to which we will turn later,has helped to encourage theidea that Tiberius and Livia were jointly involved with the shrine on theOppius by apparently associating Livia in this essentially political act vowed inthe same year as the dedication of the Porticus Liviae (Dio Cass. 55.8.1-2). ButLivia's involvement in the restoration, attested nowhere else, hinges on anuncertain text. Since the two shrines are contemporaneous, Livia's supposedrole in the restoration of the temple to Concordia in the Forum has perhapsunduly and wrongly influenced views of the purpose of her own shrine toConcordia. The dedication by Tiberius of the restored temple in A. D. 10 as"Aedes Concordiae Augustae," as well as the later, widespread developmentof this theme in Imperial propaganda, have led too easily to identifying Livia'sshrine with dynastic motives.'2 While family troubles were in the air in 7 B. C.,we do not know when the idea for the shrine was conceived, but if as early as15 B. C. when the land became available, different motives may well haveplayed a role.

But most important, I believe, we have not paid adequate attention toConcordia's long-established role as a guardianof family and conjugal life, theaspect to which Ovid's own words turn us. In addition, those who regardLivia's shrine as a monument to her marriedlife have not taken the next step tosee how that kind of monument fitted the important ideological role Liviaplayed in Augustan society. Any discussion of the shrine should consider howthe dedication, identified with her alone, suited her public position duringAugustus' rule. Thus my aim in this paper is to re-examine the purpose ofLivia's shrine by considering three categories of evidence: (1) the dies natalisofthe shrine, (2) evidence about Concordia as a traditional ideal of Roman familylife, and (3) Livia's ideological role during her husband's rule. This paper willthen consider the significance of the location of the shrine in the PorticusLiviae.

See, e. g., Richardson (above, n. 5) 270.12 Weinstock (above, n. 7, 266) closely connects Tiberius' restorationand Livia'sshrine as doesRichardson (above, n. 5) 270. On the meaning of "Concordia Augusta" in relation to Tiberius'temple, see Levick (above, n. 8) 224. See too J. R. Fears, "The Cult of Virtuesand Roman ImperialPropaganda," ANRW 2.17.2 (1981) 889-939, for the development of Concordia, among othervirtues, during the Imperial period and Beranger (above, n. 10) 372-82.


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Sic exemplaparantur:Livia'sShrine o Concordiaand the PorticusLiviae 313Recently Gros has restatedand re-emphasized he value of the date ofconsecrationof a temple, its dies natalis,for assessingthe significanceandpurpose of temples built or restored during Augustus' rule.'3 To myknowledge,the dedicationdateof June11 for the Aedes Concordiaehas notbeen considered n references o Livia'sshrine, yet this importantevidenceclarifies he purposeof her shrine.Once we recognizethe religiousassocia-tions of this day with which Livialinkedher shrine,a day on which wereannuallycelebrated eligiousritesfocused on women andfamily life, we canalso trace the inspirationfor the shrine'sconstructionin two interrelatedconcernsof Augustus:the revivalof traditionalmoralvaluesandthesymbolicrole of Liviain Romansociety.On June 11, as Ovid (Fast.6.475)andsurvivingcalendars ell us, occurred

the Matralia, a festival in honor of Mater Matuta. The same day was the diesnatalis of her temple in the Forum Boarium (Fast. 6.479-807). Ovid begins adescription of the rites and history of the Matralia with an invocation tomothers, whose feast day it was - "ite, bonae matres (vestrum Matraliafestum),/flavaque Thebanae reddite liba deae" (475-76) - but aunts ratherthanmothers played the central role in the rather odd rites of this cult, for theprayers women offered to the goddess were not for their own children but fortheir nephews and nieces: "non tamen hanc pro stirpe sua pia mater adoret"(559). The festival honored an old Italic goddess, whose worship was confinedto married women and to the perpetually monogamous (univirae). The riteswere connected with childbearing and rearing, nursing, and family life througha focus on children whom the women cuddled and petted. The cult was one ofgreat antiquity, for Servius Tullius was said to have established the goddess'templein Rome (Fast.6.480). 4

June 11 was also the dies natalis of the temple of Fortuna Virgo, whosededication day is attested in the pre-Julian calendar of Antium and in Ovid:"Lux eadem, Fortuna, tua est, auctorque locusque" (Fast. 6.569). There existeda number of close connections between the temple of Mater Matuta andFortuna Virgo besides the shared day of consecration. Tradition attributed thefoundation of both temples to Servius Tullius, and both were burned in 213

3 Aurea Templa: Recherchessur l'architecture religieusede Rome a l'epoque d'Auguste(Rome1976) 31-34. M. Guarducci, "Enea e Vesta," MDAI(R) 78 (1971) 73-118, in her discussion of thededication date of a shrine to Vesta on the Palatine, has much of interest to say about the diesnatalis of Roman temples, esp. 104-109. See too D. R. Stuart,"The Reputed Influence of the DiesNatalis in Determining the Inscription of Restored Temples," TAPhA 36 (1905) 52-63.

14 On the Matralia and the temple to Mater Matuta: Ov., Fast. 6.475-568; CIL 12,320; Varro,Ling. 5.106; Plut., Quaest. Rom. 267E.; Cam. 5.1-2; De frat. amor. 492D; Festus 297 M; Tert.,De Monog. 17. Other sources and discussion of controversial points in Q. F. Maule andH. R. W. Smith, "Votive Religion at Caere: Prolegomena," Cal. Publ. C/ass. Arch. 4 (1959)74-87; K. Latte, Romische Religionsgeschichte (Munich 1960) 97-98; Bomer (above, n. 5)2.371-73.


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314 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORYB. C. and rebuilt the following year. Archaeological excavations in 1937 in theareaof Sant'Omobono fronting the Forum Boarium revealed two temples sideby side which are now usually identified as the temples of Mater Matuta andFortuna Virgo. The temples were so close together that our sources constantlyconnect them and this fact the excavations confirm. But no evidence has beenfound to establish a certain link between the two cults, which apparently wereunconnected. This cult, however, like that of Mater Matuta, was centered onmarriage and the lives of women. There existed in the temple a mysterious cultstatue, identified as Servius Tullius himself, Fortuna, or Pudicitia, to whichgirls gave little togas and thereby marked their passage from childhood topuberty and the advent of marriage or from maidenhood to marriedlife. Thusthese two long-standing cults emphasized traditional female roles and markedimportant aspects of womens' lives: marriage,motherhood, childbearing, andthe care and rearing of children."5

The feast of the Vestaliaoccurred on June 9, but some days before and afterwere consecrated to Vesta. The storehouse (penus), the inner sanctum of thetemple, was open to matronae on the 7th and shut again on the 15th after therefuse had been swept and removed.'6 Although the Matralia on June 11 wasnot included in the sacred service of the Vesta, "its inclusion in the celebrationof the Vestalia," argues Gjerstad, "shows that it had a sacred connection withVesta."'7 The closeness of the two festivals in the religious calendar, theparticipation in both of matronae, and the ties of both cults with traditionalRoman concepts of womanhood and family life may well have linked them inthe Romans' minds even if no cult practices joined them. The period whichLivia chose for the consecration of her shrine was one in which rites and cultsof women and the family crowded together.

The date of consecration in conjunction with Livia's sponsorship of theshrine and Ovid's emphasis on marriedlove ("viro caro ipsapraestitit")showsthat Livia, by closely associating Concordia with long-established deities ofmarriage and family life, honored Concordia as a presiding goddess of marriedlife. Concordia, as a symbol of political accord, had a long history in Roman

'5 Ov., Fast. 6.569-636; Varro ap. Non. 278 L; Arn., Adv. Nat. 2.67; Pliny, HN8.194, 197;Livy 24.47.15; 25.7.6. Other evidence collected and discussed by H. Lyngby, Die Tempel derFortuna und der Mater Matuta am Forum Boariumin Rom (Munich 1939) 22-34; Bomer (above,n. 5) 2.377; Latte (above, n. 14) 180-81 and esp. n. 4. Latteviews the two cults as independent. Onthe location of the two temples, A. M. Colini, "Ambiente e storia dei tempi piu antichi," PP 32(1977) 9-19. Bibliography on excavations in E. Nash, A Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome (rev.ed., London 1968) 411-12. On Fortuna in the Antiate calendar,G. Mancini, NSA (1921) 98-99. Ihave not seen F. Castagnoli, "II Culto della Mater Matuta e della Fortuna nel Foro Boario,"StudRom 27 (1979) 145-52.

16 Ov., Fast. 6.249-468, 713-14.17 Early Rome (Lund 1973) 5.261.


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Sic exemplaparantur:Livia'sShrine o Concordiaand the PorticusLiviae 315

political life and had been the object of a number of public dedications andshrines, but Livia's shrine on the Oppius is the first we know built to honorConcordia as a symbol of women's lives. Yet Concordia, as we know fromreferences in literary sources, was a regular object of appeal, prayers, andofferings in cults or celebrations focused on married life and family relation-ships, even if, in studies of Concordia, the political aspect has whollyovershadowed the domestic."8

A late notice in lohannes Lydus' De mensibus records that on April 1,during the rites of the Veneralia, highborn women invoked Venus bniLct6iiovo(ag, "on behalf of the ideal of family life."'9Valerius Maximus writes ofanother divinity connected with domestic harmony, Viriplaca, a goddess ofgreat antiquity, to whose sacellum on the Palatine came disputatious spouses,who, in a bit of highly modern-sounding therapy, could air their grievancesand, their tempers cooled, return home in new accord:Quotiens vero inter virum et uxorem aliquid iurgi intercesserat, insacellum deae Viriplacae, quod est in Palatio, veniebant et ibi invicem

locuti quae voluerant contentione animorum deposita concordes reverte-bantur. (2.1.6)20

So Viriplaca functioned, as Valerius' text continues, as the "cotidianae acdomesticae pacis custos." Both cults, we may note, show that the wife bore theresponsibility for ensuring domestic peace by her bearing and conduct.2"

Ovid writes that on February 22, the family feast of Caristia or CaraCognatio, Concordia was particularly invoked: "Concordia fertur/illapraecipue mitis adesse die" (Fast.2.631-32). One aspect of this holiday bears anotable resemblance to Valerius Maximus' description of the rites at the shrineof Viriplaca: an opportunity for grudges and quarrels to be aired, resolved, andforgotten as Harmony ruled once more over family relationships:

Convivium etiam sollemne maiores instituerunt idque caristia appellaver-unt, cui praeter cognatos et adfines nemo interponebatur, ut, si qua inter

18 See my comment in n. 10. The concept of Concordia as a political idea both in theRepublican and Imperial periods has been thoroughly studied. See, in particular, P. Jal, "PaxCivilis" - "Concordia," REL 39 (1961) 230-31; Weinstock (above, n. 7) 260-66; Beranger (above,n. 10) 367-82; A. Momigliano, "Camillus and Concord," CQ 36 (1942) 111-20; E. Skard,"Concordia," in Romische Wertbegriffe, ed. H. Oppermann (Darmstadt 1967) 173-208. Biblio-graphy in Fears (above, n. 12) 841, n. 67 and Levick (above, n. 8) 229." Ed. R. Wuensch (Stuttgart 1898; repr. 1967) 4.65. The translation is my version of L. Preller,Romische Mythologie (Berlin 1858) 624. A good summary of sources and discussion of other riteson April 1 in H. H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (London 1981)96-97.

20 Wissowa (above, n. 7) 243; W. Eisenhut, "Viriplaca," RE9A (1961) 233-34; G. Radke, DieGotter Altitaliens (Munster 1965) 340.

21 See Val. Max. 2.1.6 for the etymology of the goddess' name. Cf.Columella, Rust. 12 pr. 7- 10where the author describes the wife's reverentia and diligentia as the basis of concordia.


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316 MARLEENOUDREAULORYnecessarias personas querella esset orta, apud sacra mensae et interhilaritatem animorum et fautoribus concordiae adhibitis tolleretur.(Val. Max. 2.1.8)

Ovid (Fast. 2.617) connects the feast day's name with cari, "dear kinsfolk."22A family meal to which all brought contributions of food and wine marked theday, gifts were exchanged, and sacrifices were made to the Lares. Since thiscelebration followed right after the Parentalia,when the family remembered itsdead, it was above all a day for family members to turn their thoughts, saysOvid (Fast. 2.619-20), back to the living - "scilicet a tumulis et qui perierepropinquis/protinus ad vivos ora referre iuvat" - and from sad and sorrowfulmemories to present good cheer and hilanitas (Val. Max. 2.1.8).23When Romans wrote about good or successful marriages, they often citedthe concordia of a husband and wife as an enviable ideal. Cicero commented onthe auspicious start to an ultimately ill-starred match by remarking that themarriagewas an honorable one and there was goodwill on both sides - "cumessent eae nuptiae plenae dignitatis, plenae concordiae. . ." (Clu. 12) - whilePliny, on his marriage to Calpurnia, desired his and her "mutual happiness:""His ex causis in spem certissimam adducor perpetuam nobis maioremque indies futuram esse concordiam" (Ep. 4.19.5). The ideal, in its most perfectexpression, appears in Tacitus' description of the marriage of Agricola andDomitia: "vixeruntque mira concordia, per mutuam caritatem et in vicem seanteponendo" (Agr. 6.1).24 Such sentiments suggest the high regard formarriage among the Romans, who conceived of the spouses as partnersin themarriage, although the success of the union depended on the compliance of thewife and her willingness to yield to her husband's wishes.25

Still more widespread is the sentiment on tombstones. Here a wide varietyof formulae eulogize like-minded spouses. In Rome one grieving husbandwrote: "mecum vixit tan[sic] concorde ad fatalem diem" (CIL VI.7579), whilea wife, also from Rome, dedicated an altar to her husband with these words:"digno meritoque marito cum quo concordem vitam multosque per annos

22 "Carus" was a particularly appropriate word to describe the feelings of family members,e. g., Cic., Off. 1.17-57; Cat. 4.3; Catull. 66.22. Ovid (Fast. 6.638) uses it of Livia's relationshipwith Augustus and as her motive for building her shrine. On tombstones carissimusla (thesuperlative is usual) is found with great frequency of family relationships. See E. J. Jory andD. G. Moore, Indices Vocabulorum:CIL VI (Berlin 1974) 960-73.

23 On Caristia: Ov., Fast. 2.617-38; gifts expected: Mart. 9.54.5; 9.55.1; CIL VI.10234.13.Other sources and discussion in G. Wissowa, "Caristia," RE 3 (1899) 1592-93.

24 See too Cic., Att. 8.6.4; Catull. 64.336; Tac., Ann. 3.33.1. Other examples, ThLL, s.v.concordia,85, 5-27.25 G. Williams, "Some Aspects of Roman Marriage Ceremonies and Ideals," JRS 48 (1958)

16-29 on traditional expectations that wives be dutiful and obedient. Two anecdotes told by DioCassius (54.16.4-5; 58.2.5) about Augustus and Livia focus on her compliance with her husband'swishes.


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Sicexemplaparantur:Livia'sShrine o Concordiaand the PorticusLiviae 317vixit" (CIL VI.26926). An epitaph of another Roman couple begins with astatement of their loving unanimity: "heis [sic] sunt duo concordes" (CIL1.1071 =VI.23137). A wide variety of related phrases ("sine discordia," "sinestomacho," "sine offensa") includes a very common and conventional tag:"sine ulla querella." Epitaphs, as we might expect, conservatively keep totraditional and idealistic sentiments. But the insistence on devoted spouses anda happy homelife reflects the times too and suggests a pride in family happinessand stability no longer so much taken for granted. Palmer notes, in addition,that Augustus' renewed focus on family values may find reflection insepulchral encomia and that not only tradition but contemporary societyshaped the text of these epitaphs.26

The evidence of tombstones and literatureand the role of Concordia in cultsand celebrations centered on married life shows Concordia was a traditionalideal and aspect of marriage n Roman society. Concordia might mean no morethan domestic peace, unmarred by quarrels, but on a higher level suggests apartnership within the home based on mutual esteem and goodwill in theinterests of the family. Livia did not develop a new aspect of Concordia;rather, she focused renewed attention on an old ideal.

The dedication of a public shrine to the goddess of harmonious marriedlifefits into the building programattested for Livia and suits the portrait left for usin literature, inscriptions, and on coins of her public identification, encouragedby Augustus,27 as the pre-eminent benefactor of family life, the first wife andmother in the state, and the exemplar of chaste and old-fashioned Romanwomanhood.

Although we do not know the dates, we have evidence to show that Liviaundertook the reconstruction of two temples which were associated withdeities and cults of women and family life. Ovid (Fast. 5.157-58) tells us thatLivia restored the temple of the Bona Dea Subsaxana28 nd that her motive wasto imitate her husband, a model of piety in his repair and rebuilding oftemples: "Livia restituit, ne non imitata maritum/esset et ex omni parte secuta+ virum +." The rites of the Bona Dea, generally associated with female

26 A wide variety of examples collected by R. Lattimore, Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs(Urbana, Ill. 1942) 279, n. 107, 108. These sentiments predominate in Rome and Italy. For theportrait of women on epitaphs as conservative and traditional, see Lattimore, 299-300; also,L. Friedlander, Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms'0 (Leipzig 1922) 1.314-17;R. E. A. Palmer, "Roman Shrines of Female Chastity from the Caste Struggle to the Papacy ofInnocent I," RSA 4 (1974) 140.27 Two anecdotes (Dio Cass. 54.16.4-5; Macrob., Sat. 2.5.6) show how Augustus sought tomake Livia a model for others.

28 Bomer questions Ovid's reliability in Untersuchungen uber die Religion der Sklaven inGriechenland und Rom (Mainz 1957) 1.155, but see Latte (above, n. 14) 229, n. 3; Platner andAshby (above, n. 1) 85.


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318 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORYfertility, were undertaken or the publicbenefitby chosenmatronaeunder hedirectionof the VestalVirgins.29Architectural emains,discoveredat thefourth milestoneon the Via Latina,have been identifiedas belonging to a temple of FortunaMuliebris,whoselocation literary sources confirm.30An inscription found there records areconstructionby "Livia Drusi f uxs [or CaesarisAugusti]" (CIL VI.883).Dionysius of Halicarnassus,who lived and taught at Rome for many yearsfrom 30B. C., andwhose RomanAntiquitieibegan o appear n 7 B. C., writesabout the originof the cult andthe temple.Dionysius tells the story of how theSenate honored the women who had accompanied he wife and mother ofCoriolanusand succeededin dissuadinghim from his attackon Rome bygiving them, at their request, a templeto FortunaMuliebris 8.55-56). Theauthor, however, goes into so much detailthat he in fact apologizesfor hisdigression.Scullard omments:"ThefactthatDionysiuswrote atlengthaboutthe cult (thoughapologizing orthe digression)mightsuggest hat nterest n itwas still lively in the Augustanperiod. ."X3 If Dionysiuswere catering ocontemporary nterest,curiosityaboutthe originsof thecultmayhavearisenfromthe first ladyof Rome'spersonal nterest n the temple,andDionysius'detailed attentionto the cult may thus constitutehis personal supportofAugustanpropaganda.32ccording o Dionysius (8.56.4),no womanwho hadmarried secondtimecouldtouchor crownthe cultstatuewith garlands, utonly newly marriedwomen (vE6ya[Lot) or univirae should worship thegoddess.Hence her cult was linkedto the Roman dealof pudicitia.3RecentlyPalmer,n anarticleon shrines o PudicitianRome,hasproposedthat Livia was responsiblefor the restorationof a third temple in Romeconnected with the religious lives of women. Palmer, citing literary evidence,argues hatAugustussponsoreda law depudicitiaand undertook o revive hetraditional ultsof PudicitiaPlebeiaand PudicitiaPatricia. inceno mancouldbe involvedin the cultof Chastity,a womanhad to be foundto carryout therestoration,and Liviaand herdaughterJulia,Palmer uggests,wereobviouschoices to sponsor the rebuildingof the two shrines.Palmercites a late

29 The evidence for the rite and cult collected and discussed by G. Wissowa, "Bona Dea," RE 3(1899) 686-94. T. P. Wiseman (Cinna the Poet [Leicester 1974] 130, n. 3) suggests the matronaehad to be univirae.

30 Val. Max. 1.8.4.; cf. 5.2.1. Discussion of location by T. Ashby, "The ClassicalTopographyof the Roman Campagna," PBSR 4 (1907) 79.31 Above, n. 19, 161.

32 On this point, convincingly demonstrated for other cults which Dionysius describes indetail, see P. M. Martin, "La Propaganda Augusteenne dans les Antiquites Romaines de Denysd'Halicarnasse," REL 49 (1971) 162-79.

33 On univirae in the cult: Tert., De Monog. 17; Festus 282 L; Serv., Aen. 4.19. See too Latte(above n. 14) 181 and n. 1. Other sources on the cult collected by I. Kajanto, "Fortuna,"ANRW2.17.1 (1981) 511-12.


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Sic exempla parantur: Livia's Shrine to Concordia and the Porticus Liviae 319

reference o a basilicabearingLivia'sname ntheareaof theshrine o PudicitiaPlebeiato supporthis suggestion.34Livia'sphilanthropy xtendedbeyondrestoration f religious anctuariesobequeststo familiesunable o raise heirchildrenor providedowriesfor theirdaughterso marry.According o Dio Cassius,oursource orthisinformation(58.2.2-3),hergenerosityandinterest n subsidizing amilylife wasa primaryreason or anexceptionalvote by the Senateafterherdeathto buildanarch nherhonor andnameher "motherof her country:"xac tQO(oTL xcai C9'i4eaaftt, a [1'rE[Utg 6akljyuvaLxi, tVA94LqtLavTo,&TLTr ovUx6X(you; oGwv?tGO'XEL, xca OT6ntaia; 7oXkkXOVtcTQ6PEL 6QctgTE to0XX6OLOVEOE&6OXEL, &P' o' yE Xai TQaacTflv PC; 3TaTQi6o;gTtvEgEw:v6itaov.Livia'sbenevolence learlywas not privateandunpublicizedphilanthropy utpublic, widespread,and well-known as she, in a very practicalway, helpedcarryout someof the goalsof Augustus' egislationo encouragemarriage ndthe birthrate.AlthoughTiberius arried ut neitherof theSenate's esolutions,the story shows generalpublic identificationof Livia as a protectorandbenefactorof marriage ndfamilylife.5

In fact, evidencefrom RomanEgyptshowsthatLivia'snamewas includedin marriagecontractsas late as the middle of the second century as thepatronessof marriage. omeof thesesurviving ontractson papyrus tatethatthe documentwasconcluded L IouXLctvACas g, "inthepresenceof JuliaAugusta,"36, robably,as Wilckensuggests,before her statue.Hence Livia,afterher death, hadbecomeassimilated o the status of a goddess of marriedlifewhose presenceratified hemarriage greement.Thepublicacceptance ndvenerationof subsequentempressesas patronessesof married ife may stemfrom an identificationand role established irst by Livia.After the death ofFaustina he Younger n A. D. 175,the Senatedecreed hatanaltarbe erectedin honor of her marriagewith Marcus Aurelius and on it brides and

34 Above, n. 26, 136-40 and n. 81.'5 On Tiberius' refusal: Dio Cass. 58.2.6; Tac., Ann. 1.14.1-2. On Livia's support of andintervention in behalf of many, see, e. g., Dio Cass., 55.14.-22.2; Vell. Pat. 2.130.5; Dio Cass.

58.2.3; Tac. (Ann. 4.71.5) reports how Livia helped her granddaughterJulia: "illic viginti annisexilium toleravit Augustae ope sustentata." In an epigram from Thespiae (A. S. F. Gow andD. L. Page, The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip [Cambridge 1968] 1.277) Livia's wisdomis said to have "saved the world." On parallels to this statement in the typology of Livia,C. P. Jones, "A Leading Family of Roman Thespiae," HSPh 74 (1970) 254-55 and n. 86, 87. Theunauthorized title - "materpatriae"- appears on a coin from Lepcis Magna.See M. Grant, Aspectsof the Prncipate of Tiberius (New York 1950) 127, for discussion and pl. VIII (6) for anillustration.

36 Evidence collected and discussed by U. Wilcken, "Ehepatronae im romischen Kaiserhaus,"ZRG 30 (1909) 504-507.


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320 MARLEENBOUDREAU FLORYbridegrooms hould offer sacrifice Dio Cass. 71.31.1). A similaraltar,whichalso namesan Imperial ouple,AntoninusPius and Faustina he Elder,patronsof marriage,survives at Ostia (CIL XIV.5326). The associationof laterempressesand Livia herselfboth duringher lifetimeand afterherdeathwithJuno suggests a role as Juno Pronubaand honors the wife of the emperorasthe guardianof married ife.37An inscriptionfrom Forum Clodi (CIL XI.3303), datableto A. D. 18,records a birthdaycelebration or Livia as well as sacrifices o the Genii ofAugustusand Tiberius.The duumviriprovided sweetmeatsandwine to thewomen of the "vicus ad BonamDeam." The vicus is apparentlynamed or asmall shrine located within it. If, as Grethersuggests,the Bona Dea figureshere as a kind of dea natalis,then it would explain why the womenof thisparticularvicus have an exclusive celebration of Livia's birthday.38Thisinscription hows how closely Liviacameto be associatedwithwomens' ivesand concernsand how herhonorsand aterherworshiprecognizedherspecialrole as the first wife and motherof the state.So, appropriately, y Claudius'orderafterher deification,womenwereto takeoathsin the deifiedempress'name (Dio Cass. 60.5.2).Liviawas associatedwith traditionaldeitiesof female ife such asJunoandVestaand, by degreesduringher lifetime,assimilatedo the statusof a VestalVirgin. Her identificationwith Juno fitted her role as consort to Augustus-Jupiter- "sola toro magni dignareperta ovis" (Ov., Fast. 1.650);"magnoconsociataIovi" (Cons. ad Liviam380) - althoughthe papyrifrom Egyptdiscussedabove show that in one case the identificationwentbeyondmerelythe expressionof herrelationshipo Augustus,sinceshe actively ook on thefunction of Juno Pronuba39.Her comparison with the Vestal Virgins,whoembodiedthe highest dealof the Romanconceptof womanhood,40estowedon hergreatdignityandanimpressivepublicrole. Shewasgivensacrosanctity

3' There existed other more subtle associations between Livia's name and family life, forexample, the dedication of the Ara Pacis Augustae on her birthday and her appearancein thefrieze, since "the chief reason for the inclusion of women and children in the processional friezesof the Altarof Peace was to place before the eyes of the Roman public an imageof the emperor andhis associates as heads of families. The emperor and his retinue were thus depicted as theembodiment of the Augustan social program; they set a standardfor the rest of the population toemulate" (D. E. E. Kleiner, "The GreatFriezes of the Ara Pacis Augustae: Greek Sources,RomanDerivatives, and Augustan Social Policy," MEFR 90 [1978] 776).

38 "Livia and the Roman Imperial Cult," AJPh 67 (1946) 238 and n. 91." On Livia'sdivine honors and deities with whom she was identified, see Grether (above, n. 38)222-52; Grant (above, n. 35) 108-29; L. R. Taylor, The Divinity of the Roman Emperor(Middletown, Conn. 1931) 270-83; K. Scott, "Emperor Worship in Ovid," TAPhA61 (1930) 57,64-65; L. Ollendorf, "Livia Drusilla," RE 13.1 (1926) 907-23.

40 F. Altheim, A Historyof RomanReligion London 1938) 88: "The Roman conception ofwoman found perhaps its strongest, most clearly defined expression, however, in the VestalVirgin."


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Sicexemplaparantur:Livia'sShrine o Concordiaand the PorticusLiviae 321early in her husband's rule (35 B. C.; Dio Cass. 49.38.1) during which shealready appeared in a veil like that worn by the Vestal Virgins. The cult of thePalatine Vesta appears to have been delegated to her, and afterAugustus' deathand six years before her own,4' she was given the right to sit with the VestalVirgins at public performances (Tac., Ann. 4.16.4). The emperor Claudius,who was responsible for her deification, entrusted her cult to the VestalVirgins(Dio Cass. 60.5.2). Ovid, although eager to flatter and please and win a returnfrom exile, only reflects current Imperial ideology in his description of Livia as"pudicarum te Vestam, Livia, matrum" (Pont. 4.13.29).

Other writers like Ovid, whose poetry or prose reflected an official view,linked Livia's name with the traditional moral qualities associated withwomen. Livia is, above all, an exemplar of pudicitia worthy of earlier andmorally superior generations:"Caesaris .. coniunx. . / quaepraestatvirtute sua,ne prisca vetustas/laude pudicitiae saecula nostra premat" (Ov., Pont.3.1.114-16); "femina digna illis, quos aurea condidit aetas" (Cons. ad Liviam343). ValeriusMaximus, in his sixth book, De pudicitia (6.1. pr.), joins togetherVesta, Juno, and Livia because of their characteristic attribute of chastity: "tu[Pudicitia] ... consecratos Vestae focos incolis, tu Capitolinae lunonispulvinaribus incubas . . . sanctissimumque Iuliae genialem torum adsiduastatione celebras." Her iconographic identification with these goddesses makesthe compliment particularly apt. Horace delicately equates her moral staturewith that of univirae (from whose ranks an earlier marriage excluded her):"unico gaudens mulier marito" (Carm. 3.14.5). She lives unsullied bycontemporary moral decay - "quid tenuisse animum contra sua saecularectum/altius et vitiis exeruisse caput" (Cons. ad Liviam 45-46) - and achievesa unique standing in Roman society by her superiority to other women,although she is still less than the gods: "eminentissima et per omnia deis quamhominibus similior femina" (Vell. Pat. 2.130.5).42 Her flatterers tacitly ac-knowledge her power but only to praise her for finding satisfaction intraditional domesticity: "nec vires errasse tuas campove forove/quamque licetcitra constituisse domum" (Cons. ad Liviam 49-50).43 The sentiments are, forthat era, old-fashioned and sound little different from those of a famous secondcentury B. C. sepulchral epigram for Claudia, which emphasizes the samevalues of domesticity, fidelity to her husband's wishes, and correct female

41 Livia appears in a veil on the Uffizi Altar. See C. T. Seltman, CAH pl. 4. 136. On thePalatine cult and Livia's role, D. Kienast, Augustus: Prinzeps und Monarch (Darmstadt 1982)196-97, and n. 106; C. Koch, "Vesta," RE 8A2 (1958) 1757.42 Velleius' words reflect Tiberius' decision not to allow his mother extraordinary honorsduring her lifetime. Cf. Tac., Ann. 1.14.1-2.43 See too Vell. Pat. 2.75.3; Tac.,Ann. 5.1.5; Dio Cass. 58.2.4-5; Sen., Cons. ad Marcaam4.1-2.Other evidence on her personality and reputation collected by V. Gardthausen, Augustus undseine Zeit (Leipzig 1896) 1.2.1022-32; Ollendorf (above, n. 39) 904.


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322 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORYconduct." While other evidence reveals her wealth, her political power, andher influence over both her husband and her son, the ruler and the rulerapparent,45 her official portrait equates her with the traditional Romanmatrona, but one whose exemplary character elevates her to a positionanalogous to that of the Vestal Virgins.

By her charities, her public championship of the religious rites of women,and the example of her character, Livia gave support to the neglected familyvalues Augustus hoped to revive. By the lex Iulia de maritandisordinibus andthe lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis, both in place by 17 B. C., Augustusattempted to regularize the marital relationship, to make marriageonce more asocial obligation by instituting penalties against the unmarried, and tostimulate the birthrate by creating a series of rewards for families with therequired number of children.46Thus the princeps hoped to re-establish thesanctity and dignity of marriage and family life and the honor and prestigetraditionally accorded to the mothers of families. The ideal of Concordia notonly suggested the pleasures of marital felicity but a time-honored anddignified concept of marriage as a partnership, undertaken for the sake ofchildren, and mutually beneficial. When Livia and Augustus made publicacknowledgment of the importance (and happiness) of their married lifetogether by a shrine to the goddess of maritalaccord, they, as the first coupleof Rome, set an example for others to follow. That Livia, moreover, dedicatedthe shrine was a correct and suitable gesture quite consonant with Roman ideasabout married life, since the success of the marriage depended on the wife'scharacterand efforts.

When Livia chose June 11, however, as her date of dedication, there werestill other ideological aims in view. She undoubtedly hoped to give renewedprestige and attention to two long-established Roman temples and cults ofwomen's lives and the traditional social role they emphasized - marriageandmotherhood and childbirth - by linking her new shrine, under her personaland prestigious sponsorship, with the old. In turn, the new shrine and Liviagained eminence by association with venerable cults and temples whosefoundations were connected with the earliest period of Roman history. So this

" CIL 12.1211 = Dess., ILS 8403. Like Claudia ("lanam fecit") Livia made clothes fromhomespun for her husband (Suet., Aug. 73).

4 See, e.g., Dio Cass. 56.30-31.1; 57.12; Tac., Ann. 5.3.1; 6.51.3; Suet., Tib. 50.2; CILVI.3926-4326 (the columbariumof Livia'sextensive staff); S. Treggiari,"Jobs in the Household ofLivia," PBSR 30 (1975) 48-77. Other evidence on her wealth collected by Ollendorf (above, n. 39)914.46 On the legislation, its chronology, and aims: H. Last, CAH 10. 441-56; P. E. Corbett, TheRoman Law of Marriage (Oxford 1930) 31-39, 133-35; G. Williams, "Poetry in the MoralClimate of Augustan Rome," JRS 52 (1962) 28-46; R. I. Frank, "Augustus' Legislation onMarriage and Children," CSCA 8 (1975) 41-52; K. Galinsky, "Augustus' Legislation on Moralsand Marriage,"Phil. 125 (1981) 126-44.


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act was one of a series by which the Roman people identified Livia as thecontemporary representative of a centuries-old reverence for the dignity ofmarried life.

There exists, I believe, a second reference to the Aedes Concordiae in thePorticus Liviae in a passage from book 1 of the Fasti (649-50), which supportsthe idea that Livia's dedication constituted a re-establishment of a characteris-tically Roman ideal of family life. Frazer, and before him Peter, recognized thesignificance of this reference and correctly interpreted it, but Bomer, in hisedition of the Fasti, by choosing a different readingfrom Frazer of one criticalword, has given Livia a role in Tiberius' reconstruction of the temple ofConcord in the Roman Forum. Her presumed, but I believe erroneouslypresumed, role there has led some to connect, in turn, Tiberius with her shrineto Concordia on the Oppius and to see both buildings as a reflection of thesame desire to advertise dynastic unity.4" Under the date of January 16 Ovidwrites about the history of the temple of Concordia in the Roman Forum,whose reconstruction, vowed on Tiberius' return from Pannonia in 7 B. C.,was not completed until A. D. 10 when Tiberius dedicated the AedesConcordiae Augustae in his own name and that of his deceased brotherDrusus. Levick has analyzed and explained the political significance of this act:

He took upon himself the duty of restoring, in his own name and in thatof his brother, the temple of Concord. An innocuous act, if the temple hadnot had such controversial associations, so clear a connexion with themore conservative type of politician. The claim was that the temple hadbeen founded by that godsend to optimate pamphleteers, M. FuriusCamillus ... and it had been restored once before, in 121 by thereactionary consul Opimius.... In making his first act as consul an offerto restore it, Tiberius was taking on the mantle of Camillus and Opimius... he was announcing that he wished to be known as the champion ofstrong senatorial government.48Ovid's description of Tiberius' restoration ends with these four verses, for

which we here follow Bomer's text:inde triumphatae libasti munera gentis

templaque fecisti, quam colis ipse deae.haec tua constituit genetrix et rebus et ara,

sola toro magni digna repertalovis. (647-50)4' See, e. g., Weinstock (above, n. 7) 266 and esp. n. 13. Richardson suggests Livia undertook

"to supervise the construction" (above, n. 5, 272) of the temple in the Roman Forum and sees nodifference in purpose between them.48 "Tiberius' Retirement to Rhodes," Latomus 31 (1972) 803-804; also discussed by Levick(above, n. 8, 224) in terms of the political significance of fraternal harmony between Tiberius andDrusus. On the changed political situation in A. D. 10 when the temple was dedicated andConcordia between Tiberius and Germanicus, see K. Kraft, Zur Minzpragung des Augustus(Wiesbaden 1969) 242-51.


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324 MARLEENBOUDREAU FLORYIn line 649 Bomer reads "haec," the word in dispute, to refer in the prior lineto "templa," and so gives Livia a role in building the temple, providing it withan altar, and, as Bomer translates "rebus," "furnishings." There is no otherevidence to connect Livia with this reconstruction except the very flimsyevidence of this disputed reading.49

In fact Bomer's reading has not gained acceptance. Both Frazer and Peterread "hanc" prior to Bomer's edition, and Alton, Wormell and Courtney re-established that reading in their 1978 Teubner edition. Thus "hanc" refers to"deae" in the previous line. Frazerand Peter interpretedthe verse to meanthatLivia securely established the goddess Concordia in Rome by her "actions"(rebus), that is, her happy marriagewith Augustus, and "with an altar."50Thenext verse, in its reference to Livia's marriageto Augustus (here depicted asJupiter) does in fact confirm that Ovid is thinking about Concordia in thesetwo verses in terms of marital harmony, a subject which would naturallyfollow a reference to Livia and her shrine to Concordia in the Porticus Livia.Thus the verse suggests that the worship of this traditional deity of family lifehad weakened and diminished until Livia, by publicly identifying Concordiaas her own special deity, secured the goddess' place in religious and family life.The dedication of this shrine may have been of considerable public significanceand interest or a project about which Livia enjoyed being reminded, sinceOvid mentions it twice and in both cases in passagesmeant to flatterand pleasethe Imperial household.

This discussion, I believe, has shown that the shrine of Concordia hadimportant links with the revival of family life in Augustan society. Obviouslythe establishment of a shrine to the harmony between Augustus and Liviamight well also suggest the dynastic unity between the Julian and Claudianclans or imply that the political well-being of the state emanated from thedomestic unity of the Imperial household. But the evidence - the dies natalis,Ovid's verses, and Livia's sponsorship of the shrine in conjunction with herrole in helping Augustus restore the dignity of family life - suggests that anypolitical or dynastic motives should be given secondary significance.

There still exists an important, unanswered question about the shrine. Wasthere any significance to a choice of a site in the Porticus Liviae? Althoughmore testimony survives for the porticus than Livia's shrine, the porticus, likethe Aedes Concordiae, has received only slight attention, except in the work ofGrimal, who, in his book Les Jardins Romains, has pointed out certaininteresting connections between this porticus and Augustus' desire to restrain

49 The restoration is attributed solely to Tiberius in our sources: Dio Cass. 55.8.2; 56.25.1;Suet., Tib. 20; CIL 12. 231, 308. Ancient testimonia collected by C. Caspari, Aedes ConcordiaeAugustae (Rome 1979) 13-15.

50 Frazer (above, n. 5) 1.42 and 2.252; H. Peter, P. Ovidii Nasonis Fastorum Libri Sex3(Leipzig 1889) 73. See also Alton,' Wormell, Courtney (above, n. 1) 21.


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Sic exempla parantur: Livia's Shrine to Concordia and the Porticus Liviae 325private luxury.5" In what follows I am indebted to him, although I will alsosuggest that the site, because of its past history, had propaganda value forAugustus' program of moral reform.

Our most important sources for the events which led to the razing of VediusPollio's house on the Clivus Suburanus and the building of the porticus areDio Cassius (54.23.1-6) and Ovid (Fast. 6.637-48).52 Both connect thedemolition of the house with Augustus' concern to curtail private extrava-gance, a goal he tried to carry out via sumptuary legislation and, to a lesserdegree, the example of his own austere way of life. Indeed Ovid classifies thedestruction of the house as an exemplum: an illustration of Augustus' unwil-lingness to tolerate private extravagance by his deliberate razing of a splendidand luxurious house willed to him :53

haec aequata solo est, nullo sub crimine regni,sed quia luxuria visa nocere sua.

sustinuit tantas operum subvertere molestotque suas heres perdere Caesar opes:

sic agitur censura et sic exempla parantur,cum vindex, alios quod monet, ipse facit. (643-48)

Along with the house Augustus tried to obliterate any connection between hisname and that of this notorious profligate, but also a friend who had once beenhis political counselor.54 Dio begins a story, an illustration of Augustus'humanity, by telling us Vedius was entertaining Augustus, and when a slaveboy broke a valuable goblet, Vedius, "without regardfor his guest"(54.23.2),ordered the slave thrown to his lampreys. Augustus first tried to persuadePollio to relent, but "when he did not pay any attention to him" (54.23.3),Augustus smashed the rest of the crystal, and Pollio, unable to punish the slavefor what the emperor had done, "held his peace although very much against hiswill" (54.23.4). Dio's story is interesting for its glimpse of the intimacy of thefriendship which allowed Vedius to treat so casually and even to ignore, at leastat first, the wishes of Rome's most powerful man. Given Augustus' publicstance and personal feelings about luxuria, Augustus could not help but try todestroy all connection between himself and a man like Vedius, but Vedius'significant role as a helpmate in Augustus' rise to power, although ignored byboth Dio Cassius and Ovid,55 must have constituted an embarrassment whichalso played a role in Augustus' refusal to grant Vedius any public memorial inthe city:

s' Paris 1943, 155, 188-91.52 For other references see above, n. 1.5 For Augustus' predilection for teaching by precedent, see, e. g., Suet., Aug. 89.2; Res Gestae

Divi Augusti, ed. P. A. Brunt and J. A. Moore (Oxford 1967) 8.5.5 Vedius' career is traced by R. Syme, "Who was Vedius Pollio?" JRS 51 (1961) 23-30.55 Tac. (Ann. 12.60.4) was aware of his political significance (cf. Tac., Ann. 1.10.5 for Vedius'

moral reputation). H. Trainkle "Augustus bei Tacitus,Cassius Dio und dem alteren Plinius, " WSt


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326 MARLEENBOUDREAU FLORY6 oiuvAi5youosTo TPvotxLav afroT ?5 E,baqo;7tQO(PXOGELg N(ENVOUxcZtaCxEUTJ;, 07t IXT1VPvI OFduvov?V Ti tO6XsiX%,xaTarakdov 3rEQLr-OTpOVPXO6OId1OaaTO,CaiovITOOvota IO toTOHwXCOvo; dX&a'T PTg Atouiag; WnayQaEv. (54.23.6)Ovid concentrates xclusivelyon praisingandflattering heprincepsor hisaction, buthis words are nteresting orrevealing hatthe luxuriaay in the sizeof the houseand the amountof land it expropriatednthecity. Thehouse was"vast" "immensa," 40), "asbigas a city' ("urbisopus domus unafuit,"641),andcoveredan area arger hanthatof manytowns("spatiumqueenebat/quo

breviusmurisoppidamulta enent",641-42). And,a fewverses ater, heword"moles," in the phrase"tantasoperum moles"(645) with its suggestionofgiganticand palatial constructionechoes a rhetoricaltopos of the day.56Although Ovid may exaggerateto make Augustus' actions even morecommendableby the size of his loss ("sustinuit antasoperumsubverteremoles/ totque suas heres perdere Caesar opes," 645-46), Ovid does pinpointthe particular auseof offense to Augustus.NeitherOvid nor Dio mentionsthat the potentialfor conspiracies r revolutions urked n these vastestates,their houses hiddendeep in gardensand filled with retinuesof restlessandopportunisticfollowers. The strongmenof the late Republic, like minorpotentates,had held court in thesegiganticestates,andAugustussurelyhadpoliticalreasons or discouraginghe cultivationof personalmagnificence.57A remarkby Dio (54.23.6) suggeststhe hastewith which Augustustoredown the house, perhapseven leavingthe site vacantfor some time. Thedemolition undoubtedly provoked, just as Augustus wished, widespreadpublicattentionanddiscussion,but perhaps he porticus, ust as muchasthedestruction of the house, also carrieda messagefrom the emperorto thepeople.

The discoveryof two cippi in the areaof S. Martinoai Monti in 1888and1893 revealsAugustus'restorationof private and in this areaof the city topublicuse: "[impCaesarAugustus] expri] vat[o]in [publicum] estitui[t]."583 [1969] 128) argues that Dio omitted materialabout Vedius injuriousto Augustus' reputation,butB. Manuwald in "Cassius Dio und das 'Totengericht' uber Augustus bei Tacitus," Hermes 101(1973) 364, n. 30, writes: "Aus 54, 23, If. erhelit, dass Dio von der politischen Bedeutung desVedius Pollio nichts wusste." It seems unlikely that Ovid, a contemporary, did not knowsomething of Vedius' political history.

56 See Cic., Mil.85; Hor., Carm., 2.15.1-2; 3.29.10; Sen., Cons.ad Polybium 8.2.57 Asc., Mil.,ed. A. Clark (Oxford 1907) 32, 45. Discussion in Grimal (above, n. 51) 129 andesp. 160.58 CILVI. 31572. The text is restored on the basis of CILVI. 1262. On the location and the

inscription, G. Gatti, "Di un sacello compitale dell'antichissima regione Esquilina," BCAR 16(1888) 237-38; G. Gatti, NSA (1888) 225; R. Lanciani, "Recenti scoperte di Roma e delSuburbio," BCAR (1893) 29.


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Grimal, pointing out that this area corresponds with the location of Vedius'house, suggests that the cippi marked the return of Vedius' land to the publicdomain.59 Augustus' interest in creating public spaces for the plebsurbana sreflected in his and Agrippa's ambitious building program to provide parks,porticoes, baths, and places of amusement. The return of the land on theOppius to the people fitted Augustus' desire to emphasize his concern forpublic welfare and shows how he turned this embarrassingbequest to his ownadvantage.

The choice of porticus was appropriate to efforts to bring public amenitiesto the Esquiline. The porticus provided a recreational area for meeting,walking, talking, and lounging, and close to it, to the north of the portaEsquilina, there was built at some contemporaneous period a marketplacewhich carried Livia's name. Good roads and the reclamation of the ancient andpestiferous burial areaby Maecenas had alreadymade the Esquline attractive.60Augustus undoubtedly welcomed an opportunity, given him by his inheri-tance, to establish public areas in a region dominated by privateestates, and, inparticular, the house and garden of his friend and advisor Maecenas. IndeedGrimal writes that the construction of the Porticus Liviae and the marketplacewere intended as checks on the extent of Maecenas' garden-park and furtherprivate development:Les jardinsde Mecene se trouvaient par consequent voisins de la demeure

de Vedius Pollio, oiu Auguste devait elever le Portique de Livie .... Cetespace, bien qu'il soit relativement considerable, n'est cependant pascomparable a celui que couvraient les Jardins de Cesarsur la rive droite duTibre. Au Nord et a l'Ouest, il etait limit6 par des constructions"publiques" d'Auguste, qui entendait ainsi montrer sa reprobation d'unluxe prive sans mesure et partageait entre ses amis et le peuple les terrainsque ses travaux avaient conquis a la Ville.61

The porticus was one of a long series of similar public promenades builtduring the late Republic and early Empire by Pompey, Agrippa, Augustus,and members of Augustus' family. Like some of those buildings, the PorticusLiviae had an interior garden and housed an art collection. The garden hadtrellised walkways over which grapevines twined (Pliny, HN 14.11), andfamous paintings of great antiquity characterizedthe art collection - "nec tibivitetur quae, priscis sparsa tabellis,/ porticus auctoris Livia nomen habet"(Ov.,Ars Am. 1.71-72) - which Strabo classified among the wonders of Rome:

5 See above, n. 51, 155, n. 1.60 Points discussed by A, M. Colini, "La Torre di Mecenate," RAL 34 (1979) 243. On the

location of the Macellum Liviae, see Coarelli (above, n. 3) 208.61 See above, n. 51, 155.


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328 MARLEENBOUDREAUFLORY2TCLXLVCL Ttg Eig TfIV ayOQaV cTaQEkXfhbVIV

QXav acXXrIv &k-qg TLoiJTaQaPE,XintLvivTacTvrJat Ia3JLXLX&;TOaS;ai vaoi';, rbol 8Ehxai To KaWtLTkLOVai T' tvTaCEfCya xci ttv Tb rHaTct'h xaiLT4 Tig ALI3iagtEQUaT6fT, Qt68,(OtxXAdi0oLT'v TC)VE@W V. TOIcaVTi [ EV j 'P6Ouj. (5.236)But in themselves the "vast"62 portico, its garden and art collection did not

differ except perhaps in stylistic features such as the layout of the gardens orthe quality and kind of its art collection from other public promenades.63Yetthe history of this site, dramatically brought to public notice by Augustus'actions, makes this porticus different, for we cannot disassociate the porticusfrom its predecessor on the site: Vedius' house. A telling contrast between theold values and the new, the past and the present, lay in the uses to whichVedius had put this land and Augustus' construction of a public porticus on it.The implied comparison in the public mind was wholly to Augustus'advantage. Nothing, in fact, could have been more apropos or propagandisti-cally effective for Augustus' desire to show his public disapproval of privateextravagancethan to turn a great private estate into a public one. The porticusand its gardens were on a magnificent scale, the art collection one of the mostnotable in Rome, but the luxury of the porticus, for the benefit of the people,contrasted with and condemned the private wealth destroyed to build it. In arecent article Pollitt has shown how the fabulous art collections of the periodbefore Actium were a symptom of private extravagance which had dangerouspolitical implications, and so Augustus tried to discourage private collectingand to make Greek art public property.64The endowment of Livia's porticuswith a public art gallery fits Augustus' desire to emphasize the democratic usesto which wealth should now be put.

But the contrast lay not merely in the history of the site but with theadjacent area. The most immediate neighbor to the porticus was the "hortiMaecenatis," one of the most spectacularprivate estates in Rome of that day.65Only a handful of references to it survive, but even these reveal a sumptuousprivate park, "molles horti", as one author writes, with a hot water swimmingpool, a tower from whose heights Maecenas enjoyed a magnificent panoramic

62 M. Blake, Ancient Roman Construction in Italy from the PrehistoricPeriod to Augustus(Washington, D. C. 1947) 176.

63 Grimal (above, n. 51, 189-90) reconstructs the layout of the garden,sees analogues in privategardens from Herculaneum, and suggests a common prototype. On the development of theportico and the garden during the late Republic and early Empire in Rome, A. Boethius andJ. B. Ward-Perkins, Etruscanand Roman Architecture(Harmondsworth, England 1970) 327.

64 "The Impact of Greek Art on Rome," TAPhA 108 (1978) 155-74, esp. 164-65.65 On the topographical relationship between the Porticus Liviae and Maecenas' gardens,

Grimal (above, n. 51) 155; Coarelli (above, n. 3) 195.


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view far above the smoke and noise of the city, and gardens specially laid outto suit the refined tastes of a man who was a patron of one of the horticulturalexperts of the era./' Grimal emphasizes that the location of the porticus servedto limit a great private estate. Yet the juxtaposition of a public promenade nextto Maecenas' estate had a more subtle messageto convey: Men like Vedius andMaecenas had helped bring Augustus to power, and he might continue totolerate them, but toleration could not extend to unrestrainedindividualism inthe form of reckless extravagance. Their houses and gardens symbolized theold ways of limitless self-indulgence. Augustus' porticus showed that theinterests of the community had to prevail over the personal pursuit of pleasure.

In time, of course, the history of the site of the porticus faded from publicawareness, just as, after Maecenas' death, his estate, which he willed toAugustus (Dio. Cass. 55.7.5), became a part of the Imperial properties. Thepropaganda value of the site and the porticus reflect a wholly contemporarysituation - Augustus' difficulties in persuading the senatorial aristocracy toabandon a pleasure-seeking life and to support, through their own lives andactions, a return to personal austerity and to traditionalvalues. His laws on thefamily and marriage, for example, were passed with great difficulty, andhostility erupted in a public demonstration as late as A. D. 9 (Dio Cass.56.1.2). There is no evidence to show that the sumptuary legislation, passed atthe same time as Augustus' laws on family life, curbed personal expenditure orconspicuous consumption.6" We do know that Augustus' efforts to getsenators to spend their private means on such public, utilitarian, and ingloriousprojects as the repair of the roads failed, for, as Dio Cassius tells us (53.22.2),"none of the senators liked to spend money on this."68While the porticus mayhave been an obvious choice for developing the Esquiline for public use, abalky senatorial aristocracy might read into it an apt exemplum for themselves

66 "In mollibus hortis:" Eleg. Maec. 1.35; hot water pool (possibly for his health, locationunknown): Dio Cass. 55.7.6; "turris Maecenatiana:" Hor., Carm. 3.29.6-12; Suet., Ner. 38.6.Horace (Carm. 3.29.9) uses language critical of his friend: "fastidiosam desere copiam et/ molempropinquam nubibus arduis." Sabinius Tiro dedicated a work on gardening to Maecenas (Pliny,HN 19.177). Other evidence collected and discussed by A. Kappelmacher,"Maecenas," RE 14A(1928) 215-17; G. Lugli, "Horti," Diz. Epig. 998-1000.

67 Dio Cass. 54.2.3; 54.16.5; Aul. Gell., NA 2.24.14-15; Suet., Aug. 34.1; Tac., Ann. 3.54.2.Discussion in R. Syme, The Roman Revolution (Oxford 1939) 440-58.

68 In 29 B. C. Augustus tried to set an example for the senators by using pecunia ex manubiis torepair the Via Flaminia and requiring them to repair other roads (Dio Cass. 53.22.1-2), but thesenators evidently procrastinateduntil Augustus found other funds. Some of the viri tniumphalesfollowed Augustus' example in using their prize money to repair roads during the 20's, but coinsissued between 17-15 B. C., commemorating Augustus' contributions for more road repairs,showAugustus' ultimate failure in this effort. The evidence is collected and discussed by F. W. Shipley,"Chronology of the Building Operations in Rome from the Death of Caesar to the Death ofAugustus," MAAR 9 (1931) 32-36, 51.


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330 MARLEEN BOUDREAU FLORY, Sic exempla parantur

of Augustus' intolerance of personal selfishness. Nor should we forget - didthe senators ? - that Vedius' patrimony had financed construction.

The shrine to Concordia stood in the middle of the porticus, so that theshrine and its colonnade formed an architecturalunity, but more than physicalproximity tied them together. Both are monuments which reflect Augustus'determination, buttressed by strong legislation, to revive family life and plainliving. Rising up on the land where once had stood a house symbolic of aluxurious and self-centered past, which Augustus was determined to eradicateas completely as he had razed Vedius' house to the ground, the porticus andthe Aedes Concordiae emphasize the traditional importance of the communityand the corresponding insignificance of the individual. The magnificentporticus gave Romans the space in their city, formerly the sole prerogative ofone man, while the shrine reasserted the central importance of married life toRoman society, whose continuation rested, and had always rested, on thepreservation of family life. The shared location of these two monuments thuspoints to the intrinsic relationship in Augustan legislation and society betweenthe restoration of family life and the ideal of self-denial.Gustavus Adolphus College, MarleenBoudreauFlorySt. Peter, Minnesota

flory-sic exempla parantur

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