Julia Augusta

Tracene Harvey's study looks at how coins bearing the likeness of Livia, wife of Augustus, shaped public opinion and political meaning in the Roman world. Rather than treating the coins alone, the author places them alongside Livia's portrayal in other visual forms, tracing the deliberate visual vocabulary used to elevate her as the most prominent woman in the imperial household.

The book offers what it describes as the most thorough survey so far of every surviving coin issued for Livia. It also presents some of the first analyses of Roman coin designs as products shaped by gender, arguing that these images set up a visual conversation about Livia's authority and her gender role in relation to the male members of the imperial family. Women had appeared on coins before, and this was not wholly new, since images of powerful Roman statesmen began to appear on coinage in the late 40s BCE. Even so, the extent to which Livia was honored on coins, both in Rome and in the provinces, had no real precedent.

The volume will suit readers interested in women and imperial imagery in the Roman Empire, as well as in the role of visual representation in Roman imperial ideology.