Has anyone ever noticed how the
portraits of
Constantine I radically altered after
his defeat of Licinus? As
Caesar and Emperor of the
West, we see him portayed with a beard and mustache, or in this case, just a mustache.
Or, in this Commemorative coin issued by
Trajan Decius, where
Augustus looks suspiciously unlike
his own
portrait?
But, not long after he assumed the sole reign of the
Roman Empire, we begin to see him clean-shaven and looking very much like
Augustus, as seen below.
Below, is seen the "new" representation of
Constantine.
Coincidence? I don't think so.
To my thinking,
Constantine was obviously using
his political machine to portray himself as the "new"
Augustus, a fact that was not lost on the
Roman populous.
I am sure that there are many other examples of emperors who used this same example to tie into the "Golden Reign" of
Augustus.
Please add to this
thread any other examples that you may find.
Kevin