A Constantinian Evening

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Wonderful! I wish I could have been there!

 

I finally heard back from Katie, who gave permission to share her write-up of the Julia Domna / Venus denarius that @dougsmit was so kind to donate. Katie does a good job briefly introducing this coin. She initially doesn't seem aware of Geta and Caracalla's co-rule, though she alludes to it later. Some of her discourse ("engraved" for "struck"; "sides" for "fields") marks her as someone new to the language of ancient coins. We went over all this in evaluating the assignment. Her reference to the Aeneid and Ovid derived from the requirement to connect the coin to course texts if possible.

I think Katie really enjoyed learning more about this denarius and certainly about Julia Domna. Plus, I learned a new word: chignon.
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Katie Chappell

Dr. Richardson

ENG 430

October 28, 2018

Julia Domna, Augusta


Julia Domna (AD 193-196); AR; 17.67 mm; 2.66 g.; 180°


OBV: Bust of the Empress Julia Domna with waved hair placed into a chignon, looking r.; IVLIA DOMNA AVG[VSTA]; “Julia Domna, Augusta.”


REV: VENERI VICTR[ICI] [Victorious Venus] Venus standing r. with a palm branch in her lowered left hand and the apple in her extended right hand, looking r.; resting left elbow on a column with her dress draped below the waist.


RIC IV Septimius Severus 536




The Empress Julia Domna, married to Septimius Severus, originated from Syria. Her husband reigned from 193-211 AD and one of her sons, Caracalla, reigned from 211-217 AD (“Julia Domna”). According to RIC, “Severus married her for her imperial horoscope and seems to have admitted her claim to a certain share in the Empire when won” (Mattingly 74). Regardless of his astrological attraction to her, Julia Domna proved herself to be a resilient and intelligent leader. Cassius Dio describes how “she began to study philosophy and passed her days in company with sophists” (LXXVI). Furthermore, she retained a surprising amount of influence over Roman politics during the reign of both her husband and her son. Throughout Caracalla’s rule, Julia Domna held control over “most of the civilian administration, with the title ‘mother of the Senate and of the fatherland’” (“Julia Domna”). Her resiliency can be gathered from her composure over the assassination of her son Geta by her other son, Caracalla. Originally, her sons shared the Roman throne, but in 212 AD, Caracalla killed Geta, and Julia Domna “was not permitted to mourn or weep for her son” because of Caracalla’s political influence (Dio LXXVIII). Julia Domna died in 217 AD. Historians believe that breast cancer caused her death (“Roman Coins”) or that she “starved herself to death, either voluntarily or on the orders of the new emperor, Macrinus” (“Julia Domna”).



The obverse of this second-century coin depicts Julia Domna herself, with “IVLIA DOMNA AVG” engraved on the sides. AVG abbreviates “augusta,” since she “she received the titles of augusta [empress] … and ‘mother of the army camps’” after Severus ascended to the Roman throne (Britannica). The reverse, which reads “VENERI VICTR,” has a representation of Venus, the goddess of love. The depiction of Venus Victrix (Veneri Victrici) emphasizes Venus as the goddess of beauty, clutching the prized golden apple from the Judgment of Paris in her right hand and “holding a palm branch, the sign of victory” in her left (Dillon 467). As we know from Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Venus has a prominent place in the historical foundation of Rome. By connecting Julia Domna to Venus, this coin underscores the connection between this empress and Roman ancestry, much in the same way that Virgil emphasizes the connection between Roman Emperor Augustus and the Roman ancestral hero, Aeneas. Furthermore, the picture of Venus Victrix holding he golden apple symbolizes her preeminence as the victor of beauty and the victor over Juno and Minerva (Mattingly 73-4). The Aeneid emphasizes Venus’s role as mother, specifically as the mother of Aeneas. Several sources refer to Julia Domna as a mother of Rome; in fact, a different coin of Julia Domna from this same period of time depicts “Venus Genetrix, mother of the Roman race, mother of the two princes” (Mattingly 73). In the narrative of this coin, Julia Domna acts as the ultimate Roman mother and as a victor among the other goddesses.

Works Cited


Dillon, Matthew and Lynda Garland. Ancient Rome: Social and Historical Documents from the Early Republic to the Death of Augustus. Routledge, 2015. GoogleBooks. https://books.google.com/books?id=E...nch, the sign of victory dillon roman&f=false


Dio Cassius. Roman History, Volume IX: Books 71-80. Translated by Earnest Cary, Herbert B. Foster. Harvard University Press, 1927. loebclassics.com/view/LCL177/1927/volume.xml


“Roman Coins of Julia Domna.” Forum Ancient Coins, www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=431&pos=0#The-Severan-Period.



“Julia Domna.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 July 2010, www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Domna.



Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage. Vol. 4, Spink & Son, 1993.

 

I finally was able to read this thread. I really enjoyed the write-up. I wish I were there! And, I miss visiting Jackson, TN.

I vividly remember attending a similar presentation by one of my favorite professors, when he spoke on coins of the Roman Republic... that was 40 years ago...and it made a lasting impact on me.

Thanks to both @Gavin Richardson and @Victor_Clark for making this possible. Further thanks to @dougsmit and @Valentinian as two great individuals sharing the knowledge. And to the Students enjoying the course.

Super