Octavius was less than nineteen years old when he inherited Caesar’s fortune, and less than thirty two when he defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. When he became master of the Mediterranean world, the rule of the elders that was so characteristic of early Rome came to an end. All of a sudden, there was a youthful emperor and Roman artists were called upon to create drastically different portraits of this drastically different leader. In addition, Augustus advertised himself as the son of a god (due to Caesar being made a god after his death), and this also changed how he was portrayed.

Many portraits of Augustus like the one above were created throughout his life, and they were meant to put the image of a godlike leader before the public eye. Official portraits of Augustus never aged, and he was also portrayed as a handsome youth even in the years before he died. The vast majority of the people of his empire had never and would never see the emperor in person, so this quasi-deception was completely accepted.