The Augustan age - Век Августа
The Augustan age, in its direct historical sense, is
a period in the history of ancient Rome during the
reign of Emperor Augustus, the most flourishing period in the culture of the Roman state when Latin
literature reached its climax.
Gaius Julius C aesar Octavian Augustus (63 В. C . —
A. D. 14), the nephew of Julius Caesar, became the
first Rom^n emperor, occupying the throne from 2 7 B.C.
to his death. He was a great statesman, a very shrewd
and clever politician. While being nominally a princeps
i. e. ‘the first among equals’, his power depended larg ely on public opinion, and Octavian Augustus took
great pains to influence public opinion in his own
favour while standing his ground firmly. For instance,
he restored many customs, traditions and institutions
of the Roman republic, the effect of which action was
substantially lessened by his nominating himself or
someone of his family as the head of all those institutions. Augustus encouraged the building of beautiful
marble temples and palaces, thus providing commissions for many architects and sculptors; but it is worth
remembering that the temples and other public edifices
were to glorify Augustus and his ‘divine’ descent.
Poetry and literature are very important means of
influencing public opinion, and patronage of poets and
writers was in fact a part of Augustus’ national policy
carried out by Gaius Maecenas, the emperor’s friend
and adviser (whose name has come to mean a generous patron of literature and art). The best-known
poets of the period are Virgil, with his chief work
Aeneid, an epic poem of the Roman people describing
the adventures of Aeneas and his Trojans; Horace, with
his Satires, Odes, etc.; Ovid, whose major work is Metamorphoses-, Tibullus, a lyrical poet. Of the historians,
the most celebrated is Titus Livy, who wrote a history
of Rome from the foundation of the city to the 9th century B. C.
The term Augustan Age is applied in English literary history to the beginning of 18th century when
English poets translated Homer, Virgil, Horace, Ovid.
I. Какой период в истории древнего Рима называют веком Августа? 2. Чем прославился век Августа? 3. Можете ли вы назвать годы жизни римского императора Августа? 4. Что можно сказать о внутренней политике Августа? 5. Какую роль играла литература в период правления Августа? Справедливо ли называть это время золотым веком римской литературы? 6. Кто такой Меценат? 7. Кого из прославленных поэтов того времени вы можете назвать? 8. Что вам известно о поэме «Энеида» и ее авторе? 9. Какое время называют веком Августа в английской литературе?