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<p>[QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 4862477, member: 96898"]Here is a recent Roman Republican acquisition that departs from the usual denarius model of Roma on the obverse and some sort of chariot on the reverse:</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="3">[ATTACH=full]1174456[/ATTACH] </font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Republic, moneyer: M. Herennius, AR denarius, 108–107 BC, Rome mint. Obv: PIETAS; head of Pietas r. Rev: M HERENNI; one of the Catanean brothers Amphinomos and Anapias carrying his father r; in field, control mark .V. 19mm, 3.94g. Ex Artemide 52E, lot 162.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>The single topic of this coin's iconography is the moral concept of <i>pietas</i>, which can be translated as "devotion," "loyalty," or "dutifulness." In most classical contexts, the Latin adjective <i>pius </i>refers to loyalty and devotion to one's parents and ancestors. The cognomen <i>Pius</i>, adopted by many Roman emperors including the well-known Antoninus Pius, highlights the filial piety of the namebearer.</p><p><br /></p><p>On my coin, a personification of <i>pietas</i> is shown on the obverse, while the reverse "illustrates <i>pietas</i> in action" (Crawford, RRC, p. 318). It depicts the story of the two brothers Amphinomos and Anapias from Katane in Sicily, who during a volcanic eruption carried their parents to safety. Seneca portrays the two brothers as role models of filial devotion:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Those young Sicilians won the victory; for, when Aetna, aroused to unusual fury, poured forth its fire upon cities, upon fields, upon a great part of the island, they conveyed their parents to safety. The fires parted, so it was believed, and, as the flames retired on either side, a path was opened up for the passage of the youths, who greatly deserved to perform their heroic tasks in safety." (Seneca, <i>De beneficiis</i> 3, 37, 2).</p><p><br /></p><p>Alternatively, it has been proposed that the reverse shows Aeneas carrying his father Anchises out of the burning city of Troy. Mostly due to the lack of comparable contemporary images of Aeneas, this interpretation appears rather unlikely.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Please post your coins showing <i>pietas</i>!</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 4862477, member: 96898"]Here is a recent Roman Republican acquisition that departs from the usual denarius model of Roma on the obverse and some sort of chariot on the reverse: [SIZE=3][ATTACH=full]1174456[/ATTACH] Roman Republic, moneyer: M. Herennius, AR denarius, 108–107 BC, Rome mint. Obv: PIETAS; head of Pietas r. Rev: M HERENNI; one of the Catanean brothers Amphinomos and Anapias carrying his father r; in field, control mark .V. 19mm, 3.94g. Ex Artemide 52E, lot 162.[/SIZE] The single topic of this coin's iconography is the moral concept of [I]pietas[/I], which can be translated as "devotion," "loyalty," or "dutifulness." In most classical contexts, the Latin adjective [I]pius [/I]refers to loyalty and devotion to one's parents and ancestors. The cognomen [I]Pius[/I], adopted by many Roman emperors including the well-known Antoninus Pius, highlights the filial piety of the namebearer. On my coin, a personification of [I]pietas[/I] is shown on the obverse, while the reverse "illustrates [I]pietas[/I] in action" (Crawford, RRC, p. 318). It depicts the story of the two brothers Amphinomos and Anapias from Katane in Sicily, who during a volcanic eruption carried their parents to safety. Seneca portrays the two brothers as role models of filial devotion: “Those young Sicilians won the victory; for, when Aetna, aroused to unusual fury, poured forth its fire upon cities, upon fields, upon a great part of the island, they conveyed their parents to safety. The fires parted, so it was believed, and, as the flames retired on either side, a path was opened up for the passage of the youths, who greatly deserved to perform their heroic tasks in safety." (Seneca, [I]De beneficiis[/I] 3, 37, 2). Alternatively, it has been proposed that the reverse shows Aeneas carrying his father Anchises out of the burning city of Troy. Mostly due to the lack of comparable contemporary images of Aeneas, this interpretation appears rather unlikely. [B]Please post your coins showing [I]pietas[/I]![/B][/QUOTE]
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