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Today I had to work on a paper that went as such: Tacitus portrays Augustus as a tyrant who seized power in the absence of any other feasable candidates. “He was wholly unopposed as the boldest spirits had fallen in battle, or in the proscription” (Mellor, Page 307). Tacitus goes on to use words like “despotism” (307) and “usurped” (311) to further portray Augustus in a negative manner. With nostalgia for the idea of the Republic, Tacitus/ In Augustus’s Res Gestae he portrays himself completely in a positive manner, taking care not to mention any of his faults or failures. He takes care to emphasize the legality of all his actions. “the senate passes honorary decrees enrolling me in its order in the consulship…giving me imperium.” (255) Augustus also portrays himself as be a superhero for the people.Augustus provided this version of himself because this is the way he wished to be remembered. The fact his audience would include As Tacitus is writing with the aim of producing a historical document he takes pains not to conceal facts. Tacitus however, focuses on a negative portrayal of Augustus due to his nostalgia for the idea of a Republic. In contrast to this, Suetonius omits certain facts because he is writing a biography in which he presumes that the audience of the document will be aware of the details behind the events he mentions. Augustus however, w is writing to portray himself the way he wishes to be remembered therefore he conceals several important details. “….” The fact that many of his intended audience were provincials would have meant that they would not have known much about the details and changes of the empire. This meant that his “Res Gestae” would have been what they believed to be a factual account and what they remembered him for.
