In four pages this paper examines Horace's ode in terms of how it represents Pax Romana and the values of the Augustan Age as well as portrays the divinity of Augustus. Four sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: JL5_JLaug.rtf
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it also heralded the beginning of a Golden Age of peace and prosperity, with Augustus himself regarded as the God who presided over this bounty and wealth. We can see
this in the art and architecture of the time, as well as in Horaces famous Ode: Augustus is depicted not only as the benevolent ruler and the kindly patriarch, but
also as the ideal of physical perfection. He was seen
as the epitome, in human form, of the glory of the Roman empire: the victorious military leader and the architect of a lasting peace which followed on the heels of
a successful military campaign. Horace makes reference throughout the poem to those qualities of a society which are associated with peace and fulfilment: fecundity, growth, fertility and wealth. When he
says "May Mother Earth, fruitful in crops and cattle, Crown Ceres forehead with a wreath of wheat-ears, And dews and rains and breezes, Gods good agents, Nourish whatever grows" the
entreaty exemplifies the assurance that now the privations of wartime are over, there will be a sufficiency of supplies for all, and the implication is that such prosperity is brought
about by Divine blessing. However, Horace also makes the point that human
beings, and especially Augustus policy-makers, have also had a hand in bringing about this Utopia. If one considers the preceding lines, "Goddess, make strong our youth and bless the Senates
Decrees rewarding parenthood and marriage, That from the new laws Rome may reap a lavish Harvest of boys and girls" it becomes evident that this new age is not merely