Rome 29-27 BCE   Obverse TYPE: Bust of Octavian laureate	Reverse TYPE: rostral column with Octavian nude except for Greek-style cloak LEGEND: IMP(erator) CAESAR

AFTER ACTIUM: Between 31 and 27 BCE, Octavian had successfully led his followers to a victory in a civil war that had eliminated all rivals to sole power. He could claim that his sovereignty rested on the consent of all. "All" were thus secure as long as the consensus included the support of the legions. But now that peace was established, how was Octavian to act?

• We have already seen that if he simply handed affairs back to the senate, civil war would flare up again; on the other hand, if he exercised autocratic power, he might suffer the fate of Julius Caesar
• Romans were pessimistic, after two generations of civil war, about lasting peace. Octavian needed to change the outlook to one of confidence in the new stability, in the favor of the gods, and in continuing peace. The steps he took between 31 and 27 included holding the consulship several years in succession, accepting a number of honors and prerogatives from the state, and demobilizing the legions significantly after celebrating his triple-triumph in 29 (i.e., signs of return to normalcy).

laureate: the laurel wreath is a symbol of victory, but also of Apollo (whose sacred tree is the laurel). Antony had adopted the patronage and symbolism of Dionysos (god of vegetation and wine) and Octavian of Apollo. Octavian represented his victories at Philippi (over Cassius and Brutus) and at Actium (over Antony and Cleopatra) as indicative of Apollo's favor and by reason of his aid. Later, Apolline disciplines (morality, purification, music, reconciliation, etc.) will play an important role in the Augustan program.

The monument depicted on the coin is a statue of Octavian, nude, on a column decorated with prows (rostra) of enemy ships. The monument was erected in the Forum Romanum to commemorate the naval victory over Sextus Pompeius; a similar column had been erected in the third century for a victory over the Carthaginians. Thus, the column, and by extension the image on the coin, likened the civil war victory to one over a foreign enemy.

• Nude statues were, as we have seen, an image of power already in the late Republic. Although they were, no doubt, offensive to many Romans, they nonetheless may have inspired confidence in the stability Octavian's victories had accomplished.

IMP(erator) = commander