Hund mit Feldherr sulla statua di Augusto di Prima Porta’

In the context of the interpretation of the figurative language of the Augustan period, the paper discusses the three figures (a Roman high-rank general, an animal, and a Parthian barbarian) oc- cupying the centre of the breastplate of the Prima Porta Augustus, and representing the rendering of the military standards. No consensus has been reached among researchers as regards their identification. The cuirassed figure has been identified with Mars or Tiberius. The figure in Oriental attire has been recognised as Phraates IV, King of Parthia, or as a generic Parthian, representative of the entire Parthian people. The animal has been vari- ously interpreted as the wolf of Mars, the she-wolf, or a generic dog. This last identification seems more in tune with what we can see, but has nonetheless not met with consensus, especially because of the lack of a convincing reason for its presence. Based on hypotheses already proposed by other scholars, the possibility is newly put forward, that the animal is indeed a dog, whose presence should allude to the soldiers guarding the borders. The cuirassed figure could represent a military genius, thus also accounting for the ideal coiffure he features.