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Left panel relief Tellus, frontal view of the left semi-naked female figure who is borne aloft by a soft-feathered swan (this is the best known work of the whole Ara Pacis); Dedicated on 30 January 9 BCE, the altar was erected in the Campus Martius by the Roman Senate to commemorate Augustus' return from Spain and Gaul on 4 July 13 BCE. The best-known exemplar of Augustan art, it is typified by its eclectic mix of Classical and Hellenistic elements and skillful amalgam of Roman myth-history and contemporary events. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 9/1/2009)