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Plutarch, tells us the name of
the month of August is derived
from "... that of Augustus, from the second Caesar, who had that
title." Julius Caesar adopted his grandnephew, Octavius (b. Sept. 23,
63 BC), in his will, and although this did not grant Octavius any special
privileges, Octavius was able to use the magic of Julius Caesar's name to
win over Caesar's veteran troops and consolidate his power base. Octavian,
assumed his official title of honor conferred on him in 27 BC by the
Senate: Imperator Caesar Augustus (Lat., "exalted"), and carried
forth many of the reforms of Julius Caesar. During his reign, the Augustan
Age, the expansion of the Roman Empire was at its unrivaled height: 200
years of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement known as the Pax
Romana. He rebuilt the city of Rome, became a great patron of the arts and
gave us the Golden Age of Latin literature by sponsoring and encouraging
the leading writers and artists of his time: the historian Livy and the
poets Ovid, Virgil and Horace, who glorified Rome's past and the greatness
of his achievement. August, presently the eighth month of the year, was
originally named Sextilis (from Lat. sextus, "sixth"), the sixth
month in the Roman year, which begins with March. It got its present name
in honor of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, for several of the most
fortunate events of Augustus' life occurred during this month. To make it
equal to the fifth month, the name of which had been changed from
Quintilis to Julius in Julius Caesar's honor; a day was taken from the
month of February and added to August. Some authorities maintain Augustus
had corrected and established by AD 8 the length of the months we use
today. Augustus died at Nola on Aug. 19, AD 14 and was succeeded by his
stepson and son-in-law, Tiberius. You may find in your neighborhood video
store the portrayal of Augustus in Robert Graves' adaptation "I,
Claudius", interesting viewing! With all the knowledge brought to us
by modern research and scholarship regarding the unattractive day-to-day
realities of the typical person's life during the Pax Romana and the
Augustan Age, I still can't help regard the "Entertainment
Years" of the Empire as an amazing parallel to the bittersweet
exuberant extravagance found in the American Ragtime world of Scott Joplin
and F. Scott Fitzgerald. So, I wrote a Piano Rag to evoke these parallels. |