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"...Alison Cooley provides what will be the standard textbook for the RGDA in this generation... Cooley has provided students and colleagues with an edition of the RGDA that will serve as a textbook and as a work of reference. ..a book that is at the same time a pleasure to read and highly useful. That is no small accomplishment." --BMCR
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At the end of his life the emperor Augustus wrote an account of his achievements in which he reviewed his rise to power, his conquest of the world and his unparalleled generosity towards his subjects. This 2009 edition provides a text, translation and detailed commentary - the first substantial one in English for more than four decades - which is suitable for use with students of all levels. The commentary deals with linguistic, stylistic and historical matters. It elucidates how Augustus understood his role in Roman society, and how he wished to be remembered by posterity; and it sets this picture that emerges from the Res Gestae into the context of the emergence both of a new visual language and of an official set of expressions. The book also includes illustrations in order to demonstrate how the Augustan era witnessed the rise of a whole new visual language.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This brand new commentary is the first in-depth scholarly treatment of Augustus' memoirs in English in forty years. A huge improvement over Moore and Brunt's classic edition, it prints the superb text that John Scheid edited in 2007 for the Bude series, and offers detailed discussion to a variety of issues in every single paragraph, covering politics, language and style, history and literary aesthetics. The well researched introduction provides an overview of the unique history of the text (Mommsen's 'queen of latin inscriptions'), while important ovservations are made with relation to the Greek version of the text and the interrelationship of Greek and Latin texts in all available surviving copies. Overall, a reference study for the scholar of the Res Gestae and the Augustan era, but also an indispensable tool for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.
Although intended as a textbook for students this is still accessible to the interested amateur
19 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback
Res Gestae Divi Augusti (or RGDA) can be translated as "The Deeds of the Deified Augustus". It was written by the Roman Emperor Augustus at the end of his life, as an account of his achievements, to be displayed as a monumental inscription outside his mausoleum and elsewhere around the Empire. Too long for an epitaph and too short to be considered an autobiography, it could perhaps be seen as the forerunner of the modern blog consisting, as it does, of 36 consecutive posts, some of which had been drafted and edited over time as events happened and circumstances (and his name) changed. Covering his achievements from raising an army at the age of nineteen (while still Octavian) to exact revenge for the assassination of his adoptive father Julius Caesar, through the triumvirate with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, the establishment of the Roman Empire, the Senatorial award of the title Augustus and the gift of the Pax Romana to the world. Covering his military, political and societal achievements, his generosity and the accolades lavished on him by the Senate and people, it was a skillfully crafted exercise in ensuring how he would be viewed by posterity (but calling it propaganda may be going too far?).
Although the RGDA has been around a long time (obviously!) this new book by Alison E. Cooley from the University of Warwick, presents a new text, translation and commentary (the first one in English for over forty years, apparently). After a thorough introduction putting the events into historical and political context, the text is presented with the original Latin inscription and contemporary Greek version presented side by side one chapter at a time with each translated into modern English below. Most of the chapters are really only a single paragraph of 3 or 4 sentences, with the whole text (heading, 35 chapters and an appendix) fitting into 44 pages. Following the text and translation is an extensive and detailed commentary of the text, presented clause by clause with explanations, cross-references, analysis and comments covering linguistic style, political and historical perceptions, modern scholarship (including, where necessary, the presentation of diverging opinions). Perhaps most intriguing are the differences between the Latin and Greek editions of the text - the Latin inscription being the original penned (presumably) by Augustus himself and erected on bronze pillars outside his mausoleum; the Greek edition being an amalgam of fragments found in various places across the Empire (and in various states of preservation), probably based on an official translation from the Latin, but definitely done with a view to the sensibilities and interests of the provinces.
I suggested this as a Christmas present from one of my relatives and have been very pleased that they acquiesced. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, learning much along the way as well as feeling that I had gained an insight into Augustus' perception of himself and his legacy. Although this is intended as a textbook for students of Augustus and the Augustan age, and is likely to become required reading for many university courses, it is still accessible to the interested amateur who wants something rather more reliable than a Wikipedia entry :-)
Although the RGDA has been around a long time (obviously!) this new book by Alison E. Cooley from the University of Warwick, presents a new text, translation and commentary (the first one in English for over forty years, apparently). After a thorough introduction putting the events into historical and political context, the text is presented with the original Latin inscription and contemporary Greek version presented side by side one chapter at a time with each translated into modern English below. Most of the chapters are really only a single paragraph of 3 or 4 sentences, with the whole text (heading, 35 chapters and an appendix) fitting into 44 pages. Following the text and translation is an extensive and detailed commentary of the text, presented clause by clause with explanations, cross-references, analysis and comments covering linguistic style, political and historical perceptions, modern scholarship (including, where necessary, the presentation of diverging opinions). Perhaps most intriguing are the differences between the Latin and Greek editions of the text - the Latin inscription being the original penned (presumably) by Augustus himself and erected on bronze pillars outside his mausoleum; the Greek edition being an amalgam of fragments found in various places across the Empire (and in various states of preservation), probably based on an official translation from the Latin, but definitely done with a view to the sensibilities and interests of the provinces.
I suggested this as a Christmas present from one of my relatives and have been very pleased that they acquiesced. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, learning much along the way as well as feeling that I had gained an insight into Augustus' perception of himself and his legacy. Although this is intended as a textbook for students of Augustus and the Augustan age, and is likely to become required reading for many university courses, it is still accessible to the interested amateur who wants something rather more reliable than a Wikipedia entry :-)
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