Ara South Side
On the south side, Augustus himself, crowned with laurel, the four flamines maiores, priests with the characteristic headgear surmounted by a metal tip, Agrippa, depicted with the head covered by the flap of the toga and with a roll of parchment in the right hand and finally the little Gaius Caesar, his son, holding on to his father's clothes.
Agrippa is the strong man of the empire, friend and son-in-law of Augustus, whose daughter Giulia he married in second marriage. He is also Gaius and Lucio Cesari's father, adopted by his grandfather and destined to succeed him in his command.
Gaius is turned towards the female figure following him, in which is usually recognized the prince's bride Livia, represented with a veiled head and a laurel wreath giving her a high-ranking figure. According to a more recent interpretation, this figure instead should be identified with Giulia, who appears here following her husband and her firstborn Gaius.
Tiberius is generally recognized in the male figure that follows, even if this identification is uncertain considering the fact that the character wears plebeian shoes, a detail that does not suit Tiberius, a descendant of one of the most ancient Roman families.
The so-called Tiberius is followed by a family group, probably formed by Antonia Minore, granddaughter of Augustus, her husband Drusus and their son Germanicus. Drusus is the only portrait in war dress, with the characteristic military garment, the paludamentum: in fact in 13 BC. he was engaged in fighting the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine.
A second family group follows, probably formed by Antonia Maggiore, granddaughter of Augustus, by her husband Lucio Domizio Enobarbus, consul in 16 BC, and by their children Domitia and Gneo Domizio Enobarbus, future father of Nero.
