Lucius Aelius was granted the title Caesar after accepting the request of Hadrian to be his successor (not to be confused with Hadrian's boy toy Antinous). Sadly the man would never become an Augustus, dying in his 30s. Though Lucius Aelius never became Augustus, due to a hemorrhage, his coinage is plentiful enough that we can still see the face of one more of Rome's "what-woulda-beens" through the ages! AELIUS (Caesar, 136-138). Denarius. Rome. Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR. Bare head right. Rev: TR POT COS II. Pietas standing left, raising hand to drop incense onto lighted and garlanded altar to left. RIC 432 (Hadrian). Weight: 2.75 g.Diameter:17 Post em if ya got em!
Yes he was! In Historia Augusta the wag of an author hints that Hadrian chose Aelius because of his looks, and that he came to regret the choice. Had Aelius not died before Hadrian, the author suggests Hadrian would have had him "eliminated" . [edited: incorrect information; the passage was about Lucius Verus.] Let me trot out my rockin' Secret Saturn gift once again! Wowza, what an amazingly generous and wonderful gift! EGYPT, Alexandria. Aelius 137 CE Billon tetradrachm; 23 mm, 13.16 gm Obv: ΛAIΛIOCKAICAP; bare head right Rev: ΔHM EΞOVC VΠAT B; Homonoia standing left, holding cornucopiae and patera over garlanded altar Ref: Köln 1271; Milne 1539; Emmett 1350.2 Ex John A. Seeger Collection Received from my Secret Saturn, 2018
Aelius (136 - 138 A.D.) AR Denarius O: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head right. R: TR POT COS II, Felicitas standing left, caduceus in left, cornucopia in right. Rome Mint, 137 A.D. 3.16g 18mm SRCV II 3973, RIC II Hadrian 430, RSC II 50, BMCRE III Hadrian 969
AELIUS, Caesar. 137 AD. Philippopolis, Thrace. (Æ 33; 21.34 gm). Obv: Λ AIΛIOC KAICAP, cuirassed bust of Aelius, r., bare head, with paludamentum seen from rear. Rev. ΦIΛIΠΠOΠO - LEITΩN, Female figure wearing polos standing l., holding patera in r. hand and poppy and two ears of corn in l. hand; on l., river-god (Hebrus) reclining. BMC__ ; SNG Cop.__; Moushmov__; Varbanov 643, rarity 9; RPC III, 753. (The third, and worst, known )
Always fascinating to see denarii that clearly circulated *long* after the person on it was dead. I had a nice, honestly worn Aelius, but ultimately traded up for this one
Looking at TIF's tetradrachm and my hemidrachm, I wonder why Aelius had reverse legends while Harian coins from Alexandria were simply dated. This poor as is my only Roman Aelius. Note how it matches the Alexandrian coin.
I like seeing all of these! Those silver coins and those big AEs! Mine is an As version of your denarius, Z.
My Aelius sestertius is a bit embarrassing and horrible, but it will do for now ... @TIF i had no idea Hadrian thought Aelius was a bit of a hottie! I bet Antinous was jell! Well, you learn something every day!
Bronzes of this period circulated for decades and high-grade specimens are quite scarce. Here's a typical Aelius sestertius:
Apologies, Greg and everyone-- I misunderstood Historia Augusta and it took many re-readings to understand the chapter. Actually, I still don't understand it but now I think the playboy/boy toy thing was in reference to Lucius Verus, not his father Aelius. I read it too quickly last month, casually scanning for lurid passages, and now realize that I don't understand the chapter at all. The author seems to indicate that Lucius Verus was adopted by Hadrian but I thought LV was adopted by Antoninus Pius. The names Aelius and Lucius Verus are presented differently than in other sources and the whole chapter doesn't make sense. Sometimes a paragraph seems to be about Aelius and then the next seems to be about Lucius Verus. It's very confusing. Maybe someone else can read that short chapter and explain it to me . The chapter was written ~150 years after the reported events so perhaps there are factual errors. Historia Augusta is not known for its accuracy but I thought that was more about the gossipy and lurid nature of the tales rather than timelines. Edited again: one modern source estimates that the Aelius chapter is only ~25% factually accurate .
TIF, When Aelius suddenly died, Hadrian quickly appointed Antoninus Pius as his successor under the condition Antoninus Pius took both Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as his Caesars. Both became emperor in 161 AD after Antoninus Pius death. Lucius Verus, son of Aelius also died (169) before his time, just as his father at age 39 Marcus Aurelius ruled another 11 years alone as emperor untill 180 AD
Yes, but Historia Augusta seems to say that LV was adopted by Hadrian... which isn't correct and which was one of the many confusing (and wrong) things in HA.
TIF, have a look at the Emperor's of Rome podcast. There's a few episodes where they talk explicitly about the sources, and the Historia Augusta doesn't come off well at all haha. There are a number of different speculations about the author/s of the text and what their purpose actually was. Some of the chapters are speculated to be entirely made up with very little truth at all. I'm reading Suetonius at the moment, but plan on tackling that one later this year.
I might give them try but audio books and things drive me nuts because I can read so much faster than anyone can talk, so I don't like the extra time it takes to listen plus I can't just scan ahead for the information I'm seeking.
I was taught that Historia Augusta was about as reliable as the average historical novel. Of course I was also taught not to accept any work of history at face value (that includes Suetonius, Dio Cassius, Tacitus etc.) since authors with an axe to grind are more common than ones that attempted to be fair and complete.
Which is why I double up the speed to 2.0. My wife thinks I am nuts as she cannot understand what they are saying at that speed. However, it is just so fun to enjoy a good book, lecture, podcast etc while driving or working out...though you are spot on about trying to scan for information from a 30 hour lecture when your phone gives you about 2 inches to scroll through that vast expanse of time
