Serpent and Propaganda of Augustus in Hispania

  • Ana Mª Vázquez Hoys National University of Distance Education
Keywords: Serpent. Snake. Imperial propaganda. Archaeology. Augustus. Agathodaimon.

Abstract

We refer here to the possibility that the figure of the serpent which appears on some archaeological materials from the time of Augustus in Hispania formed an interesting part of the imperial propaganda and a myth that Octavius himself would have liked to spread in relation to his divine origin and the Aurea Aetas that his government was bringing from Rome. We suppose also that such propaganda may have used the figure of this animal (here a good serpent, genius loci/ agathodaimon/ genius Augusti) in different ways out of interest, depending on how the figure was being used in local cults within different parts of the Iberian Peninsula Hispania or based on its relation with diverse historical figures like Alexander the Great, Marcus Antonius, or Pompeius.

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How to Cite
Mª Vázquez Hoys, A. (2017). Serpent and Propaganda of Augustus in Hispania. Gerión. Revista de Historia Antigua, 35(Esp.), 809-836. https://doi.org/10.5209/GERI.56175