“Augustus of Prima Porta” is a full-length portrait statue of Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The marble statue stands 2.08 meters tall and weighs 1,000 kg. The statue was discovered on April 20, 1863 at the Villa of Livia owned by Augustus’ third wife, Livia Drusilla in Prima Porta. Livia had retired to the villa after Augustus's death in AD 14. Carved by expert Greek sculptors, the statue is assumed to be a copy of a lost bronze original displayed in Rome. The “Augustus of Prima Porta” is now displayed in the Braccio Nuovo (New Arm) of the Vatican Museums.

The Prima Porta-type of statues of Augustus became the prevailing representational style for him, copied full-length and in busts in various versions found throughout the empire up until his death in A.D.14. The copies never showed Augustus looking older, however, but represented him as forever young, in line with his propaganda goals. His propaganda goals aim to display the authority of the Roman emperors through conventional styles and stories of the culture.

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