Aryan Culture: The Augustan Altar of Peace in Rome

by James Harting

The Ara Pacis Augustae or “Augustan Altar of Peace” is a stunning piece of architecture from the earliest years of the Roman Empire. It was built as part of the civic religion of ancient Rome. The altar was commissioned by the Roman Senate in 13 BCE and completed and consecrated in 9 BCE.

Like the much larger and more famous Parthenon in Athens or the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, the Augustan Altar of Peace is simultaneously an architectural structure and a work of sculpture in and of itself.

The structure consists of an open-air altar, surrounded by four exterior (or precinct) walls. A short stairway provides entrance into the inner area. The outer walls are decorated with exquisitely carved reliefs which portray episodes from Roman history and mythology depicting scenes of peace and plenty. A prominent Swastika frieze of fret runs along the bottom of the reliefs.

The altar was placed on an area that was within the flood plain of the Tiber River, which runs through Rome. Over the course of the centuries, it became submerged in many feet of silt, until it disappeared completely.

In 1568 fragments of the altar were first discovered, and by the early 20th century nearly all of the structure had been recovered. It was suggested that the pieces be reassembled, but nothing was done until the advent of Benito Mussolini’s Fascist government. The Duce was eager to stress the connections between the ancient glories of Rome and his modern Fascist state. Work on reconstructing the altar was begun in 1932 and was completed by 1938.

The altar is a manifestation of the Aryan spirit of the Classical world that inspired the architects of National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy some 2,000 years later. It is an example of the artistic glories that our race can achieve once it is freed of the shackles of the decadent ethos of the modern era.

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Source: New Order