Augustus’ tomb was a bummer, but the Caravaggio’s were nice

 And that’s the way it is folks.  We walked all the way down to the tomb, which was a very long way because the bus that we were hoping to ride only ran at night.  Who the hell needs to go see tombs at night?  Anyway, Augustus’s tomb was really just a huge mound of dirt and concrete brick circles.  It was

 not interesting at all.  I mean Hadrian’s tomb that was made in the image of Augustus’ tomb has become Castel Sant’angelo that is the star shaped thing attached to the Vatican now and the feature of so many Dan Brown books.  So, I expected a lot from this thing and it didn’t deliver.

  We did go next door to the Ara Pacis which is the Augustan altar of peace.  Because a place to sacrifice animals to a man who brought “peace” to Rome through killing most of the other people in power and then the Gauls was a good idea.  I have to say that even though I studied this in class and I knew the 

 significance of the piece, and I know the value that Augustus represented to the Roman Empire ( I mean he has a month named after him just like Julius), I saw this huge monument as a big propaganda machine.  It has the feeling of the wedding cake to me.  Just a lot of images and things that look good to the people about your country, or your ruler, but are just too ostentatious and trying to cover up the odor left from the way that you came to power.  Rachel talked about Augustus trying to set up a mythology of being from Aenas as a reason for him to be in power and that’s actually what it felt like.  Like a politician desperately trying to show that he belongs in office.