Augustus and the refoundation of the colony

The Roman status granted to Butrint by Caesar was reaffirmed by his adopted son, the emperor Augustus. Having defeated Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium some 200 km south of Butrint, the new princeps needed to assert his position in the Ionian and to guarantee the important crossing point between Greece and Italy. Almost immediately the coinage of Butrint changed to reflect its new loyalties; as well as including Augustus’ portrait, the city’s name now appears as Colonia Augusta Buthrotum.

For Butrint the change seems to have been easy; indeed, it may have been welcomed. The city had for long had a close relationship with the rich landholder Titus Pomponius Atticus, and Atticus’ daughter had already six years previously married Augustus’ friend and general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. For Butrint the link with Agrippa ensured not only continuity but provided an important link to the emperor himself. Not surprisingly the city erected not one but two statues in honour of Agrippa.

The most radical changes to the urban layout of Butrint may date to the reign of Augustus. The city was furnished with an aqueduct bringing in copious amounts of water and soon fountains and bathhouses sprang up everywhere. The alignment of the aqueduct is intimately linked to the layout of the suburb on the Vrina Plain, and it is likely that the latter was designed in this period. Changes may have been planned also for the forum and sanctuary area; certainly portraits of Augustus and his wife Livia have been found here.

Erecting statues to the imperial family would have confirmed the city’s loyalty and acted as a bid for imperial support and investment. For Butrint associating itself with Augustus probably had very real economic motives, too. Immediately after the Actium victory, Augustus founded a new city on the site of the battle, Nicopolis. This became the new focal point for the region and an essential link between Italy and Greece. Undoubtedly Butrint hoped to form the northern counterpoint to Nicopolis and increase its status in the trade through the Ionian.

 

• The Roman Colony
• Caesar and the colony at Butrint
• The millionaire: Titus Pomponius Atticus
• Augustus and the refoundation of the colony
• Butrint and Nero

A bid for imperial support: the Germanicus inscription
The inscription was set up in honour of Germanicus during his consulship in 12 AD.
Germanicus was awarded an honorary magistracy at Butrint, which a local prefect would administer on his behalf. Germanicus’ family links are carefully enumerated – he is grandson of Augustus and son of the later emperor Tiberius. A deliberate reminder of old ties of allegiance, and an attempt to cement new ones, with the imperial family.
Germanicus was married to the daughter of Agrippa, Agrippina the Elder, and hence singling him out for honour was also an attempt at consolidating the old ties with this family.