Description
Plaster cast of the Altar of the Lares Augusti. Original is housed in the Uffizi Museum, Florence, Italy. Site of origin is Vicus Sandaliarus, Rome, circa 2 BCE.
Publication Date
1978
Type of Artwork
Model
Time Period/Geographical Region
Ancient Rome
Height (cm/in)
113.03 cm / 44.5 in
Width (cm/in)
104.14 cm / 41 in
Depth (cm/in)
74.93 cm / 29.5 in
Disciplines
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Sculpture
Recommended Citation
Morehead State University. Camden-Carroll Library., "Altar of the Lares Augusti" (1978). Metropolitan Museum of Art Cast Collection. 37.
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/metropolitan_art_collection/37
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Comments
The Lares were guardian deities of ancient Rome, protecting all that happened within the boundaries of their location. This altar was dedicated by the magistri, or leaders, of a neighborhood of Rome known as the Vicus Sandaliarus during the reign of Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. On one side of the altar, a relief depicts two dancing Lares and two laurel branches framing an oak-leaf wreath; on the other, a winged Victory standing next to Roman armor and shield. On the front, three figures are depicted in a sacred rite: in the center, Augustus holding an augural staff with a chicken at his feet; on the left, a young man with a toga over his head (either Gaius or Lucius, one of Augustus' sons); and at the right, a woman holding a sacrificial dish (probably Augustus' wife Livia). The inscription reads "To the Augustan Lares; when Imp. Casear Augustus for the thirteenth time and M. Plautius Silvanus were consuls; D. Oppius, freedman of Gaius; D. Lucilius, freedman of Decimus, Salvius; L. Brinnius, reedman of Gaius, Princeps; L. Furius, freedman of Lucius, Salvius; chief officers of the district Sandaliarus."