“Instead of having what art historians love ... Meanwhile legionaries—the highly trained backbone of Rome’s war machine—occupy themselves with building forts and bridges, clearing roads ...

His father died when Augustus was four. His prospects were bleak: Rome was dangerous, engulfed by civil war between power-hungry factions. One of these was led by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar.

Caesar chose war. Conquering HeroA bust from the National ... second to first centuries B.C., Museum of Roman Civilization, Rome Photograph by Art Archive The Senate met again and passed a decree ...