ABSTRACT
The Roman rebuilding of Carthage in the Augustan period is often read as an act of imperial hegemony: an opportunity for Augustus to cast his influence over an historic foe and assert Roman dominance anew. Raising Carthage, a notorious enemy, from the ashes would certainly have cemented both Augustus's position as Caesar's successor and demonstrated his ability to achieve projects that had been tried and failed by others. The rebuilding of Carthage, moreover, was also an extension of the Augustan cultural and architectural project underway in Rome. This chapter argues that the Roman rebuilding of Carthage borrowed heavily on the Punic past and actively incorporated elements of the earlier city into the fabric of Colonia Concordia Iulia Karthago. It examines two Augustan altars, one from Carthage, the other from Rome, both of which were visually and thematically linked by reliefs showing crucial scenes from the Aeneid.
