Rome 31-29 BCE   Obverse TYPE: Bust of Octavian, bareheaded	Reverse TYPE: honorific statue of Octavian on horseback LEGEND: CAESAR DIVI F(ilius)

Note youthful appearance and, as Professor Dunkle pointed, the nose.

An equestrian statue, similar to the one depicted on this aureus, was voted for Octavian in 43 BCE.

• Equestrian honorific monuments had been erected during the late Republic as a means of competitive self-aggrandizement; they deployed ideals of a Greek hero and/or Hellenistic monarch more than traditional Roman ideals of dignity and service to the state.
  • Note for example that Octavian is bare -chested and sports a Greek-style wrap rather than a Roman toga.
  • The type expresses his ability to lead an army (though not dressed as a Roman general) and his rivalry for power. The visual image corresponds to a claim that one has 'superhuman' power.
• Later, Augustus melted down the equestrian statues and put the silver toward procuring offerings of gold tripods for the temple of Apollo, but that was after he had eliminated his rivals and attained sole power. . . .