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'''''Res Gestae Divi Augusti''''', literally "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus" i.e. the accomplishments of the first
Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, was a record of Augustus' career.
According to the text it was written just before Augustus' death in AD
14, but it was probably written years earlier and revised over the years. Augustus left the text with his will, which instructed the
Senate to set up the inscriptions. The original, which has not survived, was engraved upon a pair of bronze pillars and placed in front of Augustus' mausoleum. Many copies of the text were made and carved in stone on monuments or temples throughout the
Roman Empire, some of which have survived; most notably, a full copy, written in
Latin and
Greek was preserved on a temple to Augustus in
Ancyra (the ''Monumentum Ancyranum'', now in
Ankara,
Turkey); others have been found at
Apollonia and
Antioch, both in Pisidia.
The first part of the ''Res Gestae'' begins with Augustus being granted power by the Senate, describing the various honours bestowed upon him, with the sense that he was not ambitious and did not ask for these honours. The second part describes Augustus' gifts of money, games, and buildings to the Roman people. The third part describes the expansion of the empire and the peace and friendship with the rest of the world established during his reign. An appendix summarizes the entire text, and lists the various buildings he constructed; it states that he spent 600,000,000 of his own
denarii during his reign.
The ''Res Gestae'' is considered to be obvious
propaganda. It tends to gloss over events between the
assassination of
Julius Caesar and the victory of Augustus (at the time still called Octavian) over
Marcus Antonius and
Sextus Pompeius Magnus. Neither are referred to by name; the former is "he with whom I fought the war," while the latter is referred to as a pirate.
==External links==
*
The ''Res Gestae'' at LacusCurtius, in Latin, Greek and English
*
The ''Res Gestae'' at the Latin Library (in Latin)
*
The ''Res Gestae'' at the Internet Classics Archive (in English)
