Review of "The Age of Augustus" by Werner Eck: Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2003. Isbn 0 631 22958 2

Abstract

Werner Eck's biography of the founder of the first dynasty of Roman emperors, Augustus (63 BCE - 14 CE), 'The Age of Augustus' was first published in 1998 in German as 'Augustus und seine Zeit'. This 2003 English translation by Deborah Schneider includes additional material by Sarlota Takács in the form of an updated bibliography and an English translation of the 'Res Gestae', Augustus' own record of his achievements. Eck opens with a brief first chapter introducing Augustus' self-representation of his reign in the 'Res Gestae' - essentially a catalogue of achievements - and a contrasting assessment presented by second century CE Roman historian Tacitus, of Augustus as a duplicitous, power-conscious and power-hungry individual.