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Message:: [QUOTE="Orielensis, post: 4609824, member: 96898"]Apollo, depicted as a beautiful young man, is the deity of the sun and of light, of music and the arts, and of prophecy, oracles, and truth. He is also associated with archery and healing, and is the patron of herdsmen and shepherds. On Roman coins, he often plays the lyre, sits on an omphalos (i.e. the sacred navel stone of Delphi), or carries bow and arrow. Depictions of Apollo are oftentimes complex in iconography – here is an <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_apollo.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_apollo.html" rel="nofollow">informative website on this topic.</a> My coin, a denarius of Caracalla, shows Apollo leaning on a lyre, which is set on a short column to make this posture possible, and holding out a branch of laurel, Apollo’s sacred tree from which wreaths were wrought for the winners of athletic and artistic competitions.[ATTACH=full]1141744[/ATTACH]Caracalla, Roman Empire, denarius, 215 AD, Rome mint. Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM; laureate head of Caracalla r. Rev: P M TR P XVIII COS IIII P P; Apollo, naked except for cloak flying behind, standing l., holding branch in extended r. hand and with l. hand lyre set on altar. 21mm, 3.04g. Ref: RIC IV Caracalla 254. Ex [USER=4046]@Finn235 [/USER]; ex Leu. Diana, virgin goddess of wild animals, hunting, fertility, and the moon, is known best in her aspect as a youthful divine huntress carrying bow and arrow and accompanied by deer. Like this she is depicted, for example, on different Antonine types as well as large issue of Gallienus. Probably more common, though, are depictions of her as Diana lucifera (‘Diana the Bringer of Light’), showing Diana as the moon goddess carrying a lighted torch through the darkness of night:[ATTACH=full]1141745[/ATTACH]Julia Domna, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 211–217 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG; bust of Julia Domna, draped, r. Rev: DIANA LVCIFERA; Diana, draped, standing l., holding a torch in both hands. 19mm, 3.09g. Ref: RIC IV Caracalla 373A. Ex Kölner Münzkabinett, Germany. Vulcan is the god of fire and volcanoes, of the forge and of smithery. As such, he is the patron of all artisans working with metal. One could therefore assume that he was shown frequently on Roman coins, which after all are made from metal. But astonishingly enough, that’s not the case: apart from an exceedingly rare Civil War denarius (RIC I Civil Wars 80) and two equally rare antoniniani by Claudius II (RIC V Claudius Gothicus 215/224), Vulcan only appears on this issue by Valerian I, which was also struck for his son Gallienus. On these coins, which ironically often suffer from poor workmanship, Vulcan is shown with the tools of his trade: hammer, pincers, and anvil. He also wears a pileus, the conical cap of a free craftsman:[ATTACH=full]1141746[/ATTACH] Valerian I, Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, 258 AD, Lugdunum mint. Obv: Obv: VALERIANVS P F AVG; bust of Valerian I, radiate, draped, l. Rev: DEO VOLKANO; Vulcan, draped, wearing pilos, standing l. in temple, holding hammer in r. hand and pincers in l. hand; at his feet l., anvil. 22mm, 3.16g. Ref: RIC V Valerian 5. Ex Aux Potins Senons, Sens, France. Vesta, a sister of Jupiter, is the virgin goddess of the home, the hearth, and the family. The Temple of Vesta at the Forum, where the sacred fire and the palladium were kept, was one of the most important religious sites in Rome. It was cared for by the Vestals, virgin priestesses recruited from the leading patrician families. On this coin, Vesta sancta (“Vesta the Holy One”) is shown wearing priestly garments, holding a sceptre and sacrificing from a patera. The type was struck only under Septimius Severus:[ATTACH=full]1141747[/ATTACH]Julia Domna, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 196–211 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA; bust of Julia Domna, draped, r. Rev: VESTAE SANCTAE; Vesta standing l., holding patera and sceptre. 17.5mm, 3.08g. Ref: RIC IV Septimius Severus 587. Ex Salzburger Münzhandlung, Austria. Mercury is the god of communication, messages, commerce, luck, travelling, trickery, and trade. Portrayed as a young man or boy, his attributes are the caduceus, the purse, and the winged hat and sandals. He is the patron of merchants, messengers, travelers, tricksters, and thieves. It’s unfortunately very hard to find depictions of Mercury on Roman Imperial coins – there are none for the Severan period. For the time being, I’m content with this example struck for Herennius Etruscus. Yet, I might add another Mercury in the future: there were some very interesting Mercury denarii struck under Marcus Aurelius. Unfortunately, they are scarce.[ATTACH=full]1141748[/ATTACH]Herennius Etruscus, Roman Empire, AR antoninianus, 251 AD, Rome mint. Obv: bust of Herennius Etruscus, radiate, draped, r. Rev: PIETAS AVGG; Mercury, nude except for cloak on shoulders, standing l., holding purse and caduceus. 20mm, 3.17g. Ref: RIC IV Trajan Decius 142. Ex JB collection; ex AMCC 2, lot 201 (picture by [USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] ). Ceres, another sister of Jupiter, is the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, fertility, crops, and the harvest. Her Greek pendant Demeter also was the central deity of the Eleusinian Mysteries. As Ceres frugifera (“Ceres the Fruit-Bringer”), she usually holds grain ears or fruit. Often, she also carries a torch, likely as a reference to Eleusis, where the initiates to the mystery cult carried torches (see Spaeth: The Roman Goddess Ceres, Austin: University of Texas Press, 61). Among her other attributes is the cista mystica, and I’m very tempted to see a cista at Ceres’ feet on my coin – yet, this is probably just pareidolia:[ATTACH=full]1141749[/ATTACH]Julia Domna, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 196–211 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA; bust of Julia Domna, draped, r. Rev: CERERI FRVGIF; Ceres, draped, seated l., holding corn-ears in her r. hand and torch in l. hand. 19mm, 3.65g. RIC IV Septimius Severus 546. Ex Leipziger Münzhandlung und Auktion (Höhn), Germany. Please show your favorite Roman gods and goddesses![/QUOTE]

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