The Birth of Empire. The accession of Augustus in 27 B.C.E. traditionally marks the end of the Roman republic and a transition to the era of imperial dynasties who present themselves as protectors of the Roman people and true masters of the civilized world. A century of bloody civil wars had only just ended, and Augustus sought to legitimate his claim to power with a series of monuments, as well as calling on the services of poets such as Vergil to write his epic Aeneid, ostensibly as a panegyric to the new regime. An important consequence of this policy for architecture and visual arts generally is the idea of art in the service of the state — in effect, art as state propaganda. Augustus built his own forum, as well as theaters, arches, aqueducts, and temples, and was said to have...