Ara Pacis relief: Augustus, Agrippa and Julia on the processional frieze of the imperial family
In brief
The Ara Pacis relief shows a section from the south frieze of the Augustan Altar of Peace, built between 13 and 9 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome. At the centre stands Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Augustus' son-in-law, beside a veiled female figure who has been debated for more than a century as either Julia (daughter of Augustus) or Livia (wife of Augustus). The replica in patinated alabaster plaster transfers a key visual source of Augustan self-representation into a wall format suitable for teaching in secondary education and museum education.
The Ara Pacis relief at a glance
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Authenticity level: Historical replica (level 2) — patinated alabaster plaster instead of Carrara marble, detailed section from an original frieze several metres long, iconographically based on the model
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Material: Alabaster plaster, sand-coloured patina
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Dimensions: 34 × 22 cm, weight 1.65 kg, rear hanging fixture
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Dating of the model: 13–9 BC (Senate decree 4 July 13 BC, dedication 30 January 9 BC)
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Best-known model: South frieze of the Ara Pacis Augustae, Museo dell'Ara Pacis, Rome; casts and original fragments in the Uffizi, Florence
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Ancient source: Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti 12.2
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Suitable educational context: Secondary I/II history and Latin, module on the Augustan Principate and Pax Romana, station-based learning for analysing visual sources
What historical role does the Ara Pacis relief play in Augustan visual politics?
The Ara Pacis Augustae was built between 13 and 9 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, after the Senate decreed its construction on 4 July 13 BC to mark Augustus' return from Hispania and Gallia. Augustus himself mentions the Senate decree in the Res Gestae Divi Augusti (12.2) as an honour pro reditu meo. The original slabs are now in the Museo dell'Ara Pacis on the Lungotevere in Augusta; further original fragments and casts of the south-frieze panel are held in the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence under Inv. 1914 nn. 1344–1346.
Setting in time and space
Together with the Mausoleum of Augustus (28 BC) and the Solarium Augusti, whose obelisk shadow moved towards the Ara Pacis on Augustus' birthday, the altar formed a spatial triad on the northern Campus Martius. The dedication on 30 January 9 BC fell on the birthday of Livia, the emperor's wife — no coincidence, but a deliberately chosen date within the dynastic programme. Paul Zanker described this interplay of architecture, visual programme and family calendar in Augustus und die Macht der Bilder (Munich 1987) as a defining model of Augustan self-staging.
Who is the woman behind Agrippa? Identification in the research debate
This is where the piece becomes especially interesting. Agrippa is the only securely identifiable figure on the southern processional panel: portrait comparisons with busts in Paris, Gabii and Copenhagen support this reading, and he appears with the fold of his toga drawn over his head (capite velato) in a priestly attitude. The veiled woman behind him has been interpreted as Julia since Eugen Petersen (1894, 1902), yet the official museum texts acknowledge that many scholars place Julia on the opposite north side and set Livia here instead. The Uffizi itself writes in its object description: “Si potrebbe trattare di Giulia maggiore, figlia di Augusto, o Livia, sua moglie."
Charles Brian Rose (1990) reinterpreted the two small boys with long curls and short tunics even more decisively against the older scholarship. They were long read as Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Augustus' grandsons. Rose, and after him Diana Conlin, see them as eastern princes, probably hostages at the Augustan court — a reading that has been accepted by a majority of scholars since 2000 and has displaced the older Petersen thesis of a depicted “Troy Game".
Archaeological comparison object: the original in the Museo dell'Ara Pacis
The surviving south frieze of the original is over ten metres long, with a relief height of around 1.55 m. The material is Luna/Carrara marble, mounted on an enclosure wall measuring 11.6 × 10.6 m. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali documents the present display in Richard Meier's pavilion, opened in 2006, which replaced the older Morpurgo building of 1937. A common misconception reads the friezes as decorative visual accompaniment; in fact, they convey a precisely constructed political image programme centred on the Pax Augusta.
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Original dimensions (south frieze): approx. 10.55 m long, approx. 1.55 m relief height
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Original material: Luna/Carrara marble
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Dating: Senate decree 4 July 13 BC, dedication 30 January 9 BC
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Findspot: Campus Martius, Rome (discoveries in 1568, 1859, 1903, main campaign 1937)
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Current location: Museo dell'Ara Pacis, Lungotevere in Augusta, Rome; casts and original fragments in the Uffizi, Florence, Inv. 1914 nn. 1344–1346
How does the Ara Pacis relief differ from comparable visual sources of Augustan self-representation?
| Visual source |
Dating |
Material and dimensions |
Function in the visual programme |
| Ara Pacis Augustae, south frieze (original) |
13–9 BC |
Carrara marble, frieze slab approx. 1.55 m high, over 10 m long |
public state monument, dynastic procession of the domus Augusta |
| Forum Traiani replica (this product) |
Replica after a model dated 13–9 BC |
patinated alabaster plaster, 34 × 22 cm |
visual section with Agrippa and female figure, didactic wall format for educational work |
| Gemma Augustea, Vienna, Inv. IXa 79 |
AD 9–12 |
two-layer sardonyx, 19 × 23 cm |
prestige cameo for the inner court circle, allegorical apotheosis of Augustus |
| Boscoreale cup (Louvre, Inv. Bj 2367) |
Augustan to early Tiberian |
silver, repoussé, height approx. 10 cm |
table silver from a villa context, dynastic self-representation in the private sphere |
| Augustus of Prima Porta (Vatican Museums) |
after 19 BC |
marble, approx. 2.06 m high |
idealised imperator statue, military-religious reading |
Ara Pacis relief in educational work
At 34 × 22 cm, the piece is sized to fit at eye level on a classroom wall and remains legible to a whole class from three to four metres away. The main figures — Agrippa with the fold of his toga over his head, the veiled woman behind him, the reaching boy — remain recognisable as a composition even without prior explanation. This turns the replica into a visual source that pupils can first describe and then compare with written sources, such as Res Gestae 12.
Suitable type of presentation: Secondary I/II history and Latin, Augustan Principate, early 1st century BC to early Imperial period | Area of use: Wall mounting in the classroom and museum workshop room, station-based learning, cross-curricular history–Latin teaching; not suitable for outdoor use or damp rooms | Wall use: permanent installation via the rear hanging fixture, robust against repeated handling in the rotation of a school week
- Visual-source analysis: pupils describe the arrangement of the figures before they hear the term propaganda — clothing, posture and gesture become the topic, not the labels
- Direct image-and-text comparison: place the relief next to an extract from Res Gestae 12.2 and examine together what the visual source shows, what the text claims and where the two diverge
- Identification exercise in source discussion: through the research debate Julia/Livia and Caesar's grandsons/eastern princes, pupils learn that even seemingly secure visual statements remain interpretations
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Known weaknesses of the reconstruction: the material is alabaster plaster rather than Luna marble; the 34 × 22 cm section stands for a frieze slab more than 1.5 m high; the replica adopts the traditional reading of the figures and cannot itself represent the research debate; tool marks of the ancient stonemason are not reproduced
Which uses is the Ara Pacis relief suitable for?
- A teacher mounts the piece permanently in the history room when the class is working for several weeks on the Augustan Principate module; in a travelling exhibition with frequent assembly and dismantling, the hanging fixture is less suitable
- A museum educator builds the relief into an Augustus station when the workshop deliberately focuses only on the processional section with Agrippa; for a full reading of the overall frieze, additional photo posters of the north and west sides are needed
- Anyone teaching source criticism strictly from the original archaeological evidence should point out the material difference between alabaster plaster and marble; in lower secondary teaching the visual reading is sufficient, while in upper secondary teaching the note becomes a useful methodological prompt
Useful for reenactors and private collectors: as a wall piece in a lararium or insula setting, it complements domestic-cult ensembles without shifting the focus away from educational use.
Frequently asked questions about the Ara Pacis relief
What age recommendation applies to the Ara Pacis relief in school and museum use?
With a weight of 1.65 kg and smooth, bevelled outer edges, the piece can be used from Year 8 (approx. age 12) in hand-led station work. The alabaster plaster is sensitive to pressure from pointed objects, but it does not splinter; if dropped from a height of more than one metre, the rear hanging fixture may break out. In the classroom, fixed wall mounting is recommended rather than passing it around freely.
Which curriculum topics does the relief cover in lower and upper secondary education?
In history curricula for lower and upper secondary education, the piece belongs in the module on the Roman Empire and the Principate of Augustus; in Latin teaching it fits the reading of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti and extracts from Suetonius and Tacitus on the early Julio-Claudian family. The transition from Republic to Empire and the topics of propaganda, visual sources and dynastic legitimation can also be worked through using the object.
Which content can be explored from the relief, and which cannot?
The priestly attitude of the main figure (fold of the toga over the head), the familial visual motif and the research debate over the identity of the figures can be explored well. What cannot be explored from the replica section is the overall composition of the procession, the position of the altar in the urban ensemble with mausoleum and sundial, or the iconography of the west side with Aeneas and Mars-Lupercal. These topics require additional visual material.
How do I care for and store the relief over several school years?
Alabaster plaster reacts sensitively to moisture and direct sunlight over years. Cleaning should be dry, using a soft brush or microfibre cloth, never water or cleaning agents. If the piece is taken down over the summer holidays, store it lying flat in a dry cardboard box with padding around the hanging fixture. For small chips on edges, the area can be carefully evened out with fine sandpaper (400 grit).
Is the relief a true-to-scale copy of the original?
No. The original frieze has a relief height of around 1.55 m and a total length of over ten metres on the south side. The 34 × 22 cm replica reproduces a detailed section with Agrippa, the veiled female figure and a boy; it should be understood as a sectional relief replica, not as a 1:1 reproduction of the entire frieze.
External sources and literature on the Ara Pacis relief
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Wikipedia: Ara Pacis. Overview article on the construction, visual programme and research history of the Augustan Altar of Peace.
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Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence: Rilievi dell'Ara Pacis Augustae, Inv. 1914 nn. 1344–1346. Official object record for the original fragments and casts of the south frieze, with an iconographic description of the imperial family.
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Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Roma Capitale: Nuovo Museo dell'Ara Pacis. Institutional data sheet on the present display in Richard Meier's pavilion (2006).
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Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Antikensammlung: Gemma Augustea, Inv. IXa 79. Comparison object for Augustan self-representation in prestige cameo format.
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Zanker, Paul (1987): Augustus und die Macht der Bilder, Munich: C.H. Beck. Standard work on Augustan visual politics with a detailed discussion of the Ara Pacis.
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Rose, Charles Brian (1990): Princes and Barbarians on the Ara Pacis, in: American Journal of Archaeology 94, 453–467. Re-identification of the boy figures as eastern princes.
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Simon, Erika (1967): Ara Pacis Augustae, Tübingen: Wasmuth. Classic monograph on the monument, listed in the DAI Zenon catalogue.
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Ancient primary source: Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti 12.2. Full Latin text: The Latin Library; English translation with work navigation: LacusCurtius (Univ. of Chicago).
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Updated on: 11/05/2026
