The Augustan Revolution
long-knownoathofGangrainPaphlagonia,thesameoathwhichwasbeing
sworn in the countrydistricts at theSebasteaand at Neapolis in theSebas-
teon,atthealtaroftheSebastos.Theopeningwordswere‘‘IswearbyZeus,
Ge,Helios,allthegodsandgoddessesandtheSebastoshimselftobeloyalto
CaesarSebastosandhischildrenandhisdescendants.’’^45 Perhapstheseareafterall
justignorantGreeksfromtheinteriorofAsiaMinor,accustomedtoroyal
dynasties. So let us take the inhabitants of the Roman colonyof Narbo in
Provence—bynowcalledinfullColoniaIuliaPaternaNarboMartia—and
theexactwordsoftheoath(votum)whichtheytookin..:‘‘Thatitshould
be good, fortunate, and auspicious for Imperator Caesardivi filius Augus-
tus,PaterPatriae,PontifexMaximus,holdingthetribunicianpowerforthe
thtime,and his wife and children and his familyandtheSenateandPeopleof
RomeandthecoloniandincolaeoftheColony.’’Evenonanaltartothenumen
(spirit)ofAugustus,erectedinrecognitionofhissettlementofdivisionsin
thetown,theydidnothavetoselectjusttheseelements,inthatorder.^46
Ifweturntoyetanotherrelativelynewdocument,wecanseethatthe
emphasis on the imperial family could seem appropriate, not just to pro-
vincialcommunitiesbuttoasenatorialofficialfulfillingapublicroleinhis
province.ThusthetownofMessenepassedadecreetohonourthequaestor
pro praetoreofAchaea,PubliusCorneliusScipio,who‘‘beingfilledwithun-
excelledgoodwilltoAugustusand all his house’’hadconductedtheKaisareia
inlavishstyleand,learningthenewsofGaiusCaesar’scampaignsintheEast,
hadcarriedoutapublicsacrificeforhissafety(SEGXXIII,AE,
).WhenGaiusdied,whatsignificancewastobeattachedtotheevent?We
canjudgebestfromthesecondofthetwofamousinscriptionsfromPisa,or
ratherthe‘‘ColoniaObsequensIuliaPisana,’’aplacealreadyequippedwith
anAugusteumandaFlamenAugustalis(atempleandpriestofAugustus):^47
WhenthenewswasbroughtthatGaiusCaesar,thesonofAugustus,
Pater Patriae [fatherof his country], Pontifex Maximus, guardian of
theRomanEmpire,andgovernor[praeses]ofthewholeworld,grand-
sonofthedeified...hadbyacruelfatebeenseizedfromtheRoman
people,whenalreadydesignatedasamostjustprincepsandclosestto
thequalitiesofhisfather,andtheonlyprotectorofourcolony..IGRIII,;OGIS;ILS;cf.P.Herrmann,Der römische Kaisereid(),esp.
–.
.ILS.SeeP.Kreissel,‘‘EntstehungundBedeutungderAugustalität.ZurInschrift
derara Narbonensis(CILXII,),’’Chiron():.
.ILS.See,e.g.,A.R.Marottad’Agata,Decreta Pisana (CIL XI,–)().